2024 IBSC Annual Conference

Adapting the Human Library to Foster Boys' Creativity and Communication Skills
Discover how the Human Library curriculum project at Army and Navy Academy has developed boys' creativity and communication skills, while also creating a stronger platform for relational learning on campus. Brainstorm ideas for similar projects at your school and gain access to supporting materials.
Presenters:  Patrizia Zary and Peggy Combs, Army and Navy Academy (United States)
Appeals to: Middle School (Ages 12-15), Upper/Senior School (Ages 15-19)
Knowledge Level: New to the topic
Room: Modern Languages Schools 12

Presentation

An Experiment in Learning Mastery
The Judd School Learning Mastery program is built around four core principles: understand, condense, memorize, and review. In it we share insights from cognitive science with students and model practical ways they can apply what we know about how learning happens to their own revision. The result: Each student builds a learning toolkit they can draw on to prepare for their exams.
Presenters: Karen Eamens and Charles Davies, The Judd School (United Kingdom)
Appeals to: Middle School (Ages 12-15), Upper/Senior School (Ages 15-19)
Knowledge Level: Intermediate
Room: Chemistry Lab 2, Biology and Chemistry Schools

Presentation

Being Conscious of Your Unconscious Biases
By recognizing and addressing our subconscious biases, we can gain a deeper insight into our teaching practices and enhance the inclusivity of our classroom environment. Engage in this interactive workshop that incorporates the Harvard Implicit Association Test, with a specific emphasis on examining biases related to gender and race.
Presenter: Maïwenn Andrieu, Harrow School (United Kingdom)
Appeals to: Middle School (Ages 12-15), Upper/Senior School (Ages 15-19)
Knowledge Level: New to the topic
Room: Biology Lab 2, Biology and Chemistry Schools

Breaking Through Loneliness: Empower Boys with Compassion, Connection, Community
Loneliness is a global epidemic—and it hits men and boys hard. Why is this so and how can boys’ schools create better connection? Join us to learn to use compassionate mindfulness, care of self and others, and empathetic storytelling to break through loneliness and nurture vibrant, resilient, happier boys and men and their relationships, families, communities, and workplaces.
Presenters: Elaine Teo and Paul Genovese, Living Potential International; Hannah Fox, Harrow School (United Kingdom)
Appeals to: All Ages
Knowledge Level: New to the topic
Room: New Schools 3

Building Character Strengths and Enhancing Synergies in Boys Through Viaró Teams
The implementation of the Viaró teams in daily life in our school enhances collaboration, learning, and teamwork among students of all ages. Jump in and explore the cooperative learning routines, macro activities, and other ways students are encouraged to improve their leadership, community service, and other character strengths through Viaró teams.
Presenters: Javier Pérez Mirón and Javier Andrés Julián, Viaró Global School (Spain)
Appeals to: All Ages
Knowledge Level: Intermediate
Room: Chemistry Lab 5, Biology and Chemistry Schools

Workshop Materials

Gender Mindfulness: Disrupting Masculinity to Advance Gender Equity
Research suggests male leaders practice little awareness of how gender is “done,” reifying male privilege and subordinating women. Scholars reveal male “invisibility," where men hardly question gender or strive toward gender equity. Men who lead all-boys schools are in a prime position to model gender awareness, practice a feminist standpoint, and disturb social constructs that affect all.
Presenter: Jason Larocque, St. John's Preparatory School (United States)
Appeals to: Middle School (Ages 12-15)
Knowledge Level: Intermediate
Room: New Schools 1

Presentation

Leading Your School’s Adoption of Generative AI Technologies—A Systems Approach
School leaders are called to manage the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) even as the tools are constantly changing—essentially building the plane while flying it. Technology teams can’t—and shouldn’t—lead the conversation around AI alone. Investigate two frameworks for creating policies and inspiring teachers to use AI to expand boys’ learning using UNESCO’s human-centered approach to AI.
Presenters: Sarah Hanawald, One Schoolhouse/Association for Academic Leaders; Julie King, The Buckley School (United States); Danielle Passno, The Browning School (United States)
Appeals to: All Ages
Knowledge Level: Intermediate
Room: Biology Lab 4, Biology and Chemistry Schools

Presentation
AI Group Conversation Starter
24-25 AI Planning

Room: Chemistry Research Lab, Biology and Chemistry Schools

Peer Perspectives: Cultivating Collaboration through Teacher-to-Teacher Observations
Learn how two researchers from the United States and Australia aim to better understand how teachers might use empathy differently in different countries to foster a supportive learning environment. Investigate what elements of teacher training prove essential when building a supportive community with IBSC teachers around the world.
Presenter: David Shin, St. Christopher's School (United States)
Appeals to: All Ages
Knowledge Level: New to the topic
Room: Biology Research Lab, Science Schools

Prophet and Loss
Innovation and creativity are the enemies of efficiency. Too often, imagination can seem disruptive; it hints at subordination. A creative tension exists between tradition and innovation. Organizational models, and the culture within, are determined by the courage and conviction of a school’s leadership team. Reinventing education should be the new organizational paradigm in 21st century schools.
Presenters: Ian Lambert and Robert Loe, The Scots College (Australia)
Appeals to: All Ages
Knowledge Level: Intermediate
Room: Biology Lab 6, Biology and Chemistry Schools

Report from the IBSC Special Interest Group on Relational Teaching and Learning
Get an overview of activities of this special interest group, including findings from a range of projects and policies designed to promote practical, visible, and embedded approaches to the relational teaching and learning of boys across middle and upper school contexts. Ask questions, engage in discussion, and share ideas.
Presenters: Peter Coutis, Hale School (Australia); Sandra Boyes, Crescent School (Canada)
Appeals to: Middle School (Ages 12-15), Upper/Senior School (Ages 15-19)
Knowledge Level: Intermediate
Room: Sir Joseph Banks Lecture Theatre, Biology and Chemistry Schools

Presentation

Sing it Forward: Modernizing Boychoir Tradition with Tri-Divisional Collaboration
Join our dialogue on modern choral traditions. Explore the importance of a strong, diverse, and fraternal choral program as a safe space for student growth, crisis support, and meaningful connections. Topics include literature, forming ensembles, international tours, and modernizing the boychoir tradition. Enjoy a transformative program through engaging demonstrations and insightful discussion.
Presenters: Amy Cyman and Robert Ford, Gilman School (United States)
Appeals to: All Ages
Knowledge Level: New to the topic
Room: New Schools 2

Sustainable Robots: Promoting Education
Combining tradition and innovation through the idea of sustainability, the sustainable robots project aims to reuse things to create a prototype of a robot that must prove useful in some way. Designed for first-grade pupils, the project let boys share their creations with their families and gain support from older students at school.
Presenters: Amanda Martínez and Mariàngels Arbusé, Bell-lloc del Pla (Spain)
Appeals to: Lower/Primary School (Ages 5-12)
Knowledge Level: Intermediate
Room: Chemistry Lab 6, Biology and Chemistry Schools

Workshop Materials

Using Ancient Indian Wisdom to Equip Boys for Tomorrow
Join us to delve deep into the wisdom of ancient Indian knowledge systems—The Bhagavad Gita and Patanjali Yoga Sutras. They instill key life skills (as listed by the World Health Organization) in our students to help them navigate their way through these times of mindboggling information and disinformation and prepare them for a volatile future.
Presenters: Surendra Kulkarni and Anjali Pankaj Narayan, Mayo College (India)
Appeals to: All Ages
Knowledge Level: New to the topic
Room: Chemistry Lab 3, Biology and Chemistry Schools

Weaving Well-Being and Social Agency for Transformative Student Leadership
Explore the process of developing a program to educate young men to be ready for life challenges in a modern digital world. Utilize the modern pastoral structure in a traditional Australian school to implement peer mentoring and leadership, with links to presentations by staff and external providers to whole cohorts. Unpack the topics of well-being, character values, and social agency.
Presenters: Emma Gates and Katrina Stalker, Scotch College (Australia)
Appeals to: Middle School (Ages 12-15), Upper/Senior School (Ages 15-19)
Knowledge Level: Intermediate
Room: Modern Languages Schools 6

Presentation

Who Cares? Creating Empathetic Leaders and Citizens of the Future
Review examples of how developing empathy in your classroom, through the use of case studies and relational teaching techniques, can create a positive learning environment. If we are to create future leaders who are successful, we must start by placing more importance on the value of positive relationships and “soft” skills such as empathy, communication, and critical thinking.
Presenter: Victoria Gardner, Palmerston North Boys' High School (New Zealand)
Appeals to: Middle School (Ages 12-15), Upper/Senior School (Ages 15-19)
Knowledge Level: New to the topic
Room: Old Music Schools

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