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Faculty Highlight: Mike Symons

2/10/2026

Elise Burke Parcha

At the PAIS Teaching and Learning Conference, Upper School English instructor Mike Symons offered strategies that put student voice and collaboration at the center of learning.

At Sanford, our faculty’s expertise in their discipline ripples far beyond our campus. Upper School English instructor Mike Symons recently led a professional development session at the Pennsylvania Association of Independent Schools Teaching and Learning Conference, inviting educators to rethink how classrooms can thrive when students’ voices and experiences drive their learning.

His workshop focused on strategies such as multiliteracies (using multiple forms of communication), autoethnography (reflective self-study), and discussion-based learning, approaches that help students connect deeply with subject matter and develop socio-cultural awareness. He also explored the emerging role of AI generative tools as partners or tutors in writing and discussed the opportunities and challenges of constructivist practices, where students actively build understanding through experience in today’s classrooms.

The session underscored how classrooms thrive on collaboration and dialogue, with students as active contributors to their own learning. Symons emphasized that all teachers are, in effect, literacy teachers, making writing central to meaning-making across disciplines, and noted that traditional approaches that prioritize correctness can sometimes distance students from authentic expression.

“This educational theory focuses our teaching on utilizing student voice, collaboration, and connecting our students with their communities. Many teachers base their practice on this; it’s actually one reason why Sanford has such a strong community,” Symons explained.

In this session, Symons shared his insight and innovation with the wider teaching community, offering practical approaches teachers can adopt to strengthen instruction and student engagement–the same approaches that enrich his classroom each day. As English Department Co-Chair Brianna McCoy shared, “We are lucky to have Mike and his commitment to student growth as well as his professional growth. We are excited to experience his expertise at our next English department meeting!”

That expertise ultimately takes shape where it matters most: meaningful learning for our upper schoolers.

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