Severn News

We Never Stop Learning

8/12/2019

Character, conduct, scholarship, leadership and service — these are the key tenets of our mission. But equally important is the framework through which we instill these qualities in our students. We expect every adult at Severn to model the values stated in our mission; to create an atmosphere of excellence that encompasses our entire community. The Severn Summer Institute is one way that our faculty keeps their commitment to lifelong learning, just as we expect of our students from year to year.

What is the Severn Summer Institute?

The Severn Summer Institute is a series of workshops to help our faculty develop new practices and strategies to use with students. The classes are taught by our teachers to share what they’ve learned in the classroom and through outside professional development opportunities.

Severn School teachers talk during a professional development workshop — *The institute gives faculty from different disciplines a forum to discuss and improve teaching practices.*

This year we offered 26 different one or two-day workshops on everything from student-centered learning and curriculum development to bringing art and drama into academic classrooms. We revisit these ideas during sessions throughout the school year to both reinforce and expand our expertise. This type of professional learning and personal enrichment keep our faculty a cut above the rest.

Workshops offered this summer:

Introduction to the Stine Environmental Center
Best of Thinking Routines
Podcasting and Using Audio/Video in the Classroom
Escape Room Severn
Getting Things Done for Teens
Mastering Office 365
Alternatives to Assessment
Mindfulness in the Classroom
Design Thinking
Drama in the Classroom
Exploring Online Classes and Units
Lower School Tech Tools
Counting Matters
Writing College Recommendations
Using Annotation to Help Students Notice and Note
A Walk on the Wild Side
MySevern 2.0
Bringing Art into Academic Classrooms
Secrets to Success
Reading Strategies That Work
Tech Tools for the Humanities
Curriculum Design
Self-Directed Classroom
Strategies to Promote Successful Collaboration
Using Argument-Driven Inquiry
Beyond the Assessment

Severn School teachers during a professional development workshop — *Some of the sessions are hands-on, giving teachers the student’s perspective on a lesson or activity.*

Our Professional Development Philosophy

As a student-centered institution, we believe that we should model the qualities we wish to see in our students. To that end, we engage in professional development as a community of learners. Adults learn best in collaborative situations where professional growth is valued. We provide built-in professional development opportunities throughout the school year and summer, support faculty travel to conferences, and offer grants for personal and professional growth. We hope that faculty will engage frequently in professional development to remain nimble for change in our evolving world.

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