IBSC Action Research Leadership

Program Coordinator

Di Laycock

Di Laycock spent the last 20 years of her 47-year teaching career in boys' schools. Now in retirement she works as a freelance editor and school library consultant. Dr. Laycock has a long association with the IBSC Action Research Program, having experienced the program as a researcher in the first action research cohort (2005–06), team advisor (2007–10), program coordinator (2010–16), and action research report editor (2016–present). In 2015, her service to boys’ education won widespread recognition as she garnered the inaugural IBSC Hawley-Jarvis Award. Laycock also served as an IBSC trustee from 2015–21, including as a member of the IBSC Research Committee during her tenure. She believes strongly in the power of action research and credits her decision to pursue doctoral studies and her extensive experience as a provider of professional development for educators to her involvement in the IBSC Action Research Program. Laycock is thrilled to return to the position of program coordinator to serve IBSC member schools further.

Team Advisors

Kori Brown

Kori Brown is a world cultures teacher and Form II advisor at The Haverford School (United States). As a global educator, she also helps supervise a variety of extracurricular activities and interdisciplinary initiatives that allow Haverford boys to explore the diverse people and places that shape our world—from the MS Model United Nations team to the MS Newspaper to a series of nontraditional learning opportunities called the Fords Focus Days.

Brown had the opportunity to present with colleagues about the Fords Focus Days at the 2019 IBSC Annual Conference in Montréal. At that conference she gained an introduction to action research. Brown then joined the 2020-22 cohort of researchers to investigate the topic Boys and Technology: New Horizons, New Challenges, New Learning, which gained profound significance when it overlapped with the shift to virtual learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her project on selfie culture transformed the ways she and her students approach online communication, digital self-representation, and intercultural exchanges.

Brown feels honored to join the inspiring group of mentors who make up the IBSC Action Research team, for she believes that action research is what education should be: a space in which educators are encouraged to innovate, where educators are trusted to find what works best for their students, and where educators are able to learn with—and from—their boys.

Bryan Dunn

Assistant Head of School for Program Bryan Dunn works with faculty at The Roxbury Latin School (United States) to ensure the academics and extracurricular activities offered provide each boy the opportunity to develop into a well-rounded individual ready to give back to their community. Additionally, he supports faculty and staff in their own growth and learning through the integration of a school-wide and personalized professional development program. Dunn also teaches physics and serves as head coach of the cross-country team.

Dunn began his IBSC journey presenting a workshop on student-centered learning at the 2022 IBSC Annual Conference in Dallas. There he embarked on his action research work as a member of the 2022-23 cohort that culminated with his presentation on how to increase empathy in boys on sports teams at the 2023 IBSC Annual Conference in Auckland. This project created a peer-mentoring program on his cross-country team that not only helped increase empathy and awareness in the older boys but also helped develop a more cohesive, tight-knit team. This project taught him valuable skills and tools that he has applied to other aspects of his work, making him a better educator and colleague.

Dunn feels honored to take part in this amazing leadership group and get the opportunity to work with researchers from all over the world. He believes action research is at the heart of what we do as educators and provides an incredible way to make lasting, impactful change in your own practice while also helping other teachers get better at what they do. Working with this group focused on teaching boys well with their own unique perspectives inspires Dunn to improve his own practice. He feels excited to work with his first cohort this year!

Polly Higgins

As head of upper school at King Edward’s School (United Kingdom), Polly Higgins looks after the needs of boys in upper school striving to prepare them for life’s rich journey after school. She also serves as a drama teacher, teaching across the school and assisting in productions over the year.

Seven years ago, she joined the IBSC Action Research family researching a project that explored how using digital, oral, or video reflection might help boys’ confidence in drama class. Investigating the topic Adaptability in the 21st Century proved an invigorating process both for the boys and her. She marvels at how much it has changed her teaching life! Her school has expanded the project across year 8 and is in the process of implementing it into year 9.

Higgins is delighted with this year’s project topic and looks forward to learning more from this team of researchers. She considers it a privilege to collaborate with teachers from all over the world. The IBSC Action Research Program has made a massive impact on her professional development and she keeps in constant contact with her cohorts and mentors—they have become great friends. Higgins looks forward to collaborating with the new team on the journey ahead.

Luke Rawle

Luke Rawle serves as head of teacher development at Toowoomba Grammar School (Australia). In striving for best practice in teaching boys, his strategic role aims to cultivate a culture of improvement through pedagogical innovation and professional learning. He also serves as a history teacher and is actively involved in the school’s co-curricular and pastoral programs.

Rawle first got involved with IBSC when he presented the workshop Discovering the Power of Expectations at the 2017 IBSC Annual Conference in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. He continued his association by participating in the IBSC Action Research Program as part of the 2019-20 cohort investigating the theme Developing Agency: Boy Voice and Choice. Rawle’s research transposed the traditional classroom dynamic in his Year 11 Modern History class, placing boys in the center of the learning experience through their role as tutors to younger students. His report found that peer-tutoring had a positive effect on increasing the boys’ self-efficacy in the skills of historical source analysis. Rawle believes the action research cycle has transformed his own practice, providing the catalyst for greater self-reflection on his pedagogy.

He feels truly excited about his role on the IBSC Action Research team, which provides him the opportunity to further develop personal and professional connections with those who are passionate about boys’ education throughout the world.