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C50: Thinking Skills (Supporting/ Specialist)

4/26/2021

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​Hello to my friends who work with learners in the entire school. You have such a special role in touching many, if not all, of the students in your school.  With that, comes a unique challenge to get learners to better understand the learning in your classes and give them the tools to become more independent thinkers.  
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Welcome to this episode my friends that has been crafted just for our specialist and supporting teachers.  Ever since the transdisciplinary challenge, I’ve been seeking ways to include you more in the process. In the past, we have been talking about a lot of topics that can be applied to any grade level and situation.  As we get into the approaches to learning and teaching, we need to start to diversify to meet your needs.  

When I think of the ATLs, you naturally come to mind.  You can easily apply the ATLs to your discipline or role, because your aim is to grow the level of independence within your learners.  For specialists, you need to start thinking of how to wrap the skill development with your content focus.  For supporting teachers, you need to start thinking about the learning objectives you have for your learners and how to pair them with the ATLs. 

In this episode, we are going to examine the ATL thinking skills from your viewpoint.  We will refer to PYP From Principles into Practice:  Learning and Teaching from pages 26-38, since these are the more advanced learning situations you will encounter. 

As we previously discussed, you set the tone for everything that happens during your time with the various learners in your school.  

​What teachers do to set the stage for thinking skills to thrive

  • Model the language of thinking and reinforce the processes of thinking.
  • Ask open-ended questions.
  • Provide sufficient thinking time.
  • Implement and model a range of “visible thinking” techniques.
  • Explicitly ask students to discuss and reflect on the value and limitations of the resources used through their inquiries.
  • Provide time for reflection at all stages of learning—before, during and after inquiries.
  • Promote a range of tools for reflection and ensure that reflection activities are responsive and varied.
  • Reflect on existing competencies, co-create learning goals.

When I look at this list, I can get overwhelmed by all of the requirements placed on me while getting learners to understand their role in developing thinking skills.  Then, I take a step back and think about the PYP structure in our units of inquiry.  We are always encouraged to only pick 2-3 to focus on with our learners for the length of our unit.  Since we do this with our learners, why are we not doing it for ourselves?  This list is a success criteria for us to strive to make goals to better our practice. 

The thinking skills that students will demonstrate come under the sub-skill of critical and creative thinking. 

Critical thinking has the following sub-skill criteria:
  • Analyzing 
  • Evaluating
  • Forming decisions

Creative thinking has the following sub-skill criteria:
  • Generating novel ideas
  • Considering new perspectives
  • Information transfer
  • Reflection and metacognition

Now, we’re going to take a deeper look at one of the sub-skills and how we might approach using it with our learners. I chose the same ATL sub-skill for all teachers, because it allows coordinators to see how they can be applied in different ways. 

Considering new perspectives

Ask “what if” questions and generate testable hypotheses

If we get learners to begin “What if”, it naturally sets the stage for more agency and inquiry in our classrooms.  Students will soon be pairing two unlikely things together and testing out their hypotheses. 

Specialist/Supporting Teacher
  • PE:  What if we paired skipping while using a jump rope.  
  • Art:  What if we used glow in the dark paint on a black canvas. 
  • EAL/SPED:  What if I make a change, how will it affect the outcome?


Apply existing knowledge to design new products processes, media and technologies

This process can be replicated by allowing your learners to innovate better ways to use existing products, processes, media, and technologies.  

Specialist/Supporting Teacher
  • ICT:  Create a new code for your avatar
  • Science Lab:  Design a new way to test mixtures and solutions
  • EAL/SPED:  Discover a new way to show your thinking (about any content)

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Consider multiple alternatives, including those that might be unlikely or impossible

Allow students to consider ideas from multiple perspectives and make connections through unlikely pairings.

Specialist/Supporting Teacher
  • Art:  Create a series of art from different perspectives (low and high viewpoint)
  • Music:  Connect hip hop music to its African roots
  • EAL/SPED:  Examine an idea from multiple perspectives before making a decision


Practice flexible thinking—develop multiple opposing, contradictory and complementary arguments

Learners hunger to talk things out.  What a better way to get them thinking by posing contradictory and complementary arguments.  This means you pose a situation and learners but either defend or oppose it.  

Specialist/Supporting Teacher
  • PE:  Create two game possibilities and have audience determine which is the best one
  • Library:  Read two versions of the same story and have learners choose which version is most believable or truest to the original text
  • EAL/SPED:  Use role-plays to showcase an issue and work through the solution. 


Practice “visible thinking” strategies and techniques

Muscle memory comes to mind when I think of Harvard’s Project Zero visible thinking routines, Muscle memory is the process of conditioning the brain through regular repetition and hands-on learning that ideas get hardwired to the brain.  We want our learners to re-use the routines regularly. 

Specialist/Supporting Teacher
  • ICT:  Compare several website for their visual layout and complete a See Think Wonder
  • Library:  Read aloud a text and have students reflect using Think Puzzle Explore
  • EAL/SPED:  same as above


Generate metaphors and analogies
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If you’re like me, I get metaphors, similes, and analogies mixed up.  I think this example will help to clarify it in your mind. 

  • Metaphor: My puppy is a hug
  • Simile: My puppy is like a comforting hug
  • Analogy: My puppy’s love for me is the same as a comforting hug from your best friend


We use this figurative language to get learners to make unlikely connections between objects and to be able to explain their thinking in a different way. 

Whew, my brain is done after unpacking all of these ideas. See you in episode 53 as we unpack the research skills. 
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C49: ATL Thinking Skills (1-6)

4/25/2021

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​Hello to my friends who work with students in grades 1-6.  If you don’t teach these grades, please refer to episode 48 for grades PK-K and episode 50 for specialist and supporting teachers. 
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Welcome to this episode my friends who teach primary/elementary aged students.  We are going to take a deep dive today into the thinking skills to help you broaden your understanding and help to unpack one completely.  My aim is to get you to start thinking differently about the ATLs; not as an add-on to the program. 

In this episode, we are going to examine the ATL thinking skills from your viewpoint.  We will refer to PYP From Principles into Practice:  Learning and Teaching from pages 26-38.

As we previously discussed, the teacher sets the tone for everything in the classroom from agency, inquiry, and the ATLs.  They must consider their role in making the ATLs come to life in their classrooms.  

What teachers do to set the stage for thinking skills to thrive

  • Model the language of thinking and reinforce the processes of thinking.
  • Ask open-ended questions.
  • Provide sufficient thinking time.
  • Implement and model a range of “visible thinking” techniques.
  • Explicitly ask students to discuss and reflect on the value and limitations of the resources used through their inquiries.
  • Provide time for reflection at all stages of learning—before, during and after inquiries.
  • Promote a range of tools for reflection and ensure that reflection activities are responsive and varied.
  • Reflect on existing competencies, co-create learning goals.

When I look at this list, I can get overwhelmed by all of the requirements placed on me while getting learners to understand their role in developing thinking skills.  Then, I take a step back and think about the PYP structure in our units of inquiry.  We are always encouraged to only pick 2-3 to focus on with our learners for the length of our unit.  Since we do this with our learners, why are we not doing it for ourselves?  This list is a success criteria for us to strive to make goals to better our practice. Are you breathing easier now? 

When I do look at this list, my main goal is to explicitly ask learners to discuss and reflect on the value and limitations of the resources used through their inquiries.  This makes me take a step back, because it’s quite deep.  If I’m interpreting it correctly, I think we need to get our students to reflect regularly on the steps/things that are slowing down their inquiry process.  It may be technology, access to reading materials, access to experts, group dynamics, and so forth.  If they are regularly reflecting, they can better identify the issue and make a correction. I still need to work on this definition, but this is a doable starting point for me.  It might still be quite overwhelming for you, so begin with something else.  Remember a goal is to stretch you, not kill you. 

The thinking skills that students will demonstrate come under the sub-skill of critical and creative thinking. 

Critical thinking has the following sub-skill criteria:
  • Analyzing 
  • Evaluating
  • Forming decisions

Creative thinking has the following sub-skill criteria:
  • Generating novel ideas
  • Considering new perspectives
  • Information transfer
  • Reflection and metacognition

Now, we’re going to take a deeper look at one of the sub-skills and how we might approach teaching it to our learners. I chose this same ATL sub-skill for early years and specialist and supporting teachers, because it allows coordinators to see how they can be applied in different ways. 

As students get older, they want to become more a part of the designing process.  Consider unpacking these ATLs at the beginning of the unit after you’ve introduced the topic.  Ask students to help you choose which ATLs should be used in the unit.  Then, they are using them as success criteria and creating goals. Once again, we are not covering all of them, but rather using them as a choice menu. Hmm...I really like this idea.

Considering new perspectives

Ask “what if” questions and generate testable hypotheses
  • If we get learners to begin “What if”, it naturally sets the stage for more agency and inquiry in our classrooms.  Students will soon be pairing two unlikely things together and testing out their hypotheses. 

For example:  I taught my fourth graders about mixtures and solutions.  To test their understanding, I gave them a random box of materials to show their thinking.  By the end, students were wearing sleeping masks to better understand the difference between a mixture and solution. This all came from asking “What if” questions.

Apply existing knowledge to design new products processes, media and technologies
  • We want students to recognize that technology and processes have changed over time due to new information and advancements in science/technology.  This process can be replicated by allowing your learners to innovate better ways to use existing products, processes, media, and technologies.  This could drive all of your units, not just How the World Works and Sharing the Planet. I can see connections between products and processes during the industrial revolution to now in Where We are in Place and Time.  The various ways to create art and how art has evolved through How We Express Ourselves. 

Consider multiple alternatives, including those that might be unlikely or impossible
  • Ooh...this gets me thinking about concepts.  Can you imagine how magical learning would be if we had learners connect what they were doing to concepts all day long?  They would have multiple iterations of what patterns look like:  natural cycles, place value, poetry structure,  and so much more. 

We want our learners to think beyond the superficial connections that exist, because this is where learning is hardwired to long-term memory.  They will be able to look at any two isolated ideas and be able to make a connection between them.  This is a skill that is developed over many years with repeated practice. 

Practice flexible thinking—develop multiple opposing, contradictory and complementary arguments
  • Learners hunger to talk things out.  What a better way to get them thinking by posing contradictory and complementary arguments.  This means you pose a situation and learners but either defend or oppose it.  This can be simple:  “Which one is better: white or chocolate milk at lunch?”  By getting learners to practice flexible thinking, they become more open-minded to the thoughts of others. 

Practice “visible thinking” strategies and techniques
  • Muscle memory comes to mind when I think of Harvard’s Project Zero visible thinking routines, Muscle memory is the process of conditioning the brain through regular repetition and hands-on learning that ideas get hardwired to the brain.  They call them routines, because the practice should be used daily, so learners can eventually self-select tool that is best fit for their task outcome.  Our goal is independence and the VTRs help get us there. 

Generate metaphors and analogies
If you’re like me, I get metaphors, similes, and analogies mixed up.  I think this example will help to clarify it in your mind. 

  • Metaphor: My puppy is a hug
  • Simile: My puppy is like a comforting hug
  • Analogy: My puppy’s love for me is the same as a comforting hug from your best friend

We use this figurative language to get learners to make unlikely connections between objects and to be able to explain their thinking in a different way. 

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C48: Thinking Skills for Early Years (PK-K)

4/24/2021

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​​Hello to my early years friends who work with students in PK-K.  If you don’t teach these grades, please refer to episode 49 for grades 1-6 and episode 50 for specialist and supporting teachers. 

Welcome to this episode my early years friends.  I’ve long thought about how to create for you my early years teachers.  I think going forward, we are going to need to adapt the learning for you, since we are getting past some of the ideas that are applicable to any age level. 
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As a PYP Coordinator, I’ve come to truly appreciate the amazing things you accomplish in the early years. It’s quite remarkable.  You lay the foundation so all other understanding can happen and many people don’t realize the scale of impact you truly create. 

In this episode, we are going to examine the ATL thinking skills from your viewpoint.  We will refer to PYP From Principles into Practice:  The Learner from pages 15-19.

As we previously discussed, the teacher sets the tone for everything in the classroom from agency, inquiry, and the ATLs.  They must consider their role in making the ATLs come to life in their classrooms.  As I look at the teacher support requirement for the thinking skills development, I see many of the same things you are doing already, but the IB put a label on it. 

What teachers do to set the stage for thinking skills to thrive

  • Model the language of thinking, such as “I wonder”, “I noticed”, “I inferred”.
  • Ask open-ended questions.
  • Provide sufficient thinking time to respond to questions and so on.
  • Offer open-ended materials.
  • Provide time for reflections at all stages of learning - before, during, and after inquiries.
  • Co-create and reflect on individual learning goals within the zone of proximal development.

As I read this, I wonder how many teachers really take a moment to access how they are establishing true thinking to occur in their classrooms.  I know most early years teachers are brilliant at thinking aloud, so I know they are modeling the language of thinking.  I witness open-ended questioning and offer open-ended materials. 

The areas I think may be a growth area are providing sufficient thinking time, providing opportunities for reflection throughout inquiries, and co-creating and reflecting on individual learning goals. This takes time and more time.  Take a moment to think about your schedule, are you struggling to find time to fit these in?  Like everything else, they must be included on the unit planner and made a part of the learning process or they’ll be continuously put on the back burden for the next unit and the one after that. 

The thinking skills that students will demonstrate come under the sub-skill of critical and creative thinking. 

Critical thinking has the following sub-skill criteria:
  • Analyzing 
  • Evaluating
  • Forming decisions

Creative thinking has the following sub-skill criteria:
  • Generating novel ideas
  • Considering new perspectives
  • Information transfer
  • Reflection and metacognition

The thing I like about the early years ATLs, they have simplified the skills to be more age appropriate for the students you teach.  Here’s a deeper dive into one of the thinking skills.

Considering New Perspectives

1. Seek information
Our early learners are always seeking new information. After all, their favorite question is “Why?”  How do we harness their curiosity into a way to seek information?  I think one way to help them is to provide a graphic that shows how we can find new information on an iPad, in a book, in the library, and other people, etc..  This allows them to know the proper channels on how to seek and obtain information on their own.

2. Consider alternative solutions, including those that might be unlikely or impossible, in play and other situations
Play is the best vehicle for creating new ideas.  Through social interactions with each other, it’s magical to see our early learners share their thinking and correct prior thinking independently.  One of my favorite ways to get them thinking differently is through role-play.  By taking on a character, they are able to see ideas through a new lens and become more open to the thinking of others. 

3. Ask “what if” questions
Our youngest learners come to school with tons of questions in their mind, which all begin with “Why?”  They are so curious about understanding how things work and their implications, but “Why?” requires someone else to provide the connection. One variation to “Why?” is having them shift towards “What if?”  Now, they are given more ownership of the learning process and are charged to figure it out on their own or with learning partners. 

4. Practice some “visible thinking” routines 
One of the hardest things for all learners is figuring out how learning is connected. Harvard’s Project Zero visible thinking routines do just that and provide a way for learners to make unexpected connections.  Notice, the IB does not recommend a list of routines that must be used, because it largely depends on the context and purpose.  If you are just starting out with using visible thinking routines, I’d suggest you begin with the Core Thinking Routines found at http://www.pz.harvard.edu/thinking-routines

Well my friends, this gives you some context of the thinking skills from the lens of the early years.  I hope you found some food for thought and look forward to exploring research skills with you next in episode 51. 
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My First IB Virtual Workshop

4/17/2021

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by Lu Gerlach
It's one thing to explore something in practice and another to go live with participants.  Well, I dove into the deep end and implemented all of the strategies for digital facilitation with teachers from around North America.  It was amazing to see everything come to life and my confidence bolster, because I was on the right pathway.  Nothing beats that feeling!  I'm so grateful to my group of participants who were patient with me. 
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IB PYP Job Alike Session Bangladesh 2021

4/16/2021

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by Lu Gerlach
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I was fortunate to be a facilitator of an online session for the IB PYP Job Alike Session Bangladesh 2021.  The focus of the job alike was centered on the PYP enhancements and I chose to zoom into how we can use agency daily.

It was truly wonderful to engage with PYP educators from Bangladesh and surrounding areas join my session.  I was shocked by how many knew who I was due to my podcast.  It's a small reminder that we can make a difference if we just take some risks. 

​I have a visit to Bangladesh on my radar for the near future.  Until then, I wish joy to everyone who attended and interacted with me during my session. 
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C47: Understanding the ATL structure

4/9/2021

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​For this episode, I thought I would do a deeper dive into the IB documentation to get a better gauge of the ATL structure.  To be honest, I’m still developing my understanding of these valuable tools.  Prior to 2018, I was selecting one of the ATL categories (thinking, research, communication, social, and self-management) as the focus in the unit with little plan on how to execute it.  I struggled as a teacher to make them come alive and find practical ways to make them accessible for students.  Then, the enhancements happened and a light bulb went on in my head.  The IB decided to provide specific ways to teach each of the categories and my eyes became hungry for ways to use them more authentically.​
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​I don’t know if you know this, but this is the goal of the ATLs (PYP From Principles into Practice:  Learning and Teaching pg. 28)  Self-regulated learners are agents of their own learning.  They know how to:  

  • Set learning goals
  • Ask open-ended questions
  • Generate motivation and perseverance
  • Reflect on achievement
  • Try out different learning processes
  • Self-assess as they learn
  • Adjust their learning processes where necessary

Okay folks, how many of you knew that this was the goal of the ATLs?  To be honest, I haven’t read the fine print before, but I like it.  I think this is the goal of any PYP educator who is trying to create agentic learners.  We just need to reprogram our brains that the ATLs help us to achieve this goal, instead of a separate compartment in the PYP planning process.  Now, I have a picture in my brain of the ATLs as another subject in your transdisciplinary program that must be taught explicitly across the content areas.  Ooh...I knew there was a reason we needed to focus on the ATLs right now.  

Structure of the ATLs

When you go into the ATLs section of PYP From Principles into Practice: Learning and Teaching, you will find there are some unique characteristics of the ATLs. 

Category:  One of the five main big categories of skills to be studied (thinking, research, communication, social, and self-management)

Sub-Skills:  these are the skills that are to be explored under each category.  The numbers vary for each category, but there is a short description of their purpose to shape the learning objective, so you can determine which ones will best match with the content and concept objectives of the unit. 

Sub-Skill Criteria:  these are the tangible skills that students may do to understand the sub-skill and main category.  They vary in number and depth of exploration.  From my understanding, you are not required to cover all of them in a unit.  Just like the learner profile and concepts, you’ll have a chance to revisit them through the years. 

This sounds wonderful in theory, but what does this mean in my current unit of inquiry? I’m so glad you brought that up, because I want to break this down into a concrete example.  Remember, context is everything when choosing the ATLs.  We will not go over how to choose them for a unit right now, rather, we will focus on how to use the structure of ones that have been previously chosen. 

From Category to Sub-Skill Criteria

For ease, I’m going to start with the first one in the guide.  

Category:  Thinking Skills

Sub-Skill:  Critical Thinking: Analyzing and evaluating issues and ideas, and forming decisions

Right here, you can see this is about really diving deep into issues and forming opinions.  You want to make sure that this is the focus of your ELA content standards when choosing this one or it will be extra work on top of what you are already doing.  Let’s avoid that at all cost, so we can work smarter, not harder. 

Sub-Skill Criteria:  this is what students will do to show they understand the sub-skill of critical thinking 

Analyzing
  • Observe carefully in order to recognize problems
  • Consider meaning of materials
  • Take knowledge of ideas apart by separating them into component parts
  • Use models and simulations to explore complex systems and issues. 

The purpose of this episode is not to examine the thinking skills, rather the structure of the ATLs.  We will do that shortly.  So, let’s look at it from a different lens. 

If I’m choosing this sub-skill criteria, I want to make sure that all parts fit into the scope of my unit of inquiry and the content standards.  If they work well together, you are good to go.

From Choosing Sub-Skills to Teaching 

We are now zooming into just ONE sub-skill criteria under ANALYZING. 

Sub-Skill Criteria:  Take knowledge of ideas apart by separating them into component parts

I can teach this through…

  • Reading:  have events in a story on picture cards and have students sort them into sequential order
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  • Math:  break numbers into place value parts using units, rods, and flats with a place value chart
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  • Science:  separate parts of a flower and have students reconstruct them in order
 
  • Social Studies:  have students examine an event in time with its causes and effects

Doesn’t this look like something we are already doing?  Hmm...I believe it is!  The most important step is to explicitly connect the sub-skill criteria with the content you are teaching, as you do with the lines of inquiry and central idea.  This will help them to make generalizations. 

I think that is enough for now my friends.  Take a peek at the ATL sub-skills in your units of inquiry and see if you have a clear plan on how you are teaching them.  This is the goal for the 2021-22 with my staff. 

In the next topic, we will have three episodes to support early years,  grades 1-5, and specialist and supporting teachers.  Depending on your role, you will determine which one is the right fit for you.  If you’re like me, you’ll listen to all, because you want to make sure you don’t miss out on anything. 
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Click Institute Reflection

4/9/2021

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I'm proud to announce that I am now a certified digital facilitator with  Click Institute.  Their rigorous program really shines a light on your vulnerability, areas of strength, and areas of continual development.  You are forced to change your old habits of facilitating workshops, whether online or in-person.  I'm so glad that I went through disappointing online facilitations, because it brought me closer to the presenter I want to become. 
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I could not have done it without my amazing team of educators and coaches.  They were truly amazing!
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