This year, I am trying to be more intentional. Intention is about having a specific game plan when planning, teaching, and assessing. This takes a lot of cognitive power to make connections between different ideas while allowing learners to demonstrate some agency along the way. When I consider the central idea, it's nice to unpack the statement with pictures and words, but what comes next? There has to be some intentional connection with the central idea. This can be difficult for many of us, because we don't know quite how to begin. I made it simple. I asked my learners to take a moment and reflect as a group what the unpacked central idea meant to them. I posed these questions:
This began our process of making meaning of the unpacked central idea as a small group. The process of writing our own central ideas didn't take much time. My class really appreciates having a word bank to choose from and they were easily able to create their own version. To be honest, I worried that this would take a long time due to the varied linguistic and learning profiles of my learners. But, they surprised me. In small groups, they were able to create central ideas that made sense. To further clarify the meaning, they created images to support the understanding of the central idea for other groups. They were all posted together to set the intention for taking personal action based on the ideas. Each group presented something similar to this idea. It was wonderful to see their voices come to life so quickly. When I read this central idea, my heart really was touched. This is what some of my learners took away from the experience. They were able to discuss various ways that their families made them feel safe (physically, mentally, psychologically, etc.)
What is your strategy for setting the intention with the central idea? How do your learners make connections in order to take action?
0 Comments
This year, I’m trying something new. Some inquiry experts recommend sharing the central idea at the start of a unit. They argue that it helps learners understand the destination, allowing them to map out personal inquiries. This approach resonates with me because knowing the areas of exploration often makes it easier to make meaningful connections independently. However, others suggest that revealing the central idea upfront can limit exploration. By framing the thinking early on, we might take away the element of discovery and limit learners' creativity. This perspective also makes sense to me. Deciding which approach to take can be challenging. I believe it depends on your learners, the time of year, and their capacity to make connections on their own. For the first unit, I chose a traditional approach by presenting the central idea upfront. Since my learners were new to the process, I wanted to ease them into it. I clearly outlined the central idea and lines of inquiry, connecting them through the unit’s content. Why unpack the central idea? It helps learners reframe the big idea in their own words and context. How can this be done? There are many ways to unpack a central idea, and the approach should align with the learning community's preferences. One strategy that worked well for my multilingual learners was using word banks. A list of related words helped them reframe the central idea in a way that resonated with them. When presenting the central idea, I broke it down into individual concepts and action verbs, explaining each part in detail. I also used color coding to show how the words connect. Here’s an example of one of our central ideas. Tomorrow, I will share how we merged these words with images to create their own group central ideas. What a powerful tool.
Welcome back to our specialist and supporting teachers series! This is our sixth episode leaning into inquiry for our supporting teachers, particularly the inclusion specialist. In specified roles that support learning and behavioral development, the challenge is there isn’t a set curriculum you are following. This is how the PYP can help you the most, because it’s full of approaches to help bring about the best in the learners that you support. What do the experts have to say?When you ask the PYP community about the inquiry leaders, you might get the response of Kath Murdoch, Kimberly Mitchell, and Trevor MacKenzie. They provide varying approaches to bringing about inquiry into practice. Consider reading some of their books for general strategies that you can apply to your unique role. In Dive into Inquiry, Trevor MacKenzie states, “I see inquiry as the strongest method to create personalized learning pathways for all learners, a method that brings the curriculum of life into the curriculum of school. My approach is a scaffolded one that proposes a gradual shift - from the teacher to the learner - in control over learning.” Everytime I read this quote, I am reminded of the power of consistency. Inquiry can only authentically occur when teachers are consistent with approaches to teaching and learning. Teaching is the vehicle for unpacking WHY a strategy is important, HOW it impacts processes, and WHAT must be done to make it happen. We can’t teach inquiry as a subject, because it’s a process of understanding and applying ideas to the self. In her book, Getting Personal with Inquiry Learning, Kath Murdoch states that “An inquiry is generally driven by questions and these questions may arise from a need, a problem, a puzzle, or an interest” (Murdoch, 2022, pg.18). As you teach and support your learners, how are you crafting it through a question that drives a need, problem, puzzle, or interest? This might be the simplest way to bring about more curiosity and wonder into your teaching. This is not the only way to approach inquiry. In Experiencing Inquiry, Kimberly Mitchel states, “An inquiry is teaching in such a way that the students are doing most of the work. They are asking questions. They are researching complex problems. They are formulating opinions. They are even at times teaching and offering feedback. Inquiry works at every grade level in every subject area (Mitchell, 2019, pg.1). Once again, inquiry brings about the natural exploration of ideas and agency of learners. The learner is taking on most of the thinking and you are there to provide the questions. I know this sounds so easy and silly at times. Looping back to the last episode, I thought so too in the beginning. I wondered how questions would change my practice. I can only speak to my experiences, but they have changed everything about how content is delivered. I provide the provocations and they respond. Let’s take a moment to apply this to the role of the inclusion specialist. How will we apply this to an inclusion specialist?I love inclusion specialists! I’ve had the pleasure of being part of an inclusion team and as a self-contained special education teacher for learners with learning and emotional disabilities. Our goal is to provide opportunities for our learners to return as quickly to the general education setting with support and strategies. I know you are doing your best to make modifications to existing processes and products, so your neurodivergent learners can access the overarching content. This can definitely be a challenge with additional language acquisition and usage issues. One of the challenges you face is serving a wide population based on your limited materials and timing. For this reason, inquiry might aid in helping your learners to make meaning at a quicker rate. I will use the same protocol from the last episode: think, chat, create. This time, we will use a different guiding question to explore the process. Here is a recap of the process. THINK: to authentically think, we have to be put into a situation where we are challenged critically and creatively to solve complex problems that are being faced within our world today. They must resonate with learners as being important. I ask myself…
CHAT: to engage in meaningful chats, we explore a wide range of issues that interest us and come up with alternative solutions that may not have been explored. We recognize that not all of them are doable, but we dream big with others. I ask myself…
CREATE: to create thoughtfully, we consider the big ideas of the exploration and decide what is worthy of being captured. We cannot create everything, so we must decide what is worthy of being remembered and how it is connected to other ideas.
Setting the StageYou are an inclusion specialist working with learners inside the general education classroom. The homeroom teacher is exploring story elements, but many students are struggling with the language of character traits, setting, and plot elements. You see that many learners are confused about how they work together, so you suggest co-leading a session with the homeroom teacher. To address this issue, you will use a strategy called Probable Passage from Kylene Beers book called When Kids Can’t Read, What Teachers Can Do. I was introduced to it when I began my teaching career and I’ve used the strategies ever since. They were designed with middle school learners in mind, but they can be scaffolded down. I am currently completing this process right now with my third-grade learners using the book Three Samurai Cats by Eric Kimmel. I am setting up the experience using the thinkchat lesson cycle presented in confession #140. thinkWhere are they actively problem-solving? Problem-solving begins with a great question. I like to use images, books, videos, and experiments to get my learners to ask questions about what they are experiencing. Asking questions can be challenging for some learners who don’t yet feel confident in their abilities. Here is one way that I model the process for them. I share a picture of a tree with some special blossoms on it that is specific to a region. I simply ask, where in the world can we find this tree? Based on their prior experience, learners make quick predictions of where they can find the tree. Low risk, but it gets them curious. Next, I show a picture of three men in armor. I ask them these questions one at a time based on the Think Puzzle Explore visible thinking routine. The groups are simply answering the questions and sharing.
This thinking routine is an extension of See Think Wonder. I usually teach it first and show how Think Puzzle Explore is the next step of the same process, so it decreases their stress. To extend the thinking “How are the two pictures connected together? Can you figure out where this story is going to take place now?” What is the job of the three men? How are they different? chatWhat scaffolds are in place for authentic reflection and action? Scaffolds come in all different forms. Some like to use note-taking sheets while others like bubble maps. For me, I use a wide range to gather information and then we use it to reflect and move forward. For this session, we will use Probable Passage. We will need one piece of paper, a marker or pencil, and 8-10 vocabulary words that you want to frontload from the text. As we know, a big part of being an inclusion specialist is providing scaffolds for language acquisition. I love this tool to help this process. We take a piece of paper and fold it into thirds in portrait mode. I draw lines on the fold lines, so learners can see the three sections. On the first row, I break it up into three sections and label them characters, setting, and problem. The second row, I label it GIST statement. The third row, I break it into two sections and label them as: solution and unknown words. Once the template is made, I present 8-10 words from the text that guide to an understanding of the text. Learners review the list of 8-10 words and place them in the categories: characters, setting, problem, solution, and unknown words. They can only place three words in each box to stop learners from placing most of the words in the unknown category. Once the words are placed, they use them to create a GIST statement, or a main idea of what they think the story is about. They specifically use characters, setting, the problem, and outcome to describe the story arc. This process is of high interest, but non-threatening to neurodivergent learners. The purpose is to make a best guess and most of the class will guess incorrectly. This is because of their prior knowledge, life experiences, and cultural heritage, which shapes the narrative. We explore this idea together to make it as non-threatening of an experience when sharing the GIST. After reading the Three Samurai Cats, we compare our GIST statements to the story and find areas of similarities and differences. This is a chance for learners to share their ideas with each other and calibrate if they are close to their peers to clear up misconceptions. This reflection part is so crucial, because learners get to share their ideas and regulate themselves. Sometimes, everyone has a different answer, which is also part of the experience. createHow are they internalizing the content into their everyday lives? As we go through this experience, the learners are beginning to recognize their ability to make predictions, frame out a story, and find meaning based on their personal experiences. To create further contextualization, we reflect on our history and find similarities to the story of the samurai in our own cultures. In the United States, the Spanish missions followed the same structure as the Daimyo and Shrine relationship. The Catholic priests would establish missions around the southern part of the country. Each mission was surrounded by a fort that would protect the priest at all costs. There were varying levels of soldiers like the samurai to protect the ruler. In speaking with my class, they compared the samurai to the military of today. The soldiers are there to protect their fellow citizens. Just like the samurai, there are rankings based on education, time in the military, and ability levels. The most specialized enter a special team to protect world leaders. These relevant connections help to launch the discussion about human-made systems that are in place to protect the ruling power. This can launch into present-day ideas about advertising, social media, rules, regulations, and power. So many potential possibilities for exploration. final thoughtsAs an inclusion specialist, you are probably thinking, that was a lot to process. It is. The key is breaking down the process into bite-size chunks that your learners will understand. Make it over 3-4 sessions, so they see a complete story arc. Here are possible ways I scaffold the learning to this experience.
I hope some of these ideas work for your small group lessons. It’s about elevating our neurodivergent learners up and not watering the learning down. This year, I have been fortunate to have two student teacher interns in my classroom. They have greatly impressed me by their dedication to the craft and their ability to adapt to new ideas and strategies. It has been truly a delight to see them blossom in their understanding of inquiry and play over three months. This week, we began the actual student teaching practicum. It was wonderful to see such dedication to creating experiences, rather than just delivering information. Luna set the stage by exploring five different habitats through exploration centers. The learners were able to touch, observe, and reflect on their prior knowledge while manipulating the materials. This was highly sensory and allowed the learners to engage in deeper discussions about the various needs within certain habitats. When you look at these materials, it's difficult to resist touching. It's like your mind is hardwired to touch, experience, and play.
What would you add to this experience to make it even more meaningful? One of the hardest things that most PYP teachers face is unpacking the central idea, especially if it is filled with concepts. I know this has been a challenge for me over the years. I discovered some hacks while being a PYP coordinator and independent consultant that I now apply back into my classroom. Use pictures and words to share the story of the central idea. What do I mean by this? Simply, use concrete words and pictures that help learners to access the central idea in their own way. Variety is key. For the early years, I use many pictures. They paint a better picture of how it looks and feels in practice. Here is an example from the inquiry wall of Ms. Wiltz, my former kindergarten teacher at Foster Elementary in Houston, Texas. Together, we unpacked this central idea to be kid-friendly. Awareness is when you get an idea and you stop to think about it. We get many ideas, but awareness is when we understand how the idea works. Self is all about me and knowing my impact on others. Choices are things that we make or do, some are good and others are not so good.
Ms. Wiltz worked the entire unit to help her learners understand that awareness is truly knowing ourselves and the choices that we make. Sometimes, we make choices by accident, which we call mistakes. It's okay to make mistakes, because they help us grow. What is not okay is when we purposely making bad choices when we know the consequences. The power of a central idea is when you can take action from it. Ms. Wiltz asked her learners, what are some choices that you made that you knew were good and not so good. Would you make the same choices again? What would you do differently? The power of the central idea is creating change in our learners. How does your central idea reflect the conceptual ideas within your unit? How to they lead your learners to action? This October, I had the priviledge of attending the IB Global Conference in Budapest. I was blessed to meet and reconnect with so many people that I admire. One of those people is Sean Walker. Have you had a chance to meet Sean? If you haven't, you are in for a treat. He is one of the most humble, yet talented people I've met in a long time. His work in the early years and the PYP is legendary. At the IB Global Conference, I was able to attend Sean's session on Play and Playful Learning. The video below shines a light of the type of learning we were engaged with during our session. Sean shared his goal of blogging everyday his experiences with his three and four year olds. This was an age change for him and he wanted to capture bite-sized moments of genius. Here is his blog. This got me thinking about my own practice. I am a wee late to blog from the first day of school, but I still have the chance to reflect on my class' first unit of inquiry and the lessons learned. I think this will help me to celebrate the learning journey and identify areas of improvement. Will you take the Sean Walker challenge with me? There are multiple ways for you to capture your process. Blogging is only one way. You can decide to reflect on your experiences privately or share them with others. Here are some other ways to capture your thinking.
We all process information differently, so the end product will not be the same. The important thing is to reflect on our progress. It's not about making big posts, but providing snapshots of agency, inquiry, and conceptual understanding in practice. I can't wait to get started! I had to share this picture of Sean Walker, Merve Korkmaz (one of my favorite people in the world), and myself at the conference. Merve's smile reflects how I was feeling at that moment. Full of wonder, excitement, and love for fellow educators. By the way, Sean and the legendary Anne Van Dam are leading a one day workshop in Berlin on January 18, 2025. The workshop focus is on Responsive Learning Spaces: Designing Environments that Support Children's Meaning-Making. My professional goal is to design a more learner-centered space, so I think this will be perfect. Here is the link about the workshop. I hope you will join me! This past year, I had the pleasure of visiting Copenhagen for the first time. It is a quiet, yet vibrant city with so many things to experience. One of the things that I noticed that was utmost importance was shared communal spaces. There is no piped music in stores. The airport is QUIET and everyone speaks in hushed tones. There is a general respect for self and others while in public spaces. Before traveling to Denmark, I had heard of a term that captures this mentality called Hygge. It's about finding coziness and contentment in your everyday life. The Danish people truly live up to this ideal by setting the stage for internal and external happiness. One thing that captured my attention a couple years ago was this book by Meik Wiking, the director of the Happiness Institute. Their entire mission to study and explore the causes and effects of happiness on humanity. As I read this little book of Hygge, I discovered several factors that I began to implement into my own life. Here are my highlights.
After reading the book, I found a Ted talk of Meik Wiking about the Dark Side of Happiness, which made me pause an reflect on social pressures to be happy. True happiness come from within and a little bit of Hygge just might help to make that happen.
Any want to share a piece of cake with me? Normally, I give an educator shout-out to someone that I greatly admire. The team at Le Jardin Academy have a piece of my heart and I've already done a school shout-out here. I had the priviledge of working with all of the grade levels within the school to discuss personal and shared inquiry. We had deep discussions about current practice, common obstacles, and possible plans to move forward. Little did I know that five months later that my work alongside Kath Murdoch and Trevor MacKenzie would be presented at the SOTF 2024 conference. As you can imagine, I was honored and surprised that my work would be featured amongst inquiry greats. It has truly been an honor to work with this team and I'm so happy they are moving forward with their inquiry journey. For the full post, you can visit Serena's LinkedIn page here. She has many insights about her school's journey to build personal and shared inquiry into their practice. Greetings from Copenhagen, Denmark! I can't believe I've had the priviledge of visiting this rather remarkable city. There are many sites to see, but I had my heart set on the Happiness Museum from the start. In a previous post, I shared a bit about the Happiness Institute, a team of a people who are researching the causes of happiness and how we can make it more sustainable in our daily lives. You can imagine my excitement when I discovered they had a physical place where you can experience it for yourself. While at the Happiness Museum, I happened to meet Anna who was managing the front desk. She works full-time at the Happiness Institute and a founding member of the museum. She was kind enough to take the time to meet with me about their mission and purpose. Here is the interview. As I have reflected on my visit to Copenhagen, I can understand why Denmark has been voted the happiest place on earth. This is a tall order, but when you regularly focus on well-being it manifests in daily actions and your culture. I can't wait for a second visit to this museum. I love Lake Forest Hills so much! I've had the priviledge of leading workshops with their dynamic team and trying to figure out how to make the PYP work magically in their school. Isn't that the best? This would not be happening so deeply if it weren't for two people: Lisa Hughey and Crystal Colemen. I love these two leaders so much.
Here is a shout-out video I created about this wonderful school. I am excited to learn with Dr. Lucy Wong about two topics on January 11, 2025. You can register with the Spear Center at the International School of Portland. Workshop Description Join Dr. Lucy Hoi Yin Wong for an insightful webinar that focuses on transforming inquiry from a mindset into a fluent practice. Drawing on her extensive experience as a consultant, teacher trainer, and coach, Dr. Wong will guide seasoned inquiry-based and concept-based educators through an examination of the underlying principles of inquiry learning. In this session, Dr. Wong will help participants envision what inquiry fluency looks like in the classroom and how it can lead to a whole-school approach. Attendees will explore the essential key elements necessary for moving to the next stages of inquiry development, fostering a culture that supports continuous growth and exploration. Dr. Wong will also discuss the importance of teacher inquiry fluency as a foundation for broader educational transformation. By understanding the “why” behind inquiry practices, educators will be better equipped to inspire their students and colleagues alike. This webinar offers a unique opportunity to engage with Dr. Wong’s vision for inquiry-based education and to reflect on how to create a more cohesive inquiry-driven environment within your school. Elevate your educational approach and embark on a journey toward inquiry fluency! Workshop Description Join Dr. Lucy Hoi Yin Wong for an insightful webinar that explores adaptive and literacy-based approaches specifically designed for inquiry-based additional language classrooms. Drawing from her extensive action research and experience in coaching teachers, Dr. Wong will share how these methodologies can enhance language learning in various educational settings. In this session, participants will discover what an adaptive, literacy-focused additional language classroom looks like in practice, including immersion environments and other diverse settings. Dr. Wong will highlight key factors that contribute to successful implementation, such as differentiated instruction, student-centered learning, and the integration of authentic materials. Moreover, Dr. Wong will address the current challenges faced by educators in additional language teaching, including varying student abilities and engagement levels. By sharing relevant research, she will provide evidence-based strategies to overcome these hurdles and foster effective language acquisition. This webinar is ideal for any educator involved in additional language instruction, whether in inquiry-based, immersion, or other classroom contexts. Participants will leave with actionable insights and a clearer vision of how to create dynamic language learning environments that cater to diverse student needs. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from Dr. Wong’s expertise and enhance your teaching practice! I have known Annia Dear since 2013 when we both worked at Universal American School Dubai. My mother used to tell me that you can always tell if a person is a good egg. Annia a good egg. Professionally, Annia has always been a role model to me. After many years of being the head of primary, she returned to the classroom, because she began to feel out of touch of the needs of learners. She also wanted to remember what it was like to be a teacher again, so she could empathize with her team. This experience stayed with me as a teacher, coordinator, and independent consultant. Years later, I have done the same thing after many years outside the classroom. I returned this year as a third-grade teacher, because I was feeling disconnected to the teacher experience. It was the best decision for me and I'll never forget how Annia influenced my decision so many years ago. Annia is currently the Deputy Head of Academy at Aga Khan Academy, Maputo. I can't wait to visit her campus this year and reconnect from a fresh perspective. I've been reflecting lately about my childhood learning experiences. I had a lot of change to deal with as a young one. I often wonder how I learned to read and write, let alone be socially functioning in society. This quote by Yo-Yo Ma really touched my heart. Children are sponges for everything that happens in their environment, the good and the bad. As I look at my life and the choices I have made, I am reminded that I must have been surrounded by some amazing adults that cared for me. How are we doing the same thing for the next generation? I am super excited to participate in this one day workshop in Berlin with Sean Walker and Anne van Dam. If you know about international early years education, you know they are the best. Why am I taking this workshop? I am not an early years educator, but I want to apply it back to my practice as a third-grade teacher. I can't wait to learn more. To register, click here. Oftentimes in the busyness of life, we can get weighed down. This is the time that we need to remember that we are human. We are here to embrace all of our emotions and to not keep them bottled up inside until we implode. How are we teaching our young learners to embrace their humanity and to advocate for their needs? It's a challenge, but so needed. I recently had the priviledge of leading an Evidencing Learning workshop with the team at Nord Anglia Dublin school along with Jack Odey, the PYP coordinator. This lively bunch of educators got me thinking deeper about what it means to evidence the learning journey and how it might look differently to each child. This is why I love leading IB workshops so much. They allow me the opportunity to engage with others who are equally passionate about the PYP and give me food for thought. |
Categories
All
Archives
February 2025
|