Here comes August!

As I enter into the second year of my current teaching post, I look back and reflect on what has been a massive year of learning for me. It is always hard when starting in a new school and new country but living here and working at this school has provided me with a lot of opportunities to develop as an educator.

Implementing the new MYP Physical and Health Education curriculum with the next chapter has had many challenges. There has been a steep learning curve for many in the school who have not taught MYP before but with close collaboration and an openness to discussion we have put together what I think is a good program. Of course we have had to make mistakes so we can learn. I know for sure I used too many summative assessment tasks. This was not only a lot of work for the students but also for me.

I have had many good discussions with members of my Facebook group which has grown in numbers but also in the quality of educators with good ideas and practice. Some of these members such as Mel Hamada and Alison Pearce have provided a constant source of information, guidance and constructive criticism. They have also allowed their own work to be evaluated by our community and I am sure this has helped in their own development.

I do know that this year I will be reflecting on what I have learned and make subtle changes to the curriculum we have already established. I am really looking forward to this year especially in my role as Head of Department which already has had many challenges.

I aim to continue my development as an educator and hope to share many more resources, ideas and experiences with the growing social media physical educators out there. I will also be looking forward to attending the IB Workshop Leader course in Hong Kong in October and presenting at the APPEC conference in Hong Kong again in November.

@Dalais44