AGIS Conference 2026 Potsdam: Full Schedule

Working Together To Support Learning

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9:45am CEST

From Assessment to Action: Using Skill Progressions to Drive Feedback, Goals, and Small Group Instruction

Saturday September 19, 2026 9:45am - 10:45am CEST

In many classrooms, feedback remains general and disconnected from next instructional steps. This interactive workshop will explore how skill progressions can transform student work into actionable teaching decisions.
Participants will examine real student writing samples and practice identifying precise skill gaps using clear progressions. From there, we will develop:

- Targeted, growth-oriented feedback
- Student-friendly SMART goals
- Small group instructional plans aligned to specific needs

The session will address how feedback differs developmentally between lower and upper elementary, and how to maintain clarity while increasing rigor. This workshop will also provide recommendations for supplementary technology that can make this process easier.
Participants will leave with practical templates, sample progressions, and a replicable framework for turning assessment into intentional instruction.

Speakers

Christina Konnaris

4th Grade Classroom Teacher, Leipzig International School

to be added later

Saturday September 19, 2026 9:45am - 10:45am CEST
0.221 Am Luftschiffhafen 1, 14471 Potsdam

One-Hour Workshop

Audience Elementary/Primary Learners aged 6-11
Subject Language Learning

11:15am CEST

The Magic of Reading: How to Run a School Reading Night that Builds Literacy, Community, and Student Motivation

Saturday September 19, 2026 11:15am - 12:15pm CEST

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Reading motivation remains one of the most significant predictors of long-term academic success, yet many students experience reading primarily as a school task rather than a meaningful, shared activity. At Dresden International School (PYP), we developed an annual Reading Night — a whole-grade literacy event embedded in Literacy Week — designed to create positive emotional connections to reading.
During the Reading Night, students gather after school for read-alouds, shared storytelling, literacy games, library visits, and independent flashlight reading before sleeping overnight at school with their classmates. The event intentionally combines literacy with belonging, excitement, and memory-making. Students who are typically reluctant readers often become highly engaged, and the days and weeks following the event show increased book borrowing, reading conversations, and voluntary reading.
This workshop shares our experiences from several years of running the Reading Night. Rather than presenting a perfect model, it will honestly explore how the event evolved, what worked well, and what did not. Practical aspects such as organisation, communication with parents, staffing, student wellbeing, and managing concerns about safety will be addressed. Participants will gain insight into how a literacy event can strengthen class community, support social-emotional development, and positively influence reading attitudes.T
he session is designed as a collaborative exchange. Participants will have opportunities to ask questions, share their own literacy traditions and challenges, and discuss how similar ideas could be adapted to their own school contexts — whether through a full Reading Night or smaller alternatives.
Participants will receive example materials (parent communication, schedules, activity ideas, and planning considerations) to support adaptation in their own settings.

Speakers

Kim Dawson

Teacher Librarian and Learning Support Teacher, Dresden International School

PYP Teacher Librarian and Learning Support Teacher

Andrea Bodinus

Grade 2 Classroom Teacher, Dresden International School

Grade 2 Classroom Teacher

Saturday September 19, 2026 11:15am - 12:15pm CEST
0.221 Am Luftschiffhafen 1, 14471 Potsdam

One-Hour Workshop

Audience Elementary/Primary Learners aged 6-11
Subject Language Learning

1:15pm CEST

The Power of Play – How an educator’s playfulness shapes the learning environment

Saturday September 19, 2026 1:15pm - 2:15pm CEST

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In early childhood settings, emotional safety is the foundation for curiosity, confidence, and meaningful play. This interactive session explores how educators’ own mindfulness and gratitude practices directly shape classroom climate and children’s ability to feel secure, take risks, and engage deeply in learning.
Grounded in the belief that educator well being drives student well being, this session highlights the powerful ripple effect of adult regulation. When educators intentionally cultivate calm, presence, and gratitude, they model emotional resilience and create environments where young children feel safe to explore, question, and grow.

Participants will engage in a hands-on creative activity, decorating a small wooden heart or stone to serve as a personal gratitude touchstone. Through guided reflection, they will connect this tangible object to a simple 30-second reset practice that can be used during busy classroom moments.
Educators will leave with:

A personal gratitude touchstone and reset strategy
3–5 classroom-ready mindfulness and gratitude practices
A practical “Ripple Model” framework linking educator well being to child safety and engagement

Speakers

Hilary Borini

Early Years Educator, Leipzig International School

Saturday September 19, 2026 1:15pm - 2:15pm CEST
0.221 Am Luftschiffhafen 1, 14471 Potsdam

One-Hour Workshop

Audience Elementary/Primary Learners aged 6-11; Whole school for educators
Subject Well-Being

2:30pm CEST

You Matter Too: Balanced Teacher, Balanced Classroom

Saturday September 19, 2026 2:30pm - 3:30pm CEST

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Teaching is an act of constant giving, and educator well-being matters. This one-hour interactive workshop helps you identify daily stressors and introduces simple, practical mindfulness strategies you can use anytime. Participants will explore how supporting their own mental and emotional health builds balance, resilience, and more grounded, effective classrooms. School leaders will also examine how teacher well-being is shaped by school-wide systems, and how those systems can better support educators.

Speakers

Elizabeth Tucker

Primary Teacher, Leipzig International School

I’ve been an international school teacher since 2012 and I am currently teaching at Leipzig International School. I’ve worked across diverse school communities and bring a strong background in IB PYP. I’m especially passionate about inquiry-based learning, thoughtful classroom... Read More →

Saturday September 19, 2026 2:30pm - 3:30pm CEST
0.221 Am Luftschiffhafen 1, 14471 Potsdam

One-Hour Workshop

Audience Elementary/Primary Learners aged 6-11
Subject Well-Being

4:00pm CEST

Plot Twists & Teamwork: Creating a Class Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Story

Saturday September 19, 2026 4:00pm - 5:00pm CEST

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Looking for a writing project that builds creativity and collaboration? In this session, we will explore how to guide your class in writing a collaborative choose-your-own-adventure book. Participants will learn practical strategies for organizing branching storylines, structuring student roles, and keeping the project clear and manageable. This engaging approach strengthens narrative writing skills while fostering cooperation and shared ownership.

Speakers

Amy Moeller

Grade 3 Teacher, Leipzig International School

to be added later

Saturday September 19, 2026 4:00pm - 5:00pm CEST
0.221 Am Luftschiffhafen 1, 14471 Potsdam

One-Hour Workshop

Audience Elementary/Primary Learners aged 6-11
Subject Language Learning

5:15pm CEST

A Year-Long Journey: Implementing the PYP Exhibition Through Staged Inquiry

Saturday September 19, 2026 5:15pm - 6:15pm CEST

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Discover how to transform the PYP exhibition from a daunting end-of-year project into an empowering year-long journey of inquiry and action. This session shares a proven, staged approach that builds student agency and produces meaningful community impact.

Starting with exploration of what the exhibition is and connecting to student interests, we progress through identifying local challenges and opportunities. Through reading articles and observing their own neighborhoods, students develop authentic inquiry questions. They then narrow their focus, conduct research through interviews, surveys, and experiments, and design actions that matter to them. The entire school community becomes involved, creating a powerful sense of collective purpose—especially meaningful in small school settings.

This staged process ensures students take genuine ownership while maintaining manageable pacing, resulting in presentations that reflect deep inquiry and authentic action.

Speakers

Jessee Müller

Grade 5 Teacher, International School Ruhr

A big part of my work, both in the classroom and as a former PYP Coordinator and Head of Primary, has been the Exhibition. I have lived with it from almost every angle: as a mentor, as the teacher who took over a cohort midway through, as the coordinator supporting from the outside... Read More →

Saturday September 19, 2026 5:15pm - 6:15pm CEST
0.221 Am Luftschiffhafen 1, 14471 Potsdam

One-Hour Workshop

Audience Elementary/Primary Learners aged 6-11
Subject Transdisciplinary (teaching pedagogy & Methodology)

5:15pm CEST

Finding a new job for 2027? How to find the school that fits, and prepare your application.

Saturday September 19, 2026 5:15pm - 6:15pm CEST

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Whether you expect to be looking for a new job in Germany, or further afield, this session will be part workshop, part discussion, to help your application speak with clarity and purpose to those reading it. Based on the joy, challenge and frustration of reading hundreds of applications a year from people who do not always make it easy to see what they might bring, where and how they have gained their experience or whether they would be happy in Leipzig, Dehradun or Weimar, we will look at the good, the bad and the ugly.

We cannot always find the mentors we need to turn to when making job applications, particularly if we want to keep an application quiet until it becomes real. This session will take place within a circle of trust in which anyone can ask anything about what school hiring committees and Heads might be thinking when it comes to hiring.

Bring along your CVs, your aspirations and your questions and we can spend an hour now saving hours later in the year.

Speakers

Matthew Raggett

School Director, Thuringia International School

ThIS Weimar has been my professional home since 2023. On my way here I was Director of Education at an Erasmus vocational training centre in Leipzig, Headmaster of a boarding school in Dehradun, India, Secondary Principal at Leipzig International School, and Head of Boarding at King's... Read More →

Saturday September 19, 2026 5:15pm - 6:15pm CEST
0.221 Am Luftschiffhafen 1, 14471 Potsdam

One-Hour Workshop