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About the Meet-Up

Join us for a thought-provoking virtual meet-up designed for PYP schools in Japan. Come be a part of expert-led discussions on topics most relevant to you, take-away actionable insights, and expand your local professional network.

About the Sessions

Exploring the Power of Concept-Based Inquiry in the PYP

3:30- 4:30 pm JST | 60 minutes

Are we robbing students of the opportunity to do the thinking by sharing the central idea with them from the get-go? Join Rachel French in this engaging webinar that will change how you think about what is possible in a PYP classroom. Build your understanding of concepts, how they can be used to promote deeper transferable understanding, and the potential for units as you move beyond one central idea.
Together we will explore these questions:

What are concepts and how do we use them in curriculum design?

How can we leverage the power of inductive teaching?

Why is a single central idea limiting the scope of your unit?

Concepts and Conceptual Understandings in the PYP

4:30- 5:30 pm JST | 60 minutes

In the PYP, conceptual understanding is the goal of the inquiry unit. Miho Nishita's session, entirely in Japanese, acknowledges the paradigm shift between the more traditional 'fact-based learning' and the theory and practice of 'concept-based learning' for Japanse educators.

In 'concept-based learning', students use knowledge and skills to guide their own thinking and transfer their understanding to gain a greater understanding of society and the world. Miho will discuss how students explore concepts through their central ideas in inquiry units.

To develop thinking children, it is first important that teachers are thinking adults. Concept-based inquiry, where there is no single answer but a myriad of ideas, naturally generates many insights and ideas through dialogue with children from different values and cultures. It is also a tool for us teachers to grow as lifelong learners.
Together we will explore these questions:

What is a concept-driven curriculum?

How can we use questions to develop an understanding of key concepts?

Why should the PYP scope and sequence document be utilised to meet conceptual understanding?

Know your speakers

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Deepening Inquiry through Concept-based Learning : Japan PYP Meet

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Explore the power of inductive learning, how to create a concept-driven curriculum, and integrate it with learning and teaching in the PYP classroom.

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Originally from Denmark (Undeskole: outdoor school)

Provides autonomy. Develop confidence and self esteem

Learner Led: No curriculum. Child centered inspirational learning process, offers opportunities for holistic growth

Practitioners are facilitators to make sure learners are safe

Explore in the Natural world. Supports play, exploration and supports risk-taking

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Everyone was provided a piece of paper with a strip of double sided tape in the middle. Each participant made their art piece by placing items on the tape.

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Everyone was provided a piece of paper with a strip of double sided tape in the middle. Each participant made their art piece by placing items on the tape.

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Concept Based Inquiry brings 2 pedagogical approaches

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Concept Based Inquiry brings 2 pedagogical approaches

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1. Concept Based Learning: Focusing on transferrable understanding to organise learning. Help students come up with big ideas to see patterns and make connections and transfer to novel situations.
2. Inquiry Based Learning: Focus on the use of active questioning to drive learning. Active questioning on Students or teachers. We use our guiding questions as teachers to help students to see patterns and connections and provide their own guiding questions to deepen their inquriy.

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Topic and Facts to provide the foundation for understanding concepts and conceptual relationships.
From the topic, we draw out the concepts and explore the conceptual relationship.

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More so for high school/university

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PYP requires one central idea.
What if we viewed this as a minimum requirement?
What would it look like to have more conceptual understandings in a unit?

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Sesson 1: It's All Your Fault (but in a good way)

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Sesson 1: It's All Your Fault (but in a good way)

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Organic and synthetic happiness

Synthetic = reactive

Organic = proactive

Classrooms are synthetic

Teaching is quasi ALLOPARENTING

Parenting 1-5 step process

Stress comes from failure to manage our own expectations

Teachers have full control = it’s all our fault for feeling stress

Forming students happiness

Full control of creating situations

Common Classroom Issues

Behavior modification is granular

Teachers are boring

Balance learning groups

Children need to explore various situations

Teachers have a lot of roles

Limited time and resources

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Session 1: Choose to be Human Positive (Patrick Newell)

A. What are the Future skills?- Metatrends for the 2020s

1. A.I. will achieve human-level intelligence

2. Globally abundant, cheap renewable energy

3. Ability to sense and know anything, anytime and anywhere

4. AI-Human collaboration will skyrocket across all professions

5. Global gigabit connectivity will connect everyone and everything, everywhere at ultra-low cost

Top 10 Skills of 2025

1. Problem Solving

-Analytical thinking and innovation

-Complex problem-solving

-Critical Thinking and analysis

-Creativity, originality and initiative

-Reasoning, problem-solving and ideation

2.Self-Management

-Active learning and learning strategies

-Resilience, stress tolerance and flexibility

3. Working with People

-Leadership and social influence

4. Technology use and Management

-Technology use, monitoring, and control

-Technology design and programming

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Session 2: Dual Language Development (Yurika notes)

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Session 2: Dual Language Development (Yurika notes)

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Neuroplasticity

Babies can differentiate sounds by 6 months

Responsive interaction is the foundation for language acquisition

Mirroring

Learning more than one language enhanced functions

BICS and CALP

Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills

Social Language

Can be learned in 1-2 years

Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency

Academic Language

Takes 5-7 years

Sensory experiences to deeper connections

Being present and narrating

Exposing them to more words

The strength of L1 predicts success in L2

Transfer

Grows from the foundation of the first language

Reading aloud builds vocabulary

Same words (mirroring language)

Use of rare words

Adult with colleagues 17/1,000 rare words

Picture books have 22/1,000 rare words

Comic books have 50/1,000 rare words

Abstracts/papers have 128/1,000 words

TV crime shows have 22.7/1,000 words

TV cartoons 28/1,000 words

Dialogic reading

talking as you read

Read 3-4 times a week 169,000 words, 5 times  269,000 per week

Code-switching is a no-no, stick to one language per sentence

Recast in a different language is okay

Helps the child learn the context of the language

Languaculture

Different things in different languages (rice ball or onigiri)

Learn more than one way to refer to something, but differentiate something that is tied to a certain culture

Milestones for both L1 and L2 (ASHA)

Respond, Tell, Encourage, Remember

Three pillars for dual language learners

Relationships

Routines

Language rich environment

Provide context for meaningful interactions

Narrate the day

Teacher talk

Name, narrate, repeat, model, parrot

Silent period

Receptive language before expressive language

A strong partnership between Home and School

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- More on cognitive skills are given emphasize in schools.

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In Japan, there is high competition to get into high standard schools/universities

Bullying incidents reported at school

Number of absent schoolchildren hits record high

Number of suicides rises in 2022

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Moral Education is an integral of Japan's educational system. According to guidelines, at least one class hour per week is set aside for moral education.

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Which of these skills are most important? 

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Assessment on Social, Emotional and Behavioral skills has been successfully localized into Japanese and taken by students, workers and teachers.

To learn your Social, Emotional and Behavioral skills, and get a better insight about yourself, take the SEB assessment.

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Choose to be Human Positive - take the assessment

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"Taking proactive steps will undoubtedly attract more positivity into your life and become the best version of yourself"

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Session II - What's Your Color? ( Darren Cowlbeck)

"Our life is influence by color"

1. Drawing Activity - we draw our partner using colored markers, how we look at our partner, why we choose that color. (awareness)

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Use of colors in the classroom - using colors wisely can improve and induce desire behavior in significant way.

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There are few things in design that are more subjective - or more important - than the use of color. A color that can evoke one reaction in one person may evoke the opposite reaction in another, due to culture, prior association, or even just personal preference.

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Dominant

direct, strong-willed, forceful, wants fast result, no patience, demanding, domineering

Influence

outgoing, lively, optimistic

Compliance

reserved, precise, private, busy person

Steadiness

accommodating, patient, slow, don't like change, even tempered

Take the DISC Personality test (www.123test.com/disc-personality-test/) to determine your type and personality profile quickly.

The DISC personality test is a behavioral assessment tool designed to help individual gain insights into their natural behavior, preferences and tendencies.

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Session III - Emergent Curriculum in Reggio Emilia Inspired Setting (Ann Nishigaya)

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Session III - Emergent Curriculum in Reggio Emilia Inspired Setting (Ann Nishigaya)

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Moving towards an Emergent Curriculum inspired by the philosophy of the Reggio Emilia approach can be a wonderful experience

This approach prioritizes student-centered learning and posters creativity, curiosity, and critical thinking skills. It allows for a more organic and dynamic learning experience, rather than a rigid, one size- fits all approach.

1. Teacher must seek out and see the children interests.

There is no “best practice” other than what emerges from the children interest.

Children are imaginative, trust them and let them learn from the process.

2. Built upon a trusting relationship between teachers and children.

Support the children’s ability and skills

Children are imaginative, trust them and let them learn from the process.

3. Image of Child: Someone actively seeking knowledge

Give children more experiences, opportunities, longer periods of time for investigating and play deepens their learning.

How does it look like?

1. Long Term Theme

Identifying a topic of interest

Followed by weeks of investigating the topic

End with a culminating event connected to the topic

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"Take small steps" It is important to see the children's journey and interest.

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Session IV - SEL Through Picturebooks for Young Learners (Allison Hasegawa)

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Session IV - SEL Through Picturebooks for Young Learners (Allison Hasegawa)

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What is a Picturebook?

“A picturebook is text, illustrations, total design; an item of manufacture and a commercial product; a social, cultural, historic document; and foremost, an experience for a child.”

(Bader (1976:1))

________________________

“A picture book is identified as a work that

places equal importance on the text and

illustrations to convey the narrative, this co-reliance means, ‘words and images work actively together to create a book’s impact.’”

Nikolajeva and Scott, (2001, p.259).

_________________________

“A picture book is...dependent upon pictures and words together to create meaning: it is the ‘interdependence’ of what the pictures show and the words tell that makes picture books so special.”

Mourão (2015: 200).

Parts of a Book

1. The Format -

Picturebooks can be:

landscape/horizontal or portrait/vertical,

they are made in various shapes and sizes

2. The Title

Character, feelings, use of adjective, 2 characters

3. The Author/ Illustrator

4. The Endpaper

blank page, overture, postcript

5. The Copyright and Dedication

6. The Page Layout

with bleed - no frame

without bleed - with frame

7. The Typography

wordless pages

wordless books

8. The Gutters

middle line

Why use picture books & an

interactive approach in your class?

1. writing vocabulary, reading vocabulary. and spelling vocabulary

2. Increase learner agency

Creating interaction and active learning

through effective questioning.

We can use closed questions to check understanding and initiate thinking.

E.G. Can we hug now? Are turtles and tortoises the same?

We can use open questions and unfinished sentences to elicit language

or personalize the story.

E.G. What are they doing? They are... Have you ever...? Can you...?

Open questions encourage thinking, e.g. What...? Why...? How...?

E.G. What do you think the title of the new book is?

How have our lives changed because of COVID 19?

What do we have to do? What can’t we do?

What ways are there to show someone you care?

Why do you think they painted rainbows?

5. Planning for a read-aloud

Pre-reading

During reading

Post reading

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What SEL?  Social and emotional learning (SEL) is an integral part of education and human development.

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SEL is how we acquire and apply knowledge, skills, and attitudes to develop our identity, manage

emotions, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain relationships, and make

responsible decisions.

The CASEL (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning)

・self-awareness.

・self-management.

・social awareness.

・relationship skills.

・responsible decision-making.

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What skills can we develop through

a read-aloud and follow-up activities?

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use of compare and contrast

use and apply (Brown Bear )

making design (Pete the Cat)

Problem Solving

Collaborative artwork

Open-ended question - what was your favorite page?

use of wordless picture books -

“Wordless picture books give students the opportunity to create a story

rich with their own words and imagination!” Scholastic.com

Reading Picture books with Very Young Learners

1. Make the reading as interactive as possible.

2. Follow the children’s lead, and make the reading shorter or longer as their attention and focus dictates.

3. Use your own voice and expressions to create drama and atmosphere.

4. If possible, engage as many senses as possible in the reading, such as sound effects, tactile experiences, or using facial expressions and gestures.

5. Especially for very young children, repetition is important, and you may find yourself reading the same

book multiple times

6. A reading routine can be very effective. End each lesson with a book chosen by one of the children.

7. Even at very young ages it is good to show books with diverse characters and settings.

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Questions:

Bringing kids to nature/nature to kids within a big city (Tokyo)?

Incorporating risky/messy play?

Managing safety while encouraging risk-taking?

Facilitating, not teaching

Teachers function as guides, co-learners, mentors

Childs function as explorers, adventurers, learner

Think about places in nature we can visit?

Book: There’s No Such Thing as Bad Weather

Create a risk management plan

Establish guidelines for outdoor play

Biggest hurdles in outdoor play: finding the space and getting parents to understand the benefits

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Dual Language Development in Early Childhood:

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Dual Language Development in Early Childhood:

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Language is communication

Babies begin to learn language before they are born

Critical period : 8-6 months for hearing sounds and babbling

Communication thrives within the context of caring relationships

Responsive interactions are the foundation for language acquisition

Being multilingual helps enhance executive function

Two types of language learning:

1. Simultaneous acquisition - learning languages at the same time

2. Sequential acquisition - grow up learning one language, then later are introduced to another

Two types of communication:

1. BICS - Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills

Social

Can be learned in 1-2 years

2. CALP - Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency

Academic language

Takes 5-7 years to master

Concrete, sensory experiences lead to language development

Motivation is the key to language learning

The number of words children hear per day predicts future success

The number of vocabulary words a child knows in their first language predicts success in their second language

The second language grows from the foundation of the first language

Especially true in regards to CALP

Reading aloud builds vocabulary

We tend to repeat the words we use and only use a limited vocabulary

Misconception: a child must learn one language properly before learning another

Misconception: the quickest way to learn vocabulary is through memorization using drill and practice technique

Misconception: Bilinguals have equal and perfect knowledge of their languages

How to support learning:

Use big words, use variety

Use gestures when speaking

Explain what you are doing using complete sentences

Describe objects with colors, sizes, and textures

Ask children to name things

Respond to children even if you don’t understand them

Three pillars for supporting dual-language learners

Relationships

Form strong relationships built on trust

Routines

Language-rich environment

Cultivate a language-rich environment by narrating the day and have rich conversations with the children

Teacher talk -

Name

Narrate

Repeat

Model

Parrot (different from repeating, for example repeating something said in Japanese in English)

Ask children to repeat the phrase in English (~age 2)

Ask them to say it in English (~age 3)

Ask questions - avoid only yes or no questions

5 Ws and 1 H

Open-ended

This or that

Read books interactively, tell stories and sing songs daily

Design interesting experiences that children want to talk about

Plan and implement curriculum that includes alphabet skills, phonological awareness, and phonics

Receptive language comes before expressive

Can take 6 months to a year

Form strong partnerships between home and school

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•What ideas have resonated with you ?

•What will you commit to changing or trying as

you curate a potentiating environment?

•What are you curious to explore further?

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-What ideas have resonated with you?

The workshop was good and I was engaged throughout but it did cover the majority of things I already knew or was aware of. What I enjoyed the most was the conversations we had at the table during brainstorming sessions. Some of the conversations we had covered risk vs danger in the classroom (how it changes depending on each teacher and how there's never the right way to do it), or how sometimes we forget to listen to students while being so busy on a day-to-day basis.

-What will you commit to changing or trying as you curate a potentiating environment?

Again, this is not something new, but the workshop reminded me that despite being tired and busy, it's essential to take a step back, rethink and reevaluate the environment, and change it occasionally, not just for the students but also for yourself.

-What are you curious to explore further?

Simple things that stuck with me afterward, which I want to explore and focus on more:

Remember to listen

Constantly rethink environment

Learning = fun

These are essential and we're all aware of them, but more often than not, we tend to forget about them due to being tired, busy, etc.

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Get access to files anywhere through secure cloud storage and file backup for your photos, videos, files and more with Google Drive.

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What are the ideas resonated with you?
The materials other schools are using to create many different things, and we can create great things by recycling materials. To be creative and use our imagination and let them explore.
What you will commit or curate?
To give them more choices to explore and decide what to do depends on their interest. As well, as teaching to be open-minded and at least trying in case a student would like something new.
What are the curious to explore further...?
Definitely, as I'm leaving well for the future always keep in mind sometimes not be too hard "like for example writing", instead to keep encouraging them to keep trying and everyone learn from their mistakes".