Our entire K8 staff has been reflecting since Fall of 2014 on both our IB programs. At the core of IB is the inquiry cycle, and a key component of inquiry is reflection.
According to the IB Organization students who are reflective, "give thoughtful consideration to their own learning and experience. They are able to assess and
understand their strengths and limitations in order to support their learning and personal development." -IB Learner Profile Booklet 2006
As educators we take the business of reflection seriously. It helps us learn about ourselves, our teaching practice, and our relationships with our students. We reflect to understand why we teach and how we teach. Reflection allows us to understand our strengths as well as our weaknesses. Reflection is work. Reflection takes time. Reflection is always well worth the effort if it is accompanied by thoughtful action.
This week during our Late Opening Wednesday meeting, the Skyline staff explored the connections between the ten IB Learner Profile Traits
and the equity work we do as a school district.
The words: principled, balanced, caring, knowledgeable, risk-taker, inquirer, thinkers, open-minded, reflective, and communicator all seem fairly straightforward on the surface. One thing we discovered when we looked deeper at the definitions the International Baccalaureate provides was that to truly teach these traits to students we need to make sure we are sharing multiple perspectives every day, every lesson, every unit planner. In order to educate global citizens, it is our task to provide a variety of narratives. As educators, we need to be sure that what we know and understand to be true may not be the whole story, and that our own personal experiences shape our truths. Just as the experiences of our families and our students shape their truths.
Our next school wide assembly is focused around the Learner Profile Trait, principled. The IB defines people who are principled as folks who, " act with integrity and honesty, with a strong sense of fairness, justice and respect for the dignity of the individual, groups and communities. They take responsibility for their own actions and the consequences that accompany them."
The above video tells a perspective, a story, a narrative. This 2009 Ted Talk was the first thing we watched on Wednesday morning. Nigerian author and teacher Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie shares her thoughts on the dangers of hearing a single story. She explains that when we know only one perspective, we miss the whole story.
"I've always felt that it is impossible to engage properly with a place or a person without engaging with all of the stories of that place and that person. The consequence of the single story is this: it robs people of dignity. It makes our recognition of our equal humanity difficult. It emphasizes how we are different rather than how we are similar."
What if the Skyline community listened to many stories? Could we then internalize what it truly means to be principled? Could we escape the danger?
Please contact me if you have thoughts, questions, want the hand-outs and activities from our staff professional development, or would like to hear more about our IB program at Skyline.
Just like in the IB PYP (see last week's post), the IB MYP program students and teachers explore academic content with a focus on "soft skills" as well. These skills are called Approaches to Learning. The 10 skills are: communication, collaboration, organization, affective (emotional), reflection, information literacy, media literacy, critical thinking, creative thinking, and transfer (making connections between content areas).
Walking through the building this afternoon, the 6th period arts classes caught my attention. Devin & John, the visual arts teachers are working with the Thursday/Friday art class on transforming and modernizing a mural in one of the stairwells. If you look closely you can see sharpie outlines on the old composition. The 1st step in the transformation has begun.
I can see how they are using all 10 of the Approaches to Learning Skills for this project... can you??
What about in band class? Pictured below are the Skyline MYP instruments for Mr. Keyser's class. What Approaches to Learning Skills does it take for a group of people to make music together? In what ways will these skills help even the kids who decide to not pursue music in high school?
I would love to hear from you - please leave a comment below.
Adults know the importance of collaboration. They use it every day at work, at home, on the freeway, in the grocery store...
It is a skill, and skills need to be learned. In the IB PYP program we teach transdisciplinary skills. The skills that will be essential for students as they grow into adult citizens of the world. The PYP transdisciplinary skills fall into five categories: social, communication, self-management, thinking, and research.
In order to collaborate effectively, students are practicing the social skills of cooperation and respect while also using communication skills such as listening, speaking, and non-verbal communication.
In the pictures from our 2/3 classrooms below what OTHER skills have students used in order to collaborate? Can you "see" their learning?
Ms. Fuentes' class project
in the science lab with Teacher Antoinette
writer's workshop peer editing with Teacher Tom
Thursday, September 10, 2015
As we settle in to the routine of school, the K/1 students have already learned about
responsibility
creativity
and reflection
in their first IB unit, "Who We Are" - Friendships Are Important in Our Lives.
