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. 

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:

• Trevor MacKenzie (Author: Dive into Inquiry & Inquiry Mindset series)
• Ron Ritchhart (Author & Researcher: Harvard Project Zero)
• Grayson McKinney & Zach Rondot (Authors:  The Expert Effect)
• Erika Lusky (PZ Culture of Thinking Coach)

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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. 
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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!
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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. 
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​​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.

• Provide explicit opportunities for students to practice and develop these skills
• Provide opportunities for students to reflect on their social skills.
• Reflect and feedback on different interactions they observe.
• Offer students opportunities to see that “other people, with their differences, can also be right”.
• Use the language of the learner profile in conversations and discussions, and in the development of essential agreements.
• Model the social skills.

The social sub-skills help learners to know how to appropriately interact with each other.  The social skills are divided into two criteria:

• Interpersonal relationships
• Social and emotional intelligence

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!

When 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. 

Empathy 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:

• EAL:  we can show empathy while we are practicing language development.  We recognize that not everyone grows at the same rate, so we celebrate the growth.

 

• PE:  we can show empathy when acquiring new skills.  Not everyone is sporty, so we can learn how to show support to others who are struggling. 

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.  

• Science:  we can show empathy by reflecting on our own social skills and identifying strengths and areas of growth.  

 

• Art:  we can examine how artists used light, color, shape to evoke feeling within their works and reflect on how they might apply to us.

I 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”.

• Most students think their way of looking at the world is right.  We need to help them to understand that there are multiple possibilities and they are equally right. 

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• Special Ed:  we can look at different texts of a similar theme and examine what the characters are feeling.  Look at how we might react in a similar situation.  Discuss how all people feel and react in different ways and they are all right based on where we are on our emotional journey.  There is no right way to feel. 

What teachers can do: Reflect and feedback on different interactions they observe.

• Applies to all:  The next step in the process of actively listening is reflecting on the process.  This is so crucial in developing confident listeners and identifying possible misconceptions along the way.  How does your schedule allow for regular reflection of the learning process?  If it doesn’t, where can you possibly take some time to incorporate it into your practice? 

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.

• Applies to All:  One possibility is using the language of the learner profile to scaffold the process.  Model the learner profile attributes throughout the day to make requests and redirect student behavior.  This will demonstrate a variety of ways to look at the attributes and how to use them in future social situations.  

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• Applies to All:  Creating essential agreements with the learner profile attributes sets the tone for social behavior within the classroom.  By co-constructing them with our learners, they take more ownership of the process.  They are more willing to own their mistakes and accept the predetermined consequence more easily.  The learner profile attributes are more than a list of character traits, but a way to govern our lives, so we are open to the thinking of others.  If we use them to develop social skills, it will be easier to support international mindedness in our schools. 

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.

• Provide explicit opportunities for students to practice and develop these skills
• Provide opportunities for students to reflect on their social skills.
• Reflect and feedback on different interactions they observe.
• Offer students opportunities to see that “other people, with their differences, can also be right”.
• Use the language of the learner profile in conversations and discussions, and in the development of essential agreements.
• Model the social skills.

The social sub-skills help learners to know how to appropriately interact with each other.  The social skills are divided into two criteria:

• Interpersonal relationships
• Social and emotional intelligence

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!

​When 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. 

I 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”.

• One possibility in posing a variety of questions (more information about this is in confession #4 Asking the Right Questions).  Posing deep questions allows students to answer based on their unique perspectives.  To keep listeners engaged in the process, have them write down key points and provide question stems they can ask in return.  

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• After the discussions, have learners defend the answer choices of their partners.  Have them describe the differences to their thinking.  The ultimate goal is to get learners to see that multiple perspectives is a healthy thing, because it broadens our understanding of the world.  By deepening our listening skills, we learn to pick up social cues within conversations. 

What teachers can do: Reflect and feedback on different interactions they observe.

• The next step in the process of actively listening is reflecting on the process.  This is so crucial in developing confident listeners and identifying possible misconceptions along the way.  How does your schedule allow for regular reflection of the learning process?  If it doesn’t, where can you possibly take some time to incorporate it into your practice? 

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.

• One possibility is using the language of the learner profile to scaffold the process.  Model the learner profile attributes throughout the day to make requests and redirect student behavior.  This will demonstrate a variety of ways to look at the attributes and how to use them in future social situations.  

​

• Creating essential agreements with the learner profile attributes sets the tone for social behavior within the classroom.  By co-constructing them with our learners, they take more ownership of the process.  They are more willing to own their mistakes and accept the predetermined consequence more easily.  The learner profile attributes are more than a list of character traits, but a way to govern our lives, so we are open to the thinking of others.  If we use them to develop social skills, it will be easier to support international mindedness in our schools. 

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).

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​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.

• Provide explicit opportunities for students to practice and develop these skills, including (dramatic) play and games.
• Provide opportunities for students to reflect on their social skills.
• Reflect and provide feedback on different interactions and other moments they observe.
• Offer students opportunities for taking perspective.
• Use the language of the learner profile in conversations and discussions, and in the development of essential agreements.
• Model the social skills and language needed to greet, solve problems, share resources, and so on.

The social sub-skills help learners to know how to appropriately interact with each other.  The social skills are divided into two criteria:
​

• Interpersonal relationships
• Social and emotional intelligence

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!

As 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. 

This 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.
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• One thing we can do as educators is provide opportunities for our learners to reflect on their social skill development.  This can happen through social stories, storyboards, and whole class discussions.  The repeated opportunity for students to reflect in different ways will allow them to see how their behavior has an impact on someone else. 

For 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.

• Role-plays and games are such a great way to get learners to practice social skills through play.  By teaching social skills through dramatic play, learners disconnect themselves from experience and they can be corrected in a safe manner.  Learners tend to not take it personally, since they were playing a “part” in the social story. 

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.

• To get learners to better understand their role in the community, use the language of the learner profile to express how their actions impact others.  “Shayla, when you took Emily’s pencil, that was not very honest or principled.”  Additionally, establish social behavior expectations by developing class essential agreements.  The learners help to co-create the agreements that are essential so all learners can thrive.  By co-creating these agreements, they take greater ownership when they misbehave and will more readily accept the consequence that has been pre-determined by the class. 

What teachers can do:  Model the social skills and language needed to greet, solve problems, share resources, and so on.
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• Modeling has always been the greatest tool in my kit.  Modeling is how expectations become a part of practice, so it’s important that our learners understand the necessary social skills and language that is needed.  The modeling can be applied to various learning situations and learning contexts to deepen the understanding. 

That’s it for now my friends as I try to apply these ideas to grades 1-6.