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Pathfinder supporting information and frequently asked questions (FAQs), January 2019

Contents

How do self-initiated projects work? 2

How do students achieve the academic requirements of the MYP? 2

How many subject areas will a project be linked to? 3

What support do students receive in completing their projects? 4

Are projects the the only way that students learn? 6

How do students receive feedback and assessment? 6

Do students received grades? 7

Won’t Pathfinder students miss important things taught in the mainstream programme? 8

How do students develop 21st century skills? 8

How do students work together yet be assessed according to different MYP assessment criteria (for MYP3-5)? 9

How are students supervised? 9

How do students stay connected with the wider school? 9

How are social relations between the group be managed? 9

What if students decide not to do any work?! What if they run out of motivation for a project?10

What happens when students need to learn something that doesn’t interest them? Maybe a course at university or something for their job later in life. 10

Why does the group include students from different year groups? 11

How are projects linked to subject areas that require specialist equipment such as science, design and arts carried out? 11

Will students require a laptop or iPad? 11

Will students be able to move back into mainstream schooling part-way through the year? 11

To what extent will the greater ISH rules apply to these students? 12

What are you looking for in potential Pathfinder students? 12

This is a pilot programme. What happens next? 12

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How do self-initiated projects work? Self-initiated projects are the ideas students come up with that can be linked to learning in the various subject areas. The diagram below shows how this happens: the student identifies an issue or topic of interest, Learning Guides help the student to develop unit plans and finally the student applies their learning in some way. This last step might be as simple as creating a final product like a presentation or report to share with others, but students are encouraged to maximise positive impact through service activities. Serving and having a positive impact on the different communities to which we belong (school, local, global) is therefore integral to all projects.

How do students achieve the academic requirements of the MYP?

● Students need to evidence their learning in the appropriate number of subject areas to fulfill the requirements of the MYP (8 in MYP 2&3, 6 in MYP4).

● This learning must correspond to the four stated objectives of the subject area (see table below), and students must be assessed on their achievement of this at least twice in a school year. These are the same requirements and academic standards as all MYP students.

● Students are supported to periodically self-assess their progress in terms of subject area and objective coverage, and make a plan based on this assessment.

● In the unit planning process, Learning Guides help students identify the concepts they will be exploring, the context of their learning and the skills they need to develop

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in the process. This helps deepen their learning by connecting it to the bigger ideas in the MYP.

MYP objectives per subject area

Subject Group Objective A Objective B Objective C Objective D

Language and Literature

Analyzing Organizing Producing Text Using Language

Language Acquisition

Comprehending spoken and visual text

Comprehending written and visual text

Communicating in response to text

Using language in spoken and/or written form

Individuals and societies

Knowing and understanding

Investigating Communicating Thinking critically

Sciences Knowing and understanding

Inquiring and designing

Processing and evaluating

Reflecting on the impacts of science

Mathematics Knowing and understanding

Investigating patterns

Communicating Applying mathematics in real world contexts

Arts Knowing and understanding

Developing skills Thinking creatively Responding

Design Inquiring and analyzing

Developing ideas Creating the solution

Evaluating

How many subject areas will a project be linked to? A project will often have links to a number of different subject areas, as shown in the graphic below. Whilst LGs will help make students aware of these links, students can choose which subject areas they wish to formally connect with through MYP units. This choice might be determined by interest in the unit, utility of the learning for the overall goal, or simply a student needing to fulfill requirements for that subject area. In the example below, the student(s) have chosen to complete units in visual arts, Dutch and English, and provide a service to the local community. So the short answer to this question is however many the student wishes to or needs to connect to a project.

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What support do students receive in completing their projects? Our aim in Pathfinder is autonomous learning: students planning and carrying out their own learning, based around their identified interests. However, we know that all students are likely to need different degrees of support to get there. Students therefore have the opportunity to choose the level and form of guidance they receive for each subject area, with our aim being to help them up the “ladder” of autonomy (see below). We do this by explicitly teaching certain “learning routines”, which ensure thorough and effective learning in a subject area, with the aim of helping students to do this autonomously. Students are supported in periodically assessing their progress in each subject area and using this to plan their latest projects. They might choose to carry out their ideas as autonomous or semi-autonomous units, or, if they are stuck for ideas or are not confident with carrying out a more autonomous unit, they might work with Learning Guides and other students in a more guided option. The exact form of these options will vary according to subject area and the needs of students, but the diagram below shows the general features of each option.

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Types of Guided Options Offered

Autonomous learning ● Students plan and carry out their own

learning, based around their identified interests.

● They use relevant learning routines to do so.

● LGs advise the student on setting-up the unit plan, and feedback on progress at a mid-point review.

Semi-autonomous learning ● Individually, students identify a learning

goal or project. A LG helps them create a unit plan.

● Students and the LG meet weekly to discuss how the different stages of the learning routine can be applied to the project.

Guided learning ● Together, students and the LG identify a

learning goal or project. The LG makes the unit plan, discussing this with students.

● The group meets weekly to go through the different stages of the learning routine. Although the LG takes more of a lead in planning activities, the relevant stage of the learning routine is explicitly referred to.

Learning routines guide the students towards thorough and effective learning

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Are projects the the only way that students learn? No!

● Students sometimes set themselves topics or subjects to learn about. For example, students have chosen to learn how to solve mathematical equations and the basics of economics. In these cases, Learning Guides help students to set the goal(s) of their studies, provide useful resources and check in with them along the way. They also help design assessment to measure achievement of the relevant MYP objectives.

● Workshops are held every week in the Pathfinder Programme. They offer the opportunity for students to pass on to peers what they’ve learned in their projects, and for Learning Guides and outside organisations to introduce different ideas.

How do students receive feedback and assessment? It is well known that effective feedback is one of the biggest explainers of student achievement and from the school’s Professional Learning Community research of May 2018, we know that effective feedback should focus on personal improvement and be timely, in-context, specific and actionable. The Pathfinder reporting and feedback procedure seeks to ensure this by focussing LG feedback on the start of the learning process (to apply lessons from previous work) and in the middle, so feedback on progress can be actioned by the student. The steps below explain how feedback and assessment will be given.

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1. Initial meeting when creating the unit. ● Student and LG meet to agree objectives/criteria to be

assessed. The strands of the top achievement levels are copied into the subject area assessment document.

● Tips for achieving the top levels in this assessment are discussed.

● If applicable, they discuss the achievement of these criteria in the last assessment, and how they can improve in this unit.

● They agree a time and date for the mid-point feedback session.

2. Mid-point review ● In advance of the mid-point check-in, students should self-assess their

progress against the assessment criteria for that unit. ● From this, they should generate points of discussion or questions for the

Learning Guide. This might include: ○ Parts of the assessment criteria they are finding difficult. ○ How to demonstrate certain parts of the assessment criteria in their

work. ○ Sections of work that they think are particularly good or in need of

development.

3. Final assessment ● The LG assesses the work and provides:

○ An overall rating of progress in each criterion. ■ + means they have moved up an achievement level in that criterion

compared to the last assessment. ■ = means they have maintained the achievement level in that criterion

compared to the last assessment. ■ - means they have moved down an achievement level in that criterion

compared to the last assessment. ○ The strand descriptors of the work for the last assessment.

● The student uses this assessment to write themselves a comment/bullet-points on strengths and areas for development.

Do students received grades? At the end of the year, students receive overall achievement levels and grades for each subject area. Throughout the year, although achievement levels will be recorded by Learning Guides, students and parents receive an indication of whether their latest piece of work was better, the same or worse than the previous piece of work (see “how do students receive feedback and assessment?” above). The aim of this is to enable the student to focus on their own progress and development, rather than comparing themselves to other students or external standards, whilst still giving a clear indication to students and parents about progress.

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Won’t Pathfinder students miss important things taught in the mainstream programme? In order to prepare students for their future steps, the MYP requires certain competencies to be developed and demonstrated in the different subject areas. However, very little specific knowledge is prescribed. For example, in science, students must “apply scientific knowledge to solve a problem”, but it does not matter whether this is knowledge about gravity or electrical current. Similarly, for language and literature students need to develop the important skill of analysing the use of language in text, but the texts to be analysed are not prescribed. As such, Pathfinder students can develop the same important competencies as their peers in the mainstream, just through different content. Of course, sometimes specific knowledge is particularly helpful for future steps. In these instances, Pathfinder Learning Guides - who also teach in the mainstream - help identify opportunities to bring this into the Pathfinder projects and experiences. For example, our mathematics Learning Guide is aware of the topics being covered by other students and will look to introduce these to Pathfinder projects. Learning Guides in subjects like mathematics and science also offer classes for students who want to make sure they acquire core knowledge. So although Pathfinder students follow a personalized curriculum different from that in the mainstream, the programme is designed to equip students with the fundamental skills and pieces of knowledge as students on other programmes. Furthermore, such diversity in content is not only natural in an international school with an ever changing student body, but also a major asset. Our teachers have lots of experience in making subject content accessible for everyone.

How do students develop 21st century skills? The Pathfinder Programme is structured in a way that reflects the wider world, providing natural opportunities to practice creativity, collaboration, communication and critical thinking. Students need to work effectively with each other and staff to construct their learning community and carry out their projects. Their projects will require creative solutions to real-world problems identified through a defined vision, mission and values. Furthermore, students are able to take up “positions of responsibility”, such as being responsible for group communications with the rest of the school or being a student tutor.

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How do students work together yet be assessed according to different MYP assessment criteria (for MYP3-5)? MYP assessment takes place against certain criteria for each subject area. These criteria are the same for every stage of the MYP - for example, criterion A in Individuals & Societies subjects assesses “Knowledge and Understanding” throughout MYP1-5, just at different levels of complexity. This means that students can be working on the same topic - e.g. sustainability in local communities - but be assessed at different MYP stages.

How are students supervised? The students operate out of a designated homeroom within the school. The Programme Coordinator is with the group for most of the school day and will periodically register the group in the homeroom. When the Programme Coordinator is not with the group, a Learning Guide is present or the group have a designated “free period”, as students in the rest of the school do.

How do students stay connected with the wider school? Pathfinder students remain connected with the wider school in a number of ways:

● Break and lunch times can be aligned with those of the rest of the school. ● Students take physical and health education (PHE) classes and languages other

than English and Dutch with the rest of their year group in the mainstream programme.

● They can take part in the same extra-curricular activities – from sports to arts – as other students.

● Students take part in school trips with their respective year group.

How are social relations between the group be managed? Working in such a close-knit environment like the Pathfinder Programme presents both opportunities and challenges for students. A key role of the Coordinator and school counsellor is to monitor and develop social relations in the group. This is done through specific interventions and group sessions to reflect on the group’s dynamics and how their behaviour and actions impact on each other. In this way we try to turn the challenge of working in a group with different ages and backgrounds into a valuable learning experiences,

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with students ultimately achieving a greater understanding of each other and development of their social skills.

What if students decide not to do any work?! What if they run out of motivation for a project? Any educational programme will show “unevenness” in learning as students’ motivation fluctuates, just as an adult’s motivation for their work might vary from day-to-day. This can be more exaggerated in schools that offer similar freedoms to the Pathfinder Programme, but it is part of the design and ultimately enables more effective learning takes place. Experiencing these slow-downs provides the opportunity for Learning Guides and the Coordinator - who meet every week to discuss student progress - to help the student reflect on the problem. For example, they sometimes need help finding what is intrinsically motivating for them or the size of a project might be overwhelming and need breaking down into more manageable steps. Helping the student to do these things are key purposes of the programme and important life skills, and monitoring and support are in place to ensure that students don’t just “do nothing”!

What happens when students need to learn something that doesn’t interest them? Maybe a course at university or something for their job later in life. A key aspect of the Pathfinder Programme is to help students identify what is really important to them, what they are passionate about. When this happens, they become intrinsically motivated to learn about it, the most powerful form of motivation according to Edward Deci and Richard Ryan . Once they have discovered this, they are better placed to 1

choose learning and career paths most suited to them, and see the purpose of certain knowledge and skills even if these don’t intrinsically motivate them. This is what Deci and Ryan might call integrated or identified regulation (see diagram below). This process is even demonstrated in democratic schools such as Sudbury Valley School and Summerhill School where students have completely free reign to choose how they spend their days. Students end up choosing to tackle standardised tests and a variety of university level studies because they understand their value. We see this in the Pathfinder Programme with students sometimes asking to take a unit of learning from elsewhere in the school because they believe it will be useful for their year 12 choices.

1 Deci & Ryan (1985), Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. Plenum.

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Why does the group include students from different year groups? Vertical organisation such as this has been shown to provide the opportunity for students to learn from each other. These types of learning communities provide less experienced (often younger) students more people to learn from and allows older students to take positions of responsibility and teach, which often leads to the most effective learning. Nonetheless, it is also premised on the idea that people have different strengths and talents regardless of their age, and allows them to take the role of “more knowledgeable other” in the learning community.

How are projects linked to subject areas that require specialist equipment such as science, design and arts carried out? Specialist rooms and equipment are booked for Pathfinder students at certain times. The homeroom will also be equipped with basic resources and materials.

Will students require a laptop or iPad? As per school policy, students in year 9 require an iPad and students in years 10&11 require a laptop (see full details here). Laptops will be available, if required, by students in years 9.

Will students be able to move back into mainstream schooling part-way through the year? Students need to commit to the programme for one year. The natural flexibility of the project means that the programme can be tailored to the needs of individual students. Staff are able to respond to any challenges that students face. Disengagement from Pathfinder will only happen in very exceptional circumstances and in consultation with the relevant deputy heads and vice-principals.

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To what extent will the greater ISH rules apply to these students? The Pathfinder Programme operates as if it is in a federal system. Students have certain freedom to determine their own ways of working, but ISH rules, values and consequences always take precedence. E.g. The clothing code will be followed.

What are you looking for in potential Pathfinder students? The Pathfinder Programme is designed for every kind of student. Admission onto the programme does not depend on academic ability, and students and parents often identify their own definitions of success: it might be improved academic performance through greater challenge, developing skills required for the 21st century or simply getting greater enjoyment from learning. The key things we look for in potential Pathfinder students is a clear understanding of what the programme involves, a genuine willingness to take more responsibility for their own learning and, most importantly, some clear ideas about what they would like to achieve or explore. Support will be provided in the application process for students to reflect on and articulate the latter.

This is a pilot programme. What happens next? Regardless of the pilot status, students are on the programme for one year terms, after which they will be expected to put forward a new proposal and justification for the next year or join the mainstream programme. The reason for this is to ensure a regular and thorough reflection on learning by those involved, and to help create a culture within the school where students come forward with their ideas about what they would like to learn and how. The Pathfinder Programme is seen as a potential long-term structure within the school to provide a space for this to happen. As such, the next steps for the growth of the model will depend largely on the demand - and nature of the demand - from students.

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