Past Activities
Oct 5 - Oct 29, 2020
J-WEL Connections: Oct 2020
The world is at a critical point: learning is being reimagined across all dimensions of society, and retaining the status quo is a risk.
Organized by Abdul Latif Jameel World Education Lab (J-WEL), this month-long virtual event leveraging J-WEL’s global community and convening power on the theme “Activating the Ecosystem to Reimagine Education.” Participants around the world collectively learnt about and worked towards addressing opportunities of urgent relevance across pK-12, higher education, and workforce learning.
Sep 8, 2020
"Leadership Discussion with Parker School" Event
What happens when a school’s systems and structures possess the durability to advance students’ learning even in pandemic conditions?
Students and educators of the Francis W. Parker Charter Essential School (Parker) in Devens, M.A., thrived during remote learning. In this virtual workshop led by Colleen Meaney, Director of Teachers Center at Parker, participants learnt about the systems in place, how they function to support adults and students, where families fit in, successful internal and external school communication patterns, and what was learned and strengthened for the coming school year.
Apr 29, 2020
Online Workshop with John Spencer: Increasing Student Engagement in Virtual Learning
Student engagement is vital for learning, but how do we do this in a virtual classroom? In this interactive online workshop led by John Spencer, participants explored a framework for designing engaging virtual lessons. They also learned about practical strategies for designing engaging virtual lessons, as well as protocols to assess and enhance engagement levels.
Mar 19 - 23, 2018
J-WEL Week
Organized by Abdul Latif Jameel World Education Lab (J-WEL) and held in Boston, this J-WEL Week provided members with first-hand access to MIT’s educational resources and practices. This week’s theme was “Learning Communities of the Future”. Senior leadership from CEL’s Partner Schools participated in the event.
Jun 10 - 15, 2018
J-WEL Exchange
Organized by Abdul Latif Jameel World Education Lab (J-WEL) and held in Boston, this J-WEL Exchange allowed the participants to engage in hands-on learning activities. By collaborating with MIT faculty and staff focusing on STEAM, they covered topics such as pedagogy, curriculum, professional development etc.
Jul 30 - Aug 10, 2018
MIT STEAM Camp @ CIS
Co-organized by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Chinese International School (CIS), Students were taught in “the MIT way”, with hands-on, immersive learning by doing, and explore the use of digital technologies and tools that promote creativity, invention and collaboration. A related professional development course for teachers took place simultaneously. This year, the camp’s theme was “Into the Water”.
The event was open for any students and teachers in Hong Kong and around 200 students and 30 teachers participated in the camp.
Oct 22 - 26, 2018
J-WEL Week
Organized by Abdul Latif Jameel World Education Lab (J-WEL) and held in Boston, this J-WEL Week provided members with first-hand access to MIT’s educational resources and practices. This week’s theme was “Strategic Planning”, with deep-dive and practical sessions with the MIT community on topics like reimagining school, compassionate systems and computational thinking.
Nov 3, 2018
Reimagine Science & Engineering Workshop
CEL invited Wendy Smith, STEM Specialist at HKIS Upper Primary School, to host a workshop for science teachers. Through hands-on investigations, participants experienced three-dimensional learning in science and engineering and discovered how it can transform science teaching and learning.
Nov 9, 2018
Joint-School Teacher Development Day 2018
With the theme “Preparing Students for the Future”, the Joint-School Teacher Development Day was held to expose teachers to hands-on, experiential way of learning/ teaching, along with technology or tools that can promote collaboration, creativity and critical thinking.
280+ teachers participated in this event, including all teachers at Marymount Secondary School, St. Paul’s College, St. Stephen Girls’ College as well as some teachers from CEL’s Partner Schools.
Apr 1 - 4, 2019
J-WEL Week
Organized by Abdul Latif Jameel World Education Lab (J-WEL) and held in Boston, this J-WEL Week provided members with first-hand access to MIT’s educational resources and practices. This Week included three tracks for participants to choose from, including “Learning Science & Online Learning”, “Compassionate Systems Framework” and “STEAM Learning”.
May 4, 2019
“Tinkering and Playtesting with Microbits” workshop
Facilitated by Mr. Stu Lowe, Learning Technology Specialist at Beacon Hill School, this hands-on workshop allowed participants to learn how an affordable micro-controller can be embedded into a full range of curriculum areas with students having agency over when and how they use it within their learning.
May 25, 2019
“Facilitating Learning with Gogo Boards” workshop
Conducted by Brian Smith and Wendy Smith from Hong Kong International School (HKIS), this workshop allowed participants to learn to operate, program, and build projects using the GoGo Board. The MIT Lifelong Kindergarten's low-floor, high-ceiling, and wide-walls approach was employed.
Jun 10 - 14, 2019
J-WEL Exchange
Organized by Abdul Latif Jameel World Education Lab (J-WEL) and held in Boston, this J-WEL Exchange allowed the 30+ participants to dive into an immersive experience around project-based learning and develop skills to become change agents in their classrooms/schools.
Jul 8 - 9, 2019
Joint-School IS Project Showcase
Held in Cyberport, the Joint-School IS Project Showcase was organized by CEL for students from different schools to showcase their Integrated Science projects around the topic of “Energy”.
500+ students from Logos Academy, Marymount Secondary School, St. Pauls’ College and St. Stephen Girls’ College participated in this event.
Oct 23, 2019
Improving Teacher Collaboration with John Spencer
Meaningful school-wide collaboration can open many new doors. However, teaching can too easily become solitary. In this interactive workshop led by John Spencer, participants explored the critical characteristics of collaboration and learn to implement collaborative structures that allow teachers to better solve problems, learn with peers, and build a positive school culture.
Oct 28 - Nov 1, 2019
J-WEL Week
Organized by Abdul Latif Jameel World Education Lab (J-WEL) and held in Boston, this J-WEL Week was themed “Big Challenges in Education around”. Participants were exposed to hands-on experiences concerning a diverse range of topics, e.g. AI & ethics, global citizenship, climate action. Apart from the J-WEL Week, participants also attended other visits and workshops to enrich their experience.
Dec 9 - Dec 12, 2019
Compassionate Systems Leadership
Co-facilitated by Dr. Peter Senge and Dr. Mette Boell, both from MIT J-WEL and the Center for Systems Awareness, the Compassionate Systems Leadership provides participants with the tools and frameworks to see the system they operate in more clearly, as well as more effectively leverage resources and invest in collaborative systems change efforts towards greater individual and collective well-being.
CEL brought eight education leaders and teachers to Jakarta, Indonesia to join with other 50+ participants from around the world.
Aug 27, 2018
Workshop with Mitch Resnick
CEL invited Mitch Resnick, Director of the Lifelong Kindergarten Group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab, to help teachers explore new ways to cultivate their students’ creativity using the Scratch programming language and online community. In this hands-on workshop, participants explored ways to use Scratch to connect the physical and digital worlds, plus discuss strategies for using Scratch and coding across the curriculum.
Oct 25, 2019
Joint-School Teacher Development Day 2019
With the theme “Empowering Learners”, the Joint-School Teacher Development Day was held to expand participants’ mindset on the possibilities of interdisciplinary, hands-on and innovative teaching, guide participants to translate learnings into innovation in their schools, as well as to facilitate mutual understanding amongst teachers from different disciplines and schools.
400+ teachers participated in this event, including all teachers at the HKCCCU Logos Academy, Marymount Secondary School, St. Paul’s College, St. Stephen Girls’ College as well as some teachers from CEL’s Partner Schools.
Jul 29 - Aug 9, 2019
MIT STEAM Camp
Co-organized by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), CATALYST Education Lab (CEL) and Chinese International School (CIS), Students were taught in “the MIT way”, with hands-on, immersive learning by doing, and explore the use of digital technologies and tools that promote creativity, invention and collaboration. A related professional development course for teachers took place simultaneously, covering topics such as Embedded Assessment. This year, the camp’s theme was “Air”.
The event was open for any students and teachers in Hong Kong and around 200 students and 20 teachers took part in the camp.
Mar 30 - May 13, 2020
J-WEL Connections: Apr 2020
Organized by Abdul Latif Jameel World Education Lab (J-WEL), J-WEL Connections 2020 is a virtual month-long exploration of the frontiers of education transformation worldwide.
With the theme “Leading Education Transformation”, the program sought to bring educators from around the world together into sessions that address global citizenship and collective well-being, as well as curriculum design to co-create better futures.
Embedded in this is the “Designing Learning Experience”, where educators were supported to design activities and curricula inspired by MIT’s approach to learning, e.g. Beyond Rubrics, Blended Learning and more.
Oct 30, 2020
Joint-School Teacher Development Day 2020
The virtual Joint-School Teacher Development Day 2020 aimed to create a safe and brave space to explore the theme of “Change and Constancy”.
We had an exciting line-up of keynote and workshop speakers that offered insights on a wide range of topics including problem-based learning, and social-emotional learning.
400+ teachers participated in this event, including all teachers at the HKCCCU Logos Academy, Marymount Secondary School, St. Paul’s College, St. Stephen Girls’ College as well as some teachers from CEL’s Partner Schools.
Nov 17, 2020
“Envisioning Innovation in Education” (EIE) Study: Program Launch
Led by Edward Clapp and Lynneth Solis from Project Zero, educators and principals from the 11 participating schools came together for the Program Launch of the “Envisioning Innovation in Education” (EIE) Study.
This served as a great opportunity for participants to get to know each other, review the purpose & approach of this three-year Study, as well as kick-off the first Envision phase of the Study. Most importantly, the joy of learning was apparent as the room was filled with laughter and vibrant discussions.