Seedlings

Program Description

seedlings

Seedlings is an innovative approach to staff development that has drawn favorable reactions even before its launch as part of Magdeburg Adventures.  The basic operating principle of the program is the following: teachers can enhance their instructional effectiveness and pupils can improve their intellectual abilities when teachers and pupils jointly engage in academic development.  It is a simple proposition but one that finds rare employment in current academic practice.

The organization of the program is fairly straightforward.  A teacher selects four pupils who will be enrolled in his or her class—a class that has a clear connection to one of the courses offered in the Seedlings program—for the following academic year.  The four pupils and the teacher enroll in Magdeburg Adventures, the pupils in the regular Magdeburg Adventures program, the teacher in Seedlings.  All five participate in the course itself, completing the readings and assignments, engaging in discussion, and so on, although primary attention will be devoted to the pupils in the class. In addition, the teachers attend several professional-development workshops that focus on pedagogical issues pertinent to the subject at hand. The participants travel together on the excursions, acquiring an additional set of experiences that complement their understanding of the subject.  After returning home and starting school the following fall, these teachers now have a small cohort of pupils whom they know well and who can serve as multifaceted resources for instruction in their own classes.

Details on the next session of Seedlings will be posted as they become available.  If you would like to be notified via e-mail when the site has been updated, send a note to us at info@MagdeburgPrep.org.

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