Students at Whitefield have experienced firsthand the academic strength of the faculty, but many are not aware of the faculty's tremendous work outside of classroom instruction that helps to maintain the strong academic reputation we enjoy at Whitefield.
As in every summer, teachers are taking advantage of the season to participate in learning activities which include graduate work, AP instructor courses, and various other instructional courses. Here are just a few of the professional development activities our faculty has participated in this summer:
Jeffrey Horner (History Department Chair)
Horner joined other teachers from across the country in Kansas City, MO, to grade this year’s batch of Free Response Questions for the AP European History test. This is Horner’s seventh consecutive year grading, an activity he says, “gives me an inside look at how to best craft my course for my students.”
“I get to talk with some of the best teachers in our field from around the country, and are able to exchange ideas and meet college professors who help further our thinking about our craft as historians and teachers.”
Jesse Breite (Upper School English teacher) and Timothy Unsicker (Upper School history teacher)
Breite and Unsicker both attended a two-week course entitled “Citizenship and the Culture of Freedom” at Mercer University. The course is part of Mercer’s Great Books curriculum which is founded on the belief that careful study in the primary texts of Western thought and belief will increase disciplined thinking and effective writing, heighten moral and ethical reflectiveness, and help educators better understand how ideas of the past have formed the people we are today. The teachers studied the writings of Herodotus, Thucydides, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Plato, Aristotle, and more.
“The program offered me a new perspective on classic texts and allowed me to evaluate what I teach,” said Breite. “As I teacher, I find that summers are an important time to reload and refresh my mind. If I want my students’ minds to be fresh and inspiring, I have to find ways to keep my mind in that condition."
Erika Mosteller (Upper School history teacher)
Mosteller attended a workshop about U.S. history since 1970 which was sponsored by the American Studies Institute. The workshop was designed to foster interdisciplinary teaching of history using music, art, politics, and literature. Spelman College writer and historian William Jelani Cobb, Emory University political scientist Merle Black, and Goizueta Business School professor Jeffrey Rosensweig were just a few of the speakers.
Dr. Susan Banke (Upper School principal)
Upper School principal Dr. Susan Banke attended a Life and Calling Seminar, along with 25 school administrators from around the country. Presented by professors from Wesleyan University in Connecticut, the seminar is held at various locations around the country for individuals who work with high school and college students.
"The main objective of the seminar is to train leaders to help students gain a better understanding of who they are, how valuable they are as individuals, and what their responsibility is in serving others." said Dr. Banke. "I learned how to help students find their calling and passionately pursue it."
Cheryl Farrar (Lower School teacher)
Cheryl Farrar attended a two-week course on the Orton-Gillingham Multisensory approach to reading, writing, and spelling. The course teaches educators about the development of written language as well as trains them in recent research information and techniques to incorporate knowledge of phonology, morphology, semantics, syllabication, and syntax into multi-sensory teaching in these areas.
"The Orton-Gillingham approach combines these areas together in a multisensory approach which enhances the student's ability to learn, apply, and master our written language," said Jeannie Brostrand, Lower School principal.
Multisensory techniques are used to promote better retention as students are taught the phonetic codes of the language, syllabication, and spelling rules. This is much easier than having to memorize thousands of words by sight. All kindergarten and first-grade teachers at Whitefield are trained in the Orton approach.
Christopher McDonald (Science Department Chair) and Ann Schmitz (Upper School science teacher)
Christopher McDonald and Ann Schmitz are both attending AP workshops in chemistry and biology, respectively. McDonald and Schmitz have already been trained in teaching AP courses, however, maintaining up-to-date and current information about AP coursework is vital and requires continued training.
"The AP Biology curriculum, for example, has undergone a complete revamping," said Schmitz, who teaches the course. "It's important for teachers to stay abreast of these changes."
"
As in every summer, teachers are taking advantage of the season to participate in learning activities which include graduate work, AP instructor courses, and various other instructional courses. Here are just a few of the professional development activities our faculty has participated in this summer:
Jeffrey Horner (History Department Chair)
Horner joined other teachers from across the country in Kansas City, MO, to grade this year’s batch of Free Response Questions for the AP European History test. This is Horner’s seventh consecutive year grading, an activity he says, “gives me an inside look at how to best craft my course for my students.”
“I get to talk with some of the best teachers in our field from around the country, and are able to exchange ideas and meet college professors who help further our thinking about our craft as historians and teachers.”
Jesse Breite (Upper School English teacher) and Timothy Unsicker (Upper School history teacher)
Breite and Unsicker both attended a two-week course entitled “Citizenship and the Culture of Freedom” at Mercer University. The course is part of Mercer’s Great Books curriculum which is founded on the belief that careful study in the primary texts of Western thought and belief will increase disciplined thinking and effective writing, heighten moral and ethical reflectiveness, and help educators better understand how ideas of the past have formed the people we are today. The teachers studied the writings of Herodotus, Thucydides, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Plato, Aristotle, and more.
“The program offered me a new perspective on classic texts and allowed me to evaluate what I teach,” said Breite. “As I teacher, I find that summers are an important time to reload and refresh my mind. If I want my students’ minds to be fresh and inspiring, I have to find ways to keep my mind in that condition."
Erika Mosteller (Upper School history teacher)
Mosteller attended a workshop about U.S. history since 1970 which was sponsored by the American Studies Institute. The workshop was designed to foster interdisciplinary teaching of history using music, art, politics, and literature. Spelman College writer and historian William Jelani Cobb, Emory University political scientist Merle Black, and Goizueta Business School professor Jeffrey Rosensweig were just a few of the speakers.
Dr. Susan Banke (Upper School principal)
Upper School principal Dr. Susan Banke attended a Life and Calling Seminar, along with 25 school administrators from around the country. Presented by professors from Wesleyan University in Connecticut, the seminar is held at various locations around the country for individuals who work with high school and college students.
"The main objective of the seminar is to train leaders to help students gain a better understanding of who they are, how valuable they are as individuals, and what their responsibility is in serving others." said Dr. Banke. "I learned how to help students find their calling and passionately pursue it."
Cheryl Farrar (Lower School teacher)
Cheryl Farrar attended a two-week course on the Orton-Gillingham Multisensory approach to reading, writing, and spelling. The course teaches educators about the development of written language as well as trains them in recent research information and techniques to incorporate knowledge of phonology, morphology, semantics, syllabication, and syntax into multi-sensory teaching in these areas.
"The Orton-Gillingham approach combines these areas together in a multisensory approach which enhances the student's ability to learn, apply, and master our written language," said Jeannie Brostrand, Lower School principal.
Multisensory techniques are used to promote better retention as students are taught the phonetic codes of the language, syllabication, and spelling rules. This is much easier than having to memorize thousands of words by sight. All kindergarten and first-grade teachers at Whitefield are trained in the Orton approach.
Christopher McDonald (Science Department Chair) and Ann Schmitz (Upper School science teacher)
Christopher McDonald and Ann Schmitz are both attending AP workshops in chemistry and biology, respectively. McDonald and Schmitz have already been trained in teaching AP courses, however, maintaining up-to-date and current information about AP coursework is vital and requires continued training.
"The AP Biology curriculum, for example, has undergone a complete revamping," said Schmitz, who teaches the course. "It's important for teachers to stay abreast of these changes."
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