Term 3 Staff Development Day

On Monday 22 July, Cranbrook teachers kicked off Term 3 with a Staff Development Day that focused on whole-school wellbeing and AI in Education.

Building on Professor Donna Cross’s statement that “If a child can do advanced maths, speak 3 languages or receive top grades, but can’t manage their emotions, deal with conflict or handle stress, none of that stuff is really going to matter,”  the first session provided a detailed overview of Cranbrook’s progress on the Whole-school Wellbeing Initiative (a year-long project completed in partnership with AISNSW) and underscored the necessity of understanding, valuing and promoting Social and Emotional Learning (SEL).

This valuable session, facilitated by Laura Brennan, Mark De Brin, Grant Andrews and Campbell Robilliard, spotlighted excellent practice in explicitly teaching SEL, and It was inspiring to hear from Junior School and Senior School teachers about the strategies they use with their students. Thanks to Laura Rose, Rosie Heckes, Rose Kelly, Katherine Young and Andrew Benson for sharing their excellent practice.

This was followed by the fantastic PD session led by Tara Schmidtke and Simon Hamblin ‘Work Smarter, Not Harder: AI in Education.’ This session explored how in education, AI can personalise learning experiences, adapt to individual needs, and provide feedback, enhancing learning outcomes. The presenters also emphasised that integrating AI as part of our teaching arsenal will help to equip students with the relevant skills for future technological landscapes.

The differentiated groupings, detailed resources and well-structured Canvas course that accompanied the session supported teachers to enhance their ability to complete effective AI assisted, not AI generated work.

Hannah Thomas
Director of Professional Learning