Tag: Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano

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. 

 

My Summer Reading 2020

My Summer Reading 2020

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First of all, this title is a misnomer. I had to put on a sweatshirt and socks just to be warm enough to start this post. However, my orientation to the Northern Hemisphere means I am experiencing cognitive dissonance, as our upcoming break is really in the midst of winter here in Brazil. Nevertheless, my attention is starting to consider what I want to read during my downtime. I have a few more titles that I am working through right now, but with only a few weeks left of school (Thank you God!) and a likely Stay-cation in our home, I have begun to curate my professional reading list for the "summer". Here's what I have so far:

Together: The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World by Vivek H. Murthy

I'm interested in this title mostly because it is a timely book that speaks about how we can cultivate social connections despite social isolation with the COVID-19 pandemic. As I think ahead of our re-opening plans (or not), I wonder what the mental toll has been on our community, from teachers to students to our families. If there is something that I can bring forward that is positive from this experience, then I am eager to research and try it. I hope this book will offer ideas and give me hope for what could be possibly the "good" to come out of this crisis.

Self-Regulation Interventions and Strategies: Keeping the Body, Mind & Emotions on Task in Children with Autism, ADHD or Sensory Disorders by Teresa Garland

Learning more about self-regulation and creating self-motivation in students is something that I am keenly interested in. There were a lot of books that I sampled and this one seemed to be the most practical one. This topic is not only deeply personal to me, but I also feel that remote learning was really a challenge for these types of students. Again, thinking forward to our next phase of learning, I am hopeful that I can bring in some fresh ideas and offer support for the teachers (and their families) who may struggle, offline or online, with learning.

Evolving Learner: Shifting From Professional Development to Professional Learning From Kids, Peers, and the World  by  Lainie Jae Rowell, Kristy J. Andre, Lauren Steinmann, and Thomas C. Murray

Due to remote learning, we prioritized schedules for student learning over staff learning. Moving our PLCs (professional learning communities)  online was a bit of a challenge since it required teachers to be more self-directed and collaborative. Professional learning wasn't happening TO THEM but THROUGH THEM. and, honestly, it was a struggle as the weeks online continued. With the possibility of still having a significant chunk of our learning happening online when we return in August, I need some inspiration and fresh thinking about how I can best support teachers in engaging--not only with kids but with each other. If there was ONE thing that I thought was critical to moving from survival to thrival (not sure if that is a word) with our teams, it was the sharing of our knowledge and skills. I think PLCs is the heart of cultivating that spirit of collaborative learning, and I want to make sure we upgrade our ability to support and share with one another.

Active Literacy Across the Curriculum: Connecting Print Literacy with Digital, Media, and Global Competence, K-12 by Heidi Hayes Jacobs

I have to be honest. I really admire the work of Heidi Hayes Jacobs when it has come to curriculum mapping but I have never read any of her books about Digital literacy . So I actually have a few of her titles on my Kindle now, but this is the 1st one I am digging into. Mostly because it challenges what we think about literacies, and how teachers can invite students to be more engaged in developing their reading and writing skills. One of the things I really struggled with has been the more didactic approaches that seem to have prevailed through this time of remote learning. I am not suggesting EVERYONE did that, nor did it happen all the time, but I definitely shared my thoughts that students became Muted during Remote Learning.  Moreover, just because students were forced to work at home didn't make them more autonomous or self-directed simply with the use of tech. So, I am hoping that this book provides a way forward.

Pedagogical Documentation in Early Childhood: Sharing Children's Learning and Teachers' Thinking by Susan Stacey

Next school year, many teachers at our school will be engaged in a book study of this title as a part of our PLCs. So I want to read ahead to help generate questions and see how these ideas can be combined with the work of Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano and her book, A Guide to Documenting Learning: Making Thinking Visible, Meaningful, Shareable, and Amplified. In the Enhanced PYP, there is a shift in our assessment practices in which we are "evidencing learning". This book I think will be invaluable in how we observe and document the growth of our youngest learners.

What's going to be in your stack of books? What are your must-reads for your holiday break? I would love to hear your suggestions!

Addendum: Since the George Floyd protests, I think it's time to get more educated on how to be an ally. Joining the lovely ladies at Erin Kent Consulting in a book club reading of Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You . If anyone is interested in joining, you can go to the Reading and Writing Workshop in the International Schools Facebook page to sign up.

Professional Learning: Gearing Up for #Remote Learning

Professional Learning: Gearing Up for #Remote Learning

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As I sit here with my laptop perched in my lap, I hear birds singing and a car tumble down our steep road. I can see the light start to peek out behind puffy clouds resting on the tops of buildings and mountains. Today seems to be like any other day here in Brazil, but if I were to turn on my TV or dare to look at my internet news feed, I would experience a different reality–one that is gripped with fear. Fear of catching a virus. Covid19. You would think that this is some kind of storyline from World War Z, a once-popular zombie apocalypse movie in which people scramble to contain a terrible virus. I don’t think Covid19 is going to lead to the destruction of mankind, but we sure are behaving in a very cautious manner.

So, here we are, as educators, in the midst of figuring out how we can do remote learning. For many of us, even the most tech-savvy, we are grappling with the lack of experience with this kind of learning. As I write this post, our school isn’t facing the reality of doing this quite yet, but we are preparing for when learning goes online. But I live in Belo Horizonte, tucked in the mountains of Minas Gerais, where we only have 1 case within the whole city.  In Sao Paulo, the city that has the most cases of coronaviruses, they face other challenges. Our biggest and most extraordinary conference in this region is set to take place next week–AASSA Educators’ Conference that has educational rockstars like John Hattie, Cindy Moss and George Couros who will be keynote speakers. Yours truly was going to present as well. I have never felt so excited about a conference in my life.

But we received a notice last week that it’s …..getting canceled? Nope, it’s going virtual!! My first reaction was surprise. Woah–kudos to them for not outright canceling! I loved how the organization was really taking the lead on moving forward, despite schools’ travel restrictions. Of course, I was bummed that we weren’t going to Sao Paulo. Traveling and networking are some of my favorite part of these events. But as we sat in our principles office, it became clear, as the leader of professional learning, it was my job to be a cheerleader. (For anyone who knows me, this actually isn’t a stretch.) I was eager to turn lemons into lemonade.  Because our school had actually created Professional Development days on our school calendar in order for the bulk of us to attend. We were going to have our staff come on-site in order to ensure that they were distraction-free and had access to technology. I started brainstorming ideas of how we were going to make it fun and engaging.

But on Friday (the 13th, no less) I saw the email from AASSA with the subject line that said: AASSA 2020 Educators’ Conference – CANCELED

I blinked. Did I read that right? So I clicked to read:

We have continued to monitor the developments related to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). The situation is quickly evolving and schools in our region are attending to pressing demands that make participating virtually in a conference during this time extremely challenging.  Therefore, the AASSA 2020 Educators’ Conference is canceled.

When I read that my mouth dropped and my heart sank. it means that there are 2 unplanned PD days. Now, what are we going to do? Cancel those days and head to the beach? Hahaha–not a chance! With over 57 countries currently calling off school, my principal informed me that we are going to prepare for what now seems inevitable. Remote Learning.

The good news is that we have been preparing for remote learning for a while. Kasey Bell posted a really helpful blog post called: Coronavirus Closures? Online Learning Tips for Teachers and Schools that helped our school to create an Essential Agreement with our teachers for remote learning. For our lower school, it meant that we needed to get really good at SeeSaw and at Google Meets–the 2 platforms that we were going to focus on. (Less is more!)

Serendipitously, I had a recent chat with Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano, and she inspired me with some ideas. So with that in mind, I started scrambling to get these 2 days planned.

My current thinking is that during our PD days we will play BINGO. My principal always asks me when I go to him with ideas–“so what are your goals?”  So, with that in mind, the goals of my PD BINGO are as follows:

  1. For teachers to PRACTICE online collaboration (with Google Meets)
  2. For teachers to LEARN more about remote learning through social media and blogs.
  3. For teachers to DOCUMENT their learning.
  4. For teachers to NETWORK with other educators outside our organization.
  5. For grade levels to feel PREPARED for our first day of remote learning.
  6. And most importantly, for everyone to have FUN while we are in the midst of stressful times.

Here is the draft of the BINGO:

Even though this isn’t at the same level of awesomeness that an in-person, live conference is, I do hope that this helps our staff to feel less stressful by getting prepared, connected and feeling competent with using the tools that we have designated for our remote learning. This also provides a window into any technical hiccups that we might encounter and allow teachers the support they need before we actually go live with remote learning.

I know that most schools haven’t had the luxury of preparing teachers like we might have. It’s not even a guarantee that we will go remote. But the pressure is on the local and national authorities to decide. And when they do, we intend to be ready!

 

#InquiryMaths: Planning for Play as a Stance for Math in the #PYP ?

#InquiryMaths: Planning for Play as a Stance for Math in the #PYP ?

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I’ve been binge learning through the online conference on The Pedagogy of Play. It’s been really inspiring for me. Last year, I felt like I was moving away from play-based learning and into more formally academic structures when I began teaching first grade. This has been a challenge for me because I miss the discoveries (theirs and mine!) and creativity that are natural by-products of a play-based approach. So as I embark on this school year, I have two questions that I am holding in my mind: How do I make math more fun and authentic? and How do I provide rich open-ended tasks that allow for multiple approaches with low threshold, high ceiling tasks?

These questions come from this quote from Jo Boaler, a math educator hero of mine.

Numerous research studies (Silver, 1994) have shown that when students are given opportunities to pose mathematics problems, to consider a situation and think of a mathematics question to ask of it—which is the essence of real mathematics—they become more deeply engaged and perform at higher levels.
― Jo Boaler, Mathematical Mindsets: Unleashing Students’ Potential through Creative Math, Inspiring Messages and Innovative Teaching

loris malaguzziAs I reflect on that research, I believe the answer to my questions is to play. Not just because it develops curiosity and self-expression, but it cultivates self-motivation and an appreciation for the pleasant surprises that our mistakes bring us in our learning process. Moreover, from Boaler’s academic point of view, “they become more deeply engaged and perform at higher levels”. Um…so why on Earth wouldn’t we connect play and math?

What is play?  Play is the ultimate What If question in my mind because it allows us to explore with possibilities. Most Primary Years Programme (PYP) Early Years educators feel that the word “play” is synonymous with the word “inquiry”. As teachers, we can be intentional about marrying the joy of learning through play with our learning outcomes. I don’t think we have to suck the fun out of everything to make it “learning”; in fact, I think it has to be injected back into the process, especially when I consider that real * (think Albert Einstein and Euclid and Leonardo Pisano aka Fibonacci) mathematicians are exceptionally creative and playful with their ideas. (*Actually, I think ALL of us are REAL mathematicians, but not all of us embrace and delight in this aspect of ourselves).

So then if I approach inquiry maths through the lens of play, I need to consider ….

What tools can we use for play?

  • Loose parts?
  • Technology?
  • Each other?
  • Math resources (traditional, like geometric shapes, Unifix cubes, hundreds chart etc.?)
  • Math resources (non-traditional materials that allow students to create. ie: a bridge)

What mathematical ideas can be developed and deepened through play?

I actually believe that most of the time, when we are authentically engaging in math decisions, we are not doing “number” and then “measurement” and then “data handling”–it’s not that discrete in real life and often time these strands are happening simultaneously and overlapping. Play expresses this transdisciplinary nature.

What language can I use to invite “playfulness” with math?

I think our teacher talk is actually a critical component of shaping our mathematical identities. Also, the enthusiasm I communicate, either through my speech or through non-verbal cues is something that I want to be mindful of. My favorite book that addresses this is still Mathematical Mindsets  but I also love the simplicity of Peter Johnson’s ideas on language and I recently read In Other Words: Phrases for Growth Mindset: A Teacher’s Guide to Empowering Students through Effective Praise and Feedback which had a lot of gems in there that can be applied to developing our language around math learning.  I’ve been ruminating over how I can embed more sophisticated math language in our classroom vernacular, especially with our English Language Learners (ELLs). I really want students to talk like mathematicians, explaining their algorithms and debating approaches to problem-solving in a way that is light and spirited as if we are having a cool conversation. I know that deepening my ability to express the “fun of math” is going to be an area of growth for me because I have been brainwashed into thinking (like many of us were) that math is serious and hard. I STILL have to unlearn this when working with older children.

How can I document their learning decisions so I can create more opportunities to engage, process and reinforce key concepts while also expanding their cognitive boundaries? Right now I am reading A Guide to Documenting Learning: Making Thinking Visible, Meaningful, Shareable, and Amplified by Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano and Janet A. Hale in the hopes of deepening my knowledge and finding answers to this complex question. I also find that this Math Mindsets Teaching Guide from YouCubed will be incredibly helpful in my professional learning journey.

So as I think about our first unit of inquiry in our stand-alone Programme of Inquiry (POI), I find this a wonderful opportunity to develop play as a stance to inquiry maths. Here’s the unit:

Central Idea: Exploring patterns and solving problems empowers us to think mathematically

An inquiry into how mathematicians . . .

1.Construct meaning based on their previous experiences and understandings
Make meaning from what they understand

2. Transfer meaning to connect and deepen their knowledge and understanding
Make connections to deepen their knowledge and understanding

3. Apply their understanding of mathematical concepts as well as mathematical skills and knowledge to real life situations
Use what they understand to solve problems

CONCEPTS – Connection Reflection
ATTITUDES – Independence Confidence
LEARNER PROFILE: Knowledgeable Communicator

 

I am considering what provocations would allow the students to “to show what they know”–which is really the essence of our first unit.

Before I do any provocations though, I have to survey and collect data. Nothing fancy, but I need to know their answers to the following questions and then analyze their answers to make informed choices on how we can create invitations to play in mathematics. Also, it helps me to assess the Key Concept of Reflection. aflThese are the open-ended statements that can help me understand where the students are now:

  1. Math is……
  2. Math makes me feel…..
  3. Math is fun when….
  4. I do math by…
  5. Math is everywhere (agree or disagree) because…..

Here is some of the brainstorming that I am considering for “provocations” to begin to shape our awareness in our daily lives and help create an authentic invitation to play. (By the way, this is my first thinking–I haven’t collaborated or researched with peers–so this is raw and rough ideas, happening in real time on this blog):

  • The ole’ suitcase: Place inside a seemingly odd collection of items from everyday life  that represent mathematical strands* like a pair of pants (measurement), a bottle of water (shape and space), a license plate (number and pattern), a bag of candy (data handling), a clock (number), a map (shape and space), some rocks or shells (data handling/number and pattern), some tape (measurement). Then have students pair up, select an item, and discuss the guiding questions. Record their thinking onto SeeSaw.

(*May I just say that I know that selecting those items and arbitrarily labeling them in particular strands is a bit comical because I know that the students will come up with more interesting ideas and connections than I ever will. But this is just an “accounting task” to ensure that, in my adult mind, I’ve covered all possible topics.)

The Guiding Question(s): If math is everywhere, then how are these things related to math? What math might someone have used to create these things?–What ideas were people thinking about when they made these items? (Key Concepts: Connection, Perspective)

The next day, we would need to share those survey results with the class so that students can start developing their identities as mathematicians. We’d probably come up with a display and have the students do a gallery walk and discuss what they noticed. Then I would set out these items and ask a follow-up question: If you were to sort these items, which things would you put together and why? (This is just to further identify the connections they’ve made)

Up until this point, I am just trying to kill two birds with one stone: plant a seed that math can be everywhere and collect data about their thinking. But now I have set up the opportunity to have purposeful math discussions through invitations to play.  Of course, the types of tools and learning situations that can be engaged through play will obviously vary based on the survey and the data collected from the provocation.

But I think we could set up a variety of “challenges” or authentic contexts that can be steeped in play-based situations.

Example: The Challenge: Your mission should you accept it……

  • Fill the cup: using a straw and this bowl of water, how might we fill the cup to the line?

Possible Tools: drinking straw, spoon, soap pump, timer, popsickle sticks, paper, pencils

Because I didn’t ask for a particular tool to be used, then this becomes a more open-ended task, allowing more choice and helps me to get data on the student’s thinking. This amps up the play quotient and math possibilities.

Possible teacher questions: What if you used a spoon (or straw, or soap dispenser, etc..), how might this change your results? How do you know that you have completed this challenge? How might you do this challenge faster? How do you think we could record your success?

This forward planning for a provocation and “play-storm” is really just the beginning. In less than 2 weeks, the doors will officially open and learning will officially commence for the 2018-2019. I couldn’t be more eager to approach this year’s learning with a dedication to play, taking their ideas and imaginings and connecting them to math learning that matters to them is going to be important and fun work. As I consider the possibilities with play, it gets me really excited. I hope, no matter what age we teach, educators see the value and need for play in developing mathematical thinking.

 

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