AGIS Conference 2024 Potsdam

Presentation for today (click here)

As outlined in AGIS’ Policy Handbook:
“We at the Association of German International Schools (AGIS) are rooted in values-driven representation.
We will develop an inclusive and culturally responsive workforce reflecting the diversity in our schools and the Germany community, to better meet the needs and aspirations of our students, their families, and communities. We are committed to improving the cultural security and responsiveness of our workforce and ensuring that culturally diverse people are well-represented and supported at all levels across German international schools.”
The AGIS DEIJ working group meets in-person annually during the pre-conference day to put these claims into action by leveraging our collective expertise, supporting each other and contextualising how DEIJ-values can underpin all aspects of our schools’ ecosystems.
This year’s meet-up will focus on unpacking othering and belonging. How can differences be bridged to collectively achieve our DEIJ aspirations? We will explore what it means to uphold the dignity of all intersectional identities under our care during these polarizing and politically tense times in Germany, Western Europe and across the globe. Tensions will be discussed and ways forward will be co-constructed by all present.
Each AGIS school is strongly encouraged to send at least two representatives to this pre-conference event. In accordance with AGIS’ Policy handbook, every AGIS school is asked to commit to DEIJ-values and together as an AGIS community we can accelerate progress in this area by building communal solidarity.

Learn proven strategies for constructive communication and navigating challenging interactions.
Elevate your professional and personal relationships, where interactive exercises and real-world scenarios offer a transformative learning experience.
Unleash your potential for clear, confident, and impactful communication!

The art of storytelling can be a powerful tool for teaching and learning languages through AI. This conference aims to provide practical online activities teachers can use in their classrooms to captivate and immerse their audience while teaching any language. From elementary to the new DP language B and the Ab Initio program, participants will learn how to use compelling storytelling techniques in their language lessons by exploring the various available AI online tools.

The purpose of this workshop is to discuss how we can apply empathetic leadership to our behaviours in the classroom and in the meeting room. During this session we will reflect on our dominant leadership characteristics and consider whether these have changed over time, mapping our leadership journey. We will consider whether there is a tension between the characteristics of influence/vision and compassion/collaboration and, if so, how to navigate this. We will discuss what empathy looks like and the ways in which leaders can use empathy for self, others and situations to inform action. We will also reflect on how our biases can affect our leadership decision making.

Using English and maths menus, paired with a clear classroom system for completing and revising work has increased independence and excitement about my students’ own learning. I will share how I organise my English and maths week and how it made my planning, resourcing so much easier (and fun!) and how I was able to increase my time on child during each lesson. Every school setting is different, so I will give you several ways of implementing a system that will work for your and meet your school’s demands. Most ideas are based on the course by “Math with Ms Matherson” whose permission I have to share her approach and system.

I will present about how PYP teachers can help prepare their students for MYP science. "In PYP, science is not a dedicated subject but integrated into the units of inquiry. This can often lead to a difficult transition for students entering the MYP. This session will focus on how to include authentic science inquiry and critical thinking in the PYP.

This session will also be useful for schools that do not use the IB curriculum, as it will focus heavily on best practices for teaching science in general. This includes how to teach students to design a valid experiments.
The session will include using templates and sentence starters for designing and evaluating science experiments. Teachers will get several ideas for experiments that do not require special equipment or training and have a chance to brainstorm what experiments might go well with their units.

Ever wonder how to better support ELL Students as a classroom teacher? In this session a seasoned ELL teacher and class teacher will share valuable tipps and tricks with non-ELL teachers. Prepare for a fun interactive workshop with differentiated examples and a helpful group discussion at the end to share ideas.

In this session, we will review three major recommendations for supporting comprehension in upper primary based on current reading research. We will then discuss different instructional techniques that can be used to develop stronger reading comprehension skills based on these research findings. Examples of instructional strategies and student work will be presented. We will dedicate the final portion of the session to applying this information to our own contexts.

How do we ensure that we understand our students’ thinking processes? How can we provide feedback more efficiently and effectively?

This session will build on the experience of the presenters who have been using thinking routines for the past couple of years. These thinking routines will be shared so that participants can obtain practical teaching practices, such as by providing more efficient and effective feedback, increasing more collaboration between students and ensuring that students are thinking at increasingly higher levels. These thinking routines can also be used in wider contexts as well, such as department or staff meetings.