Tag: flexible seating

#EnhancedPYP: An Inquiry into the Hokey-Pokey

#EnhancedPYP: An Inquiry into the Hokey-Pokey

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Whenever you move to a new school,  you inherit a space that once was someone else’s classroom or office. And as you begin to inhabit this space, you have to rummage through all the “old stuff” that once belonged to another. Some of the remanents of my predecessor were binders full of old Programmes of Inquiries and Unit of Inquiry planners. It was felt like the “PYP Through the Ages” as I combed through the documents.

One of the PYP planners had the title (remember when we used to have titles for our unit planners?): Let’s Do The Hokey-Pokey. I never thought the Hokey-Pokey was that deep. I just about peed my pants reading that. Oh, man, so glad we don’t do that anymore!!

But it’s not just that shift away from titles as topics that has got me thinking about the Primary Year’s Programme’s (PYP) evolution.  What are the “trends” taking place in education in general, and what really needs to be “enhanced” in our schools?

Do we need flexible seating, as much as we need flexible thinking? How can we “enhance” that?what kids remember.png

I don’t think we need Slide Staircases in our hallways and trampolines in every classroom to inspire creativity. I think kids come naturally equipped with curiosity and imagination. Let’s not forget what is behind this trend–that our learners are unique and that there are optimal conditions for them to thrive. It’s about the kids, not the cushions. Let’s enhance our relationships as much as we enhance our school design.

 

Do we need better technology or the more skillful use of it?  How do we enhance that?tech quotes

I don’t think we need to have virtual reality headsets and 3D printers to prepare our students for their tech-infused futures. Yes, we must replace outdated iPads that we can’t update anymore with new ones. We want tech that improves instruction, not impedes it. However, let’s remember what tech does for our learning–we can go further faster in our research skills and do some amazing innovative projects when tech gets involved.  Nevertheless, the trend with more technology in our classrooms is about enhancing student-directed learning and represents democracy in learning. Let’s enhance the student’s voice, choice, and ownership.

What really needs a facelift? It’s educators and our approaches to learning.

I share these 2 examples because I see a lot of schools are making superficial changes in their schools. Or schools that are being built from the ground up with some fantastic designs. The enhancements are not about the fresh paint and fancy bells and whistles. It’s about a shift in our practice. I know that doesn’t look as sexy on marketing brochures but it’s the truth.

And what has started with deleting the word, Title, on our PYP Unit planners is now evolving into something much bigger, much grander than these “school makeovers”. What is truly changing is the US, as we widen this definition to increase agency.

Now put your right foot in….and shake it all about
do the hokey pokey
And Turn ourselves around
That’s what it’s all about

#IMMOOC: Prototyping the Classroom to Reflect Values and Guiding Principles of our IB Culture

#IMMOOC: Prototyping the Classroom to Reflect Values and Guiding Principles of our IB Culture

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Our attitudes steer our decisions and build momentum in everything we do. A space is at its most sublime when it reinforces and encourages desired values. The first step in designing a space to support particular attitudes is to define those attitudes. – From the book, Make Space, by d.School

I have come to realize that our learning space is more like a living breathing organism, which changes and evolves. It’s always going to be a prototype of the changing learning needs of students. In one of our last IMMOOC ,Kayla Delzer, a flexible seating expert, discusses the importance of cultivating “workspaces” that provide students with opportunities to learn best.  Anyone who has worked with me knows that my classroom setup changes at least ten times a year. However, instead of shifting a table or bookcase, I decided to take all of the classroom furniture out of the rooms and start all over to get a fresh start and churn up different energy in the learning space.  I’ve been looking at the student data that I have gotten from surveys and student sketches of their design ideas, as well as reflections on our timetable to get an idea of their interests and feelings towards different grouping strategies. I understand that the data that I get from those surveys and diagrams are just a snapshot because the learning environment will shift as our culture of learning shifts.

So then I’ve decided to think about how I could use our classroom as a provocation and context of our current Sharing the Planet unit. I’ve been working on “natural vs man-made” and wondering how I can elevate their love of nature and our environment. In one classroom, I took as much of the plastic and industrial looking furniture and replaced it with wooden furniture that we use for outdoor seating in our corridors.  However, I left one of our classroom spaces with all the normal school furniture in it. I wanted to see how the students responded to the change of environment.

This is our first prototype, but it has been fun to see how the students behave and respond to the changes, even if they cannot articulate it. I have to say that is incredibly hard to take the “man-made” out of our learning environment and so this idea will have to continue to grow and be refined. But when I think back to the original quote from the book Make Space, I want the next prototype to really support the value and love of our environment–what makes our Blue Planet worth appreciating and how can we still be “human”, with our deep desire towards progress and yet honor the other conscious living organisms and their plight to survive? In our IB programmes, we have a strong emphasis on how humans must negotiate our roles and responsibilities in sharing finite resources with other living things.

The aim of all IB programmes is to develop internationally minded people who, recognizing their common humanity and shared guardianship of the planet, help to create a better and more peaceful world. -From, What is an IB Education–

I wonder how I might continue to create this awareness in our students and how I can use our classroom environment as the context to develop this appreciation. Although this is the first prototype, taking cues from the flexible seating playbook is helpful, but trying to bring nature back into the classroom is not an easy task, yet this challenge is a fun one. If you have any ideas or suggestions, I am keenly open to it, as collaboration really helps to make an idea stronger. So I welcome your comments below.

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