C115: Creating a PYP Classroom Success Criteria

In the past six months, I have visited a lot of schools through official IB workshops, independent workshops, and curriculum development.  One repeating theme that came from these encounters is this simple question: 

What does a PYP classroom look and feel like in practice? 

On the surface it seems like an easy question to answer.  But, as you unravel the layers, you discover that there are many parts to making a PYP classroom come to life.  Here are the two main parts that I have identified. 

The Physical Space

When we walk into a PYP school, you can learn a lot about the culture by simply looking at the walls.  These are the questions that instantly pop into my mind. 

• What do the work samples reveal about the type of work learners are exploring on a daily basis? 
• How do the displays represent the cultures, ethnicities, and identities of all learners, young and old? 
• Where do we see language being displayed and celebrated? 
• How do learners show their identity and agency?
• How do the elements of the PYP naturally happen, instead of a laminated checklist that we put up on the wall out of compliance? 
• How old are the displays?  Are they regularly updated? 

Lu Gerlach 4th grade classroom (2016)

Over the course of this podcast series, I hope to address these questions and more. The physical environment does matter.  It tells that story of what is valued and by whom. 

When I see a lot of worksheets on the wall, I know that inquiry is not happening, which means learner agency is not being modeled or guided. 

When I see a dominant culture represented around the campus, there is limited opportunity to explore a variety of voices about issues that impact all of humanity.  

Now I have a question for you:  If I were to come into your classroom tomorrow, what would your walls say about you as a teacher, counselor, EAL teacher, coordinator, and principal/head of primary to name a few? 

To answer this question, I want to self-evaluate your classroom and office walls.  Consider what the walls say about you by answering these questions.  

• Whose voice is being showcased in my displays and bulletin boards? 
• Was there any space for my learners?
• How can I invite my learners into the decision-making process? 

As an educator, I really had to ask these questions  to myself on a regular basis.  When I was tempted to control the narrative about the learning in my classroom, I would have to take a hard look at my practice.  

Let’s be clear, it’s not easy to do this process, especially when you have teammates who have Pinterest worthy learning spaces.  It can be intimidating to keep up, so you don’t look like “that classroom.”  I had to stop competing at some point and examine what was more important: a beautiful classroom or one that was busy but authentic. 

​The Independent Space

There is something magical about walking into an early years PYP classroom and young learners are self-regulating and managing their practice.  They are driving the learning by making choices, collaborating authentically with others, and making decisions on a regular basis.  Why is it that we lose this sense of wonder and awe in the upper-primary grades? 

As a teacher in public/state, private, and international schools, I’ve seen it all.  In private and international schools, we had ample freedom to operate our classrooms.  Some might say that it was too much leniency at times. While in public/state schools, the level of control can be so intense that the PYP program is barely visible.  

The question lingers, “Despite the physical space, how do we build up learner independence? 

A big part of this is building young, independent thinkers who can solve problems and resolve conflict on their own.  We’ve heard this a thousand times.  How is it done? 

​My personal opinion is that educators need to heavily model the process that they expect their learners to replicate.  This sounds second nature, but you’d be surprised how many teachers expect their learners to complete a process that has not been properly modeled. Then, they get angry or frustrated at their learners for not achieving the learning target. 

For this to turn around, teachers need to heavily model the process of thinking with their learners.  This sounds intuitive, but when time gets cut short, the first thing that is cut is the modeling.  We rush to get our learners to finish by completing an arbitrary activity to show that we have covered the topic.  

For this reason, many of our learners who learn the ATL and learner profile attributes cannot do things on their own.  They simply didn’t have enough guidance and practice to reside in their long-term memory. 

Nirali Parekh Transitional Kinder (2022)

Modeling the Process

​Welcome to this master class on how to establish an authentic learning environment that reflects the elements of the PYP while supporting independent thinking.  This process is filled with tried and true strategies that work.  I’ve used them many times as a teacher, coordinator, and within IB workshops. 

The ideas and strategies in this series are aligned with the PYP philosophy and approaches to teaching and learning, but they do not provide a recipe for how to be successful for a verification or evaluation visit.  They represent my personal thoughts and feelings.  Being human, I may miss some opportunities, so I’d appreciate your feedback and suggestions. 

Before beginning this series, I asked PYP fellow educators on social media what they would like to learn more about.  In response to their wonderings, each episode has been shaped to provide ideas and strategies to answer their questions.  As a result, this series has expanded in directions I had not intended, but so necessary for today’s culturally responsive classrooms. 

Let’s take a journey through creating thoughtful and meaningful walls in our PYP schools.