As part of the "Evidencing Learning" IB workshop, we explore the purpose of assessment and how it looks in our practice as a pre-assessment. It helps me to connect to their current understanding and shape the learning within the workshop. A common concern for most U.S. teachers is that too much emphasis is placed on end of year assessments. In the state of Texas, this is called the STAAR test. One thing that struck me was the last statement, "The role of the student in assessment was to be the victim." When I questioned the group, they stated that their learners are victims, because they must take all of the prescribed assessments outlined below. It does shape the learning differently.
0 Comments
After three long years of building a program from the ground up, I'm happy to announce that Foster Elementary has become an authorized IB World School. It was the result of a lot of hard work from my team of teachers. They put their heart into the process and I'm happy to see more transdisciplinary connections in their practice. Now, we are on the way to new adventures ahead! In the springtime, I made connections with Eve Pierre and Mike Medvinsky, the Dean of Pedagogy and Innovation at CITL and The University Liggett School. Eve had been following me on LinkedIn and knew I would connect with this team of educators in Michigan. She was right. These are my people. Over the four days, we learned from:
As a social media newbie, it was wonderful to connect with these educators below. I use Twitter to connect with other people interactively and LinkedIn to spread learning farther. As part of our workshop fees, we received this amazing kit of goodies, including three books from the main speakers. Have you ever received this much stuff for very little? I feel so lucky! Before this workshop, I thought I knew how to use the PZ visible thinking routines. I realized that I'm a baby user compared to so many others. It's exciting to continuously grow and becoming exposed to new ideas. Below, we used the Making Meaning Routine to help break down Activism. Social skills are so pertinent in the specialist and supporting classes. They reinforce what is being done in the rest of the school, so we need to find some consistency in modeling them to our students. In this episode, we are trying to examine the social skills that learners need in order to operate within the world. We will be using the same social skills as the grades 1-6, but apply them to our unique roles. But first, let's look at some of the skills we as educators need to model, so our learners are able to apply it to their own practice.
The social sub-skills help learners to know how to appropriately interact with each other. The social skills are divided into two criteria:
The sub-skill that pops out to me the most is interpersonal relationships. I will only focus on the ones that resonate, but are still a growth area for me. This time, I am matching the learner's social skills with what educators can do to support their learners. We are always trying to find ways to innovate and take learning further! Interpersonal RelationshipsWhen we think about interpersonal relationships, we think of interactions where all people involved are invested in the feelings and needs of others. We will explore different ways that the IB has outlined as building interpersonal relationships. Practice empathy and care for othersEmpathy is one of the hardest things for children and adults to understand. It’s one thing to show compassion to another who is in pain, but it’s another thing to show empathy. Empathy is the ability to see a situation from another’s point of view. This is hard stuff. It requires us to truly listen, observe, and listen some more. “Empathy represents the foundation skill for all the social competencies important for work.” I love this quote by Daniel Goleman, because it highlights how empathy is the foundation of everything we do in the PYP. What teachers can do: Provide explicit opportunities for students to practise and develop these skills Say what? I have to support empathy development in my class too? Yes, siree. We want our learners to see that social skills transcend throughout the school as part of our transdisciplinary approach to learning. How can we possibly do this? Here are some possible ideas:
What teachers can do: Provide opportunities for students to reflect on their social skills. How often are we getting students to reflect on learning and social situations during the day? This is how we grow in our understanding of empathy and how to use appropriate social skills in uncertain situations.
Listen closely to others' perspectives and to instructionsI remember in teacher’s college being taught the difference between hearing and listening. Hearing is the simple act of hearing information coming at us. Listening is the active participation of receiving ideas and giving them value. Simply put, it means to be curious. How do you engage your learners to be actively engaged in listening and developing their curiosity? What teachers can do: Offer students opportunities to see that “other people, with their differences, can also be right”.
What teachers can do: Reflect and feedback on different interactions they observe.
Advocate for one’s own rights and needs, and those of others.When we are learning social skills, we tend to bumble and violate a lot of cultural norms. This is normal, but sometimes awkward. How do we help our learned to manage these situations with grace, so they don’t repeat them very often?
One way I see a lot of bumbling is when trying to advocate for the rights of self and others. If done without careful thought, it can come off rude, disruptive, or inappropriate. What are we doing to help our learners to know what is the correct way? What teachers can do: Use the language of the learner profile in conversations and discussions, and in the development of essential agreements.
That’s it for now my friends as I try to apply these ideas to specialist and supporting teachers. As you enter the elementary age, there seems to be a trend that I have noticed in nearly two decades of education. The older the learner, the quieter they become in a traditional learning environment. This should not be the case in a PYP classroom, since learners should be posing wonderings, collaborating ideas with others, researching, testing out ideas, and forming conclusions. So, how is it that we are still seeing quiet students in the upper grades? Our learners quickly understand that to be considered a “bright” and “good” student, they know when to speak and when to remain silent. This is part of developing social skills. In some cases, learners are afraid to speak their minds to avoid ramifications from the teacher. So, how do we fix this situation, so all learners are actively engaged in refining their social skill development while demonstrating agency? In this episode, we are trying to examine the social skills that learners need in order to operate within the world. But first, let's look at some of the skills we as educators need to model, so our learners are able to apply it to their own practice.
The social sub-skills help learners to know how to appropriately interact with each other. The social skills are divided into two criteria:
The sub-skill that pops out to me the most is interpersonal relationships. I will only focus on the ones that resonate, but are still a growth area for me. This time, I am matching the learner's social skills with what educators can do to support their learners. We are always trying to find ways to innovate and take learning further! Interpersonal RelationshipsWhen we think about interpersonal relationships, we think of interactions where all people involved are invested in the feelings and needs of others. We will explore different ways that the IB has outlined as building interpersonal relationships. Practice empathy and care for othersEmpathy is one of the hardest things for children and adults to understand. It’s one thing to show compassion to another who is in pain, but it’s another thing to show empathy. Empathy is the ability to see a situation from another’s point of view. This is hard stuff. It requires us to truly listen, observe, and listen some more. “Empathy represents the foundation skill for all the social competencies important for work.” I love this quote by Daniel Goleman, because it highlights how empathy is the foundation of everything we do in the PYP. What teachers can do: Provide explicit opportunities for students to practice and develop these skills
What teachers can do: Provide opportunities for students to reflect on their social skills.
Listen closely to others’ perspectives and to instructionsI remember in teacher’s college being taught the difference between hearing and listening. Hearing is the simple act of hearing information coming at us. Listening is the active participation of receiving ideas and giving them value. Simply put, it means to be curious. How do you engage your learners to be actively engaged in listening and developing their curiosity? What teachers can do: Offer students opportunities to see that “other people, with their differences, can also be right”.
What teachers can do: Reflect and feedback on different interactions they observe.
Advocate for one’s own rights and needs, and those of othersWhen we are learning social skills, we tend to bumble and violate a lot of cultural norms. This is normal, but sometimes awkward. How do we help our learned to manage these situations with grace, so they don’t repeat them very often? One way I see a lot of bumbling is when trying to advocate for the rights of self and others. If done without careful thought, it can come off rude, disruptive, or inappropriate. What are we doing to help our learners to know what is the correct way? What teachers can do: Use the language of the learner profile in conversations and discussions, and in the development of essential agreements.
That’s it for now my friends as I try to apply these ideas to specialist and supporting teachers. This past week, I’ve had the experience of helping to take care of my nine month old niece. I’ve been reminded all over again of the natural tendency for young people to want to bond with others. Even without language skills, my niece shows her needs through sounds, body language, and gestures. When she doesn’t get her way, you know it through waving of hands, raised voice, and the distant disgruntled look on her face. As she grows, she will learn how to advocate herself through appropriate social skills. Every time I enter an early years classroom, I feel the same energy. The room is full of young people trying to figure out the correct social cues and behaviors to properly participate in the classroom and school. They make mistakes, they make others cry, they cry, and the cycle repeats itself until self-awareness sets in. This is the magical part of being an early years teacher. You get to watch all of this self-awareness take place and you get to see these young people take more ownership through social skill development. It’s part of creating good humans. “Social development also takes shape in these early years as children are naturally inclined to explore, to discover, to play and to make connections between self, others and their entire surroundings. Through these interactions, children form their perception of themselves and others in the world (Rushton, Juola-Rushton 2010).” PYP Principles into Practice: The Learner (2018). In this episode, we are trying to examine the social skills that early learners need in order to operate within the world. But first, let's look at some of the skills we as educators need to model, so our learners are able to apply it to their own practice.
The social sub-skills help learners to know how to appropriately interact with each other. The social skills are divided into two criteria:
The sub-skill that pops out to me the most is social and emotional intelligence. This is one of the growing areas for most early learners, since they are just beginning to interact with others outside of their family and home community. This time, I am matching the learner's social skills with what educators can do to support their learners. We are always trying to find ways to innovate and take learning further! Social and emotional intelligenceAs we enter school, we have to learn how to engage with others respectfully, while advocating for our own needs. This process takes a lot of time, reflective practice, and communication. Let's explore some ways that the IB focuses on social and emotional intelligence. Be aware of own and others’ feelingsThis is a challenge for young learners, since they often don’t understand their own feelings and how to express them to others. What teachers can do: Provide opportunities for students to reflect on their social skills.
Manage anger and resolve conflictFor many learners, they come to school with limited exposure to other children their own age. They have difficulties expressing their feelings, managing their anger, and resolving conflict. What teachers can do: Provide explicit opportunities for students to practice and develop these skills, including (dramatic) play and games.
Be self and socially awareAs an educator, this was always a struggle to get older students to be self and socially aware of their actions. As a coordinator, I noticed that my early years team navigated this with ease. They were able to teach their learners through routines, songs, chants, and within their units, how to be self and socially aware. What teachers can do: Reflect and provide feedback on different interactions and other moments they observe.
What teachers can do: Offer students opportunities for taking perspective.
Be aware of own and others’ impact as a member of a group Ooh...I think this is the hardest one. Our little people don’t understand fully the impact actions have on a learning community. They are still so me-centric that their point of view is skewed.
What teachers can do: Use the language of the learner profile in conversations and discussions, and in the development of essential agreements.
What teachers can do: Model the social skills and language needed to greet, solve problems, share resources, and so on.
That’s it for now my friends as I try to apply these ideas to grades 1-6. |
Categories
All
Archives
February 2025
|