IHWO SAI InSet PD Sep 2021 and Onwards by Robert Martínez

And here we go!

roberttmartinezz — 2021-09-30 07:44:31 UTC

We'll add the ideas for discussion and projects we may have as they come up. This way we will have a timeline of the work we do which will make it easy to then report at the AGM in Jan 2022.

6 October: Initial Brainstorm to Define Meeting Topics

2021-10-06 08:29:59 UTC

This brought up a number of themes to discuss and develop:

- Motivation and engagement - newly qualified teachers vs more experienced teachers and managing Ts' expectations

- Personal development plans - self identified goals, learning aims, self-reflection, action research etc - personal development plans, how to make CPD measurable for individuals - and how to measure effectiveness/benefits for the school

- How do we do CPD? Organic vs formal CPD programs vs mini-conferences and cross school sharing sessions - how are they planned? IH CPD program - review and revive? CPD online vs F2F, English teachers vs other languages, YL teachers vs adults

- Sharing and caring - share best practice and practical ideas. Pandemic - the right time to review and make changes?!

- Effective CPD - How can we measure the effectiveness of our CPD programs? Who participates/what are the benefits/where is the evidence?

Final discussion:

How can we develop a project to present at AMT - can we set up a conference? Or organise a program where each school offers a date/zoom link where other schools can attend? Or share our ideas and suggestions which come up?

Final decision: each meeting will investigate a theme in more detail - and as per effective CPD sessions, each session will include space for discussion + practical idea sharing :-)

20 October - Motivation & Engagement of New and Experienced Ts.

roberttmartinezz — 2021-10-21 17:44:08 UTC

We all shared what our PD programs are like and agreed to share a copy of them to the Dropbox so that we all can have a look and benefit from the differences and similarities.

We all discussed and agreed that what seems to motivate both new and experienced teachers is:

- Agency: making them an active part of the PD program from the start by giving them a voice (choice in what the PD sessions are about) and also a stage (for those who want to deliver sessions on topics related to their own experience).

- Time acknowledgement - some schools recognise PD hours under some scheme e.g. equivalent or partially equivalent to teaching, some pay their teachers for PD sessions they plan and deliver at a fix rate.

- Specific goals - e.g. offering a course like IH CAM or IHCYLT at a subsidised rate with efforts directed towards the final qualification. The issue of funding or lack thereof was mentioned as a potential hinder for some contexts where Ts are expected to fork out the money. The same applies for attending conferences and then asking Ts to share what they learnt back with the school.

- Individual performance management meetings - and setting SMART goals and following them up. Mentoring being a possibility and as part of this approach. However, it was mentioned that mentoring success depends on context and size of organisations.

- Zoom training - seems to be the preferred option for many considering the current circumstances as it means Ts can attend from home even if they miss the f2f aspects of sessions. Some schools are delivering fully online PD, some hybrid and some f2f. This depends on the pandemic and local context restrictions.

- Frequency of PD sessions - some schools are offering weekly sessions and some every other week along with a combination of possibilities e.g. weekly sessions along with mini-conferences at set times with sessions also open to other IH schools (IH Spain) to encourage the social aspect of PD between Ts from different schools but within the organisation.

- Individually tailored sessions for experienced Ts - IH Bucharest has 121 meetings with their experienced Ts to find out more about what they want and use this data to inform their sessions. Lacunza IH also gathers data, but through an anonymous survey which asks respondents to choose from a set of sessions as well as suggest whatever sessions they want, say whether they want to deliver them, and share any ideas as to how they would like the PD program to be.

3 November: How to encourage teachers active participation in TD

2021-11-03 13:09:02 UTC

We were discussing teachers not being willing to actively participate in TD sessions or share their ideas.
Some suggestions to overcome these were:

- tell teachers to prepare an activity/materials from your lessons and present it in our meeting.

- if they are not willing to share, maybe use your observations and ask the teachers to use specific activities which you thought could be shared during your observing them.

- use individual assessment meetings to address the issue and ask about the reasons why they would not share, why it is important.

-have a dogme approach and simply ask the teachers to come to the session and discuss the topics/problems they are interested in. We also suggested preparing questions to ask them for the first meeting to model for them and encourage teachers to participate.

-if a teacher simply does not want to participate in TD, not pay attention to it, but consider ways to raise awareness that we grow when we learn.

-school management can help by including TD in the work contact, therefore it would be obligatory.

Topics for the next session:
-we will just meet and discuss the topics we might be interested in (try dogme approach our way:-)).

-Teo invited us to join her on 13 Nov The IH London Future of Training Conference or 26 the IH YL Conference - she will be speaking about how they are trying to change/changes made, etc. their PD program.

17 Nov - Observations

dos66 — 2021-11-17 15:16:09 UTC

We shared our experiences and approaches to observations, discussing how and when feedback is done, and how we can record - and measure - this kind of CPD.

We agreed to share our various documents in the Dropbox.

Ideas discussed:
- peer observations - with/without guided tasks, with/without feedback.
- formal observations - when/how
- drop in observations - how
- importance of self-reflection

We also talked about the benefit of peer obs for new teachers, office staff, and as a part of induction.

15 Dec 2021 - Different ways of PD

robertmartineztce — 2021-12-15 09:06:34 UTC

Summary of the meeting: one of the important issues we talked about was highlighting the professional development of teachers. There were several suggested ideas: (1) observing teachers in their real classes (2) creating an auto initiated CPD. (3) filling in a form to have a record of everything teachers do each semester (4) Oral discussion with the teachers to discuss their action points and identify their goals (5) dividing them into groups and getting each to identify what they will work on. Another issue discussed was the teachers' attitudes towards CPD and meetings. Teachers do not feel motivated or rewarded for their CPD. Only suggestion was to include incentives in form of money.

Last Meeting - 12 Jan 2022

robertmartineztce — 2022-01-07 15:56:59 UTC

We discussed and agreed on the presentation for the AMT and also about the future of this SAI InSet PD group.

Robert shared the presentation he prepared for the conference and explained how it would work.

We decided to keep meetings running every other Wed at 10 am and invite more people. We will add ideas for the sessions a week before the meeting to keep them organized and effective.

Formal Qualifications (CELTA, DELTA, CAM courses, IHCYLT) to be discussed as well in case other schools also offer them and may want to offer them and how they do it.
We want to share CPD ideas and how PD works in different contexts.

Next meeting is on the 9th Feb.

2 March: dealing with teachers who challenge feedback

2022-03-15 22:28:22 UTC

We shared our experiences of teachers who have challenged our feedback and we came up with some ideas of how to deal with them.

Ideas discussed:
-- adding a 'I agree / partially agree + Why/why not?' section to the feedback box on an observation report. Trs must justify why they disagree.

-- ensure that our feedback is objective, based on classroom evidence, research literature, and not on our opinion.

-- a problem of fixed mindset? Why not give the teacher some related reading / a webinar to watch to report back on takeaways for their lessons. Or ideas for tasks and tr must justify why they would or wouldn't work for their groups.

-- make sure that teachers understand that they must meet the requirements/expectations of the school (communicative methodology, etc.)

-- Teachers of other languages can observe CELTA-qualified teachers, follow up with reading and discussion of st-centred approaches, communicative methodology.

-- the feeling that we've all experienced at some point - a teacher doesn't seem to trust / respect our authority / expertise - most of the time it's our impression only - a bit of 'impostor syndrome?'

16 March 2022 - Peer Observations

2022-03-16 10:23:29 UTC

We discussed how Peer Observations are done at IH schools and shared documents for these. We also asked ourselves the question of how to make Ts understand the benefits and it was suggested that we need to ask Ts what would make them work for them to see if we can meet those conditions and also to ask them what they feel they can get professionally out of them.

The idea of using Pineapple charts was also shared by Teo - https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/pineapple-charts/ and we considered the different contexts for this as in some it would be challenging in others possible but unrealistic if you have lots of Ts (100+) so the idea would need to be adapted to suit your context.

30 March 2022 - Professional development

zorica1 — 2022-04-05 22:52:05 UTC

We discussed individual professional development schemes and how teachers can be more involved in deciding on their development path.

Robert reported on the book Professional development for language teachers, Gabriel Diaz-Maggioli and the idea on the individual sessions for PD.

PD on school level- teachers can decide on a theme and then use it for a period, experiment in the lessons and then share what they learned.

Another angle can be teachers brainstorming ideas when the academic year starts and then choosing topics/themes for professional development. The themes can change during academic year.

We also discussed how we can make the PD sessions more successful by activating teachers- to deliver input, to present their experience with using new ideas in their lessons, to participate in different conferences, webinars and then share ideas.

We will ask Abeer to share their PD portfolios(which teachers complete) so that we have a model.
Robert will create a short video presentation about the ideas discussed at PD meetings here and walkthrough of where shared resources are in the Dropbox.

Teo - Teachers could choose which TD session they would attend. IH Bucharest based its TD on observations and feedback. The problem was that teachers have different level of experience.

We also discussed how to use OTTI courses internally and externally(which might not attract many participants).

Another suggestion for the schools is to organise a series of short, theme bases TD courses/sessions which can be offered externally and used for the school TD programme.

Teo runs one on teaching pronunciation for example.
TD needs to be part of the work contract, obligatory. Another suggestion is to get a TD certificate which will be part of their TD portfolio. PDI three stage document- when the school year starts(teachers set their own development goals, DoS makes comments), then during mid term review when they reflect on what they have managed(this could be used both for the teachers and management).

IH Conference PD Group Presentation

roberttmartinezz — 2022-04-27 08:29:01 UTC

This is the presentation I used to present the findings of our meetings up until before the conference. It includes the topics we discussed up until then, our takeaways from the different sessions:
+ Together we’re stronger – we have huge resources & expertise we cannot afford not to share!
+ Cross-pollination at its best!
+ Shared perspectives, ideas and resources.
+ Created strong bonds between us and want to continue with the group.
+ DoS support group – we looked forward to the meetings.

1st Meeting 2022-3: Time Management

roberttmartinezz — 2022-10-05 08:12:10 UTC

It was great to start again with our meetings and see Teo (IH Bucharest), Bev (IH Braga), Marco (IH Lake Como) and Sue (IH GLS Berlin). The common concern based on comments from Ts was that Ts (new and experienced) complain about their time management skills or lack thereof.

Some suggestions based on what the different schools do:
- Include Time Management session in PD on offer.
- Build lesson planning slots into Ts timetable (on an individual basis and as a suggestion to help them see where they can set time aside to get on top of things).
- Have a school year calendar which highlights specific and important events e.g., exams, parent-teacher meeting periods, book pace road map suggesting where Ts should be in the book throughout the year, etc.
- Include Tips and Tricks for Time Management to share at staff meetings on a regular basis.
- Level Coordinators (where possible) share ideas with specific books and lesson planning tips.
- Give Ts the possibility to choose a slot when they're off and cannot be given classes e.g., Mon 3-8.

19 Oct 2022 - Developing Rubrics for Observation Assessment Purposes

roberttmartinezz — 2022-10-20 09:03:16 UTC

This was a very interesting meeting as we were absorbed by the topic. We discussed what our different schools do when observing teachers, when, how, and whether these observations have a final outcome e.g., pass, fail, etc. as one of the schools wants to create rubrics fro observation assessment which are linked to a 1-5 point scale and which would help them measure performance. This scale was already in place for the observations and included in the observation sheets, but feedback in the form of a suggestion after an EAQUALS inspection was that if there was a scale then there should be a rubric so that the scale is seen to be fair and standard for everybody. In short, the scale requires the definition of what 1 Below standard means for all observers to prevent vague interpretation of the band. We all agreed that this seems like a very challenging task, but an interesting one too.

2 Nov 2022. Mentoring: Needs, Giving Feedback, Standardisation

roberttmartinezz — 2022-11-02 09:31:09 UTC

This was another very engaging and interesting meeting! Teo IH Bucharest shared lots of information about their highly effective Mentoring Programme (MP) which has been in place for a long time and it is constantly revised. The main ideas were:
- The YL Dep has a more structured MP because of the more fixed nature of the lessons and venues.
- The Adults Dep has a less structured MP because it is mainly in-company lessons.
- MP for YL Ts lasts their first year with the school and the MP for Adults Dep Ts lasts 4-6 months of their first year only.
- Mentors are not always Sr Ts or Management Members: this seems to have a positive effect on Ts.
- Sue GLS: they also have external observers and Ts appreciate this as opposed to observers from the management team. This works well there as they are mostly freelance Ts.
- Mentors may be on contract or freelance depending on context e.g., Germany mainly freelancers, Romania a mixture, and in Spain/Portugal staff members so on contract.
- There seems to be elements of Mentoring in different areas in different contexts e.g., in Robert's case, the Mentors mainly only focus on the basic admin needed by new Ts in Term 1 of the school year. This seems to be a reductive definition and use of Mentoring. This 2022-3 academic year, anyone wanting to be a Mentor need to attend Mentor training via Mentor SIG group as the idea is that of adding a broader and clearer definition of Mentoring which goes beyond the admin basics.
- Mentors do not need to be a Sr T or DoS. Anyone with the right attitude and experience can be.
The following meeting will continue to address this topic.

7 Dec 2022 - Professional Development

roberttmartinezz — 2022-12-07 09:22:37 UTC

Today we had Luiz and Ri from IH London and Sue from Ih Berlin. As it was Luiz and Ri's first time we spent most of the session talking about their context, what they're doing and catching up. Our conversation mainly focused on:
- PD and the questions we all had about engagement, who it is for, getting teachers together (very difficult as this depends on context e.g., Sue's Ts are all freelance and so it means time for them which they could be using to earn money; the same for Luiz's ML Ts).
- The need for monitoring and follow up of PD sessions.
- Ts' beliefs only change when they see successful application of their new knowledge (Gusky, 2002) and we wondered where does the new knowledge come in the PD process and the fact that getting Ts to attend PD of any sort is an issue for different reasons.
- ML Ts not all know/are trained in/adopt a communicative approach and so Luiz wondered whether we should expect them to or force them into it as all languages are different. Sue commented that being aware of this approach does help when talking to them about observations, etc.

5 April 2023 - Peer Observations, CPD Challenges and Recognition

roberttmartinezz — 2023-10-04 08:16:30 UTC

The discussed meeting minutes revolved around the topic of peer observations at various International House (IH) language schools. Several key points and experiences were shared:

Sue from IH Berlin mentioned the challenges they face with their Peer Obs program, especially with freelance teachers who don't get paid for these sessions. They noted that peer observations work better for novice teachers. Sue also shared difficulties in scheduling observations due to evening courses and company class logistics. However, there was a positive reception from teachers overall.

Teo from IH Bucharest discussed the relative ease of implementing peer observations with Young Learner (YL) teachers, with some volunteering for them. Adult teachers, on the other hand, found it more challenging, despite the majority of their lessons being online. Teo attempted to address this by introducing Pineapple Charts, a voluntary observation system. Teo also mentioned their PDPlan, PDJournal, and the need for more flexible formats.

Gui shared a utopian approach to peer observations where teachers would plan and observe lessons together, present their findings to staff, and discuss them with mentors. This approach, while effective, faced cost-related challenges.

The idea of online portfolios for documenting CPD activities, including videos and recorded webinars, was suggested by Gui. This would encourage teachers to engage with professional development and make it part of the school culture.

Robert from IH Lacunza added that some schools offer paid peer observations where the Director of Studies covers the class for the observing teacher. However, the process of filling out observation sheets and discussing them afterward dissuaded some teachers.

Robert also mentioned Auto Initiated CPD, a system for recognizing time spent on CPD activities, which could be valuable for teachers' professional development.

In summary, the discussion revolved around the challenges and potential solutions for implementing effective peer observation programs and tracking CPD activities at various IH language schools. Different approaches and strategies were shared to improve teacher engagement in professional development activities.

13 Sep 2023 - Appraisals

roberttmartinezz — 2023-10-04 08:19:06 UTC

Appraisals - we revisited what we discussed earlier on in the year about IH PDIs and how they could be re-designed to reflect more a process than an end product at the end of the school year. Sue (GLS) and Luiz IH London - many freelance Ts so doing it twice or more a year would be more difficult. Teo (IH Bucharest) - they have journals and coaching bubbles for 100 Ts. They also work with freelancers, but it’s not as difficult to have them onboard although there is a need to motivate them.

Paid and unpaid PD time - IH Lacunza and IH Almaty - although it is paid time many experienced Ts still attendance is not great.

Teo (IH Bucharest) - Ts have a number of hours per year 24 hrs for Junior T and 12 for a Sr T. They offer 3 hours per month so 1.5 every other week. There is no internal TT in July or Aug. There may be periods when there is overlapping and at the beginning of the school year there is TT every week especially for YL Ts. They have formal observations twice a year and they’re connected to the TT that happened before and this is tied to the development journals (start with meeting in summer for continuing Ts. They talk about what they did in the previous year and decide on what they want to do in the next year e.g., teaching, training, mentoring. Each T has a meeting with 2 people from Management DoS and HTT. They formulate up to 3 objectives and how they intend to meet them. DoS and HTT may recommend how to do it e.g., watch this video, etc. They have a document where each T adds info on what they did or have done so far - development journal. Half way through the year they share a Mid Year Reflection Form (Google Form with a few questions).

For IH Lacunza - the idea of doing the meetings in pairs (2 people from Management) helps calibrate expectations.

IH London (Ri and Luiz) - they have year appraisals. They don’t have mandatory CPD hours like the ones introduced at IH Lacunza. Timetable is very busy and there are people working at different shifts so they have sessions at different times and they may be repeated and f2f hybrid and online.

4 Oct 2023 - Appraisals continued...

roberttmartinezz — 2023-10-04 08:24:36 UTC

In this meeting, there are several key points and discussions related to teacher management and professional development:

1. Teacher-Manager Ratio: IH London, with 100 teachers and only 2 line managers, is facing challenges in managing its teaching staff, particularly in the context of remote work and limited face-to-face interactions.

2. PDI Document Sharing: Luiz shared the IH London FML PDI Document, revealing that many teachers have engaged in CPD activities that often go unreported or unrecognized. Luiz intends to share this document with others.

3. Frequency of Meetings: Luiz expressed a desire to have more frequent meetings for professional development, but the large number of teachers in the MFL department makes this challenging.

4. Objectives Setting: The PDI document involves setting three objectives for the year, which some teachers find challenging, as objectives can be abstract in nature and for IH Lacunza, these are optional in the PDI form and often Ts do not fill them in.

5. Calendly Usage: Luiz is using Calendly for scheduling meetings, finding it a free and user-friendly tool for this purpose.

6. AI Tools for Meeting Summaries: Participants discussed the use of AI tools like ChatGPT and Zoom's AI feature for summarizing meetings, which can streamline note-taking and documentation.

7. External Recognition of CPD: There was a consideration of how to externally acknowledge teachers' CPD activities and align them with internal policies, especially for freelance teachers.

8. Online Portfolios: Teachers at IH Bucharest use Google Docs and folders to maintain online portfolios documenting CPD activities, including peer observations and training. Currently, only training sessions are compensated.

9. Coaching Developmental Bubbles: Teo at IH Bucharest separates appraisals from CPD, with YL teachers involved in coaching developmental bubbles, while adult department teachers have both aspects covered in a single meeting.

10. Acknowledging Reflection Time: The importance of acknowledging reflection time as a part of CPD was discussed, even though it's often not included in contracts at many language schools.

11. Discrepancy Between Departments: There's a noted difference in the level of engagement between Young Learner (YL) and Adult department teachers in terms of CPD and professional development activities.

12. Meeting Structure: The meeting had two stages: reflection on the last meeting and planning for the next session. Luiz suggested researching trends in appraisals in other sectors, and Robert proposed a development journal remix based on IH Bucharest's form.

In summary, the discussion centered around managing a large teaching staff, recognizing and encouraging CPD activities, and the use of technology and tools to streamline the professional development process for teachers, especially in the context of remote work.

8 Nov 2023 - Evaluating PDPS & Simon Borg's Webinar

roberttmartinezz — 2023-11-08 09:48:58 UTC

The conversation revolved around evaluating Professional Development Programs (PDPS) and Simon Borg's webinar on Continuing Professional Development (CPD). Robert noted that the focus in PD is primarily on processing input, neglecting other aspects of the extended process and Luiz agreed. At IH London, teachers are compensated for attending PD sessions based on their contracts, and at IH Lacunza new teachers are required to complete 6 CPD hours annually and returning teachers 4 CPD hours.

Sue agreed with this observation, mentioning that follow-up and inclusion of various aspects are more common in courses like DELTA. However, due to geographical practical reasons and a lack of a culture of PD, achieving this is challenging. Gui pointed out that the focus is on theory and skills, especially in Berlin, where teachers are freelancers. They attempt to provide implementable feedback after observations.

The discussion also explored sharing what's learned in PD sessions and fostering a culture of learning and techniques. Luiz suggested experienced teachers organize meetings for sharing knowledge, which was well-received.

The context differed, particularly in Berlin, where teachers are freelancers, making it difficult to get everyone to attend PD sessions. However, it was noted that things were changing. Gui emphasized the need for a holistic approach to CPD and allowing teachers to define their goals, inspired by Teo's GForms portfolios.

There was interest in centralizing online portfolios, inspired by Sue's idea. Luiz mentioned that they already had a centralized system using Sharepoint (Dropbox/GDrive equivalents), and feedback collection strategies were discussed. Additionally, the conversation touched on teachers' informal sharing sessions, teaching materials, and how meetings were structured.

The PD approach at IH London involved ‘Parla e Mangia’ pizza sessions where teachers discussed their lessons and shared experiences, using cards with questions as conversation starters. Luiz said he will add these cards to the shared Dropbox. Sue mentioned Extraordinary Team Meetings, where different PD preferences among morning and evening teachers were considered when planning sessions. Robert wants to try these sessions with ‘Cake’ to try and get more experienced Ts to share/lead the sessions. He needs to get clearance from Director of Education first to see if 1 of the 4 CPD hours experienced Ts have to complete annually can be used for this. If possible, he will try and do it between now and the next meeting in Dec.

17 Jan 2024 - Fostering Professional Development, Coursebook Adaptation and AI use

roberttmartinezz — 2024-01-17 09:35:26 UTC

We discussed the changing work and professional development (PD) approaches among Gen Z English language teachers (ELTs) and explored strategies for adapting coursebooks to suit different levels of experience and ages.

The discussion highlighted the perception of Gen Z ELTs as having a more flexible and less "responsible" attitude towards work compared to older generations. However, the group acknowledged the value of PD and the need for ELTs to adapt their approaches to suit the needs of their students.

Regarding coursebook adaptation, we emphasized the importance of critical evaluation and tailoring materials to specific student groups. We suggested encouraging ELTs and MFLTs to observe lessons, utilize AI tools for materials creation, and develop strategies for generating personalized student reports.

21 Feb 2024 - Neurodiversity: challenges in the workplace

2024-02-21 20:04:37 UTC

Meetings & Continuing

Robert agreed to send an email asking non-attendees whether they want to be removed from the list. The team agreed to continue with the meetings, believing they provide valuable connections and discussions, regardless of the number of attendees.

Teacher Work Approaches and School Variations

The team discussed the shift in the way Gen Z approach work, focusing on the differences between older and younger teachers. The topic of freelancers in their institutions was also raised, with Sue sharing that they exclusively work with freelancers due to German regulations and their varying commitment levels. The issue of exclusivity in contracts was also discussed.

Neurodiversity and Staff Turnover: A Challenge Discussed

The team discussed academic management and professional development, with a focus on neurodiversity within their staff and training courses. Luiz suggested adapting to neurodivergent trainees and acknowledged an increasing trend of teachers taking frequent leaves, causing disruptions and increasing work pressure on other staff members. Robert highlighted the impact of constant staff changes on management aspects, and Luiz acknowledged the issue while also recognizing the limitations of their control over certain external factors. The team saw potential in embracing neurodiversity and addressing the issue of frequent leaves.

The team discussed the challenges of teaching in challenging circumstances or demanding courses like CELTA, with Robert and Sue sharing their experiences. Sue emphasized the importance of accommodating students with disabilities, while Robert suggested that such situations could trigger teachers' issues. The team concluded that the application process for their course needed to be changed to include a disclosure section about any relevant conditions that might impact a student's ability to complete the course. They agreed on the need for a more detailed and explicit application form that asks about physical and mental health conditions, learning difficulties, and other special educational needs. The team also discussed the challenges and strategies related to accommodating students with learning difficulties in training courses, highlighting the need for flexibility in course assignments and the usefulness of model assignments.

Neurodiversity Training and Support in Schools

Luiz and Robert discussed the importance of specialized training for professionals in supporting individuals with autism and other neurodivergent conditions. They also emphasized the need for mental health support in schools and professional development programs to better understand and support students with different learning needs such as dyslexia and ADHD. Teo shared that they are currently working on a series of sessions with a specialist to better understand these specific learning differences and how to support both students and their caregivers. The conversation also highlighted an increasing trend of neurodivergent diagnoses among students, which Sue attributed to greater acceptance and awareness of these conditions.

Diversity, Inclusion, and Boundaries in Education

The team discussed the need for boundaries and accommodation in dealing with different learning needs. They emphasized the importance of setting clear policies and protocols to cater to diverse needs, such as special educational needs. Lucas also highlighted the necessity for a top-down approach in implementing these changes, as institutions like Cambridge need to take the lead in making courses more accessible. The team suggested the idea of a collaborative Google Doc to brainstorm and compile ideas for a standardized protocol. They also mentioned the potential of self-check policies for schools to assess their equity, diversity, and inclusion practices.

Stress and Mental Health in Teaching

Sue shared her experience with a teacher who had a history of mental illness and decided to withdraw from the CELTA course due to stress. Robert recounted his own experiences with similar situations, emphasizing the importance of having a clear policy to handle such instances. He suggested adding a clause to the course description acknowledging the potential for stress and its impact on mental health. Robert also proposed incorporating professional development sessions on managing stress and mental health issues into PDPs as a regular thread. A decision was made to meet again on the 20th of March.