Experiencing school in Chattanooga, Tennessee

Mary Komselis, Primary Teacher

It was a privilege to have been selected for the Amanda Minotti Teaching Fellowship, which allowed me to visit a partner school – Girls Preparatory School (GPS) – in Chattanooga, Tennessee. GPS is a private day school in Chattanooga for girls in grades 6 to 12, divided into middle school (grades 6-8) and upper school (grades 9-12). Its stated mission is to inspire ‘each girl to lead a life of integrity and purpose by engaging her mind, cultivating her strengths, and nurturing her self-confidence and respect for others’.

This exchange provided me with invaluable professional experience and contributed significantly to my personal growth. Having the opportunity to observe how different teachers deliver curriculum to and interact with students who are in older cohorts than those I usually teach was particularly interesting.

The values at St Margaret’s (STM) and GPS are quite similar, with a common value addressed – Respect. I witnessed respect among the students, among the staff, and mutual respect between staff and students, particularly evident during lunchtime, where all staff and students eat lunch together in the cafeteria (yes, like the American movies!).

This exchange gave me time to reflect on pedagogy and teaching strategies; how they are the same and different to STM. Across the various subjects and curriculum, GPS is moving to a more discovery-based model, ensuring students are at the centre of all learning, providing time to discuss and articulate their thoughts and ideas. While this is something GPS is striving towards, teachers have autonomy to deliver their content based on their professional judgement. This approach aligns to inquiry-based instruction, used in the St Margaret’s primary school’s HASS and Science teaching instruction. During 2022-2023, primary teachers attended professional development sessions with Bronwyn MacLeod that challenged staff to make the ‘skills’ the hero of the subject not the context.

GPS also use the Experience First, Formalise Later (EFFL) teaching approach that empowers students to build strong conceptual understanding of concepts (Stecher, Wilcox, & Gallas, 2023). EFFL has been developed for student-centred classrooms, where students work in small groups to experience the learning before the teacher formalises the learning with definitions (Global Math Department, 2022). This aligns with GPS’s focus on student engagement in the classroom. This differs to how we approach teaching in the primary school, focusing on explicit instruction and the Gradual Release Model of Responsibility (I Do, We Do, You Do). However, some of the characteristics do align to our pedagogical thinking behind our teaching approach, such as the use of hands-on activities (Maths), posing questions (M-Spired), less memorisation (Core Literacy in Prep to Year 2), and having a focus on problem solving (Maths).

As part of GPS’s institutional goals, the curriculum and programs have been examined to ensure they start and conclude with what is best for each student. The hope for the learner-centred approach is that students create lifelong interests and passions in a culture of acceptance and belonging to build versatile skills. The learner-centred element ensured that learning is personalised for each student, competencybased, authentic, and equitable and inclusive.

GPS also believes in a cross-curricular approach with the subjects they offer to their students. For example, I was observing a sixth-grade class, where they were choreographing a dance in small groups from the book ‘Other Words for Home’. The students also read this novel for English and completed assignments associated to the story. The dance teacher connected her curriculum to the topics and concepts from English, Maths and History. I found this to be vital to the students for a full picture understanding of concepts from class and assists the girls with their working memory on new knowledge and skills. Students in sixth-grade class have learnt about the various African nations in Global Cultures and then revisited this knowledge in English through a class novel and creating their own African Folktale.

GPS teachers, within their teaching departments, go on ‘instructional rounds’ with their chair (head) of department. This enables teachers to explore what their colleagues do in their classroom and check in on students. They encourage teachers to complete three to four rounds throughout their year. During the humanities instructional rounds I participated in, I witnessed the cross-curricular approach in the upperschool. Students in grade 10 languages (Spanish and French) were exploring poetry. In English, they were in their world poetry unit, creating a presentation selecting an original poem and then creating their own.

GPS were kind enough to arrange visits to two elementary (primary) schools: The Bright School and St Peter’s Episcopal School. These are just two of the several schools that students attend before going to GPS. During my Bright School visit, I observed various grade classes, met with the teaching teams of grade 4 and 5 classes, and had lunch with the Head of School. In my second week, I spent a few hours at St Peter’s Episcopal School observing different year levels. This school allows students to complete their classes in English or in Spanish immersion. Both these schools have similarly aligned English curriculum to our English program at STM. It was great to see that, worldwide, students are being taught how to read and write in similar ways.

I was able to shadow both a sixth-grade student and a junior (11th grade) student. This experience allowed me to build connections with the girls and their peers while also gaining insight into their perspectives and the challenges they face at school. During my time in the upper school, I observed that students must sign the school’s honour pledge at the bottom of their assessments, committing to upholding the school values of academic honesty by not cheating or discussing their work with others. GPS also offers advanced placement (AP) classes, allowing students to take college-like classes in their final two years of upper school.

All students and staff at GPS were friendly and warm, welcoming me with open arms to any classrooms, meetings, clubs, and activities. This experience has highlighted the crucial role of relationships in education and has further strengthened my commitment to fostering these connections in my teaching career. I am incredibly thankful to GPS and STM for this wonderful opportunity to explore education on a global scale.

References

Global Math Department. (2022, May 3). What is Experience First, Formalize Later (EFFL)? https://globalmathdepartment. org/2022/05/what-is-experience-first-formalize-later-effl/

Stecher, S., Wilcox, L., & Gallas, L. (2023). Experience First, Formalize Later. Mathematics Teacher: Learning and Teaching PK-12, 9. https://eric. ed.gov/?q=empower&ff1=subTeacher+Role&id=EJ1394818