At TASIS Portugal, we use ELLI (Effective Lifelong Learning Inventory) to support learners in developing the skills they need to be successful.

Each of our students at TASIS Portugal possesses unique strengths and interests. As educators, our job is to guide each of our students to realize their potential through a rich curriculum and best practices in instructional delivery and assessment.

This lock-based game is a truly authentic learning experience for students that combines curriculum and character development to help teachers create 21st-century learners. 

In addition to the subjects involved in this dynamic educational process, the environment is also an educator as the teachers provide an idealized, welcoming, active, inclusive, and collaborative approach to the learning and teaching of young minds.

An explanation with resources of some very common science misconceptions and guidance for teachers and parents surrounding proper terminology and ideas.

PreK teacher Andrea Davis on her experience coaching Differentiated Instruction in Harvard's Graduate School of Education summer course.

A new teacher, a new classroom, new classmates, or a new school are big adjustments for children. Here are some ideas to help them (and YOU) start the new school year right. 

As part of our ongoing professional development, each TASIS faculty member chose a title to read this summer. We invite those of you who love this kind of stuff to read along with us!

Academic assessment is a piece of a much larger puzzle and will never stand alone as the only marker of a TASIS Portugal student’s growing academic identity.

Without history, individuals are without identity. To be a person of the world, we need to know the past to understand the present and construct the future in harmony with others.

To learn and grow, we must come out of our comfort zone and into our learning zone. In the learning zone, we grow through what is called eustress, or good stress, positively pushing us to expand our skills, knowledge, and abilities.

As teachers, we are often faced with a range of different learning levels, interests, and learner profiles within our classrooms. So how can we teach a curriculum, respecting each and every individual, while catering to their personal needs, supporting them so that they may succeed as learners? 

During the pandemic, both students and teachers have been forced into utilizing technological solutions to replace face-to-face learning. Most educators and parents view this as a negative effect on student learning. However, it’s not all bad news.

TASIS Portugal is committed to treating our faculty like the professionals they are, and prioritizes their continued learning. We know this sets us apart as an employer, and more importantly, we know this sets our teachers apart in their effectiveness with students.

Recently, during our online learning program, 5th grade students had the opportunity to participate in a hands-on lab experience, even though they were not able to be at school. This is one of the beautiful things about Amplify Science and the NGSS. The content engages students in working towards the practical skills and content that they need to succeed.

Our teachers are constantly looking to find ways to improve student learning through effective teaching. That is the never-ending goal of teaching: how to help students become better learners while building their confidence, their skills, and their knowledge.

Parents can support coding and computational thinking even without a computer or tablet! (We do off-screen or unplugged activities in school as well.) Here are ideas for things that can be done at home.

Because children spend more of their waking hours at school than at home, we are cognizant of the fact that we (teachers and parents) are raising these children together. A growth mindset approach is one of the ways parents and teachers can partner to support student success.

At TASIS Portugal, we embed social and emotional learning within our academic and school-wide practices through the teaching and modeling of the CASEL 5.

Reading is one of the essential literacy skills that influences all other areas of learning. It is not a skill that develops without explicit instruction nor without sufficient practice.

Faculty professional development continues throughout the school year. As part of this, a cohort of founding TASIS Portugal teachers took part in a 13-week course in Visible Thinking through Harvard's Graduate School of Education.

As founding faculty and families at TASIS Portugal, we have a unique opportunity to build a healthy community from the beginning. Creating a healthy and respectful school culture is easiest when it is intentionally created at the start of the relationship.

When students have life experiences to reference, they often find it easier to connect with stories and ideas they find in books. Fiction and nonfiction open up worlds of thought, imagination, and expression.

Even though the early learning teachers at TASIS have delivered different pedagogy, our ethos unites us. Our teachers recognize that every individual learns at her/his own pace and respect each child’s unique learning path.

In order to create the best learning outcomes, we hired the finest teachers, selected outstanding curricula, and committed ourselves to creating a supportive yet challenging school culture of high expectations.

Assessment as learning helps students take more responsibility for their own learning and monitor future direction. 

The end goal of assessment should be to assist learning, not just to measure it.

Forest school programs provide an opportunity for children to excel in areas such as practical and physical skills, emotional and social skills, creativity, and communication. They also give children a chance to reflect, giving them time to think about themselves and adopt a healthy self-image.

How will we balance skills, knowledge, and critical thinking at TASIS Portugal? We believe that through explicit mediated instruction of fundamental skills and hands-on, project-based learning, teachers help students develop appropriate independence as they navigate their unique learning experience.