“Effective professional learning is deliberate” | Professional Learning Update

Stephen Sharma – Head of Primary, Nord Anglia International School, Hong Kong 

Could you introduce yourself and your role at Nord Anglia? 

I’m Stephen Sharma, and I’m Head of Primary at Nord Anglia International School, Hong Kong. 



What does good professional learning look like to you? 

Good question. I think effective professional learning is deliberate and centred around the individual. It requires self-reflection—understanding where we are starting from and defining where we aspire to be. I believe it's essential to challenge our thinking by questioning the "why" and the "how" behind our approaches. 

 

How has professional learning at NAE influenced your professional practice? 

Well, I completed Nord Anglia’s Senior Leadership Programme (SLP) a while back and just recently finished the two-year Executive Master’s with King’s College London.  

 

One thing that sticks with me still is something that I did on the first day of the SLP. We talked about conscious practice — the practice of objectively looking at your work, picking a measurable and specific thing to improve on and then trying to do it — and that conversation was all new learning for me. That was the first time someone had opened the door to this kind of conversation on leadership; talking about being a different version of yourself, a better equipped version to lead. It's still you, it's just uncovering a lot more of your capacity and guiding you about how to achieve it. 

 

How do you prioritise your own learning and development? 

Self-discipline plays a role but equally as important is prioritising it as a school, for the whole community. We do that in the timetable, planning in cycles of professional learning, sometimes it's individuals, sometimes it's within teams. It's a very strategic approach. We've only got that limited time, so we have to make sure we use the time as effectively as possible. 

 

What’s the best advice you’ve been given that’s really impacted how you approach your learning and development? 

Practicing self-reflection is really important, and it's a tool that I've used more and more recently. There's a lot to be said for starting with yourself and working outwards. And I think that's something I've developed a lot more since that conscious practice conversation on the SLP, it becomes part of your daily habit. 

 

What trends within the education space are you keeping an eye on? 

One that's out of my comfort zone is AI in education; I don't know enough about it and about the various dimensions there, so that's where I'm spending a lot of time. Another focus for me is global citizenship education in international schools, and how critically important it is. We've got somewhat of a carte blanche to say: ‘This is what we believe is important for our children and our future generations.’ We're in a privileged position because our families are very supportive of citizenship education and helping their children to understand their role in wider society. 

 

Our teachers and colleagues can find professional learning that works for them on Nord Anglia University (NAU).