Teaching Our Teachers

How do we teach our teachers at Mount Vernon? We bring in experts.

Mount Vernon’s strategic plan, MVx, calls us all to be learners. It states, “In a complex world of exponential change, the most important thing to be is a learner. Anyone at or associated with MV is a learner.”

Last week, Mount Vernon faculty and staff put those words to action as they participated in an all-day professional development workshop focusing on inquiry and project based learning – IBL and PBL. Teachers were able to take the place of a student, pushing their thinking and collaborating together to grow in their expertise. 

“Today’s PBL workshop proved to be a great refresher and opportunity to grow as practitioners, designers, and learners,” shared a Middle School teacher. “I’m grateful for a team willing to dive in and embrace authentic student-centered experiential learning!” 

Teachers in grades 1 – 12 were joined by Jennifer D. Klein, well known author, speaker, and coach. As a prior college and high school teacher, including five years of experience teaching in Central America, Jennifer began Principled Learning Strategies, a company that provides professional development to support student-driven learning experiences in schools. Her goal? To amplify student voice while providing the tools for high-quality project based learning in all content areas. 

Her LinkedIn shares, “Jennifer’s first book, The Global Education Guidebook, was published in 2017, and her second is slated for publication in 2022, with co-author Kapono Ciotti. As an educational leader, writer, speaker, and bilingual workshop facilitator, Jennifer strives to inspire educators to shift their practices in schools worldwide.”

Preschool and Kindergarten teachers were joined by members of the Duke School working through Project Approach learning for our littlest Mustangs. 

Across both sessions there is a greater capacity built in our faculty so that our student learners can engage in authentic, relevant projects that make them even more impact ready. 

For more on how our students learn through inquiry and projects, check out our blog here.