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Reflection of Module 3 - Action, Agency and Collaboration 

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Reflection of Module 3 - Action, Agency and Collaboration 

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How is my understanding of PYP principles and practices evolving?

I feel that I now have a better understanding of the inquiry cycle and student agency.  Initially I found it difficult to actualise what that means for the age group I teach, but through completing the reading and looking at the ideas that others have presented I feel much more confident about how I am approaching these areas in my classroom and what it looks like for my class.

In what ways can I apply learning from this workshop in my own learning and teaching?

Provocations for learning has really given me food for thought over the course of this module, how I can present an inquiry to the class and make it engaging and meaningful. Again, other people’s ideas have been really useful here and I am going to spend some time looking back over the units I have taught so far this year and look for ways to improve that initial provocation.  Student agency is another area that i feel I can improve on and it was good to read other’s views on what this can look like for a 4 year old.

How is agency supported and nurtured through this workshop?

I think that this workshop has given be the confidence to reflect over my own work and see the opportunities to change and enhance my planning and teaching making it more effective for my future classes.

How are you using inquiry as a pedagogical approach that encourages early learners to be responsible for, and actively involved, in their own learning?

This is still a work in progress for me, I feel that I can definitely improve my approach to inquiry. I feel that I do listen and respond to the students but I could be much better at doing so.

How are you promoting agency by encouraging student voice and choice?

I feel that there are several opportunities throughout the day where I offer students the opportunity to choose their activities and the direction of their learning however I do fall guilty of have some preconceived ideas of what the learning outcomes should be.  I think that by improving the initial provocation and really tuning in to the student's responses students will have more agency over what they are learning.

How are you encouraging your students to take action in response to their learning?

Our current unit of inquiry really lends itself to student action.  We are currently studying ‘It’s alive’ with the central idea of ‘sharing the planet with living things’.  Through this the students have become really interested in endangered animals and we have highlighted to them that the turtles that live around our island are endangered and one day could be gone forever. This has really fired up the students and we are currently joining in on a local campaign to lobby the government create laws to protect the turtles.  Each of the students are writing a postcard to the Premier of our island to campaign for change.  We have also talked about levels of pollution in our seas and first looked at the levels of litter in our own playground, again student’s are keen to respond and take action in the form of litter sweeps and recycling, as well as making posters to encourage others to follow their lead.

What new ideas could you bring to the collaborative planning process at your school?

I feel we do collaboration pretty well at my school.  We have meetings across the subject groups prior to each new unit of inquiry, however i feel that we could be better at getting together at the end of unit and reflecting over how we think things have gone. Although we do this individually, it would be nice to do this as a collective to share our ideas and improve the planning process.

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Reflection of Module 2 - Transdisciplinarity and Conceptual Learning 

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Reflection of Module 2 - Transdisciplinarity and Conceptual Learning 

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I feel that I have a better understanding of transdisciplinary learning now.  I am beginning to see the big picture and how all the different strands are feeding into what and how we teach in the PYP.  I’m no longer confusing the learner profile with approaches to learning, so I am starting to see the PYP more clearly!

I can see that setting students open ended tasks and can really help them develop their thinking and communication skills and can allow students to approach things in a number of different ways.  The outcome may be different for all, but they will have embarked a journey to get there that involves them developing their thinking and processing skills.

What are you learning about the key elements of the PYP framework that promote transdisciplinary learning and teaching in the early years?

I have taken this quote, from PYP: principles into practice ‘The PYP learner in the early years’ to help me really consider  how the framework promotes transdisciplinary learning in the early years:

“The  PYP transdisciplinary framework is highly relevant for all learners during the early years.  It offers authentic opportunities to focus on the key developmental abilities that are acquired during this crucial time and that support young students to be self-regulating learners”

I like the way that play is valued as a vessel for inquiry to take place and through this students are given voice - to express themselves and their opinions, choice over what they want to engage with and agency -  to follow their personal interests.  It is an approach that it appealing to young learners helping to engage them and keep them motivated as it values them as individuals.

How are you applying your learning about transdisciplinarity in your school?

My school is already an IB school, with many experienced PYP teachers.  ‘transdisciplinary learning’ is a term that is used a lot.  It’s only now however that I am beginning to see what it actually means in terms of teaching and learning. Through the programme of inquiry the transdisciplinary themes are explored in an way that is engaging and appropriate for the age of the child, in the early years this would be mostly learning enhancements that are play based. Conceptual understandings connect the learning beyond the subjects and the approaches to learning (ATL’s) identify the skills that the students are developing along the way.   The opportunities to reflect and take action can enhance individual and collective understanding to address local and/or global issues.

How are you using concepts to help students make meanings and connections in their learning?

Concepts help to unite the subjects and connected their learning and learn to think critically.  Through  asking open ended questions throughout the inquiry it becomes purposeful. For me personally as an early years educator I think that asking key questions related to the concepts throughout the units of inquiry helps to develop student’s understanding of the big ideas.

How are the ATL developing students’ skills to think, research, communicate, socialize and manage themselves effectively?

The ATL’s support the students in becoming self-regulated learners.  They teach a child ‘how’ not ‘what’ to learn. With exposure and experience to the ATL’s students become better at learning how to learn. As each child is unique, each will exhibit differing levels of proficiency across the ATL’s. Knowing where each students skill levels are, and setting effective goals can help personalise the opportunity for skills practise and application and foster their development.

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Reflections of Module 1 - Local and Global Contexts

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Reflections of Module 1 - Local and Global Contexts

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I used to think:

International Mindedness was all about acceptance of, and respect for cultures and religion

The learning of language was specific to Literacy skills

The learner profiles were large concepts that were difficult to apply to the early years

Early years students were too young to comprehend and engage with local and global issues

But now I think:

International mindedness is about being part of an international community with shared responsibilities

The learning of language is about communicating effectively and self-expression

The learner profiles are key to early years education and can be made accessible to younger students

Engaging students with local and global concepts empowers then to be agents for change

How is my understanding of PYP principles and practices in the early years evolving?

I still feel that i am just scratching the surface with my understanding of PYP.  I have been teaching in an IB school since September and have been trying to absorb as much information about IB practises from colleagues and my surroundings but it’s only now that I’m starting to see it all a bit more clearly.   I have been really excited to start this course as i’m hoping it will improve my teaching and the quality of my student’s learning.

In what ways can I apply learning from this workshop in my own learning and teaching?

I think that this part of the course has helped me to consider the importance of international mindedness and observe how it underpins everything that we seek to achieve through the PYP.  Looking back at our UOI at the beginning of the year I now want to include a map on the wall of the classroom with a photograph of the children and where they are from in the world. I want to keep this map up throughout the year so that we can refer back to it, my hope is that it would work as a visual aid to support the students understanding that we are all different, but we are all one global community,  I really want to empower students to care about the environment and shared problems we all face no matter where we are from.

As I am becoming more familiar with IB terminology I want to make sure I do a better job next year of incorporating the language of the PYP into my classroom.  Explaining the terms to the children and using them more frequently so that they become part of the language of the classroom and focus for reflections.

How is agency supported and nurtured through this workshop?

My interpretation of this question is looking at it through the needs of the student. Teaching international mindedness, learner profiles and communication skills together equip the learner with the necessary tools to become agents of their own learning.  I think that starting this process in the Early Years allows for them to become confident, reflective and active in their learning from the very beginning of their journey through education.