Cheryl Mandis Shah

Principal, Junior School, Beacon Academy, Jakarta, Indonesia

Workshop Information:

This interactive 1-hour session will show participants how to use visible thinking routines to foster critical thinking and deepen inquiry across subjects in any international curriculum.

Participants will experience a thinking routine firsthand, exploring how it sparks questioning, reasoning, and conceptual understanding. We will then discuss how these routines can be adapted across subjects to promote active participation and higher-order thinking.

The session will also highlight how thinking routines support conceptual understanding and effective student communication within inquiry, helping learners express their thinking clearly while developing critical thinking skills. Participants will leave with practical strategies to embed these routines into their lessons, enhancing student voice, agency, and deep learning.

Session Outcomes:

As a takeaway, participants will leave with a practical ‘thinking routine stack’ — a curated set of routines with templates and examples for promoting inquiry and language development — ready to apply immediately in their classrooms. This session will empower educators to transform everyday lessons into spaces for critical thinking and inquiry, equipping them with sustainable strategies to innovate their practice in meaningful, student-centered ways.

Biography:

Cheryl Mandis Shah is an accomplished international educator and school leader with over 19 years of experience in the IB Primary Years Programme (PYP). She has held roles as a homeroom facilitator, PYP Coordinator, Head of Primary, and currently serves as Principal of Junior School. 

Throughout her career, Cheryl has led the development of robust, inquiry-driven curricula and built learning communities where student agency, critical thinking, and authentic inquiry are central to the learning experience. She is committed to fostering environments where both students and educators are empowered to grow, reflect, innovate and lead with purpose.

Cheryl is a certified IB Programme Leader, Workshop Leader, and an active member of the IB Educator Network (IBEN), supporting schools globally in implementing and sustaining the PYP. A strong advocate for innovation in education, Cheryl has led the integration of critical thinking and AI tools into curriculum planning and classroom practice, supporting creative and future-ready learning.

Cheryl believes that trust, agency, and a culture of continuous reflection are the foundation of impactful schools, and she is passionate about inspiring educators to design learning experiences that prepare students to think critically, connect learning to real-world contexts, and grow as compassionate global citizens.