Professional Development Day: Strengthening Our Practice as an IB Learning Community

CGK teachers across Preschool, Elementary, and Middle School came together for our first job-a-like style professional development day on November 30th 2025, a format that allowed teachers to learn directly from one another. This collaborative structure celebrated the diverse strengths, expertise, and passions within our staff, reinforcing the belief that we grow best when we learn together as a community.

We opened the day with a Morning Meeting, experiencing the same sense of connection and emotional readiness we strive to create for our students each day. Through greetings, inclusive games, and reflective prompts, teachers explored how these routines build a strong classroom culture rooted in belonging, predictability, and readiness to learn.

Throughout the morning, teachers participated in concurrent, teacher-led workshops. One group explored Reggio-inspired environments and loose parts, discussing how materials can act as provocations that deepen Units of Inquiry. Another group focused on effective morning routines, sharing strategies to strengthen independence, smooth transitions, and learner agency.

The next round of workshops invited teachers to choose between a session on Early Years phonics and literacy centers, emphasizing playful and developmentally appropriate literacy practices, and a session on personal growth and development, where teachers reflected on resilience, identity, and well-being as part of their role as reflective practitioners.

In the afternoon, all educators came together for two whole-school sessions. The first centred on IB curriculum design, highlighting how conceptual understanding, transdisciplinary themes, and clear learning intentions create cohesive and meaningful learning experiences. Teachers collaborated across grade levels to strengthen vertical alignment and shared planning practices.

The second whole-school session focused on assessment and evidencing learning, using the IB Assessment Cycle as a guide. Teachers examined ways to make learning visible, gather meaningful documentation, and ensure that assessment remains a continuous, supportive process that informs learning rather than interrupts it.

The day concluded with a collective reflection in which teachers shared key takeaways, new strategies, and actionable next steps. This conversation underscored the purpose of the day: to learn from one another, honour the expertise within our community, and continue building shared understandings that strengthen teaching and learning across CGK.

This first job-a-like PD day highlighted the collaborative spirit at the heart of our school. It affirmed our identity as an IB learning community—one that embraces inquiry, reflection, and the understanding that both children and adults are continually learning, growing, and becoming.