Teacher Growth, Student Gain: The UNIS Hanoi Learning Salon

“Would we really want to send our children to a school in which we expected teachers to be anything other than self-directed learners?” Bill & Ochan Powell, 2015

Do you wonder what happens on Wednesdays when our students come home early from school? 

High quality professional development for teachers directly impacts your child’s learning!  In the dynamic world of education, continuous growth is not just beneficial—it’s essential. At UNIS Hanoi, we believe that teachers who actively engage in professional research and ongoing learning are better equipped to meet the evolving needs of their students and create impactful learning experiences in their classrooms. 

Professional research empowers teachers to stay current with the latest pedagogical approaches, technologies, and research-based strategies and provides opportunities to delve deeper into specific areas of interest.  

This past Wednesday, teachers across UNIS Hanoi joined together for our annual Professional Learning Salon – a celebration of all professional learning and growth that has taken place as a result of their engagement in a range of personalised learning pathways this year. Teachers choose an area of professional focus and inquiry in September, and engage in individual or group research on their chosen topics throughout the year. Each April, teachers present the results of their professional inquiries to their peers at the UNIS Hanoi Learning Salon. Topics this year ranged from inclusive classroom practices, literacy, mathematics, student wellbeing, grammar projects, AI and more.  Teachers report enjoying having autonomy and flexibility over their professional inquiries, appreciate seeing what their colleagues are doing in different areas of the school and learning new ways to approach teaching and learning.

So, thanks to early student dismissal on Wednesdays, our teachers are busy engaging in a range of professional learning activities as part of our commitment to academic and personal excellence.  By fostering a culture of inquiry and continuous learning, we empower teachers to become even more effective agents of change, creating a brighter future for all learners.  Our investment in our teachers is an investment in all students.