This group of dynamic educators made my week!  Their love of teaching was infectious and it was fun to see them blossom in their understanding of the PYP.  If you haven't figured it out, Connie is a bit of ham. 

​The Year 3 teachers at Creation Village are making conceptual connections to more specific loose parts.  This is challenging, because it requires them to look at their standards and deeper scientific principles. 

At one point, the natives were getting restless.  I don't blame them, because making real conceptual connections takes a lot of brain power.  We managed in the end to make it work into something beautiful. 

​At Creation Village, we created our ideal learning spaces with Reggio inspired loose parts.  I think they turned out rather brilliantly.  What do you think? 

As a podcaster, you never quite know your reach.  Most of the work is done independently and then you cast it out into the world.  When you receive heartfelt and meaningful feedback from a peer that you admire, it reaffirms that you are on the right track.

Here is a reflection by Yuni Santosa, a highly experienced and thoughtful PYP educator that I greatly admire.  I'm truly touched and honored by her feedback. 

Albert Einstein once said, “If I had an hour to solve a problem I’d spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and five minutes thinking about solutions.”

One of the hardest things to do is to define the problem we want to solve.  This requires us to dig deep into the underlying root causes, not the symptoms, which can open us to vulnerability.  Most organizations don’t like to admit there is a problem, even if it is staring them in the face.  No one likes to have to admit they are wrong or part of a system that is malfunctioning.  It’s our nature as human beings to strive for perfection, whatever that may be. 

Yet, imagine what our world would look like if we just admitted our fallibility.  Truth would be the hallmark of all organizations and people would never fear the provocation of war, poverty, or perfectionism.  Our best would be best enough. 

At the root of every problem is a cause.  Do you know what is the cause of your problem?  Many do not.  They often think the symptom is the root, but you need to dig deeper to discover it.  Once you do, the organization must acknowledge that it exists.  From there, they can decide which instructional strategies to employ, organize the necessary resources, and develop the staff so they feel confident.  All of this takes time, but it’s imperative if we want to move forward. 

To help us define our root problem, we will use the Four Agreements. Consider which agreement lies at the root of an issue at your campus and create a possible solution to present to school leadership. This is bold, but oftentimes the leadership team doesn’t have all the answers.  They value specific, targeted feedback with possible next steps towards a resolution.  Even still, there are no guarantees that your ideas will be accepted, but you did your best to advocate for sustainable change.  This is taking ownership of your own learning process and taking meaningful action. 

Let's take a moment to be reflective of how the Four Agreements is being demonstrated at your campus and classroom. 

When I am thinking of this agreement, I think about what is being said and unsaid.   Here are some possible things to consider with being impeccable with your word at a PYP campus:

• How is the language of the learner profile attributes a part of your daily practice? 
  
• How do you use them within lessons, outside at recess, on duties, and when you engage with colleagues?  

Why this matters
When we use the language of the learner profile regularly, it becomes a way of life rather than terms to be memorized.  We begin to take them into our daily practice as a code of behavior and our interactions with others are altered.  We think, speak, write, and reflect with these terms in mind.  When presented with undesirable behavior, such as gossiping about leadership, other teachers, or students, we will not engage, because we understand what it means to be principled in thought and deed. 

This is one of the hardest things to do, especially when we feel we must defend our honor as teachers.  But, it’s one that will greatly change our outlook on ourselves and our profession.

• How might performance appraisals be based on a co-created success criteria? 
  
• How do they rely upon actionable skills from the approaches to learning?

Why this matters
As teachers, we often take our performance appraisals to heart more than other professionals. To us, it means the difference between if I am a “good” teacher or a “bad” one.  We often make goals based on current interests or areas of study, but are they grounded on actionable items?  I’ve made plenty of goals that were a bit flimsy, so it was very difficult to monitor and document progress.  The approaches to learning may be areas that develop learner independence, but they can also be used to guide teaching.  I have often felt at times that I didn’t explicitly teach many ATLs, because I didn’t have time or know how to unravel them completely.  This is the opportunity for the teacher and the learners to grow together. 

This is the hardest agreement to follow dutifully.  We are taught as children to continuously read between the lines in a reading text.  This has led to a life of inferring what may or may not be present in a situation.  Yet, we get into the most trouble with this one, because we make poor judgment by taking things personally as well.  Double Whammy!

• How do you use factual, conceptual, and debatable questions throughout the day to add depth and clarification? 
  
• How are your learners wielding these questions on their own? 

Why this matters
As human beings, we are naturally curious about the world and we are continuously asking questions to make sense of it.  The reason we are using leveled questioning is so we can unravel hidden truths within the curriculum.  By teaching with a variety of questions, we are accessing creative and critical thinking on a regular basis.  Just like the learner profile, we want it to become part of our language and disposition as an educator.  I have my Weiderhold’s question matrix posted across from the point of instruction as a continual reminder of the types of questions I should be asking, instead of the lower levels ones found in basal readers.  A school that knows how to ask deeper questions will find it easier to explore issues that are at the root of systemic problems. 

Human beings are fallible creatures, so we are always going to make a mistake.  It’s guaranteed.  In times of error, we simply let it go and try again.  We don’t judge ourselves for past mistakes and try to make better choices in the future.  It’s that simple. 

Why this matters
A functioning system continues to evolve when its members take risks and try out new ideas.  This requires a tremendous amount of courage and trust within the team.  But, it helps the organization to look at old problems with new eyes in hopes that it evolves.  This is how people take authentic action based on their learning.  It’s not for a project or a unit of inquiry.  It’s for life.  A community where authentic action is happening has a place within the school that celebrates risk-taking.  Learners of all ages share the meaningful and sustainable actions they have taken to support themselves, the community and world beyond.  This sets a tone that action within ourselves is as equally important as taking action that is showcased for the world to see. Also, if the action doesn’t work out, no worries, you can always try your best next time.  It’s the process, not the final product that matters in life. 

As you can see, the choices are rather complex. You may only want to pick one.  On the surface, they might seem low-level, but they unravel the deeper issues of school culture, agency, inquiry, conceptual understanding, and action on a campus.  Now comes the hard part of deciding which one to choose. 

​I am excited to explore the design thinking challenge through different lenses that you may have not considered before.  This is how my brain works.  I make connections between unrelated texts and somehow it works.  Let’s do this!

Recently, I stumbled on a video on LinkedIn about Cognitive Behavioral Theory by Joe Amabile, a seasoned IB educator. This video highlighted the idea that everyone responds to things that happen in the world based on their beliefs and identity. This demonstrated the connection between our reactions during a typical school day to our deep rooted beliefs and identity that has been developed over a lifetime.

​After some time with the Four Agreements, I realized that empathy is the foundation of it all.  We cannot move forward as a human being, let alone an organization, without assessing where we are in employing empathy regularly in our practice.  With that in mind, read the summary of each of the Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz. 

​As educators, we are always trying to improve ourselves, so we will begin with a deep reflection of our daily practice by answering some questions.  There will be several choices for each agreement and you only need to answer the ones that resonate at this time.  

​

​Notice, these questions did not focus on school specific topics, because we are trying to get to the root beliefs, feelings, experiences that shape our identity.  Usually, they have happened outside of school, but they greatly impact how we operate within them on a daily basis. This is very deep, but it has certainly made me stop to think about how I am contributing to the school culture and building empathy. 

If you have any questions or thoughts, please post on Twitter @thinkchat2020 or LinkedIn at Lu Gerlach.  I look forward to learning from you. 

​This episode will focus on building empathy.  If you feel like you have a solid understanding of what this looks and feels like in the school context, consider popping over to episode 79 to participate in the empathy challenge.  

To empathize means different things to different people.  It’s not a one size fits all, which is a huge lesson I learned being a PYP Coordinator.  The things that resonated with me did not for the majority of my staff due to cultural differences, learning experiences, and background knowledge.  So how do we build a culture of empathy within our schools, so we can move the work forward? 

​This sounds intuitive, but many teachers think emphatically, but it may not always be shared with their learners.  Consider it another way of thinking aloud.  When instances occur naturally during the day, consider pausing to think aloud about the situation and how a learner dealt with it appropriately.  As you continue to do this, learners will see it’s a natural way of being and not something that needs to be added to our day. 

As we model empathy, we explicitly show what empathy looks like through the language of the PYP.  To do this authentically, we need to understand what empathy looks and feels like in everyday life and how it can be demonstrated through the language of the PYP.  With time, you will be able to speak naturally about approaches to learning and learner profile attributes in connection to building empathy. This is going to be more meaningful than a stand alone lesson on being “knowledgeable” and “resilient.”

Example
A class is discussing the current conflict in the Ukraine and they want to understand the motivation for war in our modern world.  One learner connects to how all conflicts throughout history have been derived from the same causes: power, money, or control.  

Possible responses
​

• “How did you become so knowledgeable about conflict over time? What led you to make these connections?”

​

• “If you were in this situation, how would you remain resilient through these difficult times?”

Explicitly teaching empathy within context to our units of inquiry supports so many aspects of the PYP.  Even more important, it helps to create good humans who care about others within this world. 

The number one thing that teachers complain about is time.  So, how can we practice empathy within the context of our teaching time?  To be honest, I think an experienced teacher can weave in building empathy into the curriculum through relevant and significant connections.  This is building a unit planner that focuses on the whole child and not just the academics.  This also requires a team that is open-minded to looking at how to build empathy and character development as an aspect of the unit planning process.  For some ideas, you can look at relevant and significant inquiry thinking strategies. 

​You can determine the feeling of a school’s culture when you walk through the front door, which is shaped by how adults engage with each other, their learners, and other learners on the campus.  It’s also reflected on the walls.  The walls tell you what is valued, expressed, and shared within the community.  

We cannot make lasting changes within a school without empathy.  We need to look through the lens of great things that are already happening, the people who give their hearts and souls to educate the next generation, and how learners of all ages are engaging with the process.  Through this lens, we can take stock of what is in place and co-create a plan of things that need to be developed further to make the school an even better place to learn.  

Re-shaping school culture is a multi-year project, but it begins with the school leader and how they engage with everyone on the campus, because the rest of the community will follow.  An empathetic leader sets a tone that all are welcome and valued.  Egotistical leaders take umbrage when others succeed.  What are some strategies we can employ to support and grow our school leaders, so they set a tone of empathy? 

​When people are raised in environments that are always fight or flight, the brain develops differently.  These learners are continuously navigating uncertain situations in order to survive.  How do we support the traumatized learners who have difficulty feeling empathy for others?  What conditions do we need to create to make them feel safe? 

Now that your brain is full, be sure to participate in our empathy challenge based on The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz.  Be sure to post your reflections on Twitter @thinkchat2020 or Linkedin at Lu Gerlach. 

As I think of the power of the conceptual lesson cycle, I naturally connect to the Design Thinking Process, which looks at conceptual ideas from the big picture.  If you haven’t heard about it, no worries, I didn’t until a year ago.  For those who have been engaging with design thinking for some time, we are going to explore some possibilities that will strengthen your usage of it.  I’m as giddy as an early years child on their first time bringing in a show and tell artifact.  

For those rubbing their hands together thinking this series is about design, I’m sad to tell you it's not the case.  We will not be going through the process to create prototypes in the traditional sense.  For those ideas, consider listening to Design Cast: A Podcast about Design and Steam Education by Jason Reagin.  He’s super talented and passionate about all things Design and STEAM.  He has a lot of guests that are just as nerdy as he is about design and I always walk about with new perspectives. 

We are taking a journey on the Design Thinking Process.  It’s the same process of design, but applying it towards organizational structures.  What does that mean?  Well, it means we are going to look at Design Thinking from the lens of education and how it impacts lasting change within our school system.  I know it’s quite deep, but we need this type of thinking as we emerge into a new educational landscape post pandemic.  Now is the time to make lasting changes, rather than sliding back into how it’s always been.  We are not the same educators that we were two years ago, so why should we teach the same way? Why should our learners be forced to learn in the old model? 

I’ll be honest, Design Thinking has been around from quite some time and I was completely unaware of its genius.  In 2021, I was researching a new PYP workshop, Creating a Curriculum for Transdisciplinary Learning. I noticed that the design thinking process was the structure for making lasting change.  FYI, the workshop I just mentioned is my favorite, because it really pulls back the layers of transdisciplinarity and what it looks like and what it does not.  Genius!

The Designing Thinking Process just made sense to me.  It codified everything I believe needs to take place in order to make changes that are sustainable.  Like everyone else, I went to the most reliable source on the internet to learn more: YouTube.  To be honest, I was overwhelmed with the amount of content, because it ranged from anywhere from Design to Design Thinking.  The one that really resonated was a video by Tim Brown, who is known as the father of Design Thinking.  You can watch the video here.  

As a nerd, I started to dig deeper into this concept of design thinking, I made so many connections to our school structures.  It explained why some schools function better than others.  The school leadership team understood the basic principles of design thinking and continuously revisited them throughout the year, not just on professional development days.

​Thinking back to my first year as a coordinator, I wish I had the design thinking process to guide me at that time.  I can remember if I shared my story, so please excuse me if you’ve heard it before.  

In the fall of 2018, I started my new position as a PYP Coordinator at Foster Elementary in Houston, Texas.  The Superintendent noticed that most IB schools were found in affluent areas or areas with a strong parent-teacher community.  My school was one of nine campuses granted the opportunity to begin their IB journey in traditionally underserved areas. 

Looking back, here are the mistakes that I made during my first year that could have been fixed by the design thinking process. 

​Although I was a new staff member and a pedagogical leader, I was encouraged to begin building the program of inquiry right away.  Being new to the role of coordinator, I tried to inspire through inquiry-based learning engagements.  The teachers thought they were “cute” but didn’t see how they would apply them to their practice.  While others wanted to see the correlation from the state standards and the PYP curriculum framework.  I felt such pressure to lead in the work that I failed to see what was right in front of me. 

If I were to do it all over again, I would have kept my mouth closed for 3-4 months and just observed the best practices currently happening within the school.  I would have become a master note-taker and captured evidence of the PYP already in action.  Then, I would have shared possible next steps to make it better and allowed my staff to choose their own pathway/  This is what it means to empathize and garner buy-in to systemic change. 

Instead, I ignored the empathize phase and polarized the staff. Many took umbrage that I wanted to come into the school to make big changes.  They had the right to question my tactics, because I did not take stock of what was already in place and to build relationships with my team.  Big mistake. 

​When we roll out the PYP program, we need to be clear to define our focus at different points in time.  We can’t do everything instantly, which is a major misconception by many campuses.  For existing schools, we need to be mindful that we can’t make tons of big changes to our program all at once. What do we do instead? 

One suggestion is to identify the root issue that we need to solve to move forward.  Going back to my experience as a new coordinator, I had to ask tons of questions to get to the root issue that was troubling my teachers.  Many were afraid to make tons of changes quickly as they had just come out of being a school that needed improvement by the state and didn’t want to slide back.  The question to define:  How do we implement the PYP with the current system in mind?

​When we ideate, we are considering the question we have defined and try to consider alternative, out-of-the-box solutions to solve the problem.  We recognize that previous steps were a stepping stone, but they did not solve the problem because we would be at a different place on our journey.  

My team had to come up with ways to implement the PYP while ensuring the Foster Way of doing things was left intact.  This is a huge undertaking, so we broke it down to bite-size pieces.  For my staff to move forward with inquiry and conceptual understanding, they first needed to see how the state standards married with the PYP curriculum framework.  We spent an entire year completing this process.  The result was a comprehensive plan where teachers were clearly able to see the foundation of the standards, but how the elements of the PYP enhanced the thinking and learning. 

​At some point, we have to launch our product and test it out.  This was our unit of inquiry.  It’s one thing to have the standards mapped out and it’s something else to create units of inquiry.  We had to dig deep to create unit planners that were rich and full of practical strategies that could be easily implemented by novice PYP educators.  This took time, regular collaboration sessions, and reflection.  

​A big part of the PYP is reflection.  I think this drives the evolutionary process.  We dig deep to reflect on what worked, what didn’t, and what we would suggest doing differently next time.  Since we began writing unit planners right after the PYP enhancements, our unit planners look differently than current iterations.  This is okay. 

The importance of this step is to evolve.  How are we going to take what we have learned in the design thinking process to move the work forward?  If we don’t evolve our practice, what is the point of the process? 

I recognize that change is difficult, but it’s worth it if we want our school to become more agentic and aligned with the IB philosophy towards learning and teaching.  In this series, we are going to take a deep dive into each phase of the design thinking process and apply it with a challenge.  You heard me, it’s time for another challenge.  It’s time to put on your thinking hat. 

​Our book club had the priviledge of meeting up with Misty Paterson.  One of her requests was to bring some silly putty.  I went on a hunt to find a recipe to make my own.  It was an interesting inquiry to say the least.  Here is the result of the mess and mayhem.