SUPPORTING A COMMUNITY OF LIFELONG LEARNERS

Reprinted from The Hilltopper Magazine, Spring 2025

Inspiring our students to be lifelong learners requires supporting educational opportunities for our faculty. Whether through advanced coursework, innovative teaching methods, or collaborative workshops, professional development empowers our educators to bring fresh ideas, cutting-edge research, and best practices into the classroom. This commitment to continuous growth doesn’t just strengthen individual teachers—it enhances the entire school community, cultivating an environment where curiosity, creativity, and excellence thrive.

CULTIVATING INSPIRATION

Last spring, Marshall art teacher Turi Sederquist attended the National Art Education Association (NAEA) National Convention, the largest gathering of art educators in the country. “As art educators, oftentimes we are in schools where we are the only art teacher and that can feel isolating,” said Sederquist. Attending this conference with 3,000 other art educators connected Sederquist with former colleagues and mentors and as well as with new teachers with whom she can now collaborate and ask questions. It also offered opportunities to hear new ideas, learn about the latest products, and acquire advanced skills. She explained, “I sampled some newer-to-me media sessions (stop-motion animation, CAD/3D printing), sessions on student art sales and student art shows, teacher-focused sessions about regaining creativity, and preventing art teacher burnout.”

Sederquist described the experience as “rejuvenating” and spoke of how she has taken many of the skills and ideas she learned at the conference and applied them to her classroom. “This semester, one of my 7th/8th grade classes completed an abstract themed digital project in which a few students chose to do stop-motion animation. Skills like setting up a background, creating consistent lighting, working with different types of modeling clay, and specific programs to work with were all part of the stop-motion animation session I attended.” It also reinforced her teaching philosophy. Sederquist shared, “I always attend sessions about TAB (Teaching for Artistic Behavior), the philosophy behind my middle school curriculum which gives students choice and develops their artistic habits and skills in an open studio environment. Seeing the variety of ways that TAB specific teachers all over the U.S. have set up their classrooms, curriculum, and materials gives me ideas on tweaking my lessons and ultimately encourages me that I’m doing what is best for my students at Marshall.”

CULTIVATING JOY

Inspired by the book, Teach Like Finland, 4th grade teacher Melissa Ellis pursued an opportunity to study the Finnish educational philosophy of joyful learning. She spent 10 days in January at LIFE2025, an international program near the Arctic Circle in Rovaniemi, Finland, where she shadowed Finnish teachers and students from three different schools, learned from international leaders in education, and participated in experiential learning activities.

Visiting different schools helped Ellis observe how classroom design impacts learning. She said, “One of the biggest differences I saw is the simplicity in the classroom. Walls and tables have calming color schemes and are clean and free from distractions. It helps with focus and improves teaching flexibility. Everything is space-saving and multi-purpose.” She also noted that many Finnish schools don’t allow shoes in the classroom and students walk around the schools as if they are in their own home. “This was, perhaps, my first ‘a-ha!’ moment of my trip: If I am feeling more relaxed, more focused, more grounded simply by having my shoes off, how are students of all ages feeling and how does that impact their learning?”

Ellis observed that students of all ages (she observed 1st through 9th graders) were focused, excited and giving everything they had to their lessons, reminding her that joy is crucial to learning. She stressed, “Kids should be allowed to be children for as long as possible and this means learning through play, learning through experiences, and learning with others in a space that promotes overall well-being because well-being promotes learning.” It also reiterated her belief that learning outdoors contributes to that joy saying, “Nature has so much potential for learning and getting kids outside is beneficial on many levels. Too many students in 2025 are stuck behind screens and not spending [enough] time outside. At Marshall, we have a beautiful 40-acre campus at our fingertips that we can get kids learning in—not just in Forest School, but across all grade levels.”

Ellis reflected that she has been able to apply simple adjustments to her teaching based on what she learned: 

“We already do school differently here at Marshall. We already emphasize deep learning and experiential learning, but I learned new ways to bring those deep learning experiences to my students.”

To improve concentration, she is incorporating more strategic lesson designs (10-minute lessons followed by more hands-on application activities), and providing natural opportunities for movement. “Instead of handing out materials or supplies, I set things out for students to walk up and pick up their own materials. That short opportunity for move-ment helps increase focus and gives their bodies the chance to stretch.”

Like Sederquist, Ellis agrees that the experience broadened her base of collaborators. Because the conference included teachers from 23 other countries around the world, Ellis has formed relationships that are providing new opportunities for her students. “For example, I am beginning a collaboration with a 5th grade teacher from Cyprus I met at the conference to create pen-pal relationships between our students. This opportunity will help my students with their writing and geography skills, and will help the Cyprus students with their English.”  

Prioritizing professional development for our faculty ensures they have the tools, strategies, and inspiration to create dynamic learning experiences for our students. Ellis summed up, “This incredible experience brought me back to why I went into teaching in the first place: I love kids and I love learning, and I want to inspire kids to love learning too.”