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?
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Ever since the last episode, I have struggled with a gnawing feeling that I was not quite right in my ideas. As I have unraveled the concept of play, I must admit that my friend Mondrea Mitchell was correct. What I consider play to be in the older years, is actually a form of playfulness. What is the difference? Play is truly an open-ended construction of meaning and making sense of the world. While Playfulness is using the concept of play to bring about more opportunities for learners to explore concepts deeper. There is a foundational difference. In her book, Mind in the Making: The Seven Essential Life Skills Every Child Needs, Ellen Galinsky explores how making connections requires learners to think differently. I think these connections can be used to describe the purpose of play for early learners. SimilaritiesWe learn how things are similar to each other by sorting and classifying objects by size, shape, color, texture, and function. DifferencesIn order to understand how things are different, we must classify objects to determine their similarities. For example, emus and penguins are both birds, but they do not fly. RelationshipsLearners build connections by understanding how things are related. For example, a ball, bat, and a mit are different objects, but they are used together to play a game. We are learning to build relationships with other people outside of our family and learn how to function in different social circumstances. This allows us to create generalizations of how one operates in a community. Unusual ConnectionsLearners are able to combine relationships, similarities, and differences to make unusual connections. For example, singing in a rock band and dancing in a ballet are both performances. They may have performed to a different type of audience, but both are designed to entertain. Play versus PlayfulnessAs learners interact with each other, materials, and situations, they begin to make generalizations about the world. This process naturally comes alive through purposeful play.
As we age, we have a consciousness of how basic things work in the world and our role in making it happen. It is through playfulness that we continue our journey towards self-discovery and inquiry learning. In looking at the idea of playfulness, I found a thought provoking article titled Defining Playfulness from Psychology Today. The link can be found here. Playfulness is, in part, an openness to being a fool, which is a combination of not worrying about competence, not being self-important, not taking norms as sacred and finding ambiguity and double edges a source of wisdom and delight. When I used to imagine play in the upper grades, this is what it looked like in my mind. We are acting like fools to play and create without restrictions. This playfulness allows for learners to take risks, solve problems with alternative solutions, and create something new. Regardless if you call it PLAY or PLAYFULNESS, the underlying concept is the same. Learners are exploring loose parts to spark inquiries in different directions. I hope you’ve enjoyed this series as much as I have. It’s taught me a lot about myself as an educator and how to be more playful. I do suggest using the conceptual lesson cycle into your practice to invite more playfulness into your practice. This past week, I had the most lively debate with my friend Mondrea Mitchell over play and it only being in the early years. Don’t you love it when you can respectfully share your ideas with a friend and they push back with ideas you hadn’t considered before? I love this! I don’t want to be coddled, especially since I’m full of a lot of opinions, as you can tell if you have been listening long. ![]() The topic we were discussing is play in the early years. She purported that true play is unbridled and truly engineered by the learner. For this to happen authentically, there should be minimal guidance from the teacher. I completely agree with this, but I think play can also happen for older learners. We just need to get out of their way. Two weeks ago, I moderated a professional interest group about Play-Based Learning for the Toddle Inquiry Education Summit. Based on a poll, most of the educators attending the session were early years teachers. What does that say about play in the upper years? As a hard headed person, I am going to still claim that play can happen for the upper elementary/primary learners and here’s how we can make it happen. Conceptual Lesson CycleOne possibility of incorporating more play into your practice as an upper elementary teacher is a conceptual lesson cycle. What the heck is that? It’s something I made up while engaging with a variety of approaches to deliver content to our learners. There are five main parts that allow learners to take more ownership of the process by playing with the ideas and we get to observe their thinking process. Step 1: Pose a questionThis sounds very intuitive, but you would be surprised how many teachers begin a lesson with a statement or objective. Even within international schools, I saw this happening at the beginning of a lesson cycle. More importantly, the question we ask is not just an ordinary question. Huh? What I mean by that is the question is crafted with the content in mind, but is open-ended for learner exploration. At this point, there are NO teacher directions. You are sitting back observing, asking questions, and getting learners to monitor and document their own progress. Unlike most questions I pose, I will not give my answer. I ask the learners to reveal what their answers are to the provocation and leave it at that. This leaves an air of mystery and allows learners to ask more questions without feeling like that portion is finished. Pure magic. Step 2: Warm-Up ActivityAfter posing a question, I will present an open-ended task with no directions. I usually show an image, diagram, empty organizer, or provide manipulatives. I ask the learners, “What can you do with these materials? How are they connected to the question we just explored?” Once again, the task is quite open-ended and I allow the learners to come up with their own wonderings and possible solutions. We will often share through gallery walks where groups compare and contrast how materials were used differently and reflect using visible thinking routines. Notice, I have not presented any new content until this point. Learners are simply playing with ideas and creating their own inquiries, their own conclusions based on the information they have up until that moment. Step 3: New InformationAt this stage, I present the new content in a short mini-lesson of 20 minutes or less. I want the learners to understand the importance of the concept and be able to synthesize it on their own. At the end of the mini-lesson, I ask them to tell me how the open-ended question and warm-up activity connect to the new content. I want the learners to make the connections; my role is to simply deepen their ideas through questioning and to clear up misconceptions. Step 4: Play with IdeasWith new information in their hands, learners are hungry to test it out. I provide a more complex open-ended task for them to solve. They work collaboratively to solve the problem and I provide various prompts (concrete to abstract), so they can apply their thinking in a variety of ways. Being in the United States, I also have a responsibility to prepare them for the end of year assessment, so I include prompts to test their ability to transfer the learning to a new format. The key here is TIME. I know we all complain about not having time. To be honest, it’s because we are filling the time with a lot of separate activities instead of focusing on the big conceptual ideas. Thinking from a transdisciplinary lens, all of the open-ended tasks can involve more than one subject to make it more connected to real-life. Nothing is stopping us besides our imaginations. Step 5: ReflectSpeaking of time, don’t forget to do this last part. I think it’s one of the most important steps in the process, but it’s often removed due to running out of time.
Reflection is where the magic of metacognition, making relationships happen, having aha moments, recognizing misconceptions, and drawing new conclusions. I think of reflection like a phone call. We are having a nice chat with a friend and all of a sudden the line goes dead and they don’t call back. Inside, you are wondering, “Are we done?” This is the same feeling at the end of a lesson cycle. Learners want to know, “Are we done?” Reflection naturally wraps up ideas and helps the learners to synthesize the big ideas. Don’t let another lesson cycle end without reflection. Well, I don’t know about you, but I saw a lot of play happening in that lesson cycle. Remember, play and inquiry are very interconnected. Play is allowing learners to play with materials and ideas to find their use in various contexts. Inquiry is taking these materials and using them in unique ways driven by learner wonderings. If we want meaningful inquiry to happen, we need to incorporate as much play as possible. This concludes our series on learning space design and play. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this process even amidst all of the craziness of my work life. Stay tuned for a new series…I’m still sorting out what I’m going to tackle next. Something tells me it may be concepts or design thinking. I keep going back and forth. Let me know what you’d like to explore next @thinkcha2020 on Twitter and @Lu Gerlach on LinkedIn. Play is central to early years. We know this. If you are an early years teacher, this is what you do all day long. This episode focuses on the role of play in the early years within the PYP. There are many facets that we think about naturally with this age, but there are some teachers that are confined by their school systems to make it happen. This episode will refer heavily to the PYP documentation, so you can advocate for yourself and your learners. For the rest of us, it's a gentle reminder that we are on the right track. We all need that, especially during these times. There are many words to describe an early years PYP teacher:
When I look at this extensive list, I see educators who are setting the stage for play. They are facilitating rich discussions through purposeful and varied questions. They are researching the latest best practice to reach all of their learners. They are in the thick of the learning with their learners as an active participant. They are shaking up thinking through intentional provocations that stir the heart, head, and hands. They are navigating the learning from a macro level to meet content objectives while carefully observing and documenting learner progress. They are open-minded and reflective practitioners who are focused on continuously improving These roles are many, but they all lead towards a single purpose of developing independent young learners who take ownership of their learning experiences. Designing a Play Filled DayHow do we fulfill all of these targets effectively while managing our time to meet our objectives? The IB has given an outline of how this may look within a lesson cycle or unit plan development.
If you notice, the conditions above reference time, relationships, learning space design, and exploration. These are key tenets of play. How is our time dedicated towards play? Do we allow time for our learners to explore ideas on their own to make their own interpretations and connections? I believe early years teachers on the whole do an amazing job of this through small group work stations, use of varied materials, and interactive learning experiences around the room. The number one challenge is to get out of the way. We need to release the control of the learning experience to allow our learners to create their own. Another thing that stood out is noticing students’ emerging thinking processes, interests and theories, and responding in ways that extend learning. How are we doing this effectively on a daily basis? How is it different from monitoring and documenting students’ learning and development during play, and offering appropriate scaffolded learning experiences for individual students and small groups? I know most early years teachers are continuously documenting throughout the day, because they understand that everything is assessment. They are keeping a variety of records, but how are we using the data collected to extend the learning? Something to consider. We know that relationships are the heart of everything we do in school. By building relationships first, are we able to get the best out of our learners? What are some strategies you are currently using to make this happen? Capture it somewhere. We’ve recently discussed the importance of learning space design and how it brings about play. Go back to prior episodes to discover some ideas. Creating Playful InteractionsFinally, how are we offering opportunities for our learners to explore symbolic exploration and expression? This is so critical to our development as a human on this planet. We encounter symbols throughout our day, so how are we getting learners to understand and apply these symbols regularly? How are we making this process come to life using:
It’s through play that we make meaning of the world around us. I know as early years teachers, we want to make play happen more within our practice. If we are in a more controlled learning environment, how can we add more play into our day? It’s about careful planning. Even when I was in the most standards driven environments, I had to find creative ways to merge the local government requirements through an inquiry and play-based way. It’s possible. Remember, you can’t do these things alone. It takes a village, which includes your grade level team and your PYP coordinator. If you are the only teacher on the grade level, you have your coordinator and access to other early years teachers worldwide through Facebook groups and other social media connections like #pypchat on Twitter. You can do this. For those who are seeking ways to incorporate more inquiry into your practice, I’m currently co-leading a book club on Trevor MacKenzie’s book Diving into Inquiry. Although we have already started, you can join the club. For more information, go onto Twitter and search for my handle @thinkchat2020. I have the latest book club flier pinned to my page. Since the PYP enhancements in 2018, there has been a lot of talk of play. It has always existed in early years, because that is how a young learner creates meaning. In any given learning situation, a young child is presented with open-ended materials for them to build sensory awareness, make predictions, and experiment with on their own. As they build connections, they work with others to test out their theories to determine any misconceptions. Individual and group conferences with the teacher expands the thinking and this often initiates new inquiries and wonderings. Isn’t this a magical way to think and learn? How is it that once a child exits kindergarten in most test-driven societies that this sense of wonder also leaves the learning process? Does this happen also within our international and private schools as a way of growing our students and making them take responsibility for their learning? I can only draw upon my own experiences within fourth and fifth grade. Depending on the school leader, I was afforded a variety of freedom to bring about play into the learning and teaching. The Purpose of PlaySo why is play vital for all children? Joseph Chilten Pearce states.”Play is the only way the highest intelligence of humankind can unfold.” This quote makes me pause and reflect on the future of children who are currently in elementary school. There has been a lot of banter about learning loss over the pandemic. Yet, I would argue that more learning has been gained as our learners have had to pivot towards a digital landscape. They have been required to play with new platforms, ways of learning, collaborate virtually, and create flipped engagements. These skills will prepare them for the digital world that will only increase exponentially over the next 20-40 years. Why do we continue to teach as if we are serving learners from the 1800’s? Misconceptions about PlayPlay is often misunderstood. Because play is a huge part of the early learner in PYP From Principles into Practice, I have met a lot of IB educators believe it is only reserved for that age level? Really? How is a child to deeply inquire if they don't’ play with the ideas first? Here’s a scenario that I like to share with new teachers with workshops. Imagine you have two children who want to play with their Fisher Price dolls. These are plastic or wooden dolls that are appropriate for 3-5 year olds. They play with these dolls and have fun pretending they are family living together. The next day, the two children decide to play with some wooden blocks. Through uninterrupted play, they get to tinker with the blocks and are encouraged to create a variety of structures that will stand on their own. They use different lengths, widths, and shapes of blocks to create structures. This is play. What educators don’t understand is that this unstructured time to tinker with materials and ideas is building the foundation for learning transfer. After playing several times with the materials, the two children will understand how to play with the dolls and the wooden blocks. They will learn how to construct several structures and uses for the same set of materials. Why is this important? This sets the stage for inquiry. Connecting Play to InquiryAn inquirer will put the two sets of play together and ask, “I wonder how I can create a structure for my dolls from the blocks? This singular question propels the learner to consider potential possibilities and launches into an investigation to find out the answer. Without the initial play, the learner will have a more difficult time creating connections in their minds, because they will have limited experience to draw upon. If you never play with materials, how will you inquire into a unique usage? That does the head in, but we ask our learners to do this all the time if we don’t incorporate more play into our practice.
Let’s also be clear, play is not only tinkering with materials, but ideas. When we give open ended tasks to our learners, we are giving them time to play with ideas. WThese tasks are usually short and focused, so learners are playing with individual ideas. Then, we set the stage for inquiry by asking learners how they can use the isolated tasks to create an inquiry. Genius right? Not really, we are just scaffolding the process, so our learners can be successful. Where I think most teachers struggle is giving up time to play. It doesn’t need to take more than 15-20 minutes in a lesson. That time is building the foundation for critical and creative thinking to come about. How might I make it come alive for older learners? Think of a typical science experiment. Are you outlining the “rules'' for the investigation? Are you providing all of the steps for your learners? The way to increase play into your learning is by giving the materials to your learners and asking them to examine them. What can they possibly be used for? Let them tinker without any guidance. Then, present a few more materials that are a bit different and do the same. Then, ask, how might you use all of the materials to create an investigation? This allows openness for learner investigation and inquiry. Afterwards, You will introduce your connections to the materials to clear up misconceptions and make unique connections that your learners may have missed. This is ensuring they are creating regular aha moments in their learning too. Isn't it magical? This is why play is so important for our learners A reminder, “Our aha moments are new knowledge to our learners.” Ron Riitchhart spoke to my heart when he said this in a course about making thinking visible. Our learners don’t process the importance of learning certain topics and objectives, because it’s not meaningful . Play provided that meaning. Isn’t it time we bring it back into our classrooms? Think about it this next week as you plan out your unit and lessons. This week, I’m excited to report to you from New London, CT. It’s a beautiful seaside town with a lot of history in its six square miles. I’m here working with a PYP school to restructure their library according to the six transdisciplinary themes, as well as generifying their novels, creating a lower primary section, and a place for the learner profile and key concepts to come to life. This has been such a fun project, because I’m creating a space where learners will become readers. Isn’t this the best part of teaching? This process has sparked an internal debate that led to a singular question. When thinking about learning space design, do we consider other spaces besides the homeroom class? I would venture to say, most of us don’t, which is something I want to examine in this podcast episode. Instead of examining each of the main learning spaces, let’s examine the considerations for each space through the various learners. Think of these considerations when designing:
Other spaces to consider that students engage with on a regular basis
As I consider all of these spaces around the school, I have examined the needs of the different types of learners with exceptional learning needs. Although the ideas were inspired by them, I think all the learning space designs can be used with all learners. Learners that Engage in Multiple LanguagesWhen I was thinking of the language learner and learning space design, some ideas that came to mind were picture/word labels and primary language representation. This can benefit all learners, but they in particular help language learners to navigate throughout the day with visual cues.
Learners that Thrive with Learning DisabilitiesWhen thinking of learners with physical, emotional, and/or mental disabilities, I naturally thought of access to resources and places to decompress. All learners benefit from this, but how can we incorporate them into a wider variety of spaces?
Learners that Excel in Certain AreasWhen thinking of gifted/talented learners, I was inspired by a bookstore layout to a space. The gifted learner likes the space to be purposeful and orderly, so they can manipulate materials to create. All learners benefit from this type of learning design.
I know this episode has been all over the place, but learning space design influences how a child learners. If we only consider it for the homeroom classroom, then we set an unsaid rule that the specialist and supporting classes are “different” and we don't have to act the same way. Think about it.
The practices we have shared in the past two episodes apply to all learners. Some will be overstimulated, while others will be underwhelmed. No child fits into one specific category, which was part of my apprehension in separating the students into designation groups. At the same time, I believe there are some things we can put into place that will support a student with disabilities. As we know, there is not one size fits all, because there are varying degrees of needs that a student might have. ![]() I began my career working with upper primary/elementary learners with mild to moderate behavior needs that stopped them from learning within a general education setting. Certain triggers would bring out erratic behavior and emotional breakdowns. These children craved a classroom setting with designed areas they could go to de-escalate, regroup, and return to their academics. They also needed systematic routines with visual reminders to keep them on track and help them reach their goals. Just like any other child, they craved a role within the learning environment to feel accepted and useful. As I continued with my special education certification, I worked with 8th grade learners who had learning disabilities in the areas of math, reading, and general organizational and study skills. They were reading 2-3 grade levels below grade level, but they had a passion for learning. These learners required systematic structures and tools to help them meet their academic and organizational goals. Throughout the rest of my career, I have supported learners with learning disabilities and on the autism spectrum. Here are some things I have noticed that add great value to their learning success. LayoutAll learners benefit from a flexible learning environment where they are able to work in various locations and capacities throughout the day. The traditional usage of desks doesn’t work for all learners, even if they are placed within collaborative groups. Here are some things I’ve used that have made a lasting impact. Flexible seating - I recognize that we don’t have endless budgets to buy furniture, storage, and other items for our classrooms. Yet, some of the most amazing classrooms I’ve had the pleasure of visiting had ambient lighting from garage sales and thrift stores. Stools were made out of milk crates and cushions from discount stores. For those who don’t have access to those types of stores, consider flea markets, Facebook marketplace, and finding resources within your school or local community.
Designated areas - one thing I did to support students who couldn’t handle continuous changes was have designated areas in my room that were fixed. I had learning stations at My small group table to support understanding of concepts. When learners came to me, they knew what to expect in our experience.
Chill Out Zone - we all have bad days. For those who are struggling to articulate or identify their needs, this can happen more than not. One thing I learned while implementing restorative circles was to have a chill out zone. This was a place where learners could emotionally cool off and reflect on their needs. This allowed learners to take action before the situation escalated into an explosive situation. I noticed that many learners appreciated this space. To reduce learners from over abusing this area, I would have them complete a reflection of their thinking process. After doing it once, many didn’t want to do it again unnecessarily. VisualsWhen I think of myself, I get overwhelmed in a classroom that has too much stuff up at one time. I’ve always been that way; it’s probably connected to being an English language learner. Here are some things to consider. Less is more - if you are struggling to learn big concepts, the volume of materials on the wall will greatly inhibit the input and output of ideas. Just like your language learners, get your learners with disabilities to participate in creating the anchor charts. Make sure to have the current charts up on the wall. Visual Schedule- many learners benefit from visual schedules to guide the work flow. The schedule identifies what a learner must complete in a given time and some things they may do. This allows for some learner agency while keeping them on the learning target. I’ve had a lot of positive experiences using visual schedules, but they require a lot of pre-planning and understanding of where the unit of inquiry is headed while providing some elements of choice. It is a delicate balance. RolesEvery learner, myself included, wants to feel included. A great way to incorporate all of your learners is through specific roles within the community. It not only provides basic life skills, it prepares them for their future as contributing members of society.
Jobs - I spoke a lot about the importance of jobs in the episode about language learners. If I were to add anything else is that it provides a purpose. A child with a disability is keenly aware that they learn differently. At a time when you just want to fit in, a job can provide that sense of normalcy. A learner gets to prove to everyone else that they can do the same job with excellence despite their differences. This is a game changer. Helpers - all children want the opportunity to help out in the classroom. I tried to have some office hours after school or during lunch. This wasn’t every week, but I tried to find times where students could just serve in the classroom. All children have something to offer that you don’t expect. Once again, this is allowing your learners with a disability to give back and demonstrate their abilities. To be honest, I’ve seen many teachers offer these opportunities only to their gifted learners, which is a shame. As always, I spoke too much and your brain is on overload. I know the things are not revolutionary, but may simply serve as a reminder of ways to include all learners into the process. Now that we’ve designed the learning environment for the language learner, let’s talk about the gifted learner. I don’t like this designation, because I believe that all children are gifted in their own unique way and the PYP allows it to shine. I know everyone who is listening totally agrees with my summation. We can picture specific learners in our class who are eager to learn everyday. They are always present at school and voracious to learn. They hunger to acquire knowledge and are naturally curious about the world. Doesn’t this sound like every student you have? Of course. The difference is gifted learners regularly go above and beyond what is “required” for themselves and they are usually seeking ways to improve. How are you arranging the environment to bring about the capabilities of your gifted learners, so they are not forgotten while you support other learners? RolesRoles have often been used to help learners to develop in a variety of ways while working in collaborative groups, accomplishing tasks, and assessing learning. By providing roles to your gifted learners, you are providing them specific targets that feed in their need to excel and become better. Let’s take a deeper look at what this might look like in your classroom. Jobs - I have merged jobs and classroom economy for most of my teaching career. It helps to build learner awareness of their role within a community and the positive and negative consequences of not fulfilling one’s roles.
Helpers - at times, you may have a gifted student who is a bit socially awkward. They relate well with individual peers or a small group, but have anxiety relating to a large group. This is natural in the development process, so how can we offset it? One thing I noticed, especially with gifted girls, is that they love to help. I would allow anyone to be a helper after-school one day a week and for some recesses and lunches. We have to get a break too!
Leadership - our gifted learners are born leaders. They love to organize and sustain group work. But, a big part of becoming a leader is not always being in charge of a group. A true leader…
VisualsAll learners need visuals to guide their understanding of big ideas. This is why we use anchor charts, unit walls, word walls, wonder walls, etc. At the same time, all of this space can be quite visually overwhelming for a gifted learner unless there is a specific purpose for each space. How do we create a connection for them?
OptionsAll learners deserve to have some options to choose from that will support their development and areas of interest. You will see in certain areas that some learners quickly finish their tasks regularly and having them take out a book everyday is not the answer. We have the privilege of challenging their young minds to explore beyond their present capability. What can this possibility look and feel like in our classrooms?
Is your brain bursting with new ideas? Take a peek at your learning environment and think about how your gifted learners are being supported everyday. Welcome friends! I thought when I become a full-time consultant, I’d have more time on my hands to create content. Unfortunately, it has become quite the opposite, so I’m sorry for the inconsistency of my episodes. I hope to have quite a few ready for November and December soon. Now that we’ve had a chance to discuss the importance of learning space design, let’s dive in to supporting the language learner. Having been a language learner as a child, I am more sensitive to the needs of my students who are acquiring English as an additional language. In addition to my school experiences, I often reflect on my experiences in Germany where I was walking around constantly in haze. I felt so disconnected from the social interactions of small talk at the grocery store, talking with my neighbors, and being a part of the community. I’ll never forget this one spring afternoon as I’m walking down the street to absolute silence. Usually, the neighborhood was bustling with the sounds of children playing, subway trains and buses, and people talking in the streets. On this particular afternoon, there was nothing. As I turned the corner, a few police officers hurried across the street and started talking rapidly at me. When I explained that I didn’t speak much German, they explained in English that a WWII bomb had been discovered near my home and that everyone within a four block radius had been evacuated. They were in the process of deactivating the bomb, so everything was well. My pleasant afternoon turned into a somewhat shaky reality that learning how to read and write signs is very important. Tying into our classroom design, this is how your English language learners feel in your classroom. They are continuously coding and decoding language, symbols, mannerisms, and responses in order to replicate and fit into the social construct that is your classroom. What is your role in the process? Are you making it easier or more difficult for your learners? LabelsIt may sound like such an old school strategy, but I believe a classroom is more inclusive of language learners when spaces are labeled with words and pictures. This not only provides each section of the learning space The things that greatly helped my German acquisition and acculturation were the visual cues that guided society. Through simple images and symbols, I was able to guide myself through several social situations with grace and minimal language. This was a huge turning point in feeling like I could operate within society. Another turning point was finding simple terms to order food, asking for items in the grocery store, being able to read labels, and knowing the difference between shower gel and body lotion. This all sounds rather simple, but it made my life so much easier to navigate in a foreign country. Having all of your materials labeled in the host country language and language of instruction is a huge support for your learners. Even better is having pictures of the items on each container, so they are able to acquire new academic vocabulary words at a faster rate that is within context of their daily lives. Learning space design has a huge impact on how your language learners progress and adapt to their new environment. What are some simple things we can do to make it easier for them to adjust and acquire an additional language? VisualsAt this point, you are wondering how visuals are different from the pictures on all of your resources. Visuals go far behind doing this alone. I was an English language learner at such an early age that I don’t remember much of my language acquisition experiences. I do remember what it was like to teach within a dual language classroom. Here are some things that helped me to acquire more German vocabulary.
Visible ThinkingNow, you must be really perplexed. Isn’t a visual a way to show visible thinking? Not quite. Visible thinking is when learners are actively reflecting, analyzing, synthesizing, and summarizing their thinking. This process requires a bit more.
Visible thinking has really helped me to discover misconceptions in an easy way without completing a test or quiz. When I think of my acquisition of German, it was the visual tools I used in my language class that helped me to sort and process the German language. I was able to make connections to Spanish conjugation, which helped greatly to categorize it in my mind. Here are some tools that will help your English language learners Anchor Charts: I know teachers love their anchor charts, especially if they are Pinterest worthy. The problem with these charts is that learners don’t have any part in creating them. We use them as an exemplar and often laminate them to use with learners, year after year. The problem with this is that we don’t have the same learners each year.
Visible Thinking Routines: I don’t hide my love of Harvard Project Zero’s Visible Thinking Routines. They are simply amazing. They give all the power to the learner, but also all of the responsibility to do the thinking. Our role is to set the stage and they take off through collaborative and individual reflections.
That’s probably a bit more than what you were expecting, but this is what happens when I don’t have time to do this every week. All of the ideas bottle up until I must share them. I hope to see you next time! Here are some ideas that may spark your thinking as you begin to craft the narrative of your learning space design. Welcome to our new series on the importance of the learning environment and play to support inquiry. This has been a labor of love over the past few months as I’ve experienced my own a-ha moments about the importance of learning space design. It sounds so intuitive, yet, it’s one of the hardest things for educators to give up. When I think of learning space design, I relate it to my bedroom. About a year ago, I had the grand idea of stacking miscellaneous items in my room that had no other place to reside. At first, it didn’t bother me, until it continued to grow like The Blob. For any of those who haven’t seen this classic B movie, this blob comes from outer space and consumes everything in its path. At first it was very small, but it soon got out of control. The Blob took over my living space and I had to take back control. About a month ago, I pulled up my shirt sleeves and decided to re-design the layout completely. As a result, I have a library full of educator resources, children’s books, poetry books, and so much more. My furniture is configured into a cohesive layout and everything fits. I have designated spaces for everything, so I can find what I need at any given time. Is it perfect by any means? No. I use an ironing board as my table for workshops and creating content. The upside, I can breathe again and I actually want to work in it again. How is The Blob connected to classroom design? Just like my bedroom, your control of the learning space design is like The Blob. Your need for control is taking over to the point that it’s suffocating the agency of your learners. Think about that one. How can we take control before The Blob takes over? Give some agency to your learners over how the room is designed. Even if we are halfway through the school year, you can make some minor changes that will make a huge impact on student ownership. LayoutHow is your classroom currently laid out? Due to the pandemic, this may look differently based on the number of constraints within your school. Some will be quite free to have learners grouped together, while others are still physically distanced. Regardless of your working conditions, have you considered asking your learners how they want the classroom layout to look and feel? What you may feel is appropriate may actually stop or slow learning down for your learners. DesignWhen you walk into your classroom, what does it say? Does it reflect cute ideas off of Pinterest? Many educators have joined the movement of adding decor that comes from Hobby Lobby and other home decor shops to make it homey. Who is it homey for? I recognize that we have to live in this space for most of our day, but where do learners have a say in the design? Does it reflect their thinking, interests, and personalities? LanguageWhat type of language are we using when designing the learning space? Is it MY classroom or OUR classroom? This is a huge difference. If you think about it, whoever designs the classroom is the one who feels ownership of the space. If our learners are just guests in the process, the wild never truly feel “AT HOME” in our classrooms. InteractionHow are learners engaging with the learning space? Are the materials curated, so the learners can self direct their learning by using a wide variety of materials OR are they for your use only when you deem it appropriate. We are always striving for learner independence, but they won’t be able to reach this goal if they can’t make daily decisions about their learning. Another consideration is size and height. Are all the materials accessible to your learners? Are most of the materials out of reach, because it’s too high? If so, what does this say to your learners? AssessmentThe room design should reflect evidence of learning and growth. How do your bulletin boards reflect learner growth over time? Can they walk the pathway of their thinking without your assistance? If not, they do not understand the bigger connections of the unit, this denotes that you are controlling too much of the learning and teaching. The learning space design is more than flexible seating and different stations around the room. It’s about learners deciding how they learn best and how they can showcase this to the greater community. It takes vulnerability and release of control on your part to allow this to happen. The upside is that the learning environment becomes a shared creation space where deeper connections are made for all. What are you going to change right now, so this can happen? As we focus on learning environment design and building learning relationships, we must first consider a simple practice that bonds a community together. Pronouncing the names of our learners correctly. What’s in a name? It’s the first gift your parent’s give you when you are born. It shapes your identity, reminds you of your family heritage, and is a lasting legacy that you matter on this planet. As we begin this new school year in the Northern Hemisphere, let us be mindful of the power of a name. When we engage with our learners, let’s take care in learning each and individual name, because it represents someone’s identity. As we begin this new school year in the Northern Hemisphere, let us be mindful of the power of a name. When we engage with our learners, let’s take care in learning each and individual name, because it represents someone’s identity.
Why is this so important to me? I didn’t realize until I was an adult that both my parents mispronounced my name. I was named after two women: Louisa Montoya and Anna Norris. Louisa was a latina who through the progression of events had her name changed to add an o in order to sound more Caucasian. This would be the first nor last time that immigrants tried to blend into their new surroundings by changing the spelling and sound of their names. As a result, my parents pronounced my name incorrectly. My name is really Luisa. My mother would always say my name with emphasis on the end going up. I always thought it was weird as a child. Why did she always sound like she was shouting when she said my name? My dad pronounces my name based on phonetic spelling. Because I have the Causaian spelling, he pronounces the s with a zzz sound. This is how you would pronounce the name of the famous author Louisa May Alcott’s name. Very British and very posh. Don’t get me wrong, I’m the ultimate Anglophile, so I should love it. My whole life, I felt my name didn’t suit me. It didn’t represent my personality. This all came to a head when I moved to Cologne, Germany. I worked in a dual language, inter-religious campus. This was the beginning of my PYP journey. One thing I noticed is that my German colleagues followed the British pronunciation using a ZZZ sound. At one point, I couldn’t handle hearing my name being said, because it sounded like nails going down a chalkboard. Surprisingly, this all lifted at the same time when I engaged with my Spanish colleagues. Their pronunciation of my name was light, happy, and so was I. I felt for the first time that people saw me for who I was. I was livelier around them, because they too were a ray of sunshine. When I left Germany, I decided to change my name from Louisa to Lu. It reflected a shortened version of the Spanish spelling and was more Asian too. I thought to myself, it can’t be so hard to spell and say my name with just two letters. Now, I’m battling people who spell my name Lou (like I really look like a dude) versus Lu. Haha...you can never win! I didn’t come to all of this realization about how my name impacted my life until a couple months ago. It hasn’t changed who I was on the inside, but it has shaped a lot of my interactions with others. As we build relationships with our learners, let’s take the time to get to know their unique personalities, which all begins with their name. |
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