Author: Judy Imamudeen

Reflecting out loud: Change Begins with Me

Reflecting out loud: Change Begins with Me

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I don’t write blogs as much as I used to, and I have wondered why.  Writing used to be a joy, something I looked forward to. I loved waking up early on Saturday morning, making a cup of coffee, and writing about something that inspired me from that week. But Covid changed that, and I have definitely retreated into myself.  It’s just that I don’t feel I have any answers, only more questions, questions that you can’t Google. Larger questions about our humanity, our planet, and my purpose in life.  I bet you asked those questions, too. I know I am not unique or alone in this cognitive dissonance created by the trauma of the past few years.

However, putting these emotions and ideas into intelligible sentences has been challenging. I have written over 60 blog posts but haven’t been able to finish them because print feels permanent, and my perspectives about things are in flux. It’s impossible to hit the publish button when I feel like my thinking about something is incomplete.

But at my new school, we have a professional requirement to keep a portfolio. That got me thinking about why I started this blog to begin with–as a professional portfolio for a course I took about creativity.  This blog has been and always probably will be my professional portfolio. So, it’s pushing me to get back to writing. Moreover, it’s helping me to reflect upon my perfectionism and be okay with incompleteness and muddled ideas.

So now that I have shared this preamble with you, I feel like I can move forward with writing this post. This post, as with many others, is just me reflecting out loud.

New School, Same Person?

It is a mistake to take any approach and assume like a flower you can take it from one soil and put it in another one. That never works. We have to figure out what aspects of that are most important to us and what kind of soil we need to make those aspects grow. -Howard Gardener-

I share this quote by Howard Gardener because, in Brazil, I was starting to feel like a potted plant. I was pretty comfortable in my school. I adored the people I worked with. I believed in our mission and saw real change created by my supporting role at our school. But it was not a place where my whole family could flourish. Even though it was a  painful decision to move, it was the right decision. And I couldn’t be more grateful for my new professional home.

But I know I cannot “copy and paste” what I did in Belo Horizonte. I have new “soil” that I must research and learn how to live in. This new “soil” consists of structures and systems I must become competent in, the mindset and approach to IB and our curriculum design, and the level of collaboration in and amongst teams. Not to forget the dynamics and personalities of staff. When you move to a new school, the first few months are just about building relationships and understanding the context of a school. So, I designed a 90-day plan, but I underestimated my timeline for “unpacking” my new school since there are more layers of leadership and slightly different expectations within my role. For example, I had to evaluate teachers before I even had a chance to get to know them, which made me feel uncomfortable. I held the opinion that there should be a bright line between principals and coordinators, and evaluation is one of those expectations.

Truthfully, I am unskilled in classroom observations because I often go in to observe the learning of students, not take notes on teachers. This is the culture of our school; teachers depend on me for this feedback, and I can’t let them down. I had to pivot. Needless to say, I resisted this expectation, and I had to meditate on that and contemplate what beliefs I must reconcile to support my school’s expectations of me.

This potted plant is still learning.

Wherever you go, you take yourself with you–your experiences, your memories, and your emotional reactions. It made me realize that I may be at a new school and have a new home, but I am trying to be the same person I was back in Brazil. Ha–I have different soil, but I am the same plant! I have to expand my roots and take in what my new school culture and leadership have to offer so I can grow.

In the past, I perceived my role as a coordinator as an ally in learning, not a professional judge of teaching acumen. I saw this as a binary role: ally or judge. However, as I examined this belief, I have come to reflect on how dualistic thinking creates a barrier to stretching my skillset and mindset. So, I can see how I was open to change, but only the change I wanted–not what was needed.  Change is okay as long as it is on my terms. I suppose this is residual thinking from the pandemic. This oppositional thinking has slowed me down and hindered me during this period of readjustment. In fact, it has created discombobulation.

So, here I am, entering the 2nd term and still working on my 90-day plan. The good news is that this 90-day plan is self-imposed. There is plenty of time to continue to work on developing relationships and appreciating the context of our school.  I also feel that I can now evolve my reflective questions and have time to ask myself: What do I need to grow? Where are my sources of energy? 

Now what?…..

I titled this blog post: Change Begins with Me. Not Change Happened to Me. Oftentimes, we feel that the world should bend to suit us. But in reality, that is rarely the case. The structures and systems in our world can evolve, but we must accept what is first. Through this move and transition, I have come to understand that I must begin to change if I want to support the change I wish to see in the world. My professional life takes up much of my time and is the natural starting place.  So, challenging the areas of dualistic thinking in myself as an IB practitioner at our school seems relevant and practical. On the eve of the Chinese New Year, I am making this my aspiration for the Year of the Dragon.

I am infinitely grateful for this opportunity to reflect out loud. Thank you for reading.

Press Start, Pause or Stop? 3 Ways We Can Approach Launching a Unit of Inquiry

Press Start, Pause or Stop? 3 Ways We Can Approach Launching a Unit of Inquiry

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Bewildered by my outburst, my sleeping dog popped up her head and twitched her ears when I giggled out a “hmmm”.  But I couldn’t help it. I was so immersed in a recording of the Town Hall discussion with fellow Google Trainers. They asked a question about concept testing that made me make a connection with a recent topic that we had been discussing during our grade level meetings, the cycle of learning and teaching.

What was the question they use during their iterative process of concept design?

“What would you expect to happen ...?”

Their research shows that this puts algorithmic thinking into motion, generating potential scenarios that could be incredibly powerful in articulating the effect of our decisions.

What if we applied this same question as we approach a launching a unit of inquiry? I think this could be and effective way to start a familiar unit of inquiry, creating the impetus we may need in order to contemplate and debate alternative approaches with greatest impact for our learning and teaching.

Entry points in The Cycle of Learning and Teaching.

Where do you begin with learning? Do you launch a unit with TEACHING, picking up your PYP planner from last year and “copy and paste” what you did last time? Do your reflect on your past PYP planner and adjust the learning expectations or reinvent the unit with PLANNING provocations and activities to launch new concepts? Or do you pick up your PYP planner and think about how you might ASSESS the learners to figure out what direction you might need to go to support strong concept development and bringing out the best in the Learner Profile and Atls?

I would argue that there is no “right answer” to this because every unit of inquiry is unique and we have to look holistically at the grade level Programme of Inquiry (POI) and the whole school Programme of Inquiry (POI). It might also depend on if the UOI is a single subject or if it is transdisciplinary. That said, I do think that teachers need to sit down and re-read the planner from last year to reflect on what is relevant and meaningful to their current learners. They need to unpack the central idea and lines of inquiry before determining where they are going to jump into this cycle of learning and teaching.

Decisions, Decisions!

Press Start: Teach 

There are some very valid reasons why we might just start teaching. Time may play a significant factor, especially when we know this unit will introduce never explored content in the school-wider programme of inquiry. Also, if there is a project that the students will work on during the unit and the goals of the unit are more about the process of learning so we have to focus on teaching into the Atls such as the self-management or social skills that will be developed throughout the unit. For example, collaboration or time-management may need to be developed right from the word Go so that groups can effectively do research together. A great example of that is during the PYP Exhibition. Teachers might need to start teaching into stress management or technology skills in order to ensure that students can work independently and effectively.

Teachers who are also single-subject specialists may also jump into the cycle of learning and teaching here, particularly if they have younger students who they feel can safely assume that they have no prior knowledge of the concepts. For example, a music teacher who wants to teach the concept of melody to their kindergarten students or a language acquisition teacher who works with newcomers to a language.

However, we really want to think critically about this approach because research suggests that we need to value our learners more than teaching our content, so we need to carefully consider our students when planning and assessing.

Press Pause: Plan

It is good practice to review previous planners for a familiar unit. As you re-read the planner, it’s important to read the reflections first before digging into the resources, learning activities and assessments that you created in the past. I know that this part of the planner often gets neglected, but it really can be critical to understanding how and why you might make changes to a unit, especially if there are new members of a team who may not be as familiar with a unit. It is especially for this reason why you would want to start with planning. Not everyone interprets units the same way, especially when a central idea is broad. So team members need to “unpack” the unit’s concepts and think about how it could be approached differently, particularly when considering the students you have in your class. I’ve written about the importance of this before in this blog post.I think this is the most common way that teams approach the learning and teaching cycle–Teachers getting together and discussing what might be possible during this unit.

However, you can share the central idea with students and unpack it with them in order to co-construct the unit. The questions and ideas that emerged during those discussions with students then become the fodder to re-write aspects of unit in order to develop more student interest and agency. Sometimes that means we go back are re-write lines of inquiry, change learner profiles or switch our Atls. And sometimes it means that the content shifts. It really depends on what happens during the “unpacking” with students.

For example, consider this unit:

Central Idea: 

Circumstances impact opportunity and the ability to achieve.

Lines of Inquiry:

  1. The attributes of empathy(form)
  2. How opportunity is enabled (causation)
  3. The measurement of achievement (perspective)

A team of 4th grade teachers were going to approach this as a “copy and paste” type of unit, in which the focus has typically been on the role of social class in creating barriers or opportunities to success in life. However, when they unpacked it with students, it became clear that they were fascinated with disabilities and inclusion. It required the team to get back to the drawing board and re-design the unit with student interests in mind. Although the key concepts might stay the same, the related concepts shift from Poverty, Social Class, and Opportunity to Diversity, Innovation and Inclusion because students were keen to learn about how disabilities and neurodivergence lead to developing new technology to help people feel capable and involved in their lives.

When teachers respond to students like this, learning is more dynamic and student action can organically evolve from their enthusiasm. I’m sure you can see how responding like this can change the trajectory of a unit.

Press Stop: Assess

Before putting the car into drive, some teachers choose to stop and assess before beginning a unit. Pre-assessment is always a good idea, but since the pandemic, this approach seems like the most sensible for many units. We just aren’t sure where the conceptual and skill gaps may be, so we may need to do some formal assessments to see where students knowledge base lies. Once we have an idea of what students know, understand and can do, teachers can sit down with the data and then examine what concepts and skills make sense before launching a unit. Again, they may need to adjust content, change Atls and/or learning expectations.

“What would you expect to happen ...?”

I think predicting and reflection are 2 key superpowers that a PYP teacher needs when we consider how we can build strong units. As I continue to mull over this question, I think this question can be an important tool to help shake up unit planning and instigate critical thinking in our approaches. Whether it is asked 2 weeks before a unit of inquiry begins or as a strategy to provoke reflective thinking, this question can help us explore new ways that we could approach the unit.

What do you think? Are there other questions that we need to consider when determining the why and how we jump into the cycle of learning and teaching?

The Role of the PYP Coordinator: 5 Dos and Don’ts When Working in International Schools

The Role of the PYP Coordinator: 5 Dos and Don’ts When Working in International Schools

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It’s a time of year that we are always prone to reflect and come up with wish lists for the new year. There are projects that remain unfinished, books you want to read, and pedagogical challenges that we continue puzzling over. Often this time of year we renew our enthusiasm and commitment to at least some of these things.

That said, whether this is your 1st year or 15th year of being in curriculum coordination, there are always things that come to mind as opportunities for improvement.  I think of these like Boomerangs, items of good leadership practice that I must return to if I had become sloppy over the course of the year. So I’d like to share the 5 Dos and Don’ts that I have to constantly check in with myself each and every year.

DON’T use acronyms, but DO create a common understanding of key principles within your program.

I think we can often assume that we all speak the “same language” in the PYP. We don’t. Using acronyms adds another layer of confusion for new staff (or even old staff who never got the jargon to begin with). Sometimes brevity is unhelpful. Here’s what I mean in a possible email to teachers:

Let’s meet in the LSR during CPT. We will work on our UOI’s KUDs and create SC. Ts need to add them to MB.

Maybe you know what the goals of the meeting are, or maybe you don’t. And that is the point! If you are left scratching your head, then maybe you need to inform what certain acronyms mean or just spell them out. Seriously, acronyms are not that much of a time saver anyway, and can really handicap some teachers who may not be native speakers of English (or whatever language dominates your school’s professional discourse). It’s better to be clear, especially in written communication.

Let’s meet in Heidi and Gustav’s learning support room (annex room 3). We will work on our upcoming unit’s KUDs–what we want our students to K.now U.nderstand and D.o; then we will create success criteria. Teachers need to record these in ManageBac (MB)

Until acronyms are internalized, it is better to write them out so that everyone is in “the know”. Moreover, when new teachers join the team, you will have to be mindful, even providing a “glossary of terms” for those brand new to the PYP of the jargon you use at your school.

DON’T solely have collaborative planning meetings but DO have a variety of focused planning sessions that have a purpose and goals.

Many schools have regularly scheduled meeting times such as a “late start” or “early release” days that are perfect to allocate for collaboration with grade level teams and specialists. These meetings with specialists are “tried and true” ways to promote collaboration for unit of inquiry planning, but they are not the only kinds of meetings that we can promote collaboration. Using these moments to discuss other topics such as assessment practices, how we are promoting student agency, or looking at inquiry practices can also help promote collaboration. Personally I have been thinking about flipping the focus of the collaboration meetings away from the homeroom teachers’ units and instead provide opportunities for specialists to be the focus for support of their non-integrated units. In that way, we can start broadening our ideation for agency and concept development in more supportive ways across our whole school, and in every subject.  Never the less, straying from doing “meetings-as-usual” could help foster creativity and innovation but it’s important to have the purpose of these collaborations clearly stated with intended goals communicated so that teachers feel that the time is well spent and helpful.

DON’T go into classrooms for “special moments” but DO create a schedule of classroom visits.

I realize that not all coordinators have time in their schedule to frequent classrooms, which is why I am suggesting that it gets built into one’s personal timetable. If it is baked into one’s personal calendar, then it is easy to get into classrooms. This could be a 10-minute walk through or you could spend a full period. Moreover, popping into a variety of classrooms is preferable, so this goal might be to visit certain classrooms on a bi-weekly or even monthly basis.

I also want to be clear the the purpose of these visits aren’t just to capture special learning moments (ex: guest speaker, end of unit activity, community action project, etc..) to post on social media, nor should they be “gotcha” moments to find fault with teachers. It should be an intentional moment to observe students during the learning. Write down notes about the conversations that they are having, or any interesting interactions you observe. Teaching is complex and there are lots of things that they don’t observe so having another educator in the room, no matter how brief your visit is, might unearth some data that could help teachers support student learning. It also might provide more helpful information when you sit down in the planning meetings. So, take notes or photos so you can capture some anecdotes to share with teachers later. If those anecdotes are useful to share in the larger learning community, that would be great, but it shouldn’t be the only reason why you come into classes.

DON’T assume you know how to support teachers but DO ask them how they would like to be supported.

You may read all the books and do all the trainings but you know the saying that  “to ASSUME it to make an ASS out of U and Me”– even though this wit and wisdom sounds cliche, it is something that needs reminding regularly. For example, there are times when you go into a classroom and you feel like you are being “supportive” but when you start “co-teaching”, it may be very disempowering or even insulting to the teacher to interfere with the lesson. I think it’s important to ask teachers individually and as a team what are some ways in which they can best be supported. And although you may have asked that question earlier in the school year, it’s important to ask it again in case the needs have changed over the course of the year. For example, I will definitely be asking teachers what needs to STOP, START and CONTINUE with the level of support I have given as we re-boot the school year after our holidays. And I want to add that this feedback will be communicated as their “wishlist” because I have to balance school priorities with their needs, but I will definitely do my best to meet their requests.

DON’T have too many initiatives but DO remind your team what goals were set for the year

Initiative overload is endemic in most schools across the globe. I think the new evaluation process is helping to transition our approach in our IB programs to action-research might alleviate this phenomena. However, it is not an easy habit to break. Wen we try to do too much in too little amount of time, I think the goals become shallow and not a lot of traction can occur. I don’t think it matters if you are a new-to-PYP school or an established school. Having a focus and remaining on track is vital to the long-term growth of your school’s development.

Personally, I have been thinking a lot about this as we jump into the 2nd term, and considering what milestones we might reach at the end of the year if we remain concentrated on the initiatives we set out at the beginning of this year. I want to share this vision with our teachers and get a sense of what their expectations might be as well. In that way, they can feel that they are making headway with their effort, as small changes can make a big difference in the trajectory of our students’ learning.

Although 5 things are hardly an exhaustive list, I do hope these Dos and Don’ts provide some inspiration and ideas to reflect on the ways you can improve and grow in your pedagogical practices. Did any other Dos or Don’ts come to mind as you read this post? Please share in the comments so this community can glean from your wisdom as well.

Wishing you a marvelous 2023!

When is Inquiry not “Best Practice”?

When is Inquiry not “Best Practice”?

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My co-teaching partner leaned across her desk and asked, “So at what point do we stop ‘inquiry into this’ and start teaching them something?”. I responded with nervous laughter because her question sounded like blasphemy. It was an absolutely valid question though and has lingered in my mind for ages, particularly since I am aware of Professor John Hattie’s meta-analysis on high vs. low impact influences on student learning. According to Hattie’s Visible Learning Rankings, inquiry-based learning has a low ranking on its impact scales. I do recognize that inquiry-based learning comes in a variety of flavors, which is well represented by Sarah Plews’ breakdown in her Concept-based Inquiry Mini-PD course:

So I have often felt skeptical of Hattie’s findings because I think generalizing inquiry-based learning is doing this approach a disservice. However, I have come to accept that some content lends itself better to inquiry than others, and some concepts must be developed in a more structured way. I think the reason why inquiry-based learning falls flat on Hattie’s Impact Scales is that many practitioners aren’t sure when and why we might use different approaches.

So, are there moments in our PYP classrooms when we need to put inquiry-based teaching methods on the back burner and provide explicit and direct instruction? Yes, yes there are! And that doesn’t mean we are tossing out all the other PYP practices. This is not a “either/or” situation–either we teach through inquiry OR we are NOT a PYP school. Having a strong PYP program means that practitioners know what content and skills would be best taught through a variety of methodologies.

Ok……so what content and skills might those be, you wonder? Well, here’s the thing, it’s not just the WHAT but it is also the WHO. We have to consider the needs of our students before we decide HOW best to teach them. So what students benefit the most from direct instruction? I think the guidance below is helpful:

Students who learn and think differently. Without explicit instruction, students who struggle with attention or working memory may not focus on the most crucial ideas in a lesson. With explicit instruction, you cue students in to the most essential information.

English language learners. When you use consistent and clear language in each step of instruction, English language learners (ELLs) aren’t overwhelmed with new language demands. Research has shown that explicit instruction can lead to achievement gains among ELLs.

From Understood.Org

When we consider our students with learning needs, it seems obvious that we might alleviate the cognitive load by providing direct instruction. Consider this-When students have a clear understanding of what they are learning about, they are not using their brain power for meaning-making; instead, they are using their working memory to process this information and store it for later use.  This actually helps them, later on, to engage in an inquiry because they have the knowledge to draw upon during a more open-ended lesson. It’s a support, not a deterrent to more inquiry-based approaches.

Explicit and Direct Instruction for the Key Conceptual Lens of Form and Function

One of the filters I use for deciding when we need to explicitly teach something is considering if this is going to be new knowledge to students. Typically it is more efficient to teach the key concepts of What is it? (form) and How does it Work? (function) through a more direct instruction approach when students are acquiring new understandings of concepts or skills. Students need to know the definitions of things and procedural knowledge. Let’s not leave them guessing or feeling confused.

Think about it- can we just send kids with a stack of books and have them generate theories about how language works and then teach themselves to read? No, that would be professional malpractice! We have to explain foundational concepts to students.

Image from https://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au

Let’s think about the words “explicit” and “direct”, another synonym is clarity. You might also think of this as “scaffolding”, in which the teacher is explaining and demonstrating a concept or procedure, and then giving students the opportunity to have guided practice. Educational research shows that when we “show and tell” how something works, it has a greater impact on learning.

Students require more explicit instruction with some of the following content and skills:

  • phonics and decoding skills
  • research skills
  • collaboration skills
  • using mathematical tools and strategies
  • safety skills
  • spelling and grammar
  • understanding time and chronology

So what might this look like or sound like in a PYP classroom?

Sounds like: Today we will be unlocking our thinking through the concept of Form and answering the question, “What is a closed syllable?” . We will be successful at becoming knowledgeable of this syllable type when we can:

  • Define what a closed syllable is.
  • Identify what words contain closed syllables and which ones do not.
  • Read at least 5 words with closed syllables in them.

So you may be wondering, What is a closed syllable? A closed syllable is when a vowel is followed by (or closed in by) one or more consonants.  The vowel sound is ‘short’.  This pattern is often referred to as the CVC pattern (consonant – vowel – consonant), although a closed syllable does not always begin with a consonant. Let’s take a look at some examples……

Now it’s your turn, can you sort these 10 words into the categories of Closed syllables and Not Closed syllables? When you are done sorting, read your words aloud, do you hear the short vowel sound in the word? When you think you have sorted the words correctly, you can compare your answers with a partner…..

Okay, before we go today, I want you to whisper to a friend what a closed syllable is and write at least one new word that contains a closed syllable on this sticky note. You can put your sticky on our Definition Chart for closed syllables. And, if you find any other new words when you are reading, grab a sticky note and write it down with your name on it, and put it on our chart.

Looks like:

  • teacher-selected materials and examples
  • the teacher talks more than the students
  • the students are engaged in a specific task, with little agency over how it is done.
  • there is an explicit “right answer” based on attaining the learning goal.

A closing thought

Teaching is complex, especially in the PYP. Although I have made a stark generalization in what Key Concepts might demand a teacher-directed approach, I ask you to think carefully about your unique learners and consider how best they acquire the knowledge, concepts, and skills they need to be successful. There are moments when we are not actively soliciting curiosity, asking students to problem-solve, or generating theories in our PYP classrooms. And if you choose to develop a lesson that isn’t inquiry-based, it doesn’t mean that you are desecrating the PYP principles.

We want to emphasize that being ‘an inquiry teacher’ does not necessarily mean using an inquiry approach for EVERY lesson.

-Carla Marschall and Rachael French, from Concept-Based Inquiry in Action

So, let’s be thoughtful and skillful in our pedagogical decisions, taking a more teacher-centered approach and providing direct instruction when the moment calls for it. Perhaps if we are more mindful of the merit of the precision of explicit teaching, then our inquiry moments will be more profound.

A Different Way to Promote Teacher Well-being (#PYPCBookClub)

A Different Way to Promote Teacher Well-being (#PYPCBookClub)

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I’m going to be honest, I am skeptical about 2022.  Although Covid has impacted me on a minor scale personally, it’s quite clear that this pandemic isn’t over yet and I have had friends and colleagues who have really experienced its malingering effects. So, would putting a pause on professional learning be better for teacher well-being? Hmm….. 

Recently in a Teacher’s College Reading and Writing Project’s coaching institute Brooke Geller spoke about how important professional development is, especially during this time because teachers need to know (build capacity) and need to grow (have motivation). When we engage in meaningful and authentic professional learning experiences, it helps to fill our teachers’ emotional tank, as they feel reignited with purpose. But training and PLCs are not enough to sustain this spark. As leaders, we have to recongize how fragile and fleeting aspirations may be, thus kindle teachers enthusiam and interest. More importantly, we have to be vunerable and stand shoulder to shoulder with our teachers, learning together so we can grow together. Moveover, Brooke cited some of the advice from Leading the Rebound, in which leaders have to be more explicit noticing and naming the causal relationships in teacher’s practice and how this effort leads to impact on student learning.  An example of a teacher conversation might  “I noticed that you updated your word wall and because you updated the word wall, I see that the kids are using it to discuss new vocabulary terms and reference it for spelling.” In times like this, teachers need to know that their efforts are making a difference. Even our best, most talented and resilent educators need to be openly acknowledged. 

This insight could not have come at a better time. I am in the midst of reading  another great book, A Guide to Documenting Learning,   in our PYP Coordinator Book Club. Although this book by Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano and Janet Hale is aimed mostly at teachers, it challenges all members in a school community to consider how they can make their learning visible. They bekon all of us in education to embue the qualities of a life-long learner:

  • the curiousity and risk-taking of a Researcher
  • the restless spirit of an Adventurer
  • the dedication to unlearning and relearning as we make theories like a Scientist
  • the imagination of a Story teller
  • the courage of an Innovator

Thinking about my role as the coordinator, I feel I have an obligation not only to model this but to document these attributes in our teachers.  As a matter of fact, when I read this quote, I heard myself gasp outloud, as I recongized its signficance with professional learning:

You might agree that most teachers (like most adults) don’t know what they don’t know until they have an “ah-ha moment” or epiphany. Of course I can orchestrate self-reflection through the intentional use of thinking strategies in our meetings. But I want to stretch myself be a mirror in order to help teachers to see how they are as life-long learners as well as putting into focus the impact that they are making on student learning. I think I can not only proactively capture how learning is occuring but also provide noursishment to the souls of my teachers, making them aware that who they are and what they do matter. 

So as we begin our new term’s PLCs, I am making the intention to not only verbally praise teachers’ efforts towards self-improvement but also create artifacts of their learning journey (as well as the students) so I can model how to collect evidence of learning, but more importantly promote teacher well-being. And although I feel that 2022 feels a bit tenuous, I am excited by the prospect of demonstrating the growth and development of my amazing teachers. 

 
A Difficult Habit Worth Developing (#PYPCBookClub)

A Difficult Habit Worth Developing (#PYPCBookClub)

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Our PYP Coordinator book club just finished reading The Coaching Habit by Micheal Bungay Stanier and it was the simplist book to digest, but hardest to put into practice. Coaching for professional development isn’t about solving the problem-it’s about focusing on the person themselves in order to support them to become their own problem solvers. And through his 7 Essential Questions, people learn how to troubleshoot their issues and engineer their own solutions.

Sounds brillant right? Only 7 easy questions-Piece of cake!……

Except it hasn’t been. It has been confronting. I have learned that I come into meetings, ready to give advice, to share my wisdom, but it’s not actually helping teachers become better PYP educators. He reminds us that “the problem isn’t with advice…it’s when advice giving is our default response”. Very true.

So, it’s made me reflect and ask whether, as a PYP coordinator, am I Modeler of Inquiry or Inquirer Role Model? In other words, do I lead with an inquiry stance or do I just talk about learning through inquiry? There is a difference. You see, the longer you are engaged in the IB, the clearer it becomes that the PYP isn’t just a Framework, it’s a Mindset. The Learner Profile isn’t something that we teach kids, it’s an aspirational way of being. I think Jennifer Abrams says it best:

“One cannot lead effectively without modeling what it means to be a professional, and it’s also important to model what it means to be changing and growing oneself as well as stretching one’s learning edges and developing. Leaders must walk the talk.” from Stretching Your Learning Edges

Thus, as a pedagogical leader, I have to demonstrate our approach as lifelong learners with my actions and words. Clearly I may be able to explain how inquiry “works” but I need to work on developing my curiousity muscles, and keep my mind open to other possibilities when involved in interactions.

Sigh.

Now do you see why this “habit” might be a bit tricky when the leadership paradigmn is that we are supposed to have all the answers? That myth is simply not accurate. And apparently, not effective.

So let me share with you why advice giving is garbage when it comes to coaching. Questioning is the gold.  (PS. this is also true for teacher-student interactions, and not only relevant to those of us in leadership titles).

My advice might be for the wrong problem.

When others come to you with their “problems”, the first thing they share is often not the heart of their issue. They need to talk out the issue so they can figure out what is at the heart of their challenge. It is through questioning that they are able to distill what is the REAL problem. Once we have discovered, “What’s the real challenge here for you?”, then addressing it becomes more efficient and potent.

Advice giving is disempowering

This hurt the most, but he’s absolutely spot on. As I reflected on his ideas about helping vs. “being helpful”, it made me realize that when I offer up my ideas as solutions, it develops a power dyanmic that creates co-dependency and it sends the message that “you can’t figure this out by yourself”.  If I want to develop authentic teacher agency, then I have to provide opportunities to boost their confidence and give them ownership is solving their own problems. Makes sense, right? So when I drill down to the real challenge and I ask “And What Else?” (The AWE question), they have an opportunity to witness their own capacity to discover the possibilities that exist as solutions while taking on personal responsibility for the outcome. Much, much better, right?

Reflection is THE practice we are cultivating.

All schools are learning organizations, but in the IB being a life long learner is a practice that we wish to embody into our schools. Life long learning is not only seeking knowledge, but reflecting on that knowledge and who we are becoming as we strive to learn more.

Micheal Bungay Stanier shared something in the book that I believe is the genuine reason why reflection as a practice is so powerful:

People don’t really learn when you tell them something.

They don’t even really learn when they do something.

The start learning, start creting new neural pathways, only when they have a chance to recall and reflect on what just happened.

So, as I think about WHO WE ARE as an organization, our goal is always to encourage reflection. Reflection is a habit that I, myself, work to cultivate, but I also wish to develop in others. When I ease off giving advice and instead lean into questioning, “What was most useful here for you?”, I am developing the larger goals of our IB programmes and truly helping others to be leaders of their own learning.

Although this blog post serves as a reflection tool, the real testimony to this habit change comes when I…..

Choose: the question that prompts the reflection in others

Act: in a supporting way to honor the learning and development of others.

Reflect: on how this practice is changing me, as a person, the teachers I support, and the students with whom they serve.

My parting advice to you (Ironic, I know)

The book isn’t lengthy, but starting with curiousity can be a big ask for those of us who haven’t developed “the coaching habit”. Besides reading the book, I would encourage you to watch his Ted Talk  on how to tame one’s “advice monster”. No matter where we are and who we serve in education, I believe if we can stay curious longer, we can make a greater impact.
Creating Machines or Mathematicians? How Might We Use the Learner Profile as a Math Planning guide in the #PYP

Creating Machines or Mathematicians? How Might We Use the Learner Profile as a Math Planning guide in the #PYP

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How would you finish this sentence? Math is…..

  • practical, a part of every day life
  • happening all around me.
  • fascinating
  • a language
  • a mindset
  • an opportunity to build relationships
  • a form of creative expression

These are just a few of the ideas that pop into my head as I reflect on what Math means to me. But I wouldn’t say that I felt that way all my life. There was a time when I wouldn’t answered it as boring or hard. It really wasn’t until I studied Calculus that I realized that the journey to getting an answer was actually where “math” happened. The solution wasn’t as rewarding as the struggle. And puzzling over a challenge can be fun. 

But no one has to wait until high school or college to experience joy when doing math. I feel strongly that we have an obligation to use our PYP framework to intentionally develop mathematcians. Lately I have been thinking, reading and reflecting on how to support New-to-the-PYP teachers in shifting their practices. More than I care to admit, I’ve heard these fledgling PYP teachers retort, “It’s okay to ‘do the PYP’ for Unit of Inquiry time but for literacy and math? Nah?!”

I fight to keep a straight face when I hear them say things like that, while inside my heart goes

The PYP isn’t some jargon-filled, philosophical mumbo-jumbo, it’s designed on best practices. I know that the framework is a lot to take in for newbies, and, as a PYP coordinator, I must be patient. They are learners. And I am a learner too….and sometimes I am learning how to get teachers to not only “drink the kool-aide” before they can serve it to others. 

But I digress…..

Examining the research and approaches to rich math learning experiences, it’s obvious to me that our PYP standards and practices are grounded in not only what is joyful but what is powerful in math learning. Take a look at this chart–doesn’t it just scream our Approaches to Learning?! 

From the book, Everything You Need for Mathematics Coaching: Tools, Plans, and a Process That Works for Any Instructional Leader, Grades K–12

I love how this chart clearly articulates what competant mathematics do and how teachers can create the culture and opportunites for engaging in learning to solve problems through math. For teachers who struggle without a textbook or scripted curriculum, transforming their practice takes a lot of support and compassion. I think we all can acknowledge that most teachers who fear to stray off the pacing guide or curriculum resource is really just trying to do their best to ensure that students get the knowledge and skills they need to succeed. They are not trying to be defiant or stubborn, they are just don’t feel competant enough in their own decision-making abilities to support learners. To call them robots or machines because they can’t teach without a script would be cruel. Chances are they never had an authentic experience in which they embodied the spirt and curiousity of a true mathematician. Whether you are in leadership or just a peer, we have a duty to encourage them to take baby steps and take risks. 

The Learner Profile isnt just for the Students

Since we are in the throes of our IB Review Cycle, I’ve been reflecting on the new standards and practices. In particular, I’ve been thinking about the Learning standard practice:

Approaches to teaching 4: Teachers promote effective relationships and purposeful collaboration to create a positive and dynamic learning community. (0403-04)

Approaches to teaching 4.1: Teachers collaborate to ensure a holistic and coherent learning experience for students in accordance with programme documentation. (0403-04-0100)

Approaches to teaching 4.2: Students collaborate with teachers and peers to plan, demonstrate, and assess their own learning. (0403-04-0200)

The “PYP” isn’t something we do during our Unit of Inquiry time, it’s how we approach EVERY aspect of learning content to ensure a holistic and coherent learning experience for students. Moreover, it’s not something that the students do. EVERYONE DOES it!! Teachers promote….a positive and dynamic learning community. To think that teachers work outside of the jargon is to miss the point. We provide students with an everyday example of living the Learner Profile. But do we use it when we are reflecting on our planning?

As a PYP practicioner, do you ever ask yourself…..

How am I using the Approaches to Learning (Atls) to do math?

Who are the students becoming as I create opportunities to develop the Learner Profile in the context of solving problems using math?

Those questions need to be asked on a daily basis, as an individual teacher and within our teaching teams. When we live and breathe the values and philosophy, it’s easy to communicate it to other members in our learning community. 

Since I am working on supporting teachers who still learning how to shift their mindset and approach to designing learning experiences through the lens of the PYP, I’ve been thinking about how I might try to kill 2 birds with one stone:

#1: Elevate the implementation of our IB Standards and Practices

#2: Use the Learner Profile as a filter/checklist as we plan.

After a lesson, we might reflect, how did I create…

Risk-taking today?

Open-mindedness today?

Thinkers today?

Communicators today? 

etc…

Circling back to the “baby steps” a novice PYP practicioner might take could include embracing one or more of our Learner Profiles as we approach planning math, whether it is a stand-alone unit or transdisciplanary.  For example, perhaps they want to set a goal and become more of an INQUIRER in their math practices. I can help them then paint a picture and start to describe what kind of evidence they might see, hear or feel in the classroom environment to demonstrate that they are achieving this professional goal. Moreover, when I come into the classroom and see the teacher honoring the kids questions about math on a Wonder Wall, I need to acknowledge and provide accolades for their effort to shift their practice. Change isn’t easy and becoming a competant PYP teacher requires intention and a desire to be a creative educator. And, at the end of the day, I want them to experience the joy of engaging in math, not as a machine, but as a real mathematician–even if they have to live vicariously through the students.

I’m curious, can you think of other ways might we help support the development of PYP teachers through explicitly developing who we are as educators through naming and noticing the Learner Profile?  Please share in the comments below! 

Post Pandemic: “New Normals” Worth Developing

Post Pandemic: “New Normals” Worth Developing

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What is education?

Childcare?

Job Training?

Citizenship Development? 

It seems like so many countries are grappling with the purpose of education, trying to balance the risk of bringing kids back to school. It is a critical moment in time when we really can evaluate our guiding principles in our societies. In so many ways, globally we are undergoing a “dark night of the soul”, deep in introspection as we reflect on all the incongruent “normals” in our educational systems. 

I digress for a moment……

I like to explore the word education semantically for a moment. Its Latin origins, mean “to bring out; to lead forth”.  The root implies that our intelligence is innate and can be developed.

When I think of this definition, I wonder what this global crisis has revealed about our educational systems? 

Inequity between public and private education–YEP!

Teacher-Driven models of education are not sustainable or appropriate online–YEP!

Misguided or completely absent set of values in our systems?–YEP!

Inadequate training and professional development of our teachers, particularly in using technology in our instruction–YEP!

More care and concern are focused on our current-day economy than designing a more equitable future?–YEP!

But the most disturbing is the lack of organizational leadership and creative problem solving since the best we can do is hole ourselves up in our homes until this thing blows over. This fact right here is the absolute reason why we have to look carefully at our educational systems and make changes as we create more agile and dynamic schools. We can’t keep educating our future generations to look for answers outside of themselves–we need an “all hands on deck” approach that involves integrated and collaborative communities of problem-solvers. 

When you plant lettuce, if it does not grow well, you do not blame the lettuce. You look for reasons it is not doing well. It may need more fertilizer, or more water, or less sun. You look for reasons it is not doing well. You never blame the lettuce.

-Thich Nhat Hahn-

Now is the time to seize upon this opportunity to make constructive changes in our schools and educational systems. When we look at our current crop of “lettuce”, I feel a powerful and urgent need of changing minds and hearts when it comes to reconstructing education. 

Purpose: Develop our Humanity

The International Baccalaureate is one of the few frameworks that actually defines who we want our students to become as a result of their learning. In a nutshell, we want to make “good humans”.

This shouldn’t be an exception, but should be a rule in ALL of our schools.

Yet so many schools still reflect a factory-model, industrial age approach to learning. In which when the system “spits them out” at the end, they have a conforming pattern and standardized base of knowledge. This is in direct opposition to what we know about our human design. Every aspect of who we are is unique and essential.

As educators, we must question the directives of our national and local authorities in order to change these definitions. We must demand to infuse our policies to account for improvements in our humanity, rather than look at defining our systems by creating subordinate and compliant masses who keep our economies chugging along.

But even if we can’t get change within our higher authority, we must be willing to be way-showers and make changes in our schools that move away from these vestiges of this outdated paradigm.

This graphic is from Bold Moves for Schools, ASCD, 2017, H.H. Jacobs and M.H. Alcoc and provides consideration of the areas in which our schools can shift from the traditional factory-model paradigm to a more fluid and contemporary model of education.

Teachers shouldn’t be waiting for leadership to make these changes. The level of complexity that it takes to make this shift is almost prohibitive. Teachers must dream and co-design with school leadership so that this is a thoughtful and collaborative grass-roots effort. Schools can’t restructure without a teamwork and ingenuity.

These shifts are not minor, these are transformational. We are providing structures that empower learners and create real-world applications that act as “training wheels” for dealing with challenges.

I hear Gandhi in my head …

It might take time but with collective and persistent patience, we can create a new future for education.

Redefine: Indicators of “performance” for evidence of learning

I remember a time when the standardized testing craze was contagious. I can recall a day when one of my Kiwi friends was lamenting that New Zealand was embracing the American antidote for education with school grading based upon students’ achievement on the general skill-based tests.  As she was explaining the new direction that the NZ education system was going, her cheeks turned red with emotion. I had to sigh, remembering my own experience and stress of teaching to a test. 

However, many schools get “graded” on student performance. The word performance implies some action or behavior that demonstrates a specific ability.  Learning, on the other hand, is a process, an accumulation of knowledge gained through experience that changes behavior. Although there is a thread that links the two, we often confuse student data as an indicator of learning, when, in fact, it is really the other way around. Learning can only be demonstrated by actions taken by students of the skills they have acquired.  Because of this, learning describes this innate capacity to “bring forth” our intelligence and creativity.

After this COVID crisis dies down and we return to our school, we must broaden our definition of performance that goes beyond knowing the “answers” to knowing the “problems” so that students can predict potential threats to our societies and create proactive solutions that innovate and address these areas of concern. It’s less about demonstrating knowledge and more about awareness.

A colleague of mine recently pointed out that there is not one standard in their national curriculum around discrimination and oppression. This is an example of how we censor reality.

Our national standards are helpful in understanding the cognitive milestones that we expect for numeracy and literacy, but they do not really reflect the “standards” we want for our humanity: kindness, resilience, cooperation, generosity, appreciation, curiosity, and joy. Content knowledge no longer holds the capacity for future success. We need “heart-based” standards and, as educators, model and facilitate the growth of emotional and situational intelligence.

Our students’ performance may not be as measurable and easy to assess when we focus on this area but I believe that we can still observe “learning” when students can manage conflict, articulate concerns, and self-manage their learning, returning home inspired and energized. Instead of knowledge, HOPE can be an indicator of performance standards.

Imagining New Normals

These are the “new normals” that I believe is worth striving for in a post-pandemic era of education: Value-based Goals for Education, Restructuring Systems of Learning, and Creating New “Performance Standards”.

When I consider the root meaning of “education”, I can’t help but contemplate what I wish to “to bring out; to lead forth” as a result of this experience. As difficult as this time is, we must lean on potential and think of the possible good that can come out of this experience.

What do you believe should become “new normals”? What do you hope to dream and scheme about as we reconsider the purpose of education?

#IMMOOC: Why the Status Quo Makes Us Slow and Stupid

#IMMOOC: Why the Status Quo Makes Us Slow and Stupid

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My student stood agog: “Wow, you type so fast! How do you do that?” I looked down at my keyboard and then back at my student. Do I even bother to explain the QWERTY keyboard set up and how I learned to type to my 1st grader? I mean, will the keyboard even exist in the future? Will touch-typing even be a relevant skill?

It’s odd to think that the QWERTY keyboard is an excellent example of why we need to look at common things with uncommon sight. Why innovation is so vital in our educational systems. Have you ever heard of the Fable of the Keys? Do you know why we have that layout of letters of the home keys? Perhaps you think it was created to improve our speed and efficiency when typing? NO–quite the opposite. It was to slow us down so that those old fashion typewriter keys didn’t get jammed up. Its crazy to think that in an era of such technological impact, that such a simple feature of our computers cannot be revamped to improve our productivity. It’s a bit foolish really that we haven’t adopted another style of the keyboard when you think of it. And it makes me wonder what else we are doing in our world that is relies on 200-year-old technology.

Again, I wonder if the layout of the keyboard of our laptops and devices should be reconfigured to produce faster typing speeds? That’s the most sensible approach, right? ABSOLUTELY NOT! I think about this provocative quote about innovation:Anytime teachers think differently about (3)

And it makes sense, right? Why would we spend all that time and effort when we could be reimagining how we might capture thoughts and ideas? Most of us submit that talk to text will be the way of the future. But I wonder how often in education we just repackage these same sorts of “old” ideas which have gotten standardized into our systems. When you look at the quote by Seymour Papert, a man who brought technology to education, can you think of anything that you are using or doing in your classroom that just recapitulates antiquated practices?

The phrase “technology and education” usually means inventing new gadgets to teach the same old stuff in a thinly disguised version of the same old way. Moreover, if the gadgets are computers, the same old teaching becomes incredibly more expensive and biased towards its dullest parts, namely the kind of rote learning in which measurable results can be obtained by treating the children like pigeons in a Skinner box.   –Seymour Papert, father of Constructionism

During Season 4, Episode 3 of IMMOOC, John Spencer described his journey with technology and how his thinking has evolved around its use. As I listened to him speaking about using Scotch tape to mend microfiche, my head just kept unconsciously nodding. Oh, how I could relate! And I wholeheartedly agree with his lesson from this experience.

What is transferable, what is powerful and what stayed forever has been getting to think critically, getting to be creative, getting to problem solve-all of that. To me, when people get focused on the technology, they are going to end up inevitably doing is getting obsessed with the novelty.

I think this is an important lesson for all of us educators to consider. How can we focus on transferable skills vs. technology skills? Is knowing how to touch-type going to be a game changer for my 1st grader’s future OR is understanding how we organize and create systems to improve our capacity to do more and communicate more of our best selves and solve problems the answer?

Obviously, my question is rhetorical. And maybe you are wondering what “QUERTYs” you have in your school culture and classrooms–what old fashion practices and tools are you perpetuating, with or without the use of technology? Let’s start to make genuine progress by challenging and “breaking” them. Because by accepting the “status quo” in education, like un-imagining “the keyboard”, just makes us look slow and stupid.

My Flawed Thinking: Confessions of A Digital Immigrant

My Flawed Thinking: Confessions of A Digital Immigrant

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Perhaps you haven’t considered lately how far we’ve come in the journey with computers in the classroom. I recently was watching an interview with Hal Abelson about the history of Logo, the first computer programming language that was taught to kids. In it, he shares the philosophy of Logo and the determination that the father of constructionism, Seymour Papert, had in bringing computers into the classroom:

Well, one thing I learned from Seymour Papert is that he used to talk about developing technology with a low floor and a high ceiling, meaning it’s easy to get started, the low floor, and you can do more and more sophisticated things over time, a high ceiling. We sometimes also talk about having wide walls, meaning you can have many different pathways. It’s not enough just to have everyone doing the same thing and doing more complex things, but people doing different types of things.

I know Hal is talking about computer programming, but that is only one aspect of how we use computers and devices in our learning environments. It is fascinating to think about what an impact these pioneers have had in creating a generation of “digital natives”. Once a computer was a huge expensive noisy machine, but now it ubiquitous. Our young learners have spent their entire lives surrounded by and using computer video games, digital MP3 players, video cams, cell phones, and all the other tools of the digital age. As an enthusiastic educator,  it’s hard not be inspired by where technology has taken us and where it will take us in our students’ learning.  I am always searching for how we might cultivate deeper thinking and creativity in our use of iPads in the learning to demonstrate this “high ceiling”. However, I recently discovered that I have some preconceived notions about my digital natives. The cartoon really summarizes my error in thinking and that I need to appreciate that, although technology can provide this low ceiling, I have to still lead them into the “learning environment”–even if I am a Digital Immigrant.  

During this last week of learning, we have been working through the transdisciplinary theme, How We Organize Ourselves, inquiring into the central idea: Community Spaces provide people with opportunities to connect. We have developed “expert” groups for different community spaces at our school and it came up that we may need some signs to help us know about the appropriate behavior in different areas. So we considered how technology can help us to augment or extend the learning by this project and decided to use Adobe Spark Post to explore how we might create the visual message.  However, I noticed that the students are accustomed to using iPads just for consumption purposes instead of using them for creativity or collaboration. Before we can shift into higher levels of purposeful use in the classroom, they need to get into habits of taken active roles as learners of technology. They required a lot of handholding to start the project and I began to think how I might have given them more support in orientating to the app before beginning. Even though it wasn’t a total flop, I wanted a lesson “do-over” so that students could make better connections and be empowered. With this in mind, I recognized my faulty logic in assuming that because they are digital natives, they are naturally orientated to using apps. I started to think about what my next steps need to be and how might I approach it differently.

After reflecting, I see these as the basic concepts and ideas that they need further development in:

Learn….

  • What do different icons mean?
  • How to problem solve when they can’t spell a word?

Understand….

  • How their projects are seen and can be shared on the device (co-use and collaborate).
  • How that double tapping is an editing command.
  • That changes made on a project happen in real time.
  • A design can be improved upon and their current model or idea is just one iteration.

In hindsight, these outcomes seem like a natural starting point and should have been obvious in the lesson design;  but as a digital immigrant, I think they implicitly know how to get started with technology. I assumed that so much of their experience has exposed them to these things and thought that the app could teach itself. My design checklist and quick demonstration of the app was simply not enough to draw out the nuances that students needed to develop when creating a product. If I want them to go into higher levels of their learning and creativity, I have to remember that, although I am not a digital native, I am their teacher and I need to make sure they have a clear picture of the power of the tool before them. There’s a careful balance of making sure that students are finding problems that they can solve, and that they have the skills to use technology to solve these problems.

I am sure my confession resonates with many educators, as they think back to a lesson that should have gone better than it did. But sometimes you do the teaching and sometimes you do the learning. (:

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