A Week off the Timetable: Powering up PBL and Transforming Culture at your school with project intensives w/ Mr. Zach Post
Mr. Zach Post, MS Principal
Our Middle School Principal, Mr. Zachary Post, recently had a lot of fun being interviewed for a podcast about Project-Based Learning (PBL) that is produced by Kyle Wagner, an expert in the field. Mr. Post was happy to be able to share the story about the collective effort of our amazing teachers and students to bring to life one of our AIS Essential Practices.
With 21 years of experience, including serving as a middle school principal at the American International School in Hong Kong since 2016, Mr. Post has dedicated his career to building organizational capacity in support of project-based learning. He has often presented at regional conferences and offered professional development on project-based learning, and is most interested in opening up pathways for teacher leadership and creating the conditions for innovation to take hold. Cognitive Coaching and Critical Friends Group work have been important components that have helped Mr. Post to collectively establish a culture of trust, collaboration, and reflection amongst faculty and students.
Transformative Learning Experiences with Kyle Wagner
What would happen to learning if you collapsed the timetable, paired teachers, and co-designed community and passion driven projects? This is what American International School does for one week each year with its “PBL intensives.” It is now in iteration 3.0.
The results have been incredible…
Teachers have re-configured their classrooms to be more learner-centered. Built partnerships for learning experiences with the community to make them more authentic. Invited student voice and agency to ensure learning meets their needs. In short, it’s transformed the culture around teaching and learning.
Zachary Post, the Middle School Principal was at the helm of these PBL intensives. I sat down with Zach to learn a bit more about them, and how we can use a week off the timetable to accelerate, onboard, and ‘power up’ PBL on our own campuses as well.
