About SCIE
Shenzhen College of International Education (SCIE) serves over 2,000 students and employs 210+ staff. Known for academic rigor and a broad Cambridge curriculum, SCIE cultivates student passion across disciplines—from science to the arts.
Led by Academic Deputy Principal Richard Driscoll, SCIE is evolving its strategy to support a new generation of globally focused learners, including a shift toward US university pathways and integrated service learning.
The Challenge for SCIE
SCIE needed a more inclusive, scalable, and impactful approach to professional development (PD) to match its evolving academic goals.
- Siloed roles: Non-teaching staff and program leaders (e.g. global citizenship, librarians) lacked peer networks and relevant PD.
- Unequal PD access: PD was traditionally teacher-centric, leaving out HR, admissions, marketing, and long-serving local staff.
- Adapting to change:Staff needed PD options responsive to new challenges like AI in education.
- Measuring impact: SCIE’s PD strategy follows the Guskey model, which requires linking PD directly to student outcomes—a challenge for one-off workshops or generic training.
How PeerSphere Helped
SCIE joined PeerSphere’s Peer Learning Communities in 2022 and adopted the School Pass model to give open access across departments.
Inclusive by Design
Flexible timing and a range of roles allowed SCIE to involve nearly 100 staff in PeerSphere—double the number from the year prior. Non-teaching teams and local educators found meaningful communities, including librarians, HR, and marketing staff.
Strategic + Scalable:
By combining PeerSphere with its existing Guskey-aligned PD model, SCIE delivered role-relevant learning while staying outcome-focused. PeerSphere’s agile communities on topics like AI in education supported timely school initiatives.
Promotes Collaboration:
Staff like Global Citizenship Lead Angelina built new networks with peers from other schools. PeerSphere even encouraged cross-role collaboration—such as co-taught student-staff leadership courses.
Drives Leadership + Expertise:
Richard Driscoll joined PeerSphere’s PD evaluation community and shared SCIE’s success in aligning PD to student outcomes, showing how PeerSphere enables expert contribution and peer coaching.
