Continued professional learning is at the core of being an educator. At Tsinghua International School (THIS), professional learning takes place every Wednesday afternoon in the form of meetings, workshops or collaborative interactions to achieve optimum student learning outcomes.
We also dedicate several full days in the school year to professional learning aimed at making steady progress on school improvement priorities, schoolwide goals that are further unpacked into divisional targets and priorities, one such day falls in early November every year where we focus on one schoolwide goal, divisional and departmental priorities and an array of workshops focused on teacher needs and pedagogical refreshers.
Understanding to Protect Innocence
Rooted in the core values of THIS, the morning of the professional learning day (Nov. 10, 2025) began with a focus on student wellbeing.
Academic Principal Scott Pare and Secondary Counsellor Laura Zhang guided English-speaking and Chinese-speaking staff respectively through case studies on safeguarding.
Modelling one of THIS’ strategies for teaching students, Mr. Pare and Ms. Zhang had groups of staff discuss prearranged questions for each case study and then share their answers with the larger group. This reinforced knowledge of our Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy and how to deal with issues of student wellbeing.
Educate According to Uniqueness
The needs of our students continued to guide the day with the schoolwide focus on increased integration of differentiation into instruction, teaching and learning. This schoolwide goal began with focused training and workshops with expert Dr. Jane Kise in August 2025.
From the beginning of this academic year, teachers have been implementing an array of differentiation strategies based on student needs.
Professional Development
The afternoon of the PD day allowed teachers to choose from different workshops or to consult each other to refresh or further deepen one’s understanding of pedagogical approaches, including Project-Based Learning (PBL), Enquiry Circle, Adaptive / Supportive Technology for Learning (SSL) and IT applications.
Ms. Na Ni from THUHS gave a lecture on classroom management, sharing practical experiences and explorations in managing classroom discipline for middle school students.
Teachers' Insights
Professional learning is not complete without a reflective autopsy where teachers can unpack the strategies, their impact on the lesson and the learning and identify next steps. This is lesson studies and teachers worked in their departments and unpacked each other’s’ differentiated lessons and strategies.
Xiaomeng Jin (Chinese History teacher)
“The PD Day made me reflect on my differentiated instruction and I learned many teaching techniques from my colleagues.”
Adam Matejek (Head of Performing Arts and Instrumental Teacher)
“I especially appreciated having dedicated department time to collaborate on differentiation lesson plans. We were able to share strategies and ideas in ways that don’t always happen during the regular school week…”
Attentive Ears, Discover Real Needs
Meanwhile the primary teaching assistants also focused on the differentiated needs of students beyond academics, said Maggie Cheng, Head of Teaching Assistant.
Maggie Cheng:“Our professional learning focused on response strategies and methods for addressing students' special needs. The aim was to gain a more comprehensive understanding of students' needs, enable personalized teaching, and be better prepared to promote the healthy physical and mental development of students.”
At the same time, the Primary teachers continued their collaborative study through the International Curriculum Association’s course on thematic, interdisciplinary teaching. Their focus was on strengthening students’ creative thinking and problem-solving through meaningful connections across subjects.
By deepening their understanding of thematic inquiry, the Primary team aims to bring richer, more connected learning experiences to classrooms – helping students see how ideas link across disciplines and apply their learning to real-world contexts.
Wisdom Shared, Experience Alive
True professional learning is also about tacit knowledge – the intrinsic experience that every teacher gains no matter where they are in their career.
To quote the fox in The Little Prince,“…now here is my secret, a very simple secret. It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”
How can teachers share tacit knowledge and experience? A simple skills marketplace was the answer.
The skills marketplace is a walkabout where several teachers will offer quick bite-size classroom / pedagogical srtategies in a stress-free collegial environment. Teachers appreciated the relaxed walkabout experience of sharing tacit knowledge. According to Athletics Director and PE teacher, Djordje Joksic:
Djordje Joksic:“It was a very interactive and collaborative kind of a gallery walk with a plethora of ideas, resources and practical examples on how to enhance students' experiences in their day-to-day interactions.”
Shared Growth, A Learning Community
Non-teaching staff also unlocked and reiterated their implied knowledge and skills, as reflected by Toni Dong, Vice Principal of Operations:
Toni Dong:"By anchoring the powerful STAR framework in relatable, daily-life scenarios, Prof. Liao transformed abstract concepts into palpable skills. The training was electric with moments of discovery as the support staff began reframing their experiences with newfound clarity and confidence. More importantly, they gained the tools to structure their workflow, frame requests with a compelling rationale, and adopt a consistently solution-oriented mindset."
Despite the rich, deep expertise and tacit knowledge that our teachers have, as Jason Kennedy (2005) states, “the best educators are not those who claim expertise, but those who relentlessly seek it.”
(Note:https://medium.com/teachers-on-fire/just-another-brick-in-the-wall-641ff9185ca0)
The rest of the year of professional learning builds on data-driven and reflexive differentiation, intentional planning and collaboration.
