# data[].attributes.body
This is a working document and not an IB published document, just one interpretation. Feel free to adjust it to your own needs!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
_IB Action Plan Standards & Practices Template

# data[].attributes.headline
How might we ensure that all our teachers (especially new teachers) are qualified to teach the programme?

# data[].attributes.subject
How might we ensure that all our teachers (especially new teachers) are qualified to teach the programme?

# data[].attributes.headline
How might we better understand and move students to Action?

# data[].attributes.subject
How might we better understand and move students to Action?

# data[].attributes.headline
How might we know which policies are required?Guidelines on policies could be found on page 6 in Transition Guide

# data[].attributes.subject
How might we know which policies are required?Guidelines on policies could be found on page 6 in Transition Guide

# data[].attributes.body
Location in PYP: From principles into practice: “Assessment” section: https://resources.ibo.org/pyp/works/pyp_11162-51465?root=1.6.2.16.5&lang=en

Summary from the Transition Guide:
Assessment embodies a holistic design, incorporating both a backward and forward-looking approach in which feedback is integral to learning and teaching. Schools build a schoolwide assessment culture which focuses on developing assessment capable students and teachers. Teachers monitor, document, measure and report on learning using an integrated, ongoing process. The exhibition is no longer required to be a summative assessment. Instead it is seen as an opportunity to support student growth through the means of formative assessment.

# data[].attributes.headline
How might we learn how assessment was impacted by the Enhancements?

# data[].attributes.subject
How might we learn how assessment was impacted by the Enhancements?

# data[].attributes.body
Location in PYP: From principles into practice: “Assessment” section: https://resources.ibo.org/pyp/works/pyp_11162-51465?root=1.6.2.16.5&lang=en

Summary from the Transition Guide:
Assessment embodies a holistic design, incorporating both a backward and forward-looking approach in which feedback is integral to learning and teaching. Schools build a schoolwide assessment culture which focuses on developing assessment capable students and teachers. Teachers monitor, document, measure and report on learning using an integrated, ongoing process. The exhibition is no longer required to be a summative assessment. Instead it is seen as an opportunity to support student growth through the means of formative assessment.

# data[].attributes.headline
How might we help ourselves to guide students to improve agency?

# data[].attributes.subject
How might we help ourselves to guide students to improve agency?

# data[].attributes.headline
How might we learn more about the new flexible planner?

# data[].attributes.subject
How might we learn more about the new flexible planner?

# data[].attributes.body
The prior document “Developing a Transdisciplinary Program of Inquiry” is still a valuable document to guide the planning process.
Learning and Teaching page 19 “Moving away from and moving toward explains philosophical differences.
Collaborative Planning Process for Learning and Teaching: Nuts and Bolts organizer
Samples are available for the Enhanced PYP Planner in the Collaborative Community and Teacher Supported Materials
Getting Started with the PYP Planner Webinar
In General Material under PYP Resources: PYP Planner, How to Use the PYP Planner

# data[].attributes.body
Answer the question here and justify the answer with an IB document! Upload anything you feel is helpful or add a link, photo etc.

# data[].attributes.headline
How might we know if our school's policies (child protection, admissions, academic integrity, etc.) are meeting IB requirements for the policies?

# data[].attributes.subject
How might we know if our school's policies (child protection, admissions, academic integrity, etc.) are meeting IB requirements for the policies?

# data[].attributes.body
How do we develop a culture of agency and action in its many forms?

# data[].attributes.headline
How might we create an environment where parents feel like they play a role in the IB curriculum 

# data[].attributes.subject
How might we create an environment where parents feel like they play a role in the IB curriculum 

# data[].attributes.headline
How might we make sure there is equitable access for all families (working, ELL, etc)?

# data[].attributes.subject
How might we make sure there is equitable access for all families (working, ELL, etc)?

# data[].attributes.headline
How might the Action Plan be filled out now with the enhancements?

# data[].attributes.subject
How might the Action Plan be filled out now with the enhancements?

# data[].attributes.body
There is an updated document called Action Plan in My School that explains the general outline of how to fill out an Action Plan.

# data[].attributes.body
How might we promote and provide leadership opportunities for all levels-staff, students, and families?

# data[].attributes.body
How might we be balanced when implementing the PYP with fidelity and deal with mandatory state testing?

# data[].attributes.headline
How might we get more staff collaboration and buy in? 

# data[].attributes.subject
How might we get more staff collaboration and buy in? 

# data[].attributes.headline
how might we get the parents more involved and get them to support their children more at home

# data[].attributes.subject
how might we get the parents more involved and get them to support their children more at home

# data[].attributes.headline
How might we continue to build and maintain the momentum of the IB in all stakeholders?

# data[].attributes.subject
How might we continue to build and maintain the momentum of the IB in all stakeholders?

# data[].attributes.headline
How might we create an environment centered around student agency? 

# data[].attributes.subject
How might we create an environment centered around student agency? 

# data[].attributes.body
How might we get parents to reinforce the IB language at home and work with the school to encourage the learner profile, and the importance of global thinking.

# data[].attributes.headline
How might we get parents and the community more involved with our school?

# data[].attributes.subject
How might we get parents and the community more involved with our school?

# data[].attributes.headline
How might we help our teachers feel agency with all of the district’s top down decisions?

# data[].attributes.subject
How might we help our teachers feel agency with all of the district’s top down decisions?

# data[].attributes.headline
How might we implement student agency and authentic feedback from teachers and peers? 

# data[].attributes.subject
How might we implement student agency and authentic feedback from teachers and peers? 

# data[].attributes.headline
How might we get more teacher buy-in and give them more autonomy in the IB in an environment where we have to answer to the district and state mandates?

# data[].attributes.subject
How might we get more teacher buy-in and give them more autonomy in the IB in an environment where we have to answer to the district and state mandates?

# data[].attributes.headline
How might we create an environment where teachers position themselves as learners and feel appreciated?

# data[].attributes.subject
How might we create an environment where teachers position themselves as learners and feel appreciated?

# data[].attributes.headline
How might we still hold schools accountable without putting the stress on our students with mandated state testing?

# data[].attributes.subject
How might we still hold schools accountable without putting the stress on our students with mandated state testing?

# data[].attributes.body
How might we redesign our current school spaces to meet the needs of modern day learners?

# data[].attributes.headline
How might we have our students see themselves on the POI, to have them understand how they are growing as a learner as they travel through the themes and across grade-levels? 

# data[].attributes.subject
How might we have our students see themselves on the POI, to have them understand how they are growing as a learner as they travel through the themes and across grade-levels? 

# data[].attributes.headline
How might we make our students develop those skills that they'll need when adults but respecting their right to be kids

# data[].attributes.subject
How might we make our students develop those skills that they'll need when adults but respecting their right to be kids

# data[].attributes.body
How might we allow for a teacher struggling with change to see the value in trying something in a different way?

# data[].attributes.headline
Linear Version of Looking at the Enhancements 

# data[].attributes.subject
Linear Version of Looking at the Enhancements 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
50 ways challenge as a teaching strategy - Google Search

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In a lively and engaging style, Annette Breaux and Todd Whitaker share 50 simple, straightforward techniques for improving student behavior and increasing ...

# data[].attributes.headline
Tell Your Story -Design thinking: Empathy 

# data[].attributes.subject
Tell Your Story -Design thinking: Empathy 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Edutopia is a free source of information, inspiration, and practical strategies for learning and teaching in preK-12 education. We are published by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The diamond ranking strategy is an excellent means of encouraging collaboration in the classroom. It also helps students understand text content better and guides teachers in planning based on level of student understanding.

# data[].attributes.headline
Programme Standards and Practices Puzzle 

# data[].attributes.subject
Programme Standards and Practices Puzzle 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Insight on Inquiry: Starting the Year in Kindergarten

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Creating Citizens for the World—Early Educators Speak Out

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The education world is abuzz with talk of "agency". In International Baccalaureate (IB) circles this has come to the front of our collective consciousness through the Enhanced Primary Years Programme (PYP) launch in October, which rethinks curriculum from the point of view of the learner. The seeds of this movement started long ago and for many educators has been the basis of their practice, particularly in the early years. For Reggio-inspired practitioners the image of the child has always been the driving force to make decisions about the what, how and why of learning.

So, how might we approach the concept of agency without it being another buzz word? How might it be a way to inspire more impactful learning and teaching?

First let's take a step back and consider what is it we are actually on about when with say agency.

Take a moment to contribute your thoughts and help grow the answer.

Proxy agency - knowing who has the power to do things you don't feel you can achieve

Collective agency - acting together to achieve more than is possible alone

Personal agency - influencing something you have the capacity to control

Bandura took the stance that agency doesn't look and feel the same in all situations. He described three types of agency;

When reading this for the first time, my mind was instantly drawn to Hart's action ladder and Shier's pathway to participation. Hart's ladder in particular has long been a tool to help educators see the influence they have on learners and how action is not just the product of learning, it is learning. Evidence of the three models of agency are reflected the higher up the ladder you progress.
Agency brings the notion of identity and action together not for a better future but a better today.
But agency isn't action. Not to debate if one is superior, it is sufficient to acknowledge there is an intense relationship between the two and they are stronger together.

Fluidity between the models of agency assist to break down assumptions and challenge the traditional models of hierarchy in schools. The power dynamic when we truly drink the agency Kool Aid means not only a shift in the image of the learner but also seeing teacher as co-learner.

Initiative - the ability to self regulate and have drive

Interdependence - see that agency is not about us in isolation. We are connected to others and there are consequences to our decisions.

Awareness of impact - it's not sufficient to just take the blinkers off, we have to act on the responsibility to the collective connectedness.

For agency to live there are some conditions that will help it thrive:

But how do we live this in schools? A day immersing in complexity theory with NoTosh, to dig into current beliefs around voice, choice and agency, helped a group of educators to move from passive thinking to dynamic activity. The insights, assumptions and willingness to be open and honest, led educators from across the K-12 continuum to explore their personal beliefs and current school practices. The mix of "excites and scares" about change kept energy high and driven by the "big why" of the group.

The result: a stream of "How Might We..." questions and ideas generated to take back to school to implement a new level of agency.

Some key take aways from the day referred to teacher, learner, parent, administration; but in essence are transferable:
So How Might We increase agency in schools?

1. First and foremost, focus on the needs of learners and learning. The diversity of needs will be met when we stop fearing the unknown and perceived uncontrollable. The image of the learner as capable of self management allows for self direction appropriate to age and stage. Early learning is our best guide and shouldn't be underestimated.

2. Provide a sustainable learning environment where collaboration and social interaction leads to productive, engaging communities of learners. Building a community nurtures the identity of the individual and the collective. This creates a culture of welcome, inclusion and belonging that reflects and respects diversity within the community.

3. Approach learning through investigation and inquiry into authentic projects that are problem based. Key to this is focusing on being a Problem Finder not Solver. Creating solutions is important no doubt, but first let's learn how to find the wicked problems most likely to have the greatest impact. Going through the motions to get to the next tri-fold exhibition is not the goal.

4. Address the physical space so it is able to continually meet changing needs overtime. Learning spaces that embrace the natural environment both in building design and use of outdoor space are emerging across sectors and age groups. Working smarter to create multipurpose and reconfigurable spaces that are also aesthetically pleasing saves money over time although requires an initial investment. Being sustainable from a stance or energy, materials scratches the surface but standing the test of time in sustainable use is more important.

When and how do we see examples of this?

Buy-in happens when we are persuaded by our peers.

Cultural change is slow but fuelled by peer to peer sharing of success.

Fear is reduced when resourced and planned for.

Curriculum can be addressed without being teacher-centred.

If you seek voice, actually use it. Flurries of surveys mean nothing and no one feels heard.

Failures along the way are to be expected- F.A.I.L. "First Attempt In Learning."

Control the controllable - adapt - create a better learning environment together.

Class organisation and management - move from teacher centric to learner centric. Whose voices are loudest and heard with the schedule, rules/essential agreements? Do learners just need to fit into what the adults have already predetermined?

Curriculum design - topic, concept, skills to be developed, assessment, learning engagements reflecting learning styles and needs. How can learners drive the what, how and why so they really own the learning?

Individual Education Plans - How can an IEP be a tool for learners? Who designs it? Who has access? Who reflects on it?

Space design - who sets up the room at the start of the year? How much ownership of the space do your learners have? When new furniture is purchased, who decides?

Resourcing - Human: have you ever considered having learners on a hiring panel? Involved in professional development or professional growth planning? Material: some schools are BYOD but who chooses what, when and how for technology? Who orders the stationary and other materials available in the school?

Community engagement - Teachers now days know they are not the keepers of knowledge but who chooses how and when the community is engaged in school life?

Decision making - When NoTosh works with a school on Values and Strategy, Curriculum, Building redesign, the work usually reserved for the adults in the building and School Board, we include students in the design team. Not just for the photo opportunity, but so they are included start to finish in organisational change.

If we mean learners having agency, actually include them in the decision making. Every element of a school is up for negotiation:

As educators we have often want to look to what others have done before we try. We must strip back our fear of failure to model the type of thinking and learning we are seeking from our learners. Let's move from passive thinking to dynamic activity. Our learners are the leaders of education today. Why wait for tomorrow? To play with Reinhold Niebuhr's words;
(personally or collectively),
May we have the courage to change what must be altered

Serenity to accept what cannot be changed

(but know who can do it for us as a proxy), and
How will you change the world today?
Insight to know the difference.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The education world is abuzz with talk of "agency". In International Baccalaureate (IB) circles this has come to the front of our collective consciousness through the Enhanced Primary Years Programme...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Menu

Older Lab Pages

Please see our updated content on the Insights page:

Or see:

Our vision is for every learning and teaching experience to be shaped with confidence, creativity and curiosity.

We help people working in education to think differently about the way they work and the impact they have, and do things differently too. No Tosh.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Sometimes it's the haystack you need to find, not the needle

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.educationdive.com/news/how-can-educators-best-promote-student-agency/508050/

# data[].attributes.body
Student Agency PD

# data[].attributes.body
Ideas for different types of rubrics

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Whether you're new to rubrics, or you just don't know their formal names, it may be time for a primer on rubric terminology.
So let's talk about rubrics for a few minutes. What we're going to do here is describe two frequently used kinds of rubrics, holistic and analytic, plus a less common one called the single-point rubric (my favorite, for the record). For each one, we'll look at an example and explore its pros and cons.

Off we go!

A holistic rubric is the most general kind. It lists three to five levels of performance, along with a broad description of the characteristics that define each level. The levels can be labeled with numbers (such as 1 through 4), letters (such as A through F) or words (such as Beginning through Exemplary). What each level is called isn't what makes the rubric holistic - it's the way the characteristics are all lumped together.

Suppose you're an unusually demanding person. You want your loved ones to know what you expect if they should ever make you breakfast in bed. So you give them this holistic rubric:

When your breakfast is done, you simply gather your loved ones and say, "I'm sorry my darlings, but that breakfast was just a 2. Try harder next time."

The main advantage of a holistic rubric is that it's easy on the teacher - in the short run, anyway. Creating a holistic rubric takes less time than the others, and grading with one is faster, too. You just look over an assignment and give one holistic score to the whole thing.

The main disadvantage of a holistic rubric is that it doesn't provide targeted feedback to students, which means they're unlikely to learn much from the assignment. Although many holistic rubrics list specific characteristics for each level, the teacher gives only one score, without breaking it down into separate qualities. This often leads the student to approach the teacher and ask, "Why did you give me a 2?" If the teacher is the explaining kind, he will spend a few minutes breaking down the score. If not, he'll say something like, "Read the rubric." Then the student has to guess which factors had the biggest influence on her score. For a student who really tries hard, it can be heartbreaking to have no idea what she's doing wrong.

Holistic rubrics are most useful in cases when there's no time (or need, though that's hard to imagine) for specific feedback. You see them in standardized testing - the essay portion of the SAT is scored with a 0-6 holistic rubric. When hundreds of thousands of essays have to be graded quickly, and by total strangers who have no time to provide feedback, a holistic rubric comes in handy.

An analytic rubric breaks down the characteristics of an assignment into parts, allowing the scorer to itemize and define exactly what aspects are strong, and which ones need improvement.

So for the breakfast in bed example, an analytic rubric would look like this:

In this case, you'd give your loved ones a separate score for each category. They might get a 3 on Presentation, but a 2 on Food and just a 1 on Comfort. To make feedback even more targeted, you could also highlight specific phrases in the rubric, like, "the recipient is crowded during the meal" to indicate exactly what went wrong.

This is where we see the main advantage of the analytic rubric: It gives students a clearer picture of why they got the score they got. It is also good for the teacher, because it gives her the ability to justify a score on paper, without having to explain everything in a later conversation.

Analytic rubrics have two significant disadvantages, however: (1) Creating them takes a lot of time. Writing up descriptors of satisfactory work - completing the "3" column in this rubric, for example - is enough of a challenge on its own. But to have to define all the ways the work could go wrong, and all the ways it could exceed expectations, is a big, big task. And once all that work is done, (2) students won't necessarily read the whole thing. Facing a 36-cell table crammed with 8-point font is enough to send most students straight into a nap. And that means they won't clearly understand what's expected of them.

Still, analytic rubrics are useful when you want to cover all your bases, and you're willing to put in the time to really get clear on exactly what every level of performance looks like.

A single-point rubric is a lot like an analytic rubric, because it breaks down the components of an assignment into different criteria. What makes it different is that it only describes the criteria for proficiency; it does not attempt to list all the ways a student could fall short, nor does it specify how a student could exceed expectations.

A single-point rubric for breakfast in bed would look like this:

Notice that the language in the "Criteria" column is exactly the same as the "3" column in the analytic rubric. When your loved ones receive this rubric, it will include your written comments on one or both sides of each category, telling them exactly how they fell short ("runny eggs," for example) and how they excelled ("vase of flowers"). Just like with the analytic rubric, if a target was simply met, you can just highlight the appropriate phrase in the center column.

If you've never used a single-point rubric, it's worth a try. In 2010, Jarene Fluckiger studied a collection of teacher action research studies on the use of single-point rubrics. She found that student achievement increased with the use of these rubrics, especially when students helped create them and used them to self-assess their work.

The single-point rubric has several advantages: (1) It contains far less language than the analytic rubric, which means students are more likely to read it and it will take less time to create, while still providing rich detail about what's expected. (2) Areas of concern and excellence are open-ended. When using full analytic rubrics, I often find that students do things that are not described on the rubric, but still depart from expectations. Because I can't find the right language to highlight, I find myself hand-writing justifications for a score in whatever space I can find. This is frustrating, time-consuming and messy. With a single-point rubric, there's no attempt to predict all the ways a student might go wrong. Similarly, the undefined "Advanced" column places no limits on how students might stretch themselves. "If the highest level is already prescribed then creativity may be limited to that pre-determined level," says Fluckiger. "Students may surprise us if we leave quality open-ended."

The main disadvantage of single-point rubrics is that using them requires more writing on the teacher's part. If a student has fallen short in many areas, completing that left-hand column will take more time than simply highlighting a pre-written analytic rubric.

Need Ready-Made Rubrics?

My Rubric Pack gives you four different designs in Microsoft Word and Google Docs formats. It also comes with video tutorials to show you how to customize them for any need, plus a Teacher's Manual to help you understand the pros and cons of each style. Check it out here:

Sources:

Fluckiger, J. (2010). Single point rubric: A tool for responsible student self-assessment. Teacher Education Faculty Publications. Paper 5. Retrieved April 25, 2014 from http://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/tedfacpub/5.

Mertler, C. A. (2001). Designing scoring rubrics for your classroom. Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation, 7(25). Retrieved April 30, 2014 from http://PAREonline.net/getvn.asp?v=7&n=25.
Know Your Terms is my effort to build a user-friendly knowledge base of terms every educator should know. New items will be added on an ongoing basis. If you heard some term at a PD and didn't want to admit you didn't know what it meant, send it to me via the contact form and I'll research it for you.

Keep in touch.
Join the Cult of Pedagogy mailing list and get weekly tips, tools, and inspiration-in quick, bite-sized packages-all geared toward making your teaching more effective and fun. You'll get access to my members-only library of free downloadable resources, including my e-booklet, 20 Ways to Cut Your Grading Time in Half, which has helped thousands of teachers spend less time grading!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Know Your Terms: Holistic, Analytic, and Single-Point Rubrics

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Whether you're new to rubrics, or you've used them for years without knowing their formal names, it may be time for a primer on rubric terminology.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Taking the Complexity out of Concepts is a practical resource designed by Innovative Global Education (IGE) to assist educators in making the shift from a content-based curriculum to a conceptual curriculum. The authors' aim is to do what the title suggests, taking the complexity out of concepts ...

# data[].attributes.body
Great resource that merges Kath Murdoch's Phases of Inquiry with appropriate thinking strategies from Making Thinking Visible.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Design thinking for school leaders to drive change | SharingPYP Blog

# data[].attributes.headline
The Shift from Engaging Students to Empowering Learners

# data[].attributes.subject
The Shift from Engaging Students to Empowering Learners

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Shift from Engaging Students to Empowering Learners

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Since the release of "PYP: From principles into practice", IB World Schools around the world have been engaging with the content and planning for implementation. Four schools at different stages of their IB journey will share their approach to understanding and implementing the IB Primary Years Programme (PYP) enhancements in their own context. Follow each unfolding story over the coming year. Here is the first story in the series that features a candidate school in Russia and illustrates how they began exploring the enhanced content.

English Playschool is an international school for early years and primary levels. We have a multicultural student and staff population with over 25 nationalities presented by our students, parents and teachers. The school community has created an atmosphere of friendship, trust and caring for all who join our community. English Playschool started in 1996 with just 2 classes and less than 10 staff members. Now our team of 45 teachers, specialists and leadership team are happy to facilitate learning of our almost 150 students from ages 2 to 11. Each class group is led by three teachers with at least one foreign teacher. We aim to create an inquiry-based environment where the language of instruction is English. Most students are additional language learners of English with Russian being the home and family language for 87% of the students and 70% of the teachers. We all learn language and in a language which makes our journey more interesting but also more challenging.

We are only on our way to becoming an IB World School. But even being a candidate school has changed a lot in the way learning happens in English Playschool.

When we have started our journey, our biggest concern had been aligning the IB Primary Years Programme (PYP) approach with our state curriculum. The flexibility of the enhanced PYP allowed us to do that with enough amount of effort and creativity one can implement it even with a very strict state programme.

We as teachers really appreciate the opportunity to create our own planners and reflection papers (and we are grateful to those who shared their planners we could get inspired by), for us this is one of the way teacher's agency works. For now the PYP feels like gentle guidelines that inspire and allow us to fully express ourselves as educators. We are exploring our agency. Can students freely show their agency, if their teachers cannot?

Collaborative planning has become one of our most significant practices after becoming an IB candidate school. Now it is hard to image teaching "in the old way"-with pre-written curriculum and lesson plans based on one book. During planning times we are trying to adjust the material to give the opportunity both for students and teachers to express themselves, to be curious and creative. It also allows us to learn more about our colleagues-everyone has so many talents that could not have been applied as they are not exactly a part of our formal job description. The fact that our specialist teachers are now a part of the planning process allows the curriculum to be more balanced and complex and, as the result, concept-based.

The second change, and for me the most significant one, was the way we perceive our early years students. At first things like students' agency, students' voice and self-assessment seemed to be incompatible with three-year-old students. They are curious and playful but can they really lead their own learning?

It did not happen at once. In September 2018, we started our first unit of inquiry with our three-year-old students. During 8 weeks we have been trying small things: our toddlers had suggested some activities, expressed their attitudes, eagerly participated or strictly refused to take part in the activities suggested by teachers. The interesting thing is, they have always been doing that; it was the teachers who changed their perspectives. During my study at a state university I had been taught to consider those students' actions as misbehaviour and disobedience, as the education process is initiated and lead by teachers. For the second unit we have allowed the "misbehaviour" to flourish. For me the most difficult part was to step back and to allow the magic to happen. Our role was to open up learning opportunities, create the environment and gently guide our students. Now I am excited to see so many teachers relinquishing control and empowering their students.

Seeing education as a learning process is the most impactful thing that happened to me. We want to build relationships with every learner to understand their stories, share their interests, and find out what matters for them. We see our learners as brilliant, creative and curious. We trust them to share responsibility for their own learning, to make mistakes and to get experience from that.

It is wonderful to see the school changing. It is happening on a daily basis, the tiny moments and interactions that cannot themselves be considered as change. But together they slowly but steadily affect all of us: teachers, students, families and administration workers. We still have a long journey ahead of us and many things to work on. We are getting a lot of support from IB World Schools and IB materials; it really feels like a community.

We want our learners to feel encouraged to take challenges, to learn through inquiry and to think critically, hoping that they will create a better and more peaceful world.
Olga Iakovleva is a headteacher and PYP Coordinator at English Playschoool Moscow in Russia which is an IB candidate school. Previously Olga worked as English teacher in Russia, Colombia and Vietnam and as a PYP classroom teacher. Olga's job is to help students to explore the world around them, never to be afraid of making mistakes and boldly face the new.

Be on lookout for the second in a series of planning for implementation stories next week. We will share a journey of an IB PYP candidate school in the USA.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Since the release of "PYP: From principles into practice", IB World Schools around the world have been engaging with the content and planning for implementation. Four schools at different stages of their IB journey will share their approach to understanding and implementing the IB Primary Years Programme (PYP) enhancements in their own context.

# data[].attributes.body
What Ed Said

# data[].attributes.body
Planner, PLEASE SHARE yours too! :)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Create a new document and edit with others at the same time -- from your computer, phone or tablet. Get stuff done with or without an internet connection. Use Docs to edit Word files. Free from Google.

# data[].attributes.headline
Activating Parents to Develop Student Agency

# data[].attributes.subject
Activating Parents to Develop Student Agency

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Day-to-day life can leave little cognitive space for parents to consider the future-focused and transformational nature of the PYP. As the PYP moves forward in developing agency in the Learners, the potential benefits of bringing our parent communities along with us as informed and active partners cannot be overstated.
For those familiar with psychology, the term agency will not be new. Originating in Alfred Bandura's (1989) social cognitive theory, agency communicates the notion that humans, including children, have the self-efficacy, individual capacity and free-will to take action in a given environment.

Student agency has always been implicit in the Primary Years Programme (PYP). Perhaps we just didn't toss the term about as intentionally as we now are. For many, working in partnership with students rather than 'boss managing' them through the curriculum and schedule went without saying. I've heard more than one veteran PYP teacher recently say something like "oh, agency... that's what we call it now! We've always really been doing it".

Yet within our broader learning communities, agency is surely less widely understood.

Acts of choice and ownership by students in educational contexts heavily influenced by industrialism and capitalism are historically rare. Not only have many community members never heard of agency, they have also never experienced it in their own upbringing and education. It's inevitable that gaps exist between our practices in school and our parent community's understanding of agency in the PYP.
Getting Practical with Parents
Day-to-day life can leave little cognitive space for parents to consider the future-focused and transformational nature of the PYP. We need to continue to engage with parents, inspire them, upskill them, unite in empathy and work in partnership. After all, just getting socks on your child's feet before school can sometimes be challenge enough.
Tuning Parents into Agency:
In a recent parent coffee morning we posed this question to parents: "how much ownership of their life does your child really have?" Encourage a deep dive into this question, because a quick reply can easily overlook the lack of personal agency that is explicitly developed or expected from students at home.

Try this: ask parents to sketch out a "day in their child's life" by listing all the things their child does from wake to sleep. Next, have them consider how much personal choice their children really have within the items on this list. Results can be startling.
Going Deeper than the 'To-Do' list:
After conducting the above review, parents may initially misunderstand that charts of jobs (e.g. brushing teeth, walking dogs, etc), which are often associated with external rewards, are building agency. Nope! As Stixrud & Johnson put it: "these scenarios are not about developing motivation - they're about enlisting cooperation".

When parents cross these routine tasks on their lists, we are left to consider "what motivates my child?" and "what opportunities do they have to pursue these sources of motivation?"
Starting the Day with Agency:
Many adults choose to start their days with meaningful routines; whether it be yoga, a 20 minute run or a pot of strong coffee. The children in our schools? Perhaps not so much.

Encourage parents to try waking-up their children 15 minutes earlier than their regular schedule, and then hand this time back to their kids. If their child wants to lay in bed for 15 minutes, they can; if they want to rush to the playroom and dive back into yesterday's LEGO adventure, the choice is theirs. Read the next chapter of a book? Be our guest. And starting the day by experiencing intentionally scheduled agency? Perfect.
"It's Your Call":
Stixrud and Johnson advocate teaching parents the phrase "It's your call" as a script that they should look to use with their children whenever appropriate. In life's bustle parents may need reminders of their good intentions and a go-to script helps jolt memories. This phrase must come with limits and structures though, because voice, choice and ownership isn't achieved by laissez-faire parenting - or teaching. Children have compelling, and at times competing, desires for both autonomy and structure in their lives, and we have to offer them both.

Another useful line to encourage parents to use repeatedly is "What do you want to do about this?" Use this line so frequently your child already knows what you are going to say, before you say it.
Parenting for Agency Starts in the PYP:
Parenting always comes from a place of love, but stressed, anxious and protective parents end up unintentionally diminishing their child's emerging agency. Conversely, warm and supportive environments facilitate secure attachment and develop young people who act with the assumption that what they do determines their reality.

Recent news coverage has raised the dangers of 'snowplow' parenting. Pushing life's challenges out of the child's way simply raises the stakes for them later down the road. When overprotective parents work harder than their kids to problem solve "kids become weaker, not stronger" (Stixrud & Johnson, 2018). Placing agency as a central parenting message to your community is both timely and vitally important. If your school runs parent workshops on topics like play-based learning, action or the Exhibition, then chances are you are already running a stealth campaign promoting agency. Being explicit and upfront with parents about agency can help even more.

In a world where some parents struggle to offer even 20 minutes a day playing with their child, carving out extra time to build agency is likely to be an afterthought at best. As schools move forward in developing student agency, the benefits of bringing parent communities along with us as informed and active partners cannot be overstated.
References:

The Learner: Agency via PYP: From Principles to Practice, International Baccalaureate 2019

Bandura, A. 1989, Human agency in social cognitive theory, American Psychologist, 44(9), 1175-1104.

Hayden, M 2007, Introduction to international education, Sage, London

IB Mission Statement, via PYP: From Principles to Practice, International Baccalaureate, 2019

How to Help Your Kid Wake Up Happy via com

The Self-Driven Child, William Stixrud & Ned Johnson 2018

Intrinsically Motivated, via gse.harvard.edu

How Not to be a Snowplow Parent, via New York Times

Choice or Chance: Understanding your Locus of Control and Why it Matters, Stephen Nowicki 2016

Your Image of the Child: Where Teaching Begins, Loris Malaguzzi 1994 retrieved from reggioalliance.org

The Bad News About Helicopter Parenting: It Works via New York Times

How Parents are Robbing their Children of Adulthood, via New York Times

How to Raise an Adult, Julie Lythcott-Haims 2015

Parents + Student-Directed Learning = ?, Mel Taylor via empower2b, also available via ibeducatorvoices

Why our Children are More Entitled than Generations Before via com

_____________________________________________________________________
Dylan Meikle is an elementary counselor at United Nations International School Hanoi and is an experienced homeroom teacher in the PYP. He is a member of the IBEN and an Apple Distinguished Educator. Dylan is passionate about learning environments and contributes to a blog on the subject at www.makespace4learning.com. He welcomes feedback, collaboration and further discussion via Twitter @dylan_meikle.
______________________________________________________________________

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Activating Parents to Develop Student Agency

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Day-to-day life can leave little cognitive space for parents to consider the future-focused and transformational nature of the PYP. As the PYP moves forward in developing agency in the Learners, the potential benefits of bringing our parent communities along with us as informed and active partners cannot be overstated.

# data[].attributes.body
Super helpful organization of the ATL