Innovation at AIS

At Agnes Irwin, we are constantly evolving our teaching practices to meet the learning needs of our students. You’ll find fourth graders engaging in a Changemakers project that integrates their science and social studies to make a community-wide impact through a design thinking process. You’ll see sixth graders create their own vector graphics using Python Turtle Art. You’ll encounter Upper School Robotics Team members hard at work programming for competitions and a senior-level English course that invites teachers to explore with students the historical inflection point that transformed their discipline.

With the emergence of generative artificial intelligence, we are actively engaging, learning, and exploring how to appropriately integrate AI into learning experiences. Teachers are encouraged to tinker with new tools and students are developing skills to help them act ethically and think critically about all novel technologies.

We encourage our students to create, explore, and take risks. They collaborate and tackle novel, complex problems, leading with empathy and curiosity. We have several campus spaces dedicated to discovery, and we partner with teachers to bring innovative teaching practices to life in our classrooms. These spaces include our iWonder Lab in Lower School and our STEAM Studio spaces in the MS/US building for hands-on makerspace learning. Students learn to use 3-d printers, graphic design software, and a laser-cutter in our Innovation Center and can be found designing and creating beautiful textiles in our textile studio.

All new faculty members are paired with a veteran Agnes Irwin teacher to serve as their mentor in their first year. Additionally, we support teachers newer to the profession with additional coaching and support in areas such as understanding learning theory across developmental stages, curriculum development to foster innovation, and assessment design that focuses on student understanding and transfer.

AIS faculty and staff are curious and committed to lifelong learning and we have a robust team of educators whose sole purpose is to support teaching and learning at Agnes Irwin across PK12. We offer professional learning cohorts throughout the year where colleagues work collaboratively to hone their practice. Our Center for the Advancement of Girls is dedicated to implementing cutting edge scholarship that supports AIS faculty in understanding and employing teaching practices that center girls. Our Teaching, Learning and Innovation team focus their energies supporting teachers and students as they engage with new and emerging experiences so they are prepared for the unknown. And, our DEIB team ensures each girl feels a strong sense of self, a strong sense of belonging and can thrive in all areas of schooling. The professional learning that is provided through these teams supports our teachers continual growth and focus on girl centered teaching and learning.

In addition to these teams who are dedicated to supporting the professional growth in our community, we have a robust professional learning budget to support our colleagues attending and/or presenting and local and national conferences; we have a shared summer reading program where all faculty and staff read a common text to discuss throughout the next school year;, many of our faculty work collaboratively throughout the summer to develop new curricula and programs.

Jake Stein Greenberg
Teaching, Learning, and Innovation Specialist

“Innovation isn’t about having the best ideas; it’s about figuring out how to ask the right questions. At Agnes Irwin, we cultivate intellectual curiosity and creativity to empower our students with the skills to thrive in a complex world and an uncertain future. These young women are our future leaders, and our Teaching, Learning, and Innovation (TLI) team supports the educators here, enabling students to meet this moment and prepare for success not only in college, but in life.”