Teachers embark on global journey of professional growth

By Ian Dinkins, Assistant Director of Marketing and Communications

Middle School Learning Coordinator Anna Claire McKay and High School Science Department Chair Anne Dervan shared with colleagues during August inservice their memorable experiences in Europe and Australia, funded by the Helen Meador Summer International Travel Fellowship.

McKay traveled to England and Spain with her husband and HS English Teacher Robbie McKay to study how the brain learns. Her first stop took her to England to learn about how educators are bringing the science of learning to classrooms. Afterward, McKay traveled south to Spain to learn about Santiago Ramón y Cajal, who jump-started our understanding of how learning happens in the brain.

In England, she attended the 14th annual Festival of Education at Wellington College. The festival, which has been described as “Glastonbury for educators,” brings thousands of educators from all over the world together to see and hear a wide variety of keynotes, talks, panels, interviews, and debates, covering everything essential and current in education.

“If I had one takeaway to bring to USN from this conference, it was absolute confirmation that all of us invested in teaching and learning, adults and students alike, deserve to have an informed, common language around how learning happens in the brain,” McKay said.

McKay said her interest in the science of learning took on new meaning when she attended a conference in Maryland with Fifth Grade History Teacher Connie Fink. At the conference, she learned about Santiago Ramón y Cajal, a Spanish neuroscientist who made many discoveries about the science of learning. Ironically, Cajal struggled in school because his learning style didn’t fit the standard practices at the time. 

After the conference, her interest in Cajal led her to Spain, where she explored the Nobel Prize-winning scientist's life and work.

“I thought about students who don’t see school as a friendly place and how his story of triumph was inspiring,” said McKay. “Through his art teacher, he found his learning passion, which helped him in a myriad of subjects based on the science of how memories and learning happen in our brains, encouraging neural networks to flourish.”

McKay hopes to bring a more nuanced approach to learning for everyone in the education community.

“One of the most inspiring that has happened since the trip has been the interest from my colleagues throughout the building in how we can use the science of learning to educate our students,” said McKay.

Dervan was able to visit Australia to learn about the environmental science and evolutionary history of organisms throughout the area. Australia’s isolated global location has made it a fascinating and unique biological ecosystem.

This uniqueness was evidenced in each of the locations that Dervan was able to visit. While Cairns, Sydney, and Adelaide are all on the same continent, each area has vastly different ecosystems, allowing her to see a little bit of everything. 

While the cities had countless organisms and wildlife, Dervan had three takeaways from each location that put the trip in perspective. 

“The trip was reaffirming, rejuvenating, and inspiring,” said Dervan, who connected her years of academic learning to the real-world environments that she was a part of during the trip.

It was rejuvenating for Anne to see how the different organisms throughout Australia were connected, and this connection brought her back to her behavioral studies in Graduate School at Auburn University.