TES Annual Report

valuable learning opportunities. Internally, staff refined their skills in critical areas of learning and teaching, such as diversity and inclusion, learning challenges, and language acquisition. Looking outward, the FS staff explored new and broader trends in topics ranging from student wellbeing to subject matters and pedagogy through external professional development opportunities provided by the AEFE, FOBISIA, and CATES. German Section The German Section’s staff have shown significant personal development across various aspects of their teaching methodology and approach. Firstly, colleagues have strived to enhance differentiation within the classroom. This involves tailoring instruction to meet the diverse needs and learning styles of students, providing varying levels of challenge and support, and implementing flexible grouping strategies to ensure every student can thrive academically. In addition, there has been a concerted effort to strengthen media education within the classroom. This entails teaching students critical thinking skills to analyse and evaluate media messages; promoting digital literacy; and integrating multimedia resources effectively into lesson plans to enhance learning experiences. Colleagues have also been proactive in adopting project teaching techniques in preparation for our project week. This involves designing interdisciplinary projects that encourage collaboration, creativity, and problem-solving skills among students, as well as providing guidance and support throughout the project-based learning process. Finally, there has been a focus on addressing dyslexia and dyscalculia within the school environment. This includes implementing evidence-based strategies to support students with these specific learning difficulties, such as providing accommodations, offering targeted interventions, and raising awareness among staff and students. British Secondary and High School Section There was a major focus on assessment this year in the British Secondary and High School, and we were lucky enough to have Dylan Wiliam visit to deliver two days of workshops. Dylan is a world renowned expert on assessment who has featured in a BBC series on providing assessment for learning. Additionally, each member of staff was provided with the book ‘Launch’, which has a design thinking approach, and we were able to invite the author via Zoom to provide two INSET sessions with our teachers. Several of our teachers will be present at the Council of Administrators of Taiwan Expatriate Schools (CATES) conference in Taichung. It is impressive to have had 15 teachers from TES at the forefront of learning and contributing to the educational community here in Taiwan.

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