In the summer of 2022, I began following Walter's LinkedIn page, because his passion for creating community education touched me so much.  His primary purpose was to support fellow Black creatives to discover their voice and find their unique niche in the marketplace. 

​More than anything, I remember the amount of patience that Walter and Chris had with me.  They didn't get frustrated by my endless questions nor my ignorance. Instead, they met me where I was at and helped me to design the next steps.  It had been a long time, since I learned something new for the first time and it really humbled me as a workshop leader and consultant.  It put me back in the role of the learner, which I needed.

Around the same time, Walter launched a podcast called Working While Black.  The platform was designed for Black creatives and entreprenuers, to share their ideas and discuss obstacles they faced while trying to reach their dreams.  This spoke to my heart, because the podcast was all about raising each other up in a time when the world was tearing others apart.  It's still going strong today. 

Every community needs a space where their ideas can be seen and heard.  Walter identified a missing niche and went to work to create it.  Although I am not a member of the Black community, I still listen to his podcasts and videos.  It helps me to see situations from a different lens and be aware of my own ignorance.  

For instance, Walter was on an episode of the Changing Lenses podcast where he openly discussed black hair discrimination.  As a non-Black person, this doesn't come up in my daily context, so this statement struck a chord.  "You may be successful, but also at the same time you're still Black.  So if they have a problem with your hair, they're more than likely going to have a problem with you being Black as well."  I am still speechless that we are still having these issues in 2024, but I'm grateful to Walter for bringing it to our attention. 

There are many words to describe Walter and his actions, but I think risk-taker encompasses them all.  The International Baccalaureate (IB), the teaching program that I follow, defines a risk-taker as a person who: 

• Approaches uncertainty with forethought and determination
• Works independently and cooperatively to explore new ideas and innovative strategies
• Is resourceful and resilient in the face of challenges and change.

It is not easy to share your voice in the digitial space.  There are voices that criticize your work, which can lead to imposter syndrome.  Whenever I feel this way, I listen to Walter's words and they buoy me up.  

We all need a Walter in our lives.  A person that we might not know well, but their reach is far and deep.  I've been blessed to meet Walter in-person on a recent work trip to Atlanta.  It was like I was meeting up with an old friend that wanted to know the status of my progress.  I felt emotionally full after our dinner and motivated to keep doing my thing.  

Who is your Walter?  How do they support you to meet your goals? 

​Let me start off by saying that, Zaretta Hammond is the first person in a long time that made me excited, weep, and find hope in a short span of time.  This book made me excited to see all of the possibilities that are available to learners from diverse backgrounds if we just focus on building rigor instead of watering down curriculum.  She made me weep, because I think of all the learners I wasn’t able to reach during my teaching career, because I didn’t have this book to guide me.  Zaretta made me hope that if more people read this book, then we will have less learners falling through the cracks of the education system.  I choose to focus on hope.  

In the forward, Dr. Yvette Jackson makes a harrowing statement that has stayed with me for the past year.  She purports, “If all brains are wired for expansive learning, high intellectual performances, and self-determination, then students of color should be experiencing this state of being.  Since neuroscience has proven the variety of the premise of this syllogism, this is the time for a seminal question to be reckoned with:  Why are so many students of color underachieving?”

This does make you wonder.  If we are all neurological created to think at the same capacity, why is there always a deficit in certain communities and not others.  Zaretta speaks about being able to get access to a different type of education than her peers within her neighborhood, because her family used her grandparent’s address.  Even as a young girl, she noticed the differences in experiences, types of explorations, and resources that she had access to that her neighborhood friends did not.  

As a trainer, I see this all the time.  There are many well-meaning teachers who are working diligently to make school meaningful for their learners, but they teach to the test or to parent expectations.  I call it checklist teaching.  They look at all of the content standards or expectations within a given period of time and check off when they have taught them, because this is how they were trained.  

One thing I try to do is to look at content and process standards as tools to build learner independence.  I train teachers to look at learning from a progression of gradual release of responsibility from a teacher-driven to a learner-driven process.  This isn’t new and I didn’t come up with it.  Many people have used this model to discuss inquiry (Kath Murdoch, Guy Claxton,  Trevor MacKenzie) and assessment (Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano and Janet A. Hale), and other areas of teaching.  

Zaretta Hammond considers the difference between communities in access to learning skills for life.  She states, “Classroom studies document the fact that underserved English learners, poor students, and students of color routinely receive less instruction in higher order skills development than other students.  Their curriculum is less challenging and more repetitive.”

This made me reflect on my own experiences as a teacher and which schools were routinely less challenging and more repetitive.  These were the schools that were so worried about their testing outcomes than learner growth.  They put pressure on teachers to prepare for the end of the year exam from January through rote reading and math exercises.  Teaching became a process: a reading passage put on the overhead projector, learners parroting what the teacher stated, and repeating the process with a new question.  This is not learning, this choral reading.

As learners, we thrive when we are put into moments of productive struggle, where we must solve problems individually and collectively that rely upon skills that we have recently mastered.  This process allows learners to apply their thinking to relevant and significant issues, so they can transfer it again in the future.  When we teach the test, this productive struggle is not happening.

​This pressure around performance creates a huge anxiety in learners, especially those missing fundamentals skills to keep up with the rigor of the curriculum.  This creates a dependence on the school-to-prison pipeline.  Without adequate skill development, many children of color are “pushed out of school because they cannot keep up academically because of poor reading skills and lack of socio-emotional support to deal with their increasing frustration” (Hammond, 2015, pg 13).

All of these ideas made me think about what we are doing as educators to aid or block learner agency from happening.  This beginning portion of the book is quite heavy, because this is a deep-rooted systemic problem in my country.  We have a strong divide of who is properly educated and who is not. 

As an IB educator, I’ve always believed that every child deserves the same access to education.  Yet, have I always provided them the tools to be independent?  Honestly, I have not.  

I hope the rest of this journey in the book study will help both of us to awaken our understanding of what it means to be culturally responsive in our teaching practice.  For now, what have been your aha moments as we have explored the first portion of this magical book?  If you could tell Zaretta Hammond one thing, what would it be? 

In the meantime, check out Zaretta’s keynote address at the Toddle TIES 2023 conference.  You can access it here: https://www.toddleapp.com/ties/speakers/

I can’t wait to uncover the hidden gems in this book and see how it impacts my practice. 

What is culturally responsive teaching?  How does it impact the brain?  What is it's connection to inclusion?  These were some of the questions that passed through my mind as a discovered the new book that we are going to uncover in my podcast.  Get ready to have your mind expanded. 

As a child that was raised in the 80s, the word RAD was part of my vocabulary.  It meant cool to me.  If someone asked me to the school dance, they were rad.  If my best friend invited me to her sleepover, she was rad.  If school was cancelled then life was rad. 

As I've gotten older, I've missed this term to express how I am feeling.  I sometimes, I just want to say, "Have a rad day!" without someone looking at me like I'm weird.  

What are words that you miss from your childhood that you wish were still around? 

​
​I came across an article from Edutopia that spoke about simple ways to cultivate agency in our teaching practice.  My favorite is embrace the quiet moments.
As teachers, we often feel the pressure to get through content and the pacing schedule.  This article reminded me that these approaches actually block learner agency from occurring.

Instead, take a breath and ask yourself, "What is the purpose of what I am teaching?  How can I craft learning that will be agentic, while reaching those objectives? 

Teach Slow as recommended by Trevor MacKenzie by doing less activities and staying a moment with an idea to build understanding.
​
How are you building agentic learning within your practice already?  Please share, so we can all grow together.

​
​In my latest podcast episode, we have been applying our understanding of an agentic classroom.    

For teachers that are new to this process, it can be difficult to take the abstract ideas and apply them to practice.  Here is a video that will help you better understand it.  What is something that is an aha to you?  

For those who have been developing their agentic practice, what are some ideas that you are already been using?  What does it look like in your practice?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OsQS7Sanxg

​We are engaging in the ultimate reflective practice.  As we go back through all of the elements of a PYP classroom success criteria, what is on your list?  Here is a recap of the big ideas we have discussed.  Get ready to apply!

​Your classroom is a place where curiosity thrives, and excitement for learning is contagious. How do we achieve this? It starts with a shared vision, my friends. A school that communicates its high expectations for learners and empowers them to steer their learning journey.

​Now, imagine your classroom walls come alive with knowledge. They're not just a backdrop; they're a canvas for learning. Infused with key and related concepts, your walls become an extension of your teaching.  Learners see relevant examples that have been created by their peers of what those concepts mean to them in their everyday lives. 

By learning through concepts, we are able to break free from the constraints of subject silos! A transdisciplinary approach weaves connections between subjects through concepts and sparks deeper understanding. Let's break down the walls, both metaphorically and literally, to create a space where learning is seamless, where learners see the world's interconnectedness.

​Differentiation isn't just a buzzword; it's a lifeline for learners. Tailor your teaching to meet their diverse needs and interests. Provide opportunities for them to explore their passions and develop their unique strengths.

One way to achieve this is through powerful visual tools.   Encourage learners to sketch their ideas, create mind maps, or design posters. Let them capture their "aha" moments visually, making learning more tangible and memorable.

Now friends, here is our final application task.  In the coming weeks, I encourage each one of you to take a deep dive into your own teaching practices. Reflect on how you've implemented these learner-driven strategies in your classroom. What has worked? What challenges have you faced?

Step 1:  Assessment Component: Self-Evaluation

I challenge you to self-assess your progress in creating a learner-driven environment. Consider these questions:

• How have you promoted learner agency in your classroom?
• Have you integrated transdisciplinary elements into your teaching?
• In what ways have you celebrated learners' voice, choice, and ownership?
• How effectively have you differentiated instruction to meet individual needs?
• Have you encouraged learners to visually represent their ideas and "aha" moments?

Step 2:  Setting Goals

After your self-assessment, set concrete goals for improvement. What specific changes will you make from the series to further enhance learner independence in your classroom? Think about actionable steps and a timeline for implementation.  I prefer an Oscar Action Plan, because it’s clear and precise. 

​Thank you for joining me on this adventure throughout the application series.  I know it has been wonderful for me to reflect back on past learning and to apply it to my practice in a different way. 

Any aha moments and ideas that you would like to share, please tag me on:
​
Bluesky @thinkchat2020.bsky.social
Threads @thinkchat2020
X @thinkchat2020
LinkedIn @lugerlach
Instagram @thinkchat2020
Confessions of a PYP Teacher Facebook group

CAST Professional Learning purpots that there are five UDL tips that will support our learners in becoming experts.  This is the goal of learner agency.  We want our society to be filled with independent thinkers who are able to problem solve and become experts across many fields.  

To get more detailed information, click on this link for the full post. 

The key difference between the PYP and PBL is the learning focus.  The PYP is centered on transdisciplinary learning where we teach all subjects to create a comprehensive view on learning.  While PBL is looking at the merits of collaborative learning and how it helps learners to come up with innovative new ideas. 

Both approaches are centered on developing a learner who can see beyond the content to make real-world applications.  We do this through regular feedback of how we are doing at a moment in time, give feedforward to move toward the next steps, provide opportunities to reflect and revise the thinking. 

The PYP is now more balanced in approach to assessment.  There is less emphasis on a summative project, where PBL has a public product for each unit.  The PYP has gone away from this approach towards more frequent formative assessments and a minor summative of the central idea.

As I review these two programs, we can see that there are more similarities than differences.  The key factor is that it is learner-driven and focused on developing young people who can think beyond the required content.  

Did you know that Zach Rondot and Grayson McKinney wrote two books about the Expert Effect? Want to know more about what these authors? Scan the QR code below or click on this link.  

Happy nquiry reading!

​This episode, we will only have one application challenge, because I have been quite intense the past two episodes.  I can’t help it, I get excited about this stuff and have to share it with you!  

​More importantly, they are realizing that innovators make mistakes continuously, but they continue to try again until they get the right outcome.    So, as educators, let's nurture this process and watch our students evolve into true experts in their own right.

​Think of the educational journey as tending to a garden, and in this episode, we're helping our learners cultivate it by exploring the variety of gardening tools available to them. It's akin to standing in a lush garden, where each tool represents a unique choice for nurturing our expertise in learning. Just as a gardener selects the right tool for a specific gardening task, our learners have the opportunity to choose where and how they'll kick start their journey toward becoming experts in a field. As they assess this garden of choices, our learners will need to consider which gardening tool best suits their current needs and goals to help their knowledge and skills flourish.

We will be using the Circle of Viewpoints routine, a Project Zero Visible Thinking Routine that can help learners consider diverse perspectives and explore local and global issues from multiple angles.  This routine scaffolds the process of taking more ownership of your learning. 

Step 1: Introduction
Begin the lesson by introducing the concept of the Circle of Viewpoints. Explain that we will explore a local and global issue and examine it from various perspectives to gain a more comprehensive understanding.

Step 2: Select a Topic or Issue
Choose our topic or issue. It's a complex issue with environmental, economic, political, and social aspects that allow for multiple viewpoints.

Step 3: Identify Key Perspectives
List key perspectives from scientists, policymakers, activists, business leaders, and the general public.

Step 4: Share Information
Provide learners with articles, interviews, and documentaries representing each perspective. For scientists, share peer-reviewed research articles. For policymakers, provide government reports and speeches.

Step 5: Assign Roles
Assign learners to groups, with each group taking on the role of one of the key perspectives. Group 1 becomes the "scientists," Group 2 the "policymakers," and so on.

Step 6: Individual Reflection
Ask learners to individually read and reflect on materials from their assigned perspective. They should consider the main arguments, evidence, and viewpoints presented.

Step 7: Group Discussion
Have each group discuss their assigned perspective and share their reflections. Learners within each group can elaborate on their understanding.

Step 8: Rotate Perspectives
After the initial group discussions, reshuffle learners so that each group now represents a different perspective. For example, the "scientists" group becomes the "activists."

Step 9: Synthesize and Compare
In their new groups learners synthesize insights from their original perspective and compare them with the insights they gained from the other perspectives. They discuss commonalities, differences, and areas of contention.

Step 10: Reflect on the Process
Lead a class discussion where learners reflect on how considering different viewpoints influenced their understanding of the topic or issue. Encourage them to share specific insights or changes in perspective.

Take the steps from the Circle of Viewpoints visible thinking routine and expand them to be more agentic.  

Your task
​

• Break down the Circle of Viewpoints steps.
• Assess the agentic nature of each step.  If it is too teacher-driven, how might you rewrite them so they are open-ended?
• Identify other skills learners will need in order to be experts.
• Compare to your current unit and examine how you might change your existing engagements and processes to become more agentic. 

For instance, in step 4, it asks the teacher to provide resources for their learners.  To create experts, the Lessons from the Expert Effect Learners need to find their own resources, instead of the teacher providing them.  For this to occur, we will need to model the process of finding accurate and reliable sources of information. 

Have fun with this application exercise!  I know you will unravel some new ideas that you had not previously considered. 

I really appreciate this quote below by Maya Angelou, because we often beat ourselves up as educators about what we can do better.  There are times that we just don't know what we don't know.  This is fact. 

As we gain more experience with the craft, we are able to make more informed decisions about our craft, our learners, and how to navigate things like standards or grade level expectations. 

One thing I see all the time with new teachers and new teachers to the PYP, is they put so much pressure to be perfect in everything that they don't have a focus.  They burn out by trying to be like all of the other veteran teachers, so they don't look less competent.

Please stop.  You are doing a wonderful job.  You are doing your best.  You can't do any more than that. If you do, you may burn yourself right out of the teaching profession. 

A friendly reminder, it takes 5-10 years to feel like you have some grip on this thing called being a teacher.  Don't buy into the myth that anyone can do it.  Teaching is a craft that is built over time, so be kind to yourself. 

When you learn better in the future, be better. 

To be honest, I know of Maya Angelou, but I can't quote her regularly.  When I was thinking about becoming better, this quote popped out at me. She had a way with words that touches me. 

Many times in my life, I've beaten myself up for not doing better.  How could I have not know that?  After some time, it became quite clear of my deficiency, but in the moment I couldn't see it.  This seems to happen all the time to me.  Anyone else experience the same thing???

The part that really sits with me is, "when we know better, we do better."  This kind of takes us off the hook.  We cannot be better if we don't know there is a need.  Once the universe lets us know a path, we seek to become better. 

This is the only way I stay sane.  I am constantly criticizing myself for not knowing, but you don't know what you don't know.  I am getting better at it, but I still fall apart  and re-read this quote. 

​I just discovered a taxonomy that scaffolds the process of building local and global connections with learners. Here are some ideas of how to extend the thinking by Cindy Blackburn.

Intra-Connection:
- Who is in our classroom community?
-How might we develop empathy and opportunities for students to connect with one another?
-What might action look like within our classroom?

Inter-Connection
-What other units are happening in the school that we might connect to?
-What potential school-wide issues or opportunities might we connect to?
-What might action look like in single-subject classes (arts, PE, etc.)?
-Are other local schools engaging in similar inquiries or action-driven projects?

Managed Global:
-What other organizations or businesses work towards the goals we have set for our unit?
-How can we ground the learning experience in authentic problem solving in our local and global community?
-Who are experts in this field? What does their action look like?

Student to Student (teacher managed)
-How might I use social media or other tools to connect with like-minded educators/others who are teaching similar concepts?
-How else might I learn more about what other schools around the world are working on or share our inquiry with other educators?

Student to Student (student-managed)
-How can I support the development of students' social skills? 
-What platforms are available for students to use safely?

​Disclaimer, there are two possible ways to apply local and global inquiry to your context.  You can choose to complete both or only one, based on where you are on your inquiry journey.  I like to have choices, so I don’t feel hemmed into a process, especially when talking about this topic.  The primary goal is to have fun with local and global inquiry. 

​There are so many children in this world that have limited understanding of how people and things work in other places.  In my last school, many learners could not conceptualize life outside of the 5-10 block radius of our community, let alone other parts of our city and country.  As educators, we can be a vehicle for learners to explore different ways of thinking and approaches to solving complex global issues.

Generate

• Product: Generate as many ideas, questions, or thoughts as possible related to local and global inquiry.  What does it look and feel like to you?  What are the learners doing? What are the teachers doing?  

​

• Process: Encourage students to brainstorm and write down any ideas or questions that come to mind about their chosen topic. This phase is about creative exploration.  

Sort

• Product: Organize your generated ideas into categories or themes. Identify commonalities and connections among your ideas.  

​

• Process: In this step, students categorize and sort their generated ideas. This helps them identify patterns, similarities, and potential directions for their inquiry.

Connect

• Product: Consider how your sorted ideas connect to broader themes, concepts, or real-world issues. What larger context or significance do you see?

​

• Process: Students analyze the connections between their sorted ideas and larger themes or concepts. This step encourages them to see the relevance of their inquiry within a broader context of their local and global community.

Elaborate

• Product: Elaborate on one or more of your sorted and connected ideas. Develop your thoughts further by providing details, examples, or explanations.

​​

• Process: Students choose specific ideas from their sorted and connected list and elaborate on them. This could involve providing more details, offering examples, or exploring the implications of their ideas.

If students are conducting a shared or personal inquiry on renewable energy, here are some potential ideas of applying it to the local and global context

Local

• Generate: Students collaboratively generate ideas related to renewable energy within their local context, exploring aspects like local renewable sources, specific challenges and advantages pertinent to their community, or innovative projects in the region.

​

• Sort: Students categorize their generated ideas, grouping them based on localized factors such as community needs, available resources, or unique environmental considerations.

​

• Connect: Students examine the connections between their sorted ideas and local themes, considering how these notions relate to community sustainability, local climate issues, or the specific energy demands of their region.

​

• Elaborate: Focusing on a specific aspect like solar energy, students delve deeper into the local implications, providing detailed information on how solar panels can be applied in their community, potential benefits, and the specific impact on reducing local carbon emissions.

Global

• Generate: Students collaboratively brainstorm ideas related to renewable energy on a global scale, exploring diverse sources, international benefits and challenges, or cutting-edge innovations worldwide.

​

• Sort: Students categorize their global ideas, grouping them based on broader categories like global environmental impacts, technological advancements on a worldwide scale, or the interconnectedness of renewable energy issues.

​​

• Connect: Students analyze the connections between their sorted global ideas and overarching global themes, considering how these notions relate to worldwide sustainability, the global impact of climate change, or the collective energy needs of the planet.

​

• Elaborate: Concentrating on a specific aspect, such as solar energy, students delve deeper into the global implications, providing detailed information on international applications, potential global benefits, and the overall impact on reducing carbon emissions on a global scale.

As educators, embracing the GSCE routine ensures that learners not only acquire knowledge but also develop the analytical tools and global awareness needed to address the complex challenges of the 21st century. It’s your turn to apply it to your context.  
​

• Consider a new idea or concept that you are exploring in the new year. 
• Use the GSCE visible thinking routine to unpack all of the ways it might be explored. 
• Replicate the process with your learners and compare/contrast the two experiences. 
• What did you notice?  What patterns and relationships emerged?  
• Present the two versions to your learners and ask them which components they would like to explore on their personal inquiry. 

We don’t want to overwhelm learners with choices, but it’s a valuable skill to be able to analyze previous wonderings with current ideas to determine where we will go next.  This happens all the time in our profession, so it’s a valuable tool to share with our learners. 

If you are hungry for more ideas, here are some interesting ideas that ChatGPT suggested to help you frame local and global inquiry into your context.  Some may not apply to you, which is okay.  Take and modify this list to meet your needs and the needs of your learners.

1. Identify Opportunities in the Curriculum:
Review your existing curriculum and identify topics or units that naturally lend themselves to exploring local or global connections. Look for themes that can be expanded to include perspectives from different regions or cultures.

2. Integrate Local Stories and Perspectives:
Infuse local stories, examples, and perspectives into your lessons. Connect the curriculum content to the students' immediate community, helping them see the relevance and impact of their learning on their daily lives.

3. Explore Global Contexts:
Look for opportunities to embed global contexts within your curriculum. For example, when teaching history, explore events from different parts of the world during the same time period. This helps students see the interconnectedness of historical events.

4. Use Multicultural Resources:
Incorporate multicultural resources, such as literature, documentaries, or artifacts, to expose students to diverse perspectives. Choose materials that represent a variety of cultures, ensuring inclusivity in the learning process.

5. Collaborate with Other Teachers:
Collaborate with colleagues to create transdisciplinary projects that incorporate local and global connections. 

6. Utilize Technology for Virtual Connections:
Leverage technology to connect your students with peers from different parts of the world. Use video conferencing, online collaboration tools, or social media to facilitate virtual exchanges, discussions, or joint projects.

7. Incorporate Service-Learning Projects:
Integrate service-learning projects that address local or global issues. This hands-on approach allows students to apply their knowledge in real-world contexts while making a positive impact on their community or beyond.

8. Explore Global Literature and Authors:
Introduce global literature and authors into your language arts curriculum. Select books that tell stories from diverse cultures, providing students with insights into different ways of life and fostering empathy.

9. Connect with Local Experts:
Bring local experts into the classroom to share their experiences or insights related to the curriculum. This could be professionals, community leaders, or individuals with expertise in the subject matter.

10. Provide Opportunities for Reflection:
Build reflection opportunities throughout the curriculum. Encourage students to reflect on how the content connects to their own lives, the broader community, and the world at large.

​Pick 2-3 ideas and actively apply them to your curriculum.  Monitor and reflect how they changed the feeling of your unit and how learners expanded their knowledge of the world around them.  It’s exciting when we have some tools that are simple and spark our creativity!

I hope you enjoyed this episode about local and global inquiry.  In the next episode, we are going to further apply it through the world of the Expert Effect.  Let’s do this!

I was excited to see that the IB has invested time in creating a personal inquiry guide for parents, so they can support their child at home.  Naturally, this piqued my interest.  You can get a copy by clicking on either image below. 

Although brief, this guide prepares parents for the discussion about personal inquiries and why they are so important in school.  The IB provides parents with some question prompts to get the conversation started at home. 

One suggestion would have to been to include some examples of what personal inquiry can look and feel like.  This might help parents.  

​Anyone have something like this that they want to share? 

​I was excited to see that the IB creted a guide about personal inquiry.  It was originally designed to support personal inquiry learning during the pandemic, but it can easily be applied to in-person teaching.  

As I reviewed the document, I was happy to see the structure of supporting a personal inquiry through the entire process, question prompts, transdisciplinary theme/ lines of inquiry/ concept connections, reflection tools, and success criteria.  I can't wait to re-read through this guide to help me with my own personal inquiry. 

To get a copy of the guide, you can scan the QR code or click on the document picture above.