Fellows, mentors, and professors from the University of Pennsylvania will be on campus Friday, April 17, through Sunday, April 19, as part of Penn’s Independent School Teaching Residency spring gathering. 

The two-year teaching residency program enables teachers to earn a master’s degree in education while completing an intensive teaching fellowship at a host partner school. Loomis Chaffee has partnered with the program for 13 years, and four Penn fellows are in residence on the Island this year.  

As part of the weekend’s activities, fellows who will graduate from the program this year will present findings from their examination of a question that emerged from their teaching practice. Each presenter will give a 10-minute presentation of their work. In separate workshops, presenters will lead question-and-answer sessions on their projects with smaller groups of interested audience members. 

Loomis Chaffee Penn Fellows Gigi Hodes, a teacher in the Modern & Classical Languages Department; and Sanaea Simmons, a teacher in the History, Philosophy & Religious Studies Department, will present on Saturday. On Sunday, the program will host a mini-graduation ceremony for the fellows, in advance of the official graduation at Penn in June, at which Gigi and Sanaea will graduate.  

Gigi’s presentation is the culmination of a year-long inquiry into the question, "How can I empower my students to take ownership of their language learning?" She said she had four main findings, one being that “ownership increases when students experience visible competence gains. Students were more likely to take initiative, set meaningful goals, and persist through difficulty when they could see evidence of their own growth. Therefore, teachers can design learning experiences and reflection structures in which students regularly revisit their baseline performance and compare it to their current abilities.” 

Sanaea’s presentation examines the question, "How can I promote a positive achievement culture in my ninth-grade history classroom?” “While evaluating achievement culture, I learned what works for my classroom and what doesn't,” Sanaea said. “I figured out how to promote a positive achievement culture and also how to combat a negative one.” 

She arrived at three main findings, including how grading and feedback practices can either strengthen or undermine a positive achievement culture. She learned that broadening what counts as participation and achievement — “valuing preparation, note-taking, listening, small-group roles, and question-asking alongside whole-class discussion” — can promote a positive achievement culture. 

Sanaea said one of her favorite things about teaching is lesson design, “creating unique experiences for my students on the classroom.” She said her Loomis colleagues have been helpful and supportive. “There's nothing more I could ask for,” she said. 

Gigi said she is always learning from her students, whether that is “a new way of thinking or some silly slang.” 

“I also love,” she said, “that you get direct feedback. If you mess up, you know. You have 15 15-year-olds looking at you, and their faces and body language tell you that you’re messing up. But if something is clicking with them, you also hear that.”  

In addition to Gigi and Sanaea, Loomis Chaffee has two first-year Penn Fellows this year: Hailey Young (English) and Brian Villalta (math). 

“There are a number of benefits to being in the [Penn Fellows] program,” said Rachel Nisselson, the director of the Kravis Center for Excellence in Teaching and a Modern & Classical Languages faculty member. “This helps attract talented candidates to LC. This goes both for incoming fellows and for program alumni who completed their fellowships at other schools, but who are drawn to Loomis, at least in part, due to our involvement in the program.” 

Former Penn Fellows on staff who either completed their fellowship at Loomis Chaffee or another school include Katharine Conklin, Andrew Wood, Hannah Insuik, Matt Johnson, Courtney Doyle, Laura Schulte, and Lauren Williams. 

Rachel also noted that the program provides professional development for faculty, who serve as mentors for the fellows, and helps inform the school about best practices in education. “Fellows share what they’re learning,” Rachel said. 

They’ll be sharing once again this weekend.