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Over the years I have seen PYP teachers grapple with the concept of cultivating student initiated action.

One common misconception is the idea that student initiated action needs to happen within the tight 6/7 week frame of a unit of inquiry. However, like the development of the learner profile, student action needs to be nurtured and given time to flourish.

I was privileged to witness students taking self initiated action well after their unit of inquiry, under the transdisciplinary theme of 'how we organize ourselves', had completed.

The central idea "people collaborate to find solutions to help those in need" was really driven using the related concept of sustainability and involved students inquiring into the different NGO's based in Bangladesh and learning how they create sustainable solutions for those in need.

As a result of their collective inquiries, a context was created for some deep evaluative thinking and the students developed their own criteria for taking meaningful action. As part of their summative assessment, the students chose to publicize their work within the school community and persuaded our student council to adopt their criteria. However, for some students the action did not stop there. They also wanted to apply the criteria for taking meaningful action themselves.

Following a visit from a French NGO working on supplying clean running water to the area, students made contact with a nearby school in one of the deprived areas of Dhaka.

For their action, the students creatively used their academic knowledge and communication skills to make a public information film and create visual leaflets in Bangla about the importance of hand washing. The students even managed to procure a donation of soap tablets.

In order for this action to evolve, the students needed time and space to think, imagine and create. Their motivation to make a difference created the action and I imagine they will remember this learning experience for a very long time; it was authentic and personalized.

I think one of the ways we can authentically nurture action is not to overload our units of inquiry and, importantly, not to consider action complete when the unit is over.

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Gareth Jacobson is PYP coordinator/IT Facilitator and taught the PYP for 7 years, in Thailand, Sri Lanka and the UK. He shares his passion for learning by leading IB workshops and Gareth's professional interests lie in the areas of conceptual inquiry, assessment, reflection and visible thinking.
Highlights from: Making thinking visible
This article was submitted by Gareth as an example of his own practice and does not necessarily represent the views of the IB.

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Over the years I have seen PYP teachers grapple with the concept of cultivating student initiated action. One common misconception is the idea that student initiated action needs to happen within the tight 6/7 week frame of a unit of inquiry.

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A-ha! Actions should be recognized, whether big or small. Support those students who do the small actions, such as creating google documents so their notes can be shared with their group members and everyone can contribute. Those small actions can influence those big idea and actually create action plans! Woo hoo!

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This was a video of an IB Facilitator running a workshop. 

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This was a video of an IB Facilitator running a workshop. 

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There are some good takeaways that also apply to students. Specifically around using activities to help students feel comfortable in the class, and then be more likely to ask questions.

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I learned about the justifications for why the Learner Profile attributes are what they are. Attached below.

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I learned about the justifications for why the Learner Profile attributes are what they are. Attached below.

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Here are my notes from my research on cognitive load this afternoon.

Working Memory

- Only hold 4-5 pieces of information at a time and lasts about 10 seconds.

-          Limited capacity

Long term memory

-  Stored in schemas and appears to be unlimited.

We build schemas in working memory and integrate them into existing schemas in long-term memory. We bring schemas from long-term memory into working memory to understand the world.

Working memory

- Vulnerable to overload (particularly with complex subjects or tasks)

Cognitive load

-The total amount of mental activity imposed on working memory in any instant

-What overloads one person may not overload another.

What else could the students be thinking about while they are in class?

What can we do?

- Automated schema: routines that are repeated and practiced to the point of being automatic. These are not processed in our working memory.  This frees our working memory for other activities.  Pairing new concepts with a routine task and building from that task.

-  Breaking it down into smaller, simpler steps. Step-by-step.

- Removing unnecessary details
- one instruction at a time.

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In order to support inquiry in grade one, materials are a great place to start. Having items that they can touch and feel makes all the difference. It will also support our lower learners as well develop language in our ELL students

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Welcome to our Collaborative Learning Block space! This is a place for you to post your wonders, discoveries and a-ha moments from today! 

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Welcome to our Collaborative Learning Block space! This is a place for you to post your wonders, discoveries and a-ha moments from today! 