FEEL

WE EXPERIENCED

We recognized that a monthly ritual of coming together as a school for reflecting on the teaching-learning practices, was a powerful way to celebrate and be inspired by the collective practice of the community.

Watch Kiran share the incident which sparked the design of the MEC process.

4:07

Try the empathy lens:


Think of the last most memorable gift you received. What emotions and feelings did you experience? Was it the cost of the gift or the feeling of being noticed and valued that is etched in your memory?


Try the empathy lens

OUR INSIGHTS

  • When the school started, we realized that the teams were so immersed in their own KeyStages that they didn’t have the opportunity to look beyond. At the end of the Semester or academic year, when the KeyStage teams did come together as a community to share practice, it would often be a moment of surprise and wonderment for the great work that was happening across the school.

  • We soon noticed that so much was happening through the term that during the term-end reflection, the team members were unable to share all their best practices due to time constraints. Realizing, that this merited a monthly pause, Riverside then created the MEC protocol to notice, reflect, validate and be inspired by each other’s practice.

  • When we set aside an intentional time to endorse and validate the teaching practices as a school community, the team built more respect for each other’s practice, challenges and successes.

  • Overtime MEC became a platform to not just spotlight the practice but also led to more collaboration across the KeyStages.

IMAGINE

WHAT IF...

the community (teachers, admin and support team) had the opportunity every month to share their practices and strategies for fostering a Culture of Respect, Reflection, Inspiration and Collaboration.

WE DESIGNED

A process called ‘Month End Celebration’ to celebrate the practices of teachers across the Key Stages of the school.

  • The process started with identifying what theme would be shared for the month and who would be sharing it from each KeyStage.

  • Then, each team leadership supported the presenter by providing feedbackand strategies to make the presentation a moment of celebration for the KeyStage as well as for the person.

  • The events and achievements to be highlighted were selected by the KeyStage teams and anecdotal evidence for them was put together in terms of videos, pictures, testimonials etc. Both the Aha moments as well as the challenges faced through the month were included.

  • Once the presentation was ready, a dry run was conducted with the teachers of the particular key Stage to fine tune and make final edits based on the feedback received.

  • On the final day of the presentation the wonderful work of the team was celebrated with applause and shout outs.

  • At the end of each MEC, reflection and feedback were offered so that it becomes a learning moment for each team to either refine practice or to iterate something they might have identified..

  • Also, the theme for the next celebration was shared which could be ideas around challenges that had been encountered or a specific practice or a new idea that was prototyped.

The fallout of this process was that teachers regularly got an opportunity to learn from each other as well as build respect and appreciation for the depth of the teaching practices that were enriching the students across the school.

DO

HERE IS WHAT WE DO

This process video helps make visible the design and implementation of the ‘Month End Celebration (MEC)’.

6:32

In the above video you will get a glimpse of how the Key Stage teams prepare and conduct the ‘Month End Celebration’ for reflecting on their teaching practices and making it an occasion to support and appreciate each other.

STAKEHOLDER INSIGHTS

In this section, Riverside edu-heroes share strategies and insights from their experience of the process and how the process has impacted their practice.

  • 7:00

    FAQ Video

    Watch Bhavika share some insights on how to implement the ‘Month End Celebration’ process to reflect upon and celebrate the various teaching practices across the Key Stages.

  • 3:15

    Impact Video

    Watch how conducting the ‘Month End Celebration’ impacts Bhavika and other stakeholders and helps them to gain inspiration and take collective pride in their teaching practices.

Resources

Checklist Sample MEC - KS1

TIPS FOR THE LEADERS

  • If MEC is being introduced for the first time in a school, the leadership can decide a theme and create a template to be shared with the Primary, Middle and High School teams. It would be wonderful if the leadership could themselves do the first MEC presentation to role model what an exemplary presentation could look like.

  • A key component for the success of the MEC is the tone, which should be informal yet professional with adherence to the time limit and curating a presentation of high quality. Alongside, the setup of the space for presentation should have an informality and be comforting for the presenter. For instance, everyone should not be sitting on chairs in rows. Instead, they could sit in a semi-circle, where they can see each other.

  • It is important for the leadership to recognize that MEC is not the time for judging or auditing. It is a genuine celebration and any comments can be communicated to the specific team member separately in person at a later time.

  • The MEC offers leaders a quick snapshot of the entire school which can often be used as a point of reflection for the leadership team about what needs to be further refined, iterated or changed.