In follow up to Day #9, I have been thinking about what I want my walls to look like.  Naturally, they are going to be reflective of our learners needs and desires.  This is number one.  But how do I make this happen? 

When I was a full-time trainer, I came up with the idea of an inquiry tool wall.  I wanted a place where I could place all of the mind maps and thinking routines that we explored together.  WIth time and practice, I wanted my learners to self-select the various tools they would use to answer complex problems on their own, leading to personal inquiries.

When discussing this idea with my third-graders, they were eager to get started with this process.  They shared that the tools helped them to solve problems easier, but they were still quite challenging at times.  What I heard...we are in productive struggle when we use these tools.  Win-win. 

My first wall was the mind maps.  These were easier to use, because my learners were already familiar with them.  The next step, we discussed their purpose, which is to organize ideas, so we can make meaning.  This was a huge concept that many of my learners had not considered before.  It's been wonderful to see them use the mind maps with the purpose of organizing for meaning.  

We are still growing in our practice of mind maps.  By the end of the year, I hope to have six to eight different mind maps in use that are regularly used to think, chat, and create. 

The next area that we have been working on is thinking routines.  This has taken a bit longer, because they've never used them before.  By the end of the year, I plan to introduce six to eight different routines.  We have been using See Think Wonder and See Wonder Think.  It's been quite magical to see my learners get so connected with these tools.

With time, I want my learners to mix and match between the mind maps and thinking routines, so that it's a fluid process.  In my opinion, this is what it means to support agentic thinking.  

Watch this space for the evolution of my walls. 

For a long time, I felt the pressure to make a pretty classroom.  I remember veteran teachers advising me to create a space that is comfortable, since I spend most of my time there.  Make it my home away from home.

In some campuses, there was an internal competition to see who could create the most asthetically pleasing classroom.  I admit it, at times I felt the pressure to conform.  It's real.  Schools want pretty looking classrooms that they can showcase to prospective parents. This made me frequently ask this question.

WHOM is the classroom designed for? The teacher or the learners?

This classroom below represents a trend for teachers to create a classroom that reflects a theme, in this case it's all about creating a farmhouse motif.  I don't have a problem with a theme, but it's about the design. Notice all of the pre-printed materials that can easily be put up with little or no reflection of the actual learning happening in the classroom.  This is what makes it difficult for me. There is little or no reflection of the learners in the learning space design.

Some of you are probably thinking this classroom looks extreme, but I have passed many that have looked this way.  All I see...this is the teacher's classroom and the learners are welcome to visit, but they will not have a say in how it is designed. 

Here is a more realistic display within an elementary/primary classroom.  There is a bright display with a shared calendar and a center of organized materials. I love the organized materials part, because it allows for learner independence, but these questions still keep popping up in my mind.

• Who decided the display design?  What is it's overall purpose?
• Who chose these materials?  Why them and not others?
• What is the goal of this space?  

On a positive note, I do see some learner-created artwork to the right, which means they have some creativity in the day.  The thing I am focused on is this, how responsive is the learning environment in meeting the needs of the learners? How do the walls speak about their learning journey, rather than the teaching journey?  

This is a continual struggle as we pivot from teacher to learner-driven experiences.  

I get to visit many schools as I present IB workshops and each of them leave a different impression on my heart. At Shu Ren International School, I felt like I was meeting long lost family again.  These educators were so full of passion and love of learning, which was evident in their level of enthusiasm for the PYP programme.  It's been 18 months since I've had the chance to meet them, yet they still manage to shape the corners of my mind.  

Take a peek at this video to learn more about this fabulous school in Berkeley, California. 
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Levi Allison, a friend of mine, challenged a group of us to ask ChatGPT to create an image that reflected the prompts we have used so far.  Can it create an image that reflects the essence of who we are and what we value.  Here is mine.  

I never knew that I was a latina.  ChatGPT must know something that I don't.  :)  I do agree that I love to share my voice through my podcast.  

What does ChatGPT say about you? 

​As I've been traveling the world, I've had to face many obstacles along the way.  In September 2023, I was headed to Brussels to spend the fall working in Europe and Africa.  My first leg to JFK was massively delayed and I ended up missing my connection to Brussels.  Thankfully, Delta Airlines was so accommodating and booked me on the same flight the following evening. 

As a result of the interrupted flight, I had to quickly find a place to stay in the nearby area.  Due to the heavy storms, all of the airport area hotels were booked.  I had to go farther afield to Long Beach, NY.  

What seemed like a terrible disaster at first became a new adventure.  I stayed in a marvelous room in a lovely hotel.  The staff were so welcoming and accomodating.  I spent the next day walking up the beach board walk and eating lovely seafood. 

In this situation, I had two choices: complain about my situation or turn it into an opportunity.  When we turn it into an opportunity, we become resilient.  We learn to manage our obstacles and setbacks with grace and see the bigger picture. 

Did I complain in the beginning?  Of course, I am only human.  But, I quickly realized that the situation could have been much worse, like sleeping in the airport for 24 hours without a warm bed or shower.  

How are we teaching our learners about the importance of resilience in managing the difficult moments?  Where are there opportunities within our curriculum to discuss times when things do go our way.  

Something to think about when planning your next unit or lesson plan for the week. 

One of my connections on LInkedIn posted their year in review and it made me curious about what AI would say about me.  Here is what it summed up after a year of posting my thoughts, dreams, and hopes for education. ​

I found it interesting that this quote was the one that resonated with people the most.  I know that I am very aware of my humanity and consider every day how I might leave this world a brighter place. 

What does your LinkedIn Rewind say about you? 

The beautiful thing about inquiry is that it's different for every person.  There are common threads that join inquiry-rich experiences, but people can use a wide variety of strategies and tools to get there.  

How do we know that we are doing it correctly? 

​In my personal opinion, I don't think there is a correct way to use inquiry in your classroom.  There are many models, strategies, and tools available, but it's up to teachers to decide with their learners what is the best fit. 

I believe inquiry is happening when learners are engaged in their own thinking and are able to share their ideas with others.  They pose questions, make predictions, experiment, give examples, and reflect on their experiences.  The learners are doing the thinking, planning, and preparing, not the teacher. 

Because inquiry is not one simple task or pathway, it can be intimidating for many teachers.  I understand this whole-heartedly.  It was difficult for me to let go of control in the beginning.  I was worried if I was "covering" all of the content by the end of the year.  What I didn't realize is that learners acquire more understanding when they apply the things they are learning in their own way. 

How can I begin? 

This year, I've struggled with my neurodivergent learners to create a scaffold that helps them understand the big ideas of what they are learning.  One of the ways I've attempted to address it is through a shared inquiry process. 

My class thought three skills started off the inquiry process: observe, question, and play.  Some learners observed something, which would bring about a question that needed to be tested.  While others played with materials, which sparked a curiousity through observations. Althought they were happening simultaneously, different skills emerged for each learner based on how they process information. 

Just like the onset of an inquiry, we decided that planning and predictions were open for interpretation.  Some learners need to make a detailed plan of how they will explore the question or observation.  This process helped them to come up with a prediction of what might happen in their inquiry.  While others made predictions on prior knowledge and then made their plan.  

Similarly, we created analysis and conclusions in the same way. 

Where Next? 

Inquiry is still a process for my learners.  They are still becoming comfortable with leading their own learning, because it's a new experience for them.  This is quite understandable.  

By the end of the year, I want them to experiment with the process and create their own unique pathway.  I'm going to present some shared inquiries with a conclusion from prior learning and determine how we might move forward by creating a plan or prediction.  Then, consider what types of questions will they ask, observations they will make, and things they will do to come to a deeper understanding.  I literally will flip the process on its head. 

Why would I want to do this?  I want my learners to realize that it doesn't matter what order they use, but it's the connections that matter more than anything.  We want to inquire out of curiousity and not to a particular order of a cycle or system.  

Welcome to our seventh episode in our series for specialist and supporting teachers.  This has been a passion project that has been frequently delayed with my return to the classroom, a school-wide adventure camp, International day, the IB global conference, a trip to London (my favorite city in the world like so many others), and a workshop in Dubin, Ireland with the Nord Anglia school.  As I go through this list, I am excited, yet invigorated at the same time. 

One of the things that surprised me within the past few months is the connectivity this podcast has given some people.  I met several people at the global conference who mentioned how much this podcast has meant to them.  Thank you for sharing.  This has always been a passion project to help others and it truly warms my heart when I hear your stories. 

These interactions made me curious about the reach of the podcast today and I was quite surprised by the results. Here are the top five cities within its reach of all time.

• Melbourne, Australia
• Sydney, Australia
• Singapore
• Mumbai, India
• Dubai, UAE

As I looked through these locations, it really warmed my heart.  Melbourne is where I learned to find my voice as an adult.  The place where I discovered my unique self and found mates who I will forever cherish like Kelly Thong, Angel Trudgeon, and Greg Woodford.  Singapore was my main stopover for many years and I came to love their Dr Scholl’s massage parlor and day trips into the city.  India is where I learned about the beauty of color and the continual celebration of life through gratitude.  Dubai is where I found the educator within me.  It’s the safe place that helped me to grow and try out new things, even if I made mistakes.  I dusted myself off and tried again.  Thank you lovely listeners.  Your cultures truly helped me on my life’s journey and I can’t wait to return to create new memories. 

Next school year, I would like to return to the region to share ideas with fellow educators.  If you are interested in participating or hosting, please contact me via my website www.thinkchat2020.com.

​As we finish going through this series, I would like to weave in some tidbits that I’ve learned along the way and apply it back to your role as a specialist or supporting role educator. 

This episode, we are going to take a moment to pause and reflect on what we have explored so far and take it a step deeper.  This challenge will focus on what we know about agency and inquiry in the specialist and supporting role.  

As I’ve returned to teaching, I have been on the constant search for ways to bring about more agency in my classroom.  It’s difficult when we live in a world with so many pre-printed materials and lesson plan ideas that make teaching more interesting with very little planning on our parts.  I don’t know about you, but this is difficult to resist resources on Teacher pay Teachers that look engaging and they are ready to go. 

As you consider your practice, how much of the learning is driven by your learners and not by you? Take a moment to examine a recent week of teaching and/or supporting learning
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• What materials did you use?
• Were there opportunities for your learners to use a wide-variety of materials?
• How flexible were the learning processes and products? 
• Are there opportunities to change the process and product?

Something that has been continuously on my mind as I prepare my units of inquiry and lesson plans is control.  Control can be a drug to some teachers.  It’s the power to shape young minds of tomorrow.  That is a heavy burden that has been placed on our shoulders.  At the same time, if we do not share this burden with our learners, it will not adequately prepare them for their future, which is quite uncertain at this point.  

To aid in the process, we need to reflect our need to be the sage on the stage, the keeper of knowledge, and the creator of dreams.  Instead, we are a provocateur, we set the stage for learners to discover the world in their own way and on their terms.  This is where learning becomes truly powerful. 

Let’s take some time to evaluate our practice. 
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• Do I control everything?  
• Do my learners control everything?  
• Is there a half-way point where we share the decision-making? 
• Who is doing the talking, thinking, and doing?  Is it me or my learners?

These questions matter, because they determine what the learning will look like in practice. 

When we consider the learning in our classrooms and roles, what is the primary purpose?  This may seem quite simplistic, but the goal of the learning is just as important as what is being explored.  The goal will determine if the teacher is being the expert or the learners are gaining expertise in various skills and ideas. Here are questions I ask myself. 
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• What are my learners doing to connect to the prior knowledge?
• How am I using this information to guide my lesson and unit planning?
• What questions am I using to provoke, deepen thinking, and bring about reflection?
• How do my learning engagements incorporate the approaches to learning and learner profile attributes? 
• What are different ways that learners are inquiring into their ideas? 
• How have I modeled different products and processes? 

Take a moment in this challenge to reflect on agency and inquiry in your context.  This is the foundation for the next steps and we need to consider how they uniquely weave in our practice.  

​Every culure has certain traditions that they love.  Mine is Secret Santa.  What is that you ask, it's where we select a name of a colleague and we buy them several little gifts that reflect who they are.  We have to inquire about their likes, dislikes, and passions.  This takes effort.

Pictured below are socks my secret santa bought for me.  They are so me, which is why I'm willing to show my feel.  

What is one of your favorite holiday traditions?  Why is it so special to you? 

As I was reviewing pictures from the beginning of the year, I realized that I had completely thought about what my process what before setting up my essential agreements and unpacking the central idea.  When we are stuck in the work, it's difficult to think beyond, especially if you are reflecting backwards.  Here's my attempt to recreate those early moments. 

I decided from early on that I was not going to set up my classroom on my own.  If I truly wanted to have an agentic classroom, I would need my learners to help me make design decisions. I decided to push the desks and chairs to one corner of the room until the first day of school.  Nothing was on the walls, even for parent open house.  I made it clear that I wanted to create a space where the learners felt empowered to make decisions about the environment and their learning. 

At the same time, I knew I need to get my materials together, so they aligned with the big ideas from my units of inquiry.  My school purchased the Fountas & Pinnell classroom library kits and I wanted to use them intentionally.  I matched the genres, purposes for reading/writing, and the central ideas of the units of inquiry to choose my titles.  

For instance, we are currently learning about the transition between narrative fiction to realistic fiction as a bridge to nonfiction.  The books available in this series include biographies, relatable realistic fiction stories, and expository texts.  This range of titles has helped my learners to see how we go from facts to fictionalized stories.  This has been powerful. 

Here is an example of how the texts are displayed in my classroom.  I brought titles from home that are just for fun.  Learners have a range of titles to read when they are looking for something beyond Raz-Kids or Epic Books. 

One thing that has changed for me is involving the learners in every design decision, not just about learning.  We are constantly in dialogue about what is working within our learning environment and how it can be improved.  

It's still a work in progress, which is why I am attending the responsive learning environment workshop with Sean Walker and Anne van Dam in January 2025.  I don't want to be good, but I want to be better. 

One thing that made my heart burst one day was seeing how well my learners were able to self-manage without me being present.  These small moments are what you hold onto when it feels like nothing is working out.  My kiddos were struggling with organizing their materials, but they finally figured it out. 

In many countries in Europe, young children receive their Christmas presents on Dec 6th or better known as St. Nicholas Day.  This is the day that St. Nicholas brings good girls and boys presents to reward them for being good all year long.  Commonly, chidren are given little presents and sweets to eat.  

The Essential Agreements are explored in every IB workshop to set the intention of the expeirence.  They help to set the expectation of participants and workshop leader and hold them accountable. 

When doing this with young learners, it can sometimes be challenging. Here are questions that have frequently circled through my mind in response to essential agreements.

• How do we begin? 
• What is the intention? 
• How do we make it practical?  

I've reflected on the essential agreements used through the years.  The fan favorite is, "Treat others the way you want to be treated."  The problem with this one, there are so many variables of what this might look like based on personal experiences, cultural background, and school culture. 

In 2017, I had the priviledge of attending at a workshop with Kath Murdoch in Houston, Texas at the British School  In this one-day workshop, she spoke about the power of making essential agreements that were practical, in kid-friendly language, and short in number.  She encouraged participants to engage in an exercise of how to create more meaningful agreements.  

I went back to my classroom and immediately used it with my learners.  They listed all the agreements that were of interest to them.  I transcribed them onto individual sheets and had learners put stickers on every agreement that resonated with them, as pictured here. 

After voting on their favorite agreements, I gathered them together to identify the top five that were most preferred by my learners.  This allowed for more agency in the process, because they came up with the list and chose the ones that best fit their needs.  They were written in a way that was easy to undertand and follow. 

Since 2017, I have been using this model to create essential agreements with my learners, young and old.  ​Here is my current set in my classroom.  They might change based on the learning needs. 

In the past, I have used our essential agreements as a reflective thread.  Was ist das?  A reflective thread is a set of prompts that you ask over again.  The first time they answer it, they are trying to understand the prompt.  The subsequent times, they are learning how to manipulate the thread for the new learning situation.  I use my list of essential agreements as a reflective thread.  Here's how.

I ask my learners: 

• How have you showed friendship during our learning today?
• When were moments of fun for you?
• What is something new you learned today?  How has it changed your thinking?
• How were you kind to someone today?
• When did you use a quiet voice? 

I am still struggling to use this consistently, but something tells me I will work on it this week!  I know that the repeated practice will make the essential agreements part of the disposition of the class, rather than a list of rules to follow.  

Let me know how you make your essential agreements come to life.  I love to learn from others!

As we delve further into play in the early years, Sean Walker poses that there are different types of stories that we want learners to engage with.  In the beginning, learners will be interested in predictable stories with repeating patterns, familiar words, and story flow.  There is no real mystery about what is going to happen and the outcome.   For some reason, the book There was an Old Woman who Swallowed a ... came to my mind.  We all know the format of the text and we just need different items to change it from a Halloween to a Valentine's Day story.  

Predictable stories do get a bad rap for being boring.  But it's through the repetition that learners become more skilled in identifying patterns and replicate them in future reading and writing experiences. 

When thinking about predictable stories with play, this can come with the usage of the same materials, spaces, and routines.  Learners love predictability when they are about to make changes.  They know they can count on something to be the same, so they can take a risk.  

Other times, they are ready to take a risk by engaging with an invitation.  Below is a playful invitation where learners are using a variety of materials to create a story.  How the story plays out is strictly up to the young learner.  Isn't that exciting in itself? 

Once learners feel comfortable with predictable stories, they can engage with a wider range of patterns, characters settings, and plot twists.  Learners are willing to take risks to shape a new storyline that they have yet to explore.  This is all about using the materials, spaces, and places in a new way.  

The exciting stories are equally important in play.  They allow learners to become more experimental in their approach and see beyond what is in front of them. 

Personally, I love the analogy of play being like a story.  I've always struggled with play versus playfulness, but this example helps me to break it down into its unique parts and purposes.  

A big thanks to Sean Walker for capturing our attention through play about play.  I can't wait to learn more on Saturday, January 18, 2025 with Sean and Anne van Dam this in Berlin.  If you want to join, here is the link.  

My learning goal this year is to create a more responsive learning space and this workshop is perfect for me.  Even as a third-grade teacher, I want the classroom to shape the story for my learners.  

​This afternoon, I had the chance to participate in an IB Exchange webinar with Sean Walker on the topic of Play in the Early Years.  It will soon be published on the IB exchange for your enjoyment.  

During the webinar, Sean gave us permission to take some screenshots and post them on social media.  Here are some of my big ideas and how I interpreted his ideas. I wouldn't be me if I didn't get cerebral on someone else's aha moments. :)

One of the first ideas that caught my attention was this slide about the central features of a story and how they apply to early years learning.  Just like every story, there is a plot that weaves through the experience.  Our young learners are deciding what is the story that they are creating.   

The plot is driven by a setting that is designed for exploration. There are a wide range of materials available for learners to tinker, create, and connect.  

Meanwhile, the characters are the members of the learning community.  Learners drive what, how, and why certain things happen in their story.  They rely upon minor characters, such as the teacher, for some guidance as needed.  

As elements of the early learning is being woven together, we can see certain themes emerge that help learners to make generalizations about the world.  This happens through meaningful play. 

Sean overlayed the story elements with the central features of early years learning in the PYP.  I found this part quite fascinating.  Play is how learners create certain themes or big ideas.  This makes sense, because it is through play where learners make meaningful connections.  

Relationships are central to connecting characters together to make meaning of the experience.  Collaboration brings about opportunities to build solid relationships with others within and beyond the school community. 

Meanwhile, the setting reflects intentional learning spaces.  They are spaces that support learner independence through purposeful design, label, and universal access for all. 

Lastly, the plot allows learners to engage with symbolic exploration and expression.  The point of play is to allow learners to decide what the plot means for them and what choices they will make to move it forward.  

Together, play helps young learners to discover their unique story of who they are, how the world works, and their unique place within it  Such a powerful tool.  A big thanks to Sean Walker for bringing these elements together. 

My goal this year is to build a more responsive learning environment to allow for more playful moments in my third grade classroom.  This webinar has helped me to think about the story that my learning space is sharing with the world. 

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:

• ​What words that we unpacked connect to you?
• What is the picture in your mind as you string some words together?
• What new central idea would you like to write? 

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? 

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. 

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.  
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Let’s take a moment to apply this to the role of the 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…

• How am I getting my learners to be provoked in their thinking?  
• Where are they actively problem-solving?  
• How are they developing their creative and critical thinking skills?

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…

• Where are there opportunities for my learners to engage with each other through storytelling?  
• How are they internalizing the content into their everyday lives?  
• How are they sharing how they feel about it? 

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. 

• How do my learners show their thinking in a variety of ways?  
• What scaffolds are in place for authentic reflection and action?  
• What products or processes are learners using to show their understanding? 

You 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. 

Where 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.

• Think:  What do you think about this picture?
• Puzzle:  What questions do you have?
• Explore:  What do you want to know more about? 

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? 

What 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.  

How 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. 

As 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. 

• Use a simple story, image, or video to introduce Think, Puzzle, Explore.  Complete it 2-3 times, so learners feel comfortable with the visible thinking routine.  

• Provide the Probable Passage several times with predictable texts, so learners feel that they can use it successfully before using it with the Three Samurai Cats.  We want success, before the productive struggle. 

• Begin introducing historical context to stories along the way.  Help your learners to see the importance of connecting the past to the present.  Repeat this several times, so they can identify the relationship.

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• One of the hardest things is for them to connect the past to the present.  Consider going backwards.  Find something from today that we do everyday and show how they might have done it in the past.  Ask students to decide which one is better for them and why.  This will help them to access it a bit easier.

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? 
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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.

• journaling
• sketching
• visual harvesting
• video 
• slide deck
• social media post

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.

• Most of the year is dark. There are only two months of light, so the Danish people have found ways to keep their spirits bright in the darkness.
• Lighting is important.  Even a university student will have proper ambient lighting in their home to create a mood of comfort and a sense of bonding with others.
• Candles are used everywhere.  The country uses the most candlewax per person in the world, including single men.  Most of the candles are unscented, because the focus is on cozines.
• Eat cake everyday.  There is no shame in indulging in sweets, because most people ride a bike to work.  With plenty of physical exercise, there is always room for a little dessert. 
• Textiles make the space.  All homes are decorated with comfortable and useable textiles that feel luxurious and cozy.  No cheap sets allowed from TKMaxx.

At the end of the day, it's about investing in yourself and your loved ones, so even during the dark times, there is a spark of light. 

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.