Teaching and Learning in the Pyp - International Baccalaureateteachandlearnpyp.weebly.com/uploads/4/8/1/7/48170511/...Layers of transdisciplinarity in the programme of inquiry Although

InternationalBaccalaureateIB AmericasTeaching and learning

Teaching and Learning Category 2

Keystone, ColoradoJune 2017English

Linda Johnson and Monica Miars

© International Baccalaureate Organization 2012


Teacher Training Workshop

This workbook is intended for use by a participant at an IB-approved workshop. It contains several types of material: material that was created and published by the IB, material that was prepared by the workshop leader and third-party copyright material.

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The IB mission statement

The International Baccalaureate aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.

To this end the organization works with schools, governments and international organizations to develop challenging programmes of international education and rigorous assessment.

These programmes encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.

Is Your Teaching Inquiry Based 6

The Primary Years Programme as a model oftransdisciplinary learning 7

Motivating through good questioning techniques 21

Student Keys to Driving an Inquiry 32

I used to think...Now I think... 33

Circle of Viewpoints 35

Inquiry 37

Diamond Ranking 40

Naturally Differentiated Strategies 46

Ash, D and Kluger-Bell, B. 1999. "Identifying Inquiryin the K-5 classroom." Foundations. Vol 2. Pp. 79-85 53

Fabian, J. “Principled teaching and learning.” TheChanging Face of International Education. Walker,G, ed. Cardiff, Wales. International BaccalaureateOrganization. Pp 23-30

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Making Sense of Inquiry Cycles 68


Workbook contents

Ritchart, R and Perkins, D. 2008. “Making ThinkingVisible.” Educational Leadership. Vol 65, number 5.Pp 57-61.

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Start Stop Continue Change 75

What I Learned 77


Is Your Teaching Inquiry Based? How to score your answers Soareyouaninquiryteacher?Hereisaveryunscientificscoringsystem–butonethatwillprovideafairlyaccurateanswertothequestion.Totalthenumberofresponsesofeachfrequency.Entertheresultsinthetablebelow.Calculateyoursub-totalsbyusingthedesignatedmultiplier(forexample,your“veryfrequently”scoreistobemultipliedby4).Finallycalculateyourtotalscore(outof80).

Are you an inquiry teacher? Hereisaself-evaluationchecklist.Howoftendoyoudisplaythesebehaviors?Tickthespacesthatcorrespondtothefrequencywithwhichyoudisplaythefollowingbehaviors:

VeryFrequ

ently

Freq

uently

Sometim

es

Rarely

Responses VeryFrequently_____x4=Frequently_____x3=Sometimes_____x2=Rarely_____x1=Total:

1. Ioptforflexiblesetting,studentmovementandthemaximuminteractionbetweenstudents.

2. Imakeawiderangeofresourcesandmaterialsavailableforstudentuse.

3. Myintroductorylessonsonaunitofworkpresentaproblem,issue,question,orcontradictiontostimulatestudentthinking.

4. Indoingso,Iencouragechildrentoreactfreelywithlittledirectionfromme.Theirvoiceisimportantinplanningthecourseoftheinquiry.

5. ThestudentstalkmorethanIdoduringclassroominquirywork.

6. WhenItalk,Iquestion,ratherthan“tell”.

So…is your teaching inquiry based? Ifyouscored65-80Yesitis.Youareconsciouslylookingforwaystopromotestudentinquiryandareawareofyourroleinmaintaininganatmosphereofinquiryinyourclassroom.Welookforwardtolearningaboutinquiryfromyouthisyear.Ifyouscore45-64Yesyouareconvincedofthevalueofinquiryteachinganduseitwhereandwhenappropriateissuesandmaterialsareavailable.Welcometoourschool,welookforwardtolearningmoreaboutinquirywithyouthisyear.Ifyouscore35-44Welcometotheworldofinquiryteaching.Weencourageyoutouseyourcolleaguesasaresourceasyoulearnmoreaboutinquiryteachingandexperimenttofindwhatworksforyouthisyear.Ifyouscoredlessthan34…Welcometoourschool!Yourjourneytowardsbecominganinquiry-basedteacherbeginshereandweareexcitedtosupportyouinanywaywecan.

7. Iconsciouslyusetheideasraisedbystudentsandbasemynextquestionsonthem.

8. Iredirectstudentquestionsinsuchawaythatstudentsareencouragedtoseektheirownanswers.

9. Myquestionsencouragestudentstotestthevalidityoftheirideasinthebroadcontextofexperiences.

10. Classdialogueisconductedinafashionthatemphasizescourtesyandopennesstodivergentviews.

11. Skillsaredevelopedandpracticedastheyarerequiredduringaninquiry,notasaseparatesetofactivities.

12. Iencouragearigorousquestioningofthegroundsuponwhichstatementsaremade.

13. Iencouragestudentstoexploretheimplicationsofholdingalternativeopinions.

14. Iencouragestudentstoarriveatopinionsoftheirownthattheycanunderstandanddefend.

15. Iuseassessmentintheclassroomasameanstoimprovelearningandnottojudgepeople.

16. Theresultsofassessmenthelpmetoimproveexistinginquiryprocedureswithstudents.

17. Ievaluatestudentsongrowthinmanyaspectsofthelearningexperience,ratherthansimplyontheknowledgeacquired.

18. Isharetheresultsofevaluationswithstudents,identifyingstrengthsaswellasareaswherewebothneedtoimprove.

19. ImakemystudentsawarethatIaminvolvedinmyowninquiriesandthatlearningneednotstopwhenoneleavesschool.

20. Icreateanenvironmentthatencourageschildrentobeindependentandtakeriskswiththeirlearning.

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The Primary Years Programme as a model of transdisciplinary learning

Primary Years Programme

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IB mission statementThe International Baccalaureate aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.

To this end the organization works with schools, governments and international organizations to develop challenging programmes of international education and rigorous assessment.

These programmes encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.

IB learner profileThe aim of all IB programmes is to develop internationally minded people who, recognizing their common humanity and shared guardianship of the planet, help to create a better and more peaceful world.

IB learners strive to be:

Inquirers They develop their natural curiosity. They acquire the skills necessary to conduct inquiry and research and show independence in learning. They actively enjoy learning and this love of learning will be sustained throughout their lives.

Knowledgeable They explore concepts, ideas and issues that have local and global significance. In so doing, they acquire in-depth knowledge and develop understanding across a broad and balanced range of disciplines.

Thinkers They exercise initiative in applying thinking skills critically and creatively to recognize and approach complex problems, and make reasoned, ethical decisions.

Communicators They understand and express ideas and information confidently and creatively in more than one language and in a variety of modes of communication. They work effectively and willingly in collaboration with others.

Principled They act with integrity and honesty, with a strong sense of fairness, justice and respect for the dignity of the individual, groups and communities. They take responsibility for their own actions and the consequences that accompany them.

Open-minded They understand and appreciate their own cultures and personal histories, and are open to the perspectives, values and traditions of other individuals and communities. They are accustomed to seeking and evaluating a range of points of view, and are willing to grow from the experience.

Caring They show empathy, compassion and respect towards the needs and feelings of others. They have a personal commitment to service, and act to make a positive difference to the lives of others and to the environment.

Risk-takers They approach unfamiliar situations and uncertainty with courage and forethought, and have the independence of spirit to explore new roles, ideas and strategies. They are brave and articulate in defending their beliefs.

Balanced They understand the importance of intellectual, physical and emotional balance to achieve personal well-being for themselves and others.

Reflective They give thoughtful consideration to their own learning and experience. They are able to assess and understand their strengths and limitations in order to support their learning and personal development.


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What components of the PYP curriculum model indicate the transdisciplinary nature of the programme?

The Primary Years Programme as a model of transdisciplinary learning 9

Transdisciplinary skills

Programme of inquiry

Central idea

Units of inquiry

Concepts

Action

Attitudes

Figure 4Layers of transdisciplinarity in the programme of inquiry

Although the IB publishes samples of programmes of inquiry, the common practice from one IB World School to another is the construction of a unique programme of inquiry, using the PYP template of transdisciplinary themes. Each school’s programme of inquiry is developed to reflect the unique aspects of that school’s community, from its geography to the needs and experience of its constituents. “The transdisciplinary themes provide a basis for much discussion and interpretation within a school, and allow for both local and global perspectives to be explored in the units,” (Making the PYP happen: A curriculum framework for international primary education 2009: 12).

A high level of collaboration is required when planning transdisciplinary units of inquiry. The planning teams, usually consisting of teachers at each year level, need to plan the units together with the remainder of the curriculum for the year. However, a whole-school approach should be taken when developing and refining a complete programme of inquiry. The proposed units of inquiry at each year level need to be articulated from one year to another. This will ensure a robust programme of inquiry that provides students with experiences that are coherent and connected throughout their time in school.

Whole-school involvement in developing the programme of inquiry is, in and of itself, a professional development for all. The activity strengthens each teacher’s understanding of the underlying educational theories—including transdisciplinarity—upon which the PYP is based and, through collaboration and cooperation, improves PYP practice throughout the school. The programme of inquiry will have resilience above and beyond the talents and resourcefulness of individual teachers in the school. Although it may be tempting to develop centrally a programme of inquiry for a school district in which there are two or more IB World Schools, an opportunity will have been missed to promote a deep and enduring understanding of, and commitment through ownership to, the transdisciplinary nature of the PYP in each and every school community.

The PYP, because of its commitment to transdisciplinary learning, allows schools to cut down on the amount of subject-specific content they may have been in the habit of delivering. Many PYP schools do not have autonomy in deciding what needs to be covered in the subject areas. That notwithstanding, it is advocated strongly that the principle of “less is more’” should apply. The transdisciplinary themes provide the framework for a highly defined, focused, in-depth programme that eliminates redundancy and avoids the pitfalls of a personality-driven curriculum.

(Making the PYP happen: A curriculum framework for international primary education 2009: 15)

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The Primary Years Programme as a model of transdisciplinary learning10

Students inquire into and learn about local and global issues in the context of units of inquiry, each of which addresses a particular transdisciplinary theme. Each unit of inquiry is planned and recorded on the PYP planner. Each of these units:

stands alone as an engaging, challenging, relevant and significant experience•

contributes to a coherent, school-wide programme of inquiry that is framed in terms of transdisciplinary •themes of global significance

draws together elements of different subject areas to support the exploration of a central idea.•

Through the units of inquiry, the essential elements are synthesized into a meaningful whole, a coherent approach to teaching and learning.

It is important to note that the programme of inquiry does not necessarily constitute a school’s whole programme. Well-planned inquiries provide an ideal context for learning both within and outside the programme of inquiry. It is also recognized that the subject areas have an integrity and essence of their own. Teaching about and through the subject areas is advocated when it enhances the transdisciplinary learning defined in the PYP, but not when the integration results in teaching and learning that is contrived and superficial.

(Making the PYP happen: A curriculum framework for international primary education 2009: 57)

The role of the key conceptsA concept-driven curriculum helps the learner to construct meaning through improved critical thinking and the transfer of knowledge and understanding. The PYP key concepts—form, function, causation, change, connection, perspective, responsibility, reflection—are themselves transdisciplinary and increase coherence across the curriculum. By identifying concepts that have relevance within each subject area, and across and beyond all subject areas, the PYP has defined an essential element for supporting its transdisciplinary model of teaching and learning. These concepts provide a structure for the exploration of significant and authentic content. In the course of this exploration, students deepen their understanding of the concepts and learn to think conceptually.

In planning units of inquiry, related concepts derived from the subject areas are also identified. These related concepts may be seen as subject-specific versions of the PYP key concepts, for example, transformation in science is a version of the key concept change. These related concepts deepen an understanding of the subject areas while providing further opportunities to make connections throughout the learning, from one subject to another, and between disciplinary and transdisciplinary learning.

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Figure 5

Mapping related concepts listed in the units of inquiry and derived from the subject areas (found in the scope and sequence documents, and state standards where appropriate) against the PYP key concepts

Who we are (transdisciplinary unit of inquiry)

Central idea: Friendships enrich our lives and require nurturing in order to develop

Key concepts: CAUSATION RESPONSIBILITY

Related concepts: DIVERSITY CULTURE

Where we are in place and time (transdisciplinary unit of inquiry)

Central idea: Past civilizations shape present day systems and technologies

Key concepts: CAUSATION CHANGE PERSPECTIVE

Related concepts: CONTINUITY PROGRESS TECHNOLOGY

Mathematics unit of inquiry

Central idea: We use our understanding of place value to count, order and operate with whole numbers and fractional numbers

Key concepts: FUNCTION CHANGE CONNECTION

Related concepts: REPRESENTATION RELATIONSHIPS

Physical education (Strand: Active living) unit of inquiry

Central idea: We can create sequences of movement that interest an audience by using a variety of body parts both singularly and in combination

Key concepts: FORM FUNCTION REFLECTION

Related concepts: CONTROL TENSION FLOW

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The role of the transdisciplinary skillsBoth the subject areas defined by the PYP—language, mathematics, science, social studies, arts, and personal, social and physical education—and the transdisciplinary themes provide focuses for students’ inquiry. These inquiries allow students to acquire and apply a set of transdisciplinary skills: social skills, communication skills, thinking skills, research skills, and self-management skills. These skills are relevant to all learning, formal and informal, in the school, and in events experienced beyond its boundaries. Students also develop skills and strategies drawn from the subject areas, but aligned with the five transdisciplinary skills. For example, becoming literate and numerate enhances students’ communication skills. The acquisition of literacy and numeracy, in their broadest sense, is essential as these skills provide students with the tools of inquiry. However, the acquisition of knowledge, concepts and skills of the subject areas should not be limited to stand-alone teaching opportunities but also needs to be an integral part of the units of inquiry.

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How do you ensure that transdisciplinary learning is evident in classroom practice?

The collaborative planning process—when the PYP coordinator and the teachers are constructing the school-wide programme of inquiry and developing transdisciplinary unit planners at each grade level—contributes the most to ensuring that transdisciplinary learning is going on throughout the school. This high level of collaboration, a requirement of the programme, contributes to the ongoing professional development of all involved, the teachers, the coordinator and, where possible, the principal. Every planning meeting is an opportunity for each teacher to rework their personal construct of the relationship between theory and practice in the PYP, as it relates to transdisciplinarity and its articulation with inquiry and international-mindedness. It is an opportunity to share experiences, ideas, processes and imaginings in a way that allows the planning group to share responsibility for the developing understanding of each member of the group.

These planning meetings also provide the time for mapping out the relationship between the school’s subject-specific scope and sequence documents and the transdisciplinary programme of inquiry (figure 5). The IB advocates the use of the PYP scope and sequence documents wherever possible. However, in some regions the subject-specific content—usually knowledge, skills and benchmarks—are imposed on the school, as are the standardized achievement tests with which these externally produced curriculum documents are articulated. Under these circumstances it is still important that the school acknowledges in some practical way the conceptual development of students as indicated in the PYP documents. The school needs to adopt or adapt the PYP scope and sequences, or at least adapt their own scope and sequences to reflect the conceptual development of students, now organized as developmental continuums as illustrated in the PYP documents. It is not acceptable for a state or national school to be unfamiliar with the PYP subject-specific scope and sequences. To be so limits effective, pervasive practice of the PYP in the school, and in some extreme cases the school, for some time, marginalizes PYP implementation to the transdisciplinary programme of inquiry and the IB learner profile. Boyer (1995) endorses the idea that “shared human experiences might somehow be woven into the fabric of formal education, so the disciplines might be used to illuminate larger, more integrative ends.”

The ways in which the learning environment is shared between the students and the teacher indicate how easily and spontaneously students can make connections across their learning, and how available the teacher is to support or amplify those connections. Students can engage with authentic, transdisciplinary content when they are able to engage with the learning environment in an active way, manage their time and other available resources such as evidence of their learning over time, demonstrate some level of autonomy as learners through decision-making, and use feedback about their work to become more competent learners.

Student learning is supported effectively when students demonstrate an understanding of the aims of the PYP and are able to be articulate about aspects of the framework, such as the transdisciplinary components of the PYP, for example, the key concepts, the attitudes and the transdisciplinary themes that focus the students’ creativity, their thinking, their learning and their reflections. They apply their conceptual understanding of the PYP curriculum framework in new learning situations, establishing processes that will support lifelong learning.

Students can share in the planning process, and may even be familiar with the PYP planner. In some cases, students have developed their own version of the planner that they may use in planning the exhibition in the final year of the programme. The exhibition is a transdisciplinary inquiry conducted in the spirit of personal and shared responsibility as well as a summative assessment activity that is a celebration as students move from the PYP into the middle years of schooling. The exhibition requires that each student, working collaboratively with others, demonstrates engagement with the five essential elements of the programme—knowledge, concepts, skills, attitudes and action—all of which are represented on the planner.

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How do you ensure that transdisciplinary learning is evident in classroom practice?


No part of the PYP should be considered the hidden curriculum and withheld from students. What better way to enlist students’ support in the process of learning than by sharing with them what the PYP has to offer them?

It is fair to mention at this point that not all of academia is convinced of the effectiveness of the concept of learners constructing meaning through the pedagogy of inquiry (Kirschner et al 2006).

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What are the strategies that support transdisciplinary learning?

The role of the classroom teacherIt is usual in primary schools for each teacher to have direct responsibility for fewer students than is often the case in secondary schools. The organization of secondary and middle schools is usually structured to support disciplinary teaching, to ensure in-depth exposure to the content of the subject areas, supported by specialist teachers in those areas. It can be the case that secondary school teachers are expected to report on the performance of over 100 students during every reporting period. Primary school teachers functioning as classroom or homeroom teachers have a much better opportunity, and therefore obligation, to be aware of the learning needs and of the developmental progress of each student in the context of a wide range of teaching and learning contexts.

The success of the PYP in supporting student learning in the context of the transdisciplinary model previously described is dependent on how well each student is known. There is no better opportunity to provide for an in-depth knowledge of each student as a learner than in a primary school classroom, where the professional adult responsible for each student functions as a compassionate care-giver, a teacher, a coach, and an observant and trustworthy companion. The needs of the students are best served when one teacher is responsible for each student most of the time in order to help students make connections across their learning and with the essential elements of the PYP, and to capture those teachable moments and put them in context. Students need to be coached by teachers that know them well when they are learning in a highly integrative manner, coping with complex problems during cooperative projects. To optimize this coherence of learning through teacher observation, analysis and intervention, it was decided by the PYP committee in February 2006 that mathematics, the language of instruction, social studies and science need to be the responsibility of the classroom teacher—the teacher with whom the students spend most of their time (PYP Coordinator’s handbook 2009–2010). Single-subject teaching of these areas is not consistent with the PYP model of transdisciplinary learning—learning that transcends the confines of the subject areas, but is supported by them. Additionally, all social studies and science are to be taught within the transdisciplinary units of the school’s programme of inquiry (Developing a transdisciplinary programme of inquiry 2008). It is to be noted that personal and social education, as defined in the Personal, social and physical education scope and sequence (2009) document is the responsibility of all PYP teachers.

When elementary teachers are faced with discrete sets of standards for each discipline, they ask, “How am I supposed to teach with so many different sets of standards?” A disturbing phenomenon is occurring as a reaction to the pressure of academic standards. Schools are embracing the idea of departmentalization as early as 1st grade. Common sense would say that primary grade students who are shuttled through a team of six or seven teachers throughout the day face a confusing array of personalities, academic expectations, and fractured programming. There is little hope of integrating anything with this plan. An elementary principal gave the rationale that teachers can specialize and better meet the academic standards because of their expertise in the area. But what happened to getting to know each child well, providing a familiar nurturing figure, and teaching to a student’s strengths and weaknesses throughout the day? How can a teacher know 120 students well? I hope a generation of students don’t fall through the cracks with this latest innovation.

Adapted from Erickson (2003)

Furthermore, given the PYP perspective on inclusivity, not only are all students engaged in the programme, but all students are engaged with each other in constructing meaning, and in doing so learning to

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accommodate the range of abilities and perspectives that will inevitably exist in a heterogeneous classroom. Theorists such as Vygotsky (1978) and Piaget (1928) highlighted the importance of interaction between the learning that is taking place in the social, affective and cognitive domains. The PYP supports the belief that students’ learning and their attempts to understand the world around them are essentially social acts of communication and collaboration. The PYP perspective shows a commitment to learning where all students are equally valued and supported to the fullest extent possible, but where one student’s learning is not at the expense of another. Both Fischer (2009) and Immordino-Yang (2007) are clear about the significance of the emotional context on motivation to learn and even on establishing neurological learning pathways.

Differentiation through grouping to support learning in a transdisciplinary contextThe PYP classroom is a dynamic learning environment, with the students moving from individual work to group work in response to their needs and the needs of the inquiries—both transdisciplinary and subject-specific—to which they have committed, or that have been designed for them. Students will change roles as they move from one group to another or even within the same group over time, working as a leader or initiator, a collaborating partner, or a contributing member of a larger group. The grouping strategies within the classroom allow for mixed-ability and ability grouping, and for groups to change continually, depending on the tasks at hand. The teacher’s role is to orchestrate this changing working dynamic so that each student’s learning is observed, monitored and effectively supported when working both individually and within various groups.

Mixed-ability grouping based on shared interest frequently supports collaborative learning during the transdisciplinary units of inquiry. Regrouping provides opportunities to work with others who provide different skill sets and perspectives. The strategy of grouping and regrouping should be purposeful, but not merely seen as moving away from whole-class teaching. Over time students will learn to make the group dynamic effective to produce results or to meet requirements.

Learning as a member of a group, while supporting the learning of others within the group, is a value embedded in the principles and practices of the PYP. Learning is a social act that reflects the community in which it is taking place. The community that the PYP promotes is defined by the IB mission statement, the IB learner profile, the PYP curriculum model with its transdisciplinary dimensions, and the PYP implementation standards and practices. That community is supportive, not competitive; reflects a broad spectrum of society, not an elite cohort; is integrated, not stratified; and is committed to lifelong learning, not learning to address solely summative assessment outcomes.

Types of groupsPair and group work in a PYP classroom is viewed as a collaborative strategy and should engage students as co-learners and co-constructors of meaning. These types of groupings are more likely to be a successful strategy for an inquiry classroom if they are implemented on a regular basis over the year, where students are given the opportunity to develop and use the relevant transdisciplinary skills such as communication, self-management and social skills. If implemented in a sustained way, pair and group work can lead to more autonomous and actively engaged learners and, in turn, can ensure that the responsibility for learning is shared between students and teachers. A classroom where pair and group strategies are successfully operating provides teachers with valuable opportunities for observing each student and for gaining insight into his or her interests, strengths and needs for further learning.

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Figure 6

The PYP advocates a student-centred approach to teaching and learning and there are a number of student-centred grouping strategies that may be evident in a PYP classroom. These are strategies where students have input into the working relationships within the group and into setting the agenda for the group to follow. The role of the teacher in student-centred group situations is as a facilitator and mentor, one who provides the necessary support and prompts to ensure that the learning experiences are achievable by all members of the group. Importantly, the teacher will need to be sensitive to the learning needs and styles of particular students and ensure that the composition of the group is suitable to the task being undertaken. Also, the teacher needs to provide an environment that encourages risk-taking and student ownership of the learning, and where students are supported in seeing themselves as competent.

There are a number of teacher-led grouping strategies that will also be evident in a PYP classroom, strategies where the teacher controls the group dynamic and sets the agenda for work. These include whole-class and small-group teaching and one-to-one teaching situations. It is usual to see the whole class brought together by the teacher in order to manage the day-to-day running of the class, to facilitate large group discussions, to share student work, to affirm student diversity and to create the community within the classroom. Direct teaching of the whole class still has its place, but research suggests that it is best suited for teaching procedural knowledge rather than for more complex learning experiences that require learners to monitor and regulate their thinking (Good, Brophy 1994). In small-group teaching situations, the teacher may provide explicit instruction, explain procedures, facilitate discussions, and provide opportunities for the development of particular skills. Finally, there are one-to-one or individual teacher-led situations. Similar to small-group teaching, these situations involve a teacher working with an individual student or setting students work to guide their individual development in particular areas of learning. Clearly this latter approach provides opportunity for the teacher to differentiate instruction for each student. However, the insight the teacher obtains from observing the learning that happens within larger groups and from analysing the output of each student’s efforts within a group situation—often recorded in individual anecdotal records—is essential feedback for further differentiation of teaching and learning. There should also be opportunities for students to work individually, to follow their own interests and inquiries, and to work in a manner that suits them best.

The teacher and the students use these grouping strategies in a dynamic way during a transdisciplinary unit of inquiry—where the in-depth inquiries may well last for several weeks—to create an effective, collaborative learning community in which all learners contribute in a variety of ways. It is likely that student awareness and understanding of this intent extends the metacognitive context for the learning through

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student reflection on what the PYP is about. The opportunity should be taken not only to teach and learn within the PYP but also to teach and learn about the PYP.

How to form effective groupsWhen deciding on the size and membership of a group, the purpose of the grouping should be a guiding factor for the teacher and students. The full range of grouping strategies should be explored over time in order to socialize students in an authentic way that reflects real life. For instance, groups can be organized by interest, levels of prior knowledge, demonstrated ability or performance, friendships, random assignment or student choice. There will be times in a PYP classroom where random assignment of group members meets the needs of the tasks, for example, prioritizing questions to be asked of a visiting expert. Whereas at other times prior knowledge and demonstrated performance may be necessary, for example, applying a particular mathematics concept in a problem-solving situation. Regular reflection on grouping strategies by students and teachers can also increase students’ awareness of the learning process. The involvement of students in the decision over group composition and subsequent development of success criteria for group working situations can be effective in raising the effectiveness of group work.

It can be a challenge for teachers to address the range of levels of ability and capability within each class and it will be appropriate to collaborate with colleagues on how best to meet this challenge. A flexible, within-class grouping approach groups students from the same class into smaller groups for specific activities and purposes, as in figure 7. The major advantage of within-class flexible grouping is the temporary nature of groups, where students are assessed regularly for growth and regrouped based on that assessment. There should be opportunity for a range of groupings to ensure that all learners can be engaged in work that is meaningful for and appropriate to their specific learning needs, and the resources available to students should allow all of them to have access to the curriculum. The effectiveness of the various grouping strategies depends on “the philosophy behind the grouping, the accuracy with which grouping is made for the purposes intended, the differentiations in content, method, and speed, and the technique of the teacher” (Passow 1982).

Figure 7

Blatchford et al (2003) concluded that, based on experimental research, within-class groupings have been found to have modest, positive effects on student achievement, with improved social climate and better attitudes, especially in multicultural classroom settings.

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A between-class grouping approach is primarily used to group students by ability across a grade or year level or across several grades or year levels, to allow for a whole class or a homogenous ability group to have instruction in specific curriculum areas, for example, for reading or mathematics. A refined version of this ability grouping approach allows for short-term grouping where the students are regularly regrouped as the content of the learning changes. Students’ prior knowledge of the concept or level of skill development is assessed. These students are then grouped according to readiness, which may entail them working with a teacher other than their homeroom teacher for some instruction in reading or mathematics, while spending the rest of the day in their homeroom group. Clarke and Clarke (2008) raise awareness of some issues about mathematics ability groups that might inform grouping practices in an IB World School implementing the PYP. Their findings suggest that benefits from ability grouping are attributed to very high achievers, with negative impacts noted on average and low-attaining students. They noted that international testing data shows that ability grouping has an overall negative effect on a country’s performance—the greater the use of ability groups, the lower the performance. Ability grouping can oversimplify the learning profiles of individual students placed in groups. Finally, despite claims of flexibility, the research reviewed by Clarke and Clarke suggests that ability groups are difficult to move out of, either in an upward or downward direction.

Within-class flexible groupings, rather than between-class groupings, are more suited to a school implementing the PYP. In the first instance, the homeroom teacher is the teacher with whom the student will usually develop the strongest relationship and who will understand the student’s social, physical and academic strengths and needs. Within-class groupings can be regularly changed to reflect individual students’ unique learning profiles, and there would be no impact on the timetables of other classes. The essential elements of the PYP are implemented in a transdisciplinary way across the curriculum, and within-class groupings allow for connections to be made between learning areas more readily and the homeroom teacher can extend learning for individual students when he or she is fully involved in all aspects of a student’s learning.

While the predominant practice in a PYP school will be within-class flexible groupings, between-class grouping can also have a useful place in a school where there is team teaching taking place. For example, a grade or year level consisting of three classes is inquiring into the central idea, “The design of buildings and structures is dependent upon the environment and available materials” under the transdisciplinary theme How the world works. In order to explore the strengths and weaknesses of certain structures, each of the three teachers sets up building challenges that involve varying materials and degrees of difficulty. An initial exploration period allows the teachers and students to establish prior knowledge and interest before grouping students to take the tasks further. For between-class grouping to have a positive impact on student learning, the teachers will need to be highly collaborative, including planning learning experiences, preparing the materials, carrying out observations and providing feedback to individual students and their homeroom teachers on the work undertaken.

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Summation

It is usually the case that requirements for university entrance exert a trickle-down effect, even on primary education, as evidenced by the insistence, often at the national or state level, of standardized achievement tests reflecting learning within subject areas. Understandably, parents become anxious about their child’s performance in these areas. Consequently, PYP schools need to inform parents about the value-added dimensions of the programme, model commitment to the underlying philosophy of transdisciplinarity and, through parental understanding, enlist their support.

Various academic research groups around the world are looking at the reform of tertiary education. “The development of transdisciplinary education and research programmes in today’s universities will be difficult, but well worth the effort. The transdisciplinary model is radically different from traditional educational patterns. The very concept of transcending the traditional disciplines stands in stark contradiction to the classical university organization around disciplinary colleges and departments,” (Ertas 2000).

In the meantime, as universities struggle to initiate change, the PYP, through its commitment to transdisciplinarity, is developing competent learners and giving them the tools to engage in lifelong learning in a self-directed manner. It promotes the autonomy of the learner because the learning process and his or her active role in it are made transparent to the students and to the parents.

Let us be open-minded about the art of teaching as well as the science of teaching. At a time when it is fashionable to focus on the evidence, statistical and otherwise, of learning, we ought not to forget the finely honed intuition of experienced classroom teachers based on how they have learned to recognize and understand the needs of their students. In a healthy, conducive learning environment where students and teachers flourish, both are supplemental to the other. We, as educators, should not be self-conscious in taking full advantage of these differing aspects of professional practice. That said, the IB is mindful of the responsibility that it shares with IB World Schools implementing the PYP to look more closely at how to measure the effectiveness of the programme.

“The most important aspect of education is not the imparting of specific knowledge, but rather the learning of how to find knowledge when it is needed, how to assimilate that knowledge, how to integrate that knowledge, and how to synthesize new ideas and solve problems,” (Ertas 2000).

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October 2008 Page 1

Motivating Through Good Questioning Techniques and Response Behavior

“Are there any questions?” It seems obvious - what you need to know in the classroom at all times is this: Do my students understand? And so, after presenting some new material, ask them: “Are there any questions?” However, it turns out that this is a very ineffective way to find out if the students understand a concept. This type of question, instead of giving accurate information, actually places the students on the defensive. After demonstrating a concept or skill at the board, a teacher typically would turn to the class and say, “Are there any questions?” Frequently, there is no response. She assumed, perhaps conveniently, that all her students did understand, and so proceeded to the next concept or exercise. But that’s not what was really taking place. In fact, not all students did understand. Some were so confused that they didn’t even know what question to ask. They were embarrassed because they didn’t understand, and they were unwilling to admit this in front of their peers. It doesn’t matter how we phrase it, it’s the same old question: “How many of you understand that?” “Who doesn’t understand that?” “Everybody see that?” “Who wants me to go over that again?” “Did I go too fast for you?” Although your goal is to find out if the students understand, asking the question won’t get the job done. You need a more effective and reliable manner to check the students’ understanding. Using pairs of students and having them share their responses gives much more meaningful feedback. Show your partner! Demonstrate it for your partner! Clarify it for your partner! Discuss it with your partner! Through these activities, you are able to discover how much the students really understand. Checking for understanding frequently is also very important. Checking for understanding may reveal confusion that set in very early in the lesson or activity - when the difficulty should have been caught and straightened out at once. You want to emphasize that questioning is a two-way street. If the teacher is doing all the asking, it’s still - to some extent – the adult’s. In a truly student-centered class, students are asking questions all the time. Therefore, you want to make it easy for students to ask questions. In fact,

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you want to convey that you truly desire that they ask questions. But don’t ask for questions this way:

• “Are there any questions?” • “Do you have any questions?” • “You don’t have any questions, do you?”

Instead, ask for questions this way:

• “What questions do you have?” • “Now, ask me some questions.” • “Now, what questions may I answer?” • “Give me your questions.”

Notice the subtle difference. The first set sounds as if you don’t want questions; the second set clearly implies that you both want and expect questions. And then, when students do ask, resist the temptation to show how smart you are with a quick answer. To keep the class student-centered:

• Students should practice directing questions to other students, not only to the teacher.

• The teacher should pause to permit other students to develop an

answer to the question, not immediately jump in and answer the question.

• The teacher should remind students that the question is for all

members of the group or class. All of these techniques will help turn students into active communicators, active learners, and active problem solvers - the sort of people that are successful in the world. Asking for help one-on-one No matter how well you monitor the students during class and encourage questions while they develop an understanding of the lesson, you also need to provide time when they can ask for individual assistance. Telling a student, “I don’t have time now, see me later,” may be a turn-off. Chances are, that student won’t make the effort to come back later. Frequently, I’ve found, a student’s question can be answered in 10 or 15 seconds.

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Mistakes as a route to success The flip side of the praise coin is how to respond to students’ mistakes. Your actions, reactions, and attitude in class must convey a consistent message:

MAKING MISTAKES IS A NATURAL PART OF LEARNING. Mistakes will be made. Students must be trained to recognize and accept errors - both their own and other students’. Making fun of or laughing at other student’s answers will not be a part of the class. You must always try your best not to fault students in front of their peers in a way that humiliates, hurts, or embarrasses. It must be safe for students to make an error at any time during the class period. Over time, teach students that when they make an error, they must shake it off after turning it into a learning experience. Mistakes are one route to achieving success. Here’s how:

• The mistake must be clearly identified and recognized by both the erring student and fellow students.

• The erring student must be encouraged to recall and analyze the

thought process that led to the incorrect response. While this is happening, you must be sure that you fully understand the thought process that led to the incorrect results. This is the only way you can help.

Both students and the teacher can and should be part of this process, a process that turns any error into a learning experience.

Encourage, but never by stating “That is easy!” The trouble with one-on-one How can you tell if your students are really paying attention? And how do you find out if they understand the material you’re teaching? Obviously, you ask questions. But is it that simple? Here’s the way it traditionally works using a traditional one-on-one questioning method. One student would be called on to answer a question. If that student gave the right answer, the teaching continues. If the student gave the wrong answer, another student is called on, and another, until the right answer is heard. If the correct answer isn’t heard soon enough, the teacher would often become impatient and answer the question herself. Or the teacher might say cleverly, “The answer is 3, isn’t it, class?” At that point a few students would say yes and nod their heads. After all, what students

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would want to disagree with the teacher, especially if they didn’t understand why or how she came up with that answer? What meager feedback the teacher is was getting! All she really learned was whether one student, the one who usually volunteered, knew the answer. She wasn’t learning anything about how much the majority of the students really understood. This clearly requires a change in the methods of questioning. Try to involve all students with questions, not just one at a time. Try to ask the type of question that will tell you, and the students themselves, how well they really understand what is being taught. Make an effort to be encouraging in your questions. Nobody likes to feel stupid, and unfortunately that’s not an unusual feeling when you’re trying to learn something new. Also do everything you can to promote both listening and discussion. None of this is easy. Learning the art of questioning takes practice. Save yourself some trouble by taking the time to prepare questions for each thing you plan to teach, then keep those questions for the next time. A try to list To help yourself keep on track with your questions, here is a try-to list of things to keep in mind during the class period. 1. Try to pause after asking a question. A recent survey indicated that many teachers ask a question, then pause only one second before calling on a student for the answer. This habit limits the type of student who can respond. A pause of three to five seconds or even more will bring amazing results. Now the slow thinker will be able to participate. The pause clearly indicates that the question is directed to everyone, not just to one or two of the quick-thinkers and hand-raisers. Most students will not even try to answer a question unless they feel safe or sure of the answer. The longer pause gives them time to think carefully and gain confidence before responding. 2. Try to avoid frequent questions which require only a yes or no answer. Even when the student gives the correct response, there is nothing to tell the teacher or the other students how the answer was obtained. It may have been a guess. After all, the odds aren’t bad! 3. Try to avoid answering your own questions. Teachers often answer their own questions when no one has volunteered or when you are running short of time. This leads to students believing that they were not obligated to respond. They might realize if they don’t volunteer, the teacher will give them the answer. 4. Try to follow up student responses with the question “Why?”

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This will help the student who could not answer the initial question to understand how the answer was reached. It also encourages discussion by the students. It eliminates guessing. Hearing a short answer is rarely helpful in itself. “Why?” ought to be one of the most commonly used questions in the classroom. 5. Try to limit the use of questions which rely almost completely on memory. Students may be perfectly able to recite an answer such as “Because it moves,” but this does not mean they can recognize the concept or could apply it to a new situation. 6. Try to avoid directing a question to a student for disciplinary reasons. Firing a quick question at an inattentive student usually results in a response such as “What?” It accomplishes little, and will probably just embarrass or alienate the student. 7. Try to avoid repeating a student’s answer. Repeating the answer allows students to listen only to teacher talk and not to student talk. They can learn a lot by listening to each other. There will be times when you might be able to state the answer more directly, but not necessarily more effectively. 8. Try to follow up a student’s response by fielding it to the class or to another student for a reaction. This is another way to encourage students to listen to one another. 9. Try to avoid giveaway facial expressions to student responses. Try not to show disappointment when a student gives an incorrect answer. Nobody wants to give the wrong answer in front of his or her peers. If a student has volunteered, at least that student has tried. He or she has the courage to share an answer with the rest of the class. Your reactions should not in any way discourage the students from contributing to class discussions. 10. Try never to call on a particular student before asking the question. Suppose you say, for example, “Ann, what is the height of this triangle?” All students other than Ann will immediately turn off the question and wait until you ask another one. You want all students to listen to your question and be ready to answer it. 11. Try to ask questions that are open-ended. You might ask, for example, “What is an example of a real world problem whose answer is 5?” Students trying to answer this will soon discover that there is no single right answer. A question like this can provoke a lively discussion, leading students to a greater understanding of how math is used in everyday life.

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12. Try not to label the degree of difficulty of a question. How many times have we said “Here’s an easy one!” Think for a minute about that phrase and what it does to the student. A student who answers the question correctly can’t feel much satisfaction, thinking, “So what? It was easy.” A student who can’t answer the question is going to feel even worse: “Why try? I can’t even answer an easy question!” 13. Try to avoid asking for verbal group responses. The accuracy of the feedback you get from this is questionable. You might ask, for example, “What is the capital of California, class?” And you hear the entire class respond in a routine tone, “Sacramento.” But do they really all understand? When you listen carefully to this group response, you discover that some students respond quickly. Others join in later, and those who are very unsure of the answer join in at the end. It is difficult for you to tell how many students really know the answer is Sacramento by listening to a group response. How do my questions rate? Another sort of self-evaluation that you need to do regularly is a check on the quality of your questions. That is, are you asking good questions, or are you just asking questions because you think you should? Each time you ask a question, you should silently ask yourself the following:

• Did I learn something about my students by asking this question? • Did my question test students’ understanding of the concept? • Did my question help students solidify the concept? • Was my question diagnostic in nature? • Did my question lead me to follow up with a higher-level question? • Did my question arouse curiosity? • Did my question promote interest? • Did my question tell me something about my students’ level of

comprehension that I didn’t know before I asked it? • Was my question really a question to be answered rather than a

rhetorical question, a lecture masquerading as a question? • Was my question really a check of the students’ understanding

rather than a technique for discipline or to gain attentiveness? • Was the question high-level enough to check for understanding

rather than just the students’ memory? Questions are effective and worth including only if they meet one or more of these criteria. If they don’t, then don’t ask them.

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Questions that need enhancing These common types of questions need some special care if they are to be useful:

• Yes/No questions • True/False questions • One-Word-Answer questions

These types of questions inhibit the thought process, and answering them is similar to a guessing game. It is impossible for you to check students’ reasoning after hearing nothing but the word true or the word no. When you slip up and ask these types of questions, and you will - we all do, you can enhance them by asking for an explanation. Having students justify their responses, and sharing their thought processes aloud, can be very helpful to other students. Replacing the word “why?” with these statements and questions also teaches them what a “why?” is asking for.

• Please elaborate. • How did you decide that? • How did you arrive at that? • Explain it again for others in the class, so they can check their

thinking. • Can you justify that? • Tell us how you arrived at that answer. • How did you see that? • How did you reason? • What steps did you take? • Talk to us about it in homespun language. • Tell us more. • Tell us about the process you used. • How did you do that? • What made you think of that? • To a person on the street who doesn’t speak “math,” tell how

you decided that was correct. The pause that motivates Possibly the greatest skill within the art of questioning is knowing how to build in a pause at the appropriate time. This means both students and teacher - everyone needs to learn the value of the pause. In a classroom without the pause, only two or three students participate. Low-level questions dominate. The quick thinker is the only active participant. Other students develop a low level of concern. Many even stop listening to the questions altogether, knowing that they won’t have time to answer them.

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Research by Mary Budd Rowe, professor of science education at Stanford University, points out some very exciting findings. In a classroom where both the teacher and the students pause at appropriate times, the length of student responses increases; the number of voluntary and appropriate responses increases; students’ confidence increases; weaker students contribute more; there’s a greater variety of student responses; discipline problems decrease; and creative responses increase. The chart in figure 2 has been set up to answer three questions: Who should pause? When should they pause? and Why should they pause? This plan for pausing makes it clear to the class that all questions, whether teacher or student initiated, are directed to all students. Pausing is not always comfortable. However, if you never let yourself use the name of a student before or after asking a question, your pause is automatic. You might ask, “Well, then, who answers the question?” At this point, there have several options:

1. You could ask the students to share their response with a partner and you can walk around and listen to these student responses. 2. You could ask student pairs to agree on an answer and write it on a slate, or prepare to give their response orally. 3. You could have each student prepare a response to the question, actually stating, “Take a minute. I will then call on three of you.” Or, “Everybody stop and think about this before I call on three of you.” Notice that you don’t say you will call on just one student – you want to keep everyone engaged.

Any of these approaches, used in conjunction with the pause, will keep students engaged.

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Figure 2. A plan for pausing

When to pause Who pauses Reason for pausing After the teacher asks a question Teacher

To allow students to hear, comprehend, and formulate a meaningful response

After hearing a teacher's question All students

To have time to comprehend and formulate the answer – preventing a quick, thoughtless response

After students have responded to a teacher’s question

Teacher

To comprehend the response of students; to allow students to completely finish their response

After a student has responded to a teacher’s question

All other students To comprehend the response and to have time to formulate their own response – agreement, disagreement, or enhancement

After a student has asked a question Teacher

To allow other students to comprehend the question, to completely digest the question and to signal that the student’s question is directed to the entire class, as well as the teacher

After a student has asked a question

Students To take time to formulate a response

After the teacher or a student responds to a student initiated question

Students and teacher

To allow time for everyone to comprehend the response, and to add enhancements

Smothering students with praise Certain teacher comments, following a student’s response to a question, at first appear to be very positive:

• “That’s good!” • “Fine.” • “OK!” • “Nice response.”

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However, praise can be inappropriate and detrimental to the art of questioning and to the development of student involvement. In fact, praise is frequently overdone to the point that the routine complimentary statement means nothing to the students. Some don’t want to receive undeserved praise. Other students feel uneasy in front of their peers when praised. Inappropriate or overdone praise during the class period can result in several problems:

• It can put a damper on student interaction. • It can discourage students from listening to other students’

responses. • It promotes teacher-to-student communication at the expense

of the development of student-to-student discourse. Let’s examine a classroom incident. A question is asked and a student responds. At the instant that the student completes the response, the comment, “Good!” is said. That good just closed the conversation the question started. That good just placed the official blessing on the response. All students have received the signal that the given answer is the one looked for, and there is no further need to question, analyze, or enhance the response. In fact, the praise often comes so quickly that students don’t have time to even process the original student’s response. You have just promoted nonparticipation. Students soon learn that there’s no need to listen to other student’s ideas, since the teacher will do the immediate evaluation of any response. What can you do to correct this unhappy situation? Try this: rarely make any judgment immediately following a student’s response. Rarely react to a student’s response with a complimentary phrase. Remind yourself after any student’s response to stop, to pause. This implies to everyone in the class that the student’s response can stand on its own merit. That is, the other students will recognize the answer as appropriate without confirmation from the teacher. Also try using the following statements, which are good replacements for goods and greats:

• Tell us how you arrived at that. • Can you give us more detail? • Why do you believe this is correct? • Does this work if . . . ? • Is this like anything that you have done before? • How did you ever think of that? • “Is there another way you could have arrived at the same

answer? • What do you believe we might add to Ahmed’s answer?

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• Could you tell me what would happen if we . . .? • I want everyone to think about Jose’s response, and be ready to

repeat, in your own words, her answer. • Now that you have heard Ron’s response, I want you to develop

your own response to this question. • How was your solution similar to the one Haifa just shared with

us? • We have just heard Maria’s answer. How can you use her ideas

with yours? Research by Dr. Mary Budd Rowe and others on the subject of praise has found that when it is used too often, students may get an unrealistic and distorted impression of their ability. They move their eyes more - checking to see if they are right. In fact, students frequently check for teacher approval, and fear receiving negative or even just less-positive reinforcement. They offer few alternative explanations - happy to rest with the answer that earned the praise. And, because the teacher-student interaction is where the rewards lie, their reaction to other students’ responses is minimal. By reducing the use of verbal rewards, students engage in more self-directive behavior; they participate in speculation and reasoning; they learn that thinking takes time; and they begin to listen to other students. Of course, there are times when it is perfectly appropriate to compliment a student on a response, but the compliment must be specific praise so that the class will learn what is commendable and will understand what they should do in the future.

Jigsaw Groups

Group Pages

1 1 - 2 2 3 - 4 3 From ‘A Try to List’ on page 4 to ‘How do my questions rate?’ on

page 6 4 From ‘How do my questions rate?’ on page 6 to ‘The Pause the

Motivates’ on page 7 5 From ‘The Pause the Motivates’ on page 7 to ‘Smothering Students

with Praise’ on page 9

6 From ‘Smothering Students with Praise’ on page 9 to page 11

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Hand over the keys to the inquiry vehicle so students can drive their own inquiries.To include student voice in planning an inquiry, write the central idea or line of inquiry in the middle, and ask students to formulate questions for each concept.

Then, for students to identify their most powerful questions, those that could guide their inquiry and deepen their understanding, ask them to sort their questions.They can do this using the Generative-Genuine double continuum. Inquiries need questions that are both generative (that take us somewhere) and genuine (that we care about).

STUDENT KEYS TO DRIVING AN INQUIRYInspired by www.visiblethinkingpz.org. Created by Natasha Hutchins at www.prodivame.com

GEN

UINE

: Quest

ions

that

I care

ab

out.

H

ow m

uch

do I c

are

abou

t inve

stiga

ting

this

ques

tion?

GENERATIVE: Questions that take me somewhere. How likely is my question going to generate engagement, insight, creative action, deeper understanding, and new possibilities?

KEEPERS

DRIVERSLOOKERS

SNOOZERS

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I Used to Think..., But Now I think... A routine for reflecting on how and why our thinking has changed

Purpose: What kind of thinking does this routine encourage? This routine helps to reflect on your thinking about a topic or issue and explore how and why that thinking has changed. It can be useful in consolidating new learning as you identify new understandings, opinions, and beliefs. By examining and explaining how and why your thinking has changed, you are developing reasoning abilities and recognizing cause and effect relationships. Application: When and Where can it be used? This routine can be used whenever initial thoughts, opinions, or beliefs are likely to have changed as a result of instruction or experience. For instance, after reading new information, watching a film, listening to a speaker, experiencing something new, having a class discussion, at the end of a unit of study, and so on. Launch: What are some tips for starting and using this routine with students? Explain to students that the purpose of this activity is to help them reflect on their thinking about the topic and to identify how their ideas have changed over time. For instance: When we began this study of ________, you all had some initial ideas about it and what it was all about. In just a few sentences, I want to write what it is that you used to think about _________. Take a minute to think back and then write down your response to “ I used to think…” Now, I want you to think about how your ideas about __________ have changed as a result of what we’ve been studying/doing/discussing. Again in just a few sentences write down what you now think about ___________. Start your sentences with, “But now, I think…” Have students share and explain their shifts in thinking. Initially it is good to do this as a whole group so that you can probe students’ thinking and push them to explain. Once students become accustomed to explaining their thinking, students can share with one another in small groups or pairs.

View Ted Talk “The danger of a Single

Story” as a provocation to think about the

selection of resources in a PYP Library.

Respond using :

I used to think….

But now I think….

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I use to think…………….

But now I think…………….

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Visible Thinking Resource Book 77

Circle of Viewpoints: Exploring diverse perspectives

Brainstorm a list of different perspectives and then use this script skeleton to explore each one:

1. I am thinking of ... the topic... From the point of view of ... the viewpoint you've chosen

2. I think ... describe the topic from your viewpoint. Be an actor – take on the character of your view-point

3. A question I have from this viewpoint is ... ask a question from this viewpoint

Wrap up: What new ideas do you have about the topic that you didn't have before? What new questions do you have?

Purpose: What kind of thinking does this routine encourage? This routine helps students consider different and diverse perspectives involved in and around a topic. Understanding that people may think and feel differently about things is a key aspect of the Fairness Ideal.

Application: When and Where can it be used? This routine can be used at the beginning of a unit of study to help students brainstorm new perspectives about a topic, and imagine different characters, themes and questions connected to it. It can be used after reading a book or chapter. Provocative topics and is-sues are encouraged and the routine also works especially well when students are having a hard time seeing other perspectives or when things seem black and white. The routine can be used to open discussions about dilemmas and other controversial issues.

Launch: What are some tips for starting and using this routine? After identifying a topic, ask students to brainstorm various viewpoints about this topic. This can be done solo, or as a class, but make sure to give the initial brainstorm enough time for students to really stretch and explore diverse ideas. If students need help thinking of different viewpoints, try using the following prompts:

How does it look from different points in space and different points in time?

Who (and what) is affected by it?

Who is involved?

Who might care?

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Visible Thinking Resource Book 78

After the brainstorm, ask each student to choose one of these viewpoints. Give them time to prepare to speak about the topic from that perspective and to embody the viewpoint using the script skeleton to structure what he or she says.

Once students have prepared their “characters”, the class should be ready to go around the circle and act out their various perspectives. Taking turns, ask students to speak brief-ly about their chosen viewpoint using the script skeleton. Invite them to stand up and use gestures and movement if necessary. The discussion at this point might move fairly quickly, capitalizing on the immediacy of the experience as each student goes through the script and presents a perspective. The array of responses will hopefully be broad and dis-tinct, as each student should strive to produce a unique viewpoint. If some students choose the same character, encourage them to perform differently. For example, if sever-al students choose the viewpoint of an explorer, one may be trying to seek out wealth through trade, another explorer might be adventurous or want to become famous. Ask them to raise different questions in order to elaborate their viewpoints.

Viewpoints connect to the idea of physical perspective taking and you may notice that your students interpret this literally at first by naming and describing what their charac-ters see. While it is fine to help students get started with concrete examples, try to move your students to consider thoughts and feelings of characters, rather than describing a scene or object.

As students perform their viewpoint in the circle, their ideas can be recorded or written on the board so that a class list of perspectives is created. The last question of the routine asks students to think of a question they might have from their chosen viewpoint. Collect these questions or ask students to write them down and answer them as they think more about the topic as it is studied in class. Once everyone in the circle has spoken, the teach-er can lead a discussion by asking: “What new ideas do you have about the topic that you didn’t have before?” and “What new questions do you have?

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Here

Activity 3. Diamond Ranking Purpose: Helping students to clarify and explore their own value positions, feelings and

thoughts regarding controversial sustainability-related issues, as well as to negotiate for

consensus building

Time needed: 45 minutes

Resources: The same nine briefing statements or anecdotes representing a spread of

opinions or perspectives for each pair of students. (Each statement should be given a short title

or number for easy reference and each set of statements should be cut up and stored in an

envelope. See Appendix 1 below for two examples.

Procedure:

Pairs are given an envelope containing the nine statements/anecdotes and are asked to rank the statements in diamond formation, i.e

1

2 2

4 4 4

7 7 9

A fairly loose criterion for ranking is given such as ‘importance’, ‘significance’, ‘convincing,’ ‘interesting’, the facilitator resisting any request for her to be more specific about the criterion. The most ‘important’, ‘significant’, ‘convincing’ or ‘interesting’ statement/anecdote is placed at the top of the diamond. The next two are placed in second equal position. The three across the centre are fourth equal. The next two are seventh equal. The statement/anecdote placed at the foot of the diamond is the one considered by the pair to be the least ‘important’, ‘significant’, ‘convincing’ or ‘interesting’. When pairs have completed their task, they form into sixes. Each pair explains and seeks to justify its ranking to the other two pairs. The six then try to negotiate a consensus ranking for the group as a whole. Plenary reporting back and discussion follow.

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Here

Potential:

Variation:

Source: Graham Pike and David Selby (1988). Global Teacher, Global Learner. Hodder &

Stoughton, London.pp.134-135

This activity helps students in an unthreatening way to clarify what their thoughts and feelings about a particular subject are whilst alerting them to a range of other opinions and perspectives on the subject. Underpinning the activity is the unspoken assumption that everybody has something relevant and valuable to bring to the discussion. The imprecise criterion given is itself likely to be one layer in the discussion. What does ‘important’, ‘significant’, ‘convincing’ or ‘interesting’ mean? Should we try and pin down what we mean more precisely? Skills used in the activity include discussion, negotiation, accommodation to

other perspectives, and consensus-seeking. In the plenary discussion, a group

reporting their inability to agree upon a ranking order is as important a

discussion point as group reporting that they have achieved consensus.

Cartoon can be used to good effect in this activity; for instance nine cartoons on

climate change.

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Here Appendix 1.

Example A (by Stephen Sterling)

1. ESD is potentially too controversial for education to engage in. It’s not the function of education to change the world!

2. ESD is aimed at changing students’ values and behaviour. In particular, it should be skills and action-oriented.

3. ESD should concentrate on exploring the meaning of sustainability values such as biodiversity, community, equity, the rights of future generations, and economic

security, and interpreting these to students. Addressing values is more important than

‘sustainability skills’.

4. ESD goes beyond environmental education (EE) and includes it, by working more explicitly with social, economic, political and ethical dimensions. It is the logical successor to EE.

5. The main task of ESD is to help people understand the various views of SD and their implications, rather than try effect a change of thinking in people towards any

particular orientation.

6. It’s not fair to lay the world’s environmental and sustainability problems at the feet our students – it’s more likely to induce fear and guilt than empowerment for constructive change.

7. ESD is transformative – it implies a change of educational culture towards something more integrative, process-oriented and dynamic. It emphasises the importance of critical thinking, and systems thinking, and of social learning and democratic process.

8. ESD is too vague and contested a concept to be dealt with in an adequate way by most teachers. What’s more, it’s potentially doctrinaire. Let us just concentrate on good education.

9. The world’s problems are too severe for the gradual emergence of ESD. What are needed are clear definitions, top-down strategies, and measurable indicators and outcomes. Tell what it is, and we’ll do it!.

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Here

Example B (by David Selby)

Ecofeminism endorses sustainability

An ecofeminist vision of sustainability goes full

circle, integrating humans and environment,

linking analysis with action, and women with the

earth. Its earth-vision incorporates a spectrum

of beliefs and concepts essential to integrate

the material with the spiritual and the local

community with the global. Ecofeminism thus

endorses the concept of sustainability. It also

understands that only a fundamental and rapid

shift of values and action will ensure the

survival of life on earth.

- Melody Hessing

What does ESD leave out?

It is tempting to think that environmental conflicts

can be addressed by talking about sustainable

development. But there are significant schools of

thought concerning humanity’s relationship with

the environment that sustainability discourse

excludes or straitjackets, such as animal

liberation, bioregionalism, deep ecology,

ecofeminism (that links the oppressions of nature

and women) and environmental justice (that

identifies environmental problems as social

justice problems in terms of who causes and who

experiences their worst effects). Students need to

speak confidently about assumptions, lifestyles,

worldviews, and conceptions of human place and

purpose in ecosystems. And space must be

found for them to discuss cultural differences,

respect, society-nature relationships, and

tensions between the intrinsic and instrumental

value of the other-than-human.

– inspired by Bob Jickling

Eco-design

A first step in sustainability is eco-literacy, that

is, understanding the principles of organization

common to all living systems and that sustain

the web of life. The principles are: networks,

cycles, solar energy, partnership, diversity,

dynamic balance. Our system and processes of

education should be built around these

principles.

- Fritjof Capra

Progressive secular materialism

The sustainability ideal rests on the uncritical,

unexamined acceptance of the traditional

worldview of progressive secular materialism. It

regards that worldview as completely benign as

long as it can be made sustainable. …We must

make our priority in dealing with the Earth the

careful and strict preservation of the billion-year-

old heritage achieved by the evolution of plant

and animal life.

- After Donald Worster

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Especially engineers

Sustainability literacy is a basic skill that

everyone, especially engineers, should have.

- Lord Sainsbury

Inner self

We need to question whether, in its eminently

justifiable focus on critical thinking about the

world out there, education for sustainability

has given sufficient profile to inner exploration

and has, thus, colluded with mechanism by

implying that the inner self is outside the

picture, outside the universe. To counteract

this means working with relational modes of

knowing that address our inner connectivities

of body, mind, emotions and spirit, and the

deep connectivities between self and nature.

– David Selby

Not the job…

The issue is not whether sustainable

development is a good or bad idea. It is about

the basic rights and responsibilities of

universities and the need to safeguard

academic freedom. It is not the job of

universities to promote a particular orthodoxy

(sustainable development); it is their role to

educate students to examine critically policies,

ideas, concepts and systems, then to make up

their own minds. Sustainable development is

defined as a “systems view of the human

condition (blah blah blah…). Since when has

it been the duty of universities to promote a

particular religious or pseudo-scientific

analysis of what is essentially a political

issue?

– Peter Knight, VC, University of Central

England, in response to the HEFCE

consultative document on SD

Lifelong Learning

Wider participation in lifelong learning is

expected to enable people to become more

aware and knowledgeable about

environmental issues and the ways in which

they might lead a more sustainable

lifestyle…increased levels of knowledge and

skills are the means of developing innovative

solutions to the problems of sustainable

development.

– The Scottish Executive

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The purpose of a university

There have long been debates over the

purpose of universities. Should they seek to

educate the ‘whole person’? Is their primary

function to undertake research and develop

professionals for a growth economy? Should

they seek to subvert, so fulfilling the rebel

role of tearing open taken-for-granted

understandings? In the present day

centralized ‘culture of compliance,’

universities tend to fulfill a conformative or

reformative rather than transformative

function. Education for sustainable

development is touted by its advocates as

transformative, but, in its embrace of the

growth principle and a ‘resource’ view of

nature, it is part of the ‘culture of

compliance.’ It fails to rattle the social cage,

to promote radical reassessment of how we

live, as climate change and other threats

caused by untrammeled growth take us to

the cliff edge.

– inspired by Ed O’Sullivan and Sandy

Steen

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FOUNDATIONS VOLUME 2 79

C H A P T E R 10

Identifying Inquiry

in the K–5 Classroom

by Doris Ash and Barry Kluger-Bell

What does an inquiry classroom look like? How does it

work? How can you tell if genuine inquiry is happening in

the classroom? This chapter offers three practical guides

to help educators who are trying to identify and support

the specialized characteristics of the inquiry environment.

The elementary classroom is a complex social environment in whichpeople talk, write, laugh, learn, and interact with one another.

Teachers are asked to implement a variety of policies and standards inmultiple content areas. They are expected to meet a variety of goals andneeds and to respond to administrators, parents, policymakers, and thecommunity. But first and foremost, teachers are expected to meet theneeds of children.

As Karen Worth suggested in Chapter 4, inquiry is an excellent way tohelp foster children’s learning. School districts around the country havebegun requiring their administrators, teachers, and professional developersto better understand the nature of inquiry and how to implement it in theclassroom. They also have a pressing need to help their teachers createinquiry in the elementary classroom.

Teachers, administrators, and others who experience inquiry as adultlearners still wonder about the nature of inquiry in the classroom: Whatdoes it look like? What would the children be doing? What would theteacher be doing? How would the classroom environment feel? Over thepast few years, professional developers have been developing “markers”designed to help teachers recognize when inquiry is occurring in the class-room. These indicators are shown below, in three guides that look at thespecial characteristics of the inquiry classroom.

chap10-appendices 3/99 12/6/99 10:53 AM Page 79

Ash, D and Kluger-Bell, B. 1999. "Identifying Inquiry in the K-5 classroom." Foundations. Vol 2. Pp. 79-85.

Reprinted with permission.

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80 FOUNDATIONS VOLUME 2

CHAPTER 10 Identifying Inquiry in the Classroom

INQUIRY INDICATORS: WHAT ARE THE STUDENTS DOING?On-the-Run Reference Guide to the Nature of Elementary Science

Imagine yourself in an inquiry classroom. What would you expect tosee? These guidelines from the Vermont Elementary School/ContinuousAssessment Project were created by observing students as they did“hands-on, minds-on” exploration in the classroom. “The intent is not touse the guide as a checklist,” they said, “but to use it as a statement ofwhat we value in the areas of science process, science dispositions, andscience content development.”

When students are doing inquiry-based science, an observer will see that:

Students View Themselves as Active

Participants in the Process of Learning

1. They look forward to doing science.2. They demonstrate a desire to learn more.3. They seek to collaborate and work cooperatively with their peers.4. They are confident in doing science; they demonstrate a willingness

to modify ideas, take risks, and display healthy skepticism.5. They respect individuals and differing points of view.

Students Accept an “Invitation to Learn”

and Readily Engage in the Exploration Process

1. They exhibit curiosity and ponder observations.2. They take the opportunity and time to try out and persevere

with their own ideas.

Students Plan and Carry Out Investigations

1. They design a fair test as a way to try out their ideas, notexpecting to be told what to do.

2. They plan ways to verify, extend, or discard ideas.3. They carry out investigations by handling materials with care,

observing, measuring, and recording data.

Students Communicate Using a Variety of Methods

1. They express ideas in a variety of ways: journals, reporting out,drawing, graphing, charting, etc.




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2. They listen, speak, and write about science with parents, teachers, and peers.

3. They use the language of the processes of science.4. They communicate their level of understanding of concepts

that they have developed to date.

Students Propose Explanations and

Solutions and Build a Store of Concepts

1. They offer explanations both from a “store” of previous experienceand from knowledge gained as a result of ongoing investigation.

2. They use investigations to satisfy their own questions.3. They sort out information and decide what is important

(what does and doesn’t work).4. They are willing to revise explanations and consider new ideas

as they gain knowledge (build understanding).

Students Raise Questions

1. They ask questions—verbally or through actions.2. They use questions that lead them to investigations that

generate or redefine further questions and ideas.3. They value and enjoy asking questions as an important part

of science.

Students Use Observations

1. They observe carefully, as opposed to just looking.2. They see details, seek patterns, detect sequences and events;

they notice changes, similarities, and differences.3. They make connections to previously held ideas.

Students Critique Their Science Practices

1. They create and use quality indicators to assess their own work.2. They report and celebrate their strengths and identify what

they’d like to improve upon.3. They reflect with adults and their peers.

Adapted from materials created by the Vermont Elementary Science Project

and the Continuous Assessment in Science Project, ©1995. Courtesy of Gregg Humphrey.





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INQUIRY INDICATORS: WHAT IS THE TEACHER DOING?The Role of the Teacher in the Inquiry Classroom

In the inquiry classroom, the teacher’s role becomes less involved withdirect teaching and more involved with modeling, guiding, facilitating, andcontinually assessing student work. Teachers in inquiry classrooms mustconstantly adjust levels of instruction to the information gathered by thatassessment.

The teacher’s role is more complex, including greater responsibility forcreating and maintaining conditions in which children can build under-standing. In this capacity, the teacher is responsible for developing studentideas and maintaining the learning environment.

Besides the process skills that the student must hone in the inquiryclassroom, there are also skills a teacher must develop in order to supportstudent learning of scientific ideas. When you enter an inquiry classroom,you may see that the:

Teachers Model Behaviors and Skills

1. They show children how to use new tools or materials.2. They guide students in taking more and more responsibility

in investigations.3. They help students design and carry out skills of recording,

documenting, and drawing conclusions.

Teachers Support Content Learning

1. They help students form tentative explanations while moving toward content understanding.

2. They introduce tools and materials and scientific ideas appropriateto content learning.

3. They use appropriate content terminology, as well as scientificand mathematical language.

Teachers Use Multiple Means of Assessment

1. They are sensitive to what children are thinking and learning,and identify areas in which children are struggling.

2. They talk to children, ask questions, make suggestions, share,and interact.




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3. They move around and make themselves available to all students.4. They help children go to the next stage of learning with

appropriate clues and prompts.

Teachers Act as Facilitators

1. They use open-ended questions that encourage investigation,observation, and thinking.

2. They carefully listen to students’ ideas, comments, and questions,in order to help them develop their skills and thought processes.

3. They suggest new things to look at and try, and encouragefurther experimentation and thinking.

4. They orchestrate and encourage student dialogue.

Adapted from materials created by the Exploratorium Institute for Inquiry.

INQUIRY INDICATORS: HOW DOES THE ENVIRONMENT SUPPORT INQUIRY?The Social and Emotional Environment of the Inquiry Classroom

Creating the proper environment is a necessary condition formaintaining an inquiry classroom, but it is not sufficient in itself. Theenvironment of an inquiry classroom can look quite different from our“standard” picture of a typical classroom. An inquiry classroom maybe very active and filled with materials. It may be filled with childrenhaving conversations about scientific phenomena, or it may be filledwith evidence of independent investigations.

There are three major areas of development in any inquiry endeavor.These are:

Content and conceptual understanding and development The skills and the activities of doing science Attitudes and habits of mind

It takes a very special classroom environment to support all theseelements for children engaged in the inquiry experience. In additionto the guidelines expressed in the “On-the-Run Reference Guide to theNature of Elementary Science” above, an inquiry classroom must





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make it possible, on a social and practical level, for students to pursuetheir investigations.

Walking into an inquiry classroom, an observer may see that:

Students Work in an Appropriate

and Supportive Physical Environment

1. The room is set up to support small-group interaction and investigation.

2. Lists of student questions are prominent and available for all to see.

3. A variety of general supplies are available, both at desks and in easily accessed cabinets.

4. A variety of materials specific to the area being exploredare easily accessible.

5. Student work is displayed in a variety of ways in order to reflect their investigations.

Students Work in an Appropriate

and Supportive Emotional Environment

1. Their thinking is solicited and honored.2. They are comfortable expressing ideas and opinions

and speaking up.3. They are comfortable interacting with one another,

and with the teacher.4. They are encouraged to share information and ideas

with each other—as individuals or in groups.5. They know what they are doing and why.

Students Work in a Variety of

Configurations to Encourage Communication

1. Work may be done in student pairs, small or large groups, or in whole-class situations.

2. Students have many opportunities to respond to feedback and learn from one another.

3. Students become part of a “community of learning,”supporting and affecting each other’s thinking.

Adapted from materials created by the Exploratorium Institute for Inquiry.




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Not every inquiry classroom will look and feel the same, but themajor elements identified in these three guides will be manifested insome form.

It’s not the form that makes an inquiry environment successful,however, but the underlying substance. There are many different waysto encourage communication, just as there are many different waysto support continued learning. Inquiry classrooms always involveengaging children’s intellect in exploring and investigating interestingphenomena. The emphasis is on allowing and assisting children to findtheir own best pathway to learning. The indicators listed here aremeant to be one way to begin to determine if genuinely exciting inquirylearning is occurring.





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23

Principled teaching and learning

interest in the theory of constructivism in education. The idea that significant learn-ing only happens when the learner connects new ideas with previous knowledge or experience and, as a consequence, constructs new meaning made sense to many educators, particularly educators who believed in a holistic form of education—the education of the whole child. With the advent of constructivist education the more pedagogically focused MYP and PYP were of their time.

A pedagogy described: The relationship between teacher and student

In 2011 there is a large degree of consensus among educators, and even politicians, on what and how students need to learn if they are to be the effective global citizens and lifelong learners our world urgently requires. For the IB this is encapsulated in the IB learner profile.

Students in the 21st century need specific skills and attributes.

• They need to be knowledgeable in the major academic disciplines, make connections across those disciplines and access knowledge quickly and effectively to solve personal, local and global problems, which will inevita-bly be complex and transdisciplinary in nature.

• They need to be curious about everything in the world around them and to use that curiosity to inquire, to ask the difficult and the awkward questions and persist in finding the answers.

• They should be able to think for themselves with confidence, to analyse and synthesize information and then be able to discriminate between what is good or bad, right or wrong.

• They need to be able to communicate effectively, with sensitivity, clarity and conviction, in more than one language, with people from diverse cultures with diverse ways of thinking.

• They should have the desire to know about and understand the lives, beliefs and thoughts of others, which will help them understand the basis for their own thoughts and beliefs.

• They need to be prepared to be bold in their thinking and be prepared to make mistakes, knowing that mistakes can lead to greater understanding.

Fabian, J. "Principled teaching and learning." The Changing Face of International Education. Walker, G, ed. Cardiff, Wales. International Bacclaureate Organization. Pp 23-30.

Copyright 2011, International Baccalaureate Organization. All rights reserved.

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• They should be able to put themselves in other people’s shoes; they should be prepared to act to change what is wrong.

• They should value their own lives and live them thoughtfully, reflectively and with integrity.

What pedagogical approaches best develop these qualities and attributes in young people? The traditional pedagogical model, the delivery model, is that of the teacher as the authority, the holder and giver of knowledge, with the student as the largely passive receiver of the teacher’s knowledge and wisdom. Little is expected in terms of a relationship between the teacher and student; the teacher must know her mate-rial and explain it effectively and the student must listen and remember.

The more progressive pedagogical model, and the model required for international education in the 21st century, is that of the teacher as the “intellectual leader” but also the guide to and facilitator of learning, enabling students to construct mean-ing for themselves. In 1916 John Dewey advocated that classrooms be seen as laboratories for democracy, and this concept continues to resonate strongly with many educators worldwide today.4 To what extent it is practised is questionable. It is certainly a model that is not widely practised in countries where educational opportunities are more limited.

The relationship between teacher and student has a profound influence on the learning that takes place in the classroom and the effectiveness of the school. The daily encounters, interactions, exchanges of words and looks are the core of relation-ships; the cumulative experience of these daily encounters will largely determine the success of the school in developing in young people the attributes of the learner profile.

What should these relationships look like? They can be characterized as follows.

• The teacher as learner: The teacher, while having expertise in her level of teaching and being a “model of competence” in her subject area also sees herself as a learner.5 She is curious, wanting to extend her own knowledge, and she is excited by new learning that might develop in the class. She learns—and allows the class to learn—from the culture, life experiences and knowledge of each of her students. In this situation, exchanges become more exploratory and the relationship between students and teacher is based on mutual respect.

• Empowering students as learners: From the idea of teacher as learner evolves the concept of empowering students to take charge of their own learning—by enabling them to sometimes define the line of inquiry



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through their questions, to try out ideas and defend their position, to make mistakes and then carry on learning.

• Democratizing the classroom: Both these ideas—of teacher as learner, and empowered students—lead to the democratization of the classroom. It becomes a classroom where students’ knowledge and ideas are listened to and valued; where students have opportunities to make choices about their learning; where students work collaboratively and cooperatively as well as independently as members of a learning community.

A classroom that is characterized by the above will challenge the traditional model and change the power base but it will liberate the teacher to teach in the most purposeful, creative, effective and rewarding ways. John Dewey argued for it in the 1930s and Socrates practised it over two thousand years ago. This is not a new pedagogical model, nor an outmoded one; the imperative for it now is greater than ever, as is our ability to make it work with the availability of the 21st-century tools and resources. Students no longer have to access the information they need from the teacher or a limited supply of books in the school library. The internet has made available limitless sources of information with multiple perspectives and varying degrees of reliability, way beyond the capacity of even the most knowledgeable of teachers.

A pedagogy described: Seven pedagogical principles

A pedagogical model for international education can be described through seven principles. These are far from definitive, but they are synthesized from a list of effec-tive teaching practices for international education that were developed by a team of experienced IB practitioners from all three IB programmes and documented in Towards a continuum of international education.6 As with many aspects of interna-tional education, these principles could apply equally to effective teaching in any national system. However, they are essential to the development of the attributes of the IB learner profile in students and, therefore, to developing international-mind-edness and global citizenship. If everything a teacher does or says in the classroom applies one or more of these principles, the desired shift in the teacher–student relationship is likely to occur:

• valuing the knowledge and experiences of students• teaching through concepts• putting learning into context• differentiating the learning experiences for the range of learning abilities

and styles



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• structuring teaching around inquiry and critical thinking• developing students to become independent, lifelong learners• creating a stimulating learning environment and a community of learners.

Valuing the knowledge and experiences of students

If one of the primary goals of international education is greater understanding of each other and our place in the world, then creating in the classroom a microcosm of the sort of society we want our students to value and contribute to building is one important way of achieving that goal. The teacher should make the best use she can of students’ knowledge and life experiences, not only to enable them to connect and build their understanding, but to demonstrate that she and the other students truly want to learn about other ways of thinking and being.

In writing about multicultural education in the United States, Mayes, Cutri, Rogers and Montero describe education in the 21st century as requiring the creation of classrooms where “students are edified by each other’s world views”.7 “Edified” does not just mean that those views are tolerated or respected; it means teacher and students have their worlds changed, expanded, uplifted by hearing about other ways of thinking and being.

This is not so difficult to accomplish; it does not require expensive resources. It only requires that the teacher makes time in classes, whether it is with students aged 3 or 17, to find out about the background of each of her students, to explore what they already know about the topic under discussion and to facilitate the sharing and developing of that knowledge. For example, asking students studying Shakespeare’s Hamlet in English to translate one of the soliloquies into their mother tongues will provoke a discussion of the use of metaphor, poetry and existential angst in other cultures and, thereby, lead to a deeper understanding of Shakespeare’s text; it will also lead to an understanding of the significance of language as a vehicle of culture and to valuing the mother tongues of the students in the class. If the ethos in the class is one of sharing and valuing, students will feel empowered to reflect on their prior knowledge and experiences, will become genuinely interested in what other students think and will grow to understand the myriad ways there are of seeing and understanding the world.

Teaching through concepts

In IB programmes, concepts are defined as powerful ideas that have relevance within the subject areas but also transcend them. For example, the concept of “imperial-ism” can be used to explore a particular war or political strategy; the concept of “managing our resources” can help the class explore dependence on certain fuels. A



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concept is recognized or better understood when meaningful connections are made between bodies of knowledge; the making of those connections leads to a deeper understanding of the world and an improved ability to solve problems.

The exploration of concepts and the re-exploration of those same concepts at dif-ferent stages of their education, sometimes described as the spiralling of concepts, can lead students towards an appreciation of ideas that transcend disciplinary boundaries, as well as towards the essence of each subject area. Students gradually work towards a deepening of their conceptual understanding as they approach these concepts from a range of perspectives, across the disciplines.*

In the PYP there is a set of eight concepts that contribute to the structure of the transdisciplinary curriculum:

• form• function• causation• change

• connection• perspective• responsibility• reflection.

These are very broad concepts that can be explored and re-explored at any age and through all of the academic disciplines. For example, the impact of climate change on the availability of water, its effects on a particular community and pos-sible solutions can be explored through the concept of “change” or “responsibility” with conceptual links made across geography, physics and economics for the older grade levels.

Teaching through concepts allows and encourages teachers to teach beyond the local context and national or cultural boundaries. In the eight key concepts from the PYP, there is nothing culturally specific; they encourage a broad, generic approach that can encompass many ways of thinking, as well as diverse experiences. Given that the exploration of complex global issues is an essential element of international education, approaching those issues through key concepts will provide a breadth of knowledge and insight that will lead to a deeper understanding of the related local issue; in effect, this approach will help learners function effectively and indepen-dently in an increasingly complex and diverse world.

* See the IB publication Making the PYP happen (2007) for more insights on conceptual understanding.



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Putting learning into context

Learning is most significant and lasting when it is connected to the world around the student; acquiring skills and knowledge and the search for meaning and under-standing are best done in the context of the exploration of relevant content. Largely as a result of technology, in this century the world around the student has become larger, more diverse and more complex. So, as a consequence, has the notion of relevant content.

The world of the student and relevant content will derive to a large extent from the student’s prior knowledge, culture and experiences. Learning will become rel-evant and meaningful when it is connected to that background and valued by the teacher and fellow students. The different worlds around students are connected by concepts; for example, the concept of “causation”. What causes immigrants to leave their own countries for what are often alien and unwelcoming new ones? Why did the characters in the play behave in this way? What underlying patterns do these calculations illustrate? The concepts are pathways into students’ lives in order to make the learning relevant and meaningful, and to connect relevance and meaning across cultures.

But a student today is also touched by the larger world in ways rarely known to previous generations of students. To connect learning to the world of the stu-dent requires the student to be presented with as many opportunities as possible to explore global issues by connecting ideas across the academic disciplines and connecting the global to the local and the personal. The teacher also needs to understand and, where possible, harness the power of new technologies to engage students and develop knowledge and understanding in multiple ways. Using col-laborative technologies, students studying the ecology of their lakeside beach in Chicago, USA, can compare their findings with those of students studying a coastal beach in Queensland, Australia, leading to a deeper understanding of the global issues at play. Failure to connect across the disciplines and to understand the uses of new technologies will inevitably result in loss of context and opportunities for meaningful learning.

Differentiating the learning experiences for the range of learning abilities and styles

Differentiated instruction is best described as a way of thinking about teaching and learning rather than a teaching strategy. Historically it evolved from the develop-ment of appropriate curriculums for the “gifted and talented” and the “slow learner”. Later differentiation was acknowledged as sound practice for all students and can be defined as a teacher’s response to the diverse learning needs of each student,



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given that every student has unique needs. Differentiation involves continual review and adaptation of goals and teaching strategies in a classroom.

In order to successfully differentiate instruction in the classroom, the teacher needs to develop a greater understanding of the variety of ways in which learners work, both alone and with others. Differentiated instruction also requires that the learner be empowered to take a more active and responsible role in the planning, carrying out and reviewing of what is learned. In assessing for learning, for example, the teacher can provide students with a variety of ways in which to demonstrate their understanding; the students choose an assessment task that best demonstrates what they have learned, and subsequently evaluate their own performance on that task. The teacher is required to be sensitive to this variety of ways of learning and be flex-ible enough in her thinking to accommodate and value those who may not perform in the generally accepted way.

Learners may learn differently for many reasons, including their cultural back-ground or early experiences. Whatever the reason, the principle is that the teacher values the individual with all his or her differences and does all she can to organize her teaching so that it meets the needs of each student by differentiating goals, activities, tasks and assessment. To differentiate teaching strategies is to value and accommodate diversity.

Structuring teaching around inquiry and critical thinking

Inquiry and critical thinking are not just sets of skills to be taught; they are approaches to teaching that infuse the way a teacher thinks, plans and evaluates. If teaching is focused on facilitating inquiry and critical thinking, it presupposes that learning is about questioning and exploring ideas and knowledge rather than memorizing and reproducing information. It presupposes that the teacher sees herself as a learner alongside the student, valuing what the students bring of themselves to the questioning and exploring. There is a place for drill, practice and memorization in the classroom, but teaching to the fullest extent possible about concept-based ideas through inquiry and critical thinking leads to more substantial and enduring learning.

Inquiry, interpreted in the broadest sense, can be described as the process that moves students from their current level of understanding to a new and deeper level of understanding. The inquiry process entails synthesis, analysis and manipulation of knowledge to help learners construct meaning. This can include:

• exploring, wondering and questioning• experimenting and playing with possibilities



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• making predictions• collecting data and reporting findings• clarifying and reappraising ideas• hypothesizing and testing theories• researching information• taking and defending a position• solving problems in a variety of ways.

Inquiry will lead to critical thinking. The act of questioning means the student is engaged. It could be argued that all thinking is critical, but the term critical think-ing implies a particular level of engagement of the mind, a level of engagement required for deeper understanding and learning that endures. The ability to think critically and creatively is necessary for our individual and collective survival; our students need to be able to distinguish sense from nonsense, propaganda from truth, and make their own well-informed judgments.

Students require constant opportunities to be curious, to question, to connect, to search for alternative reasons or explanations, to challenge, to take an objective view, to explore and understand the reasons why others think and behave as they do and what the consequences may be. Such teaching requires that content (disci-plinary, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary) is very carefully selected and that it is relevant, provocative, challenging and significant. Students learning Spanish as a second language are likely to be far more stimulated and challenged to learn that language if they are researching, discussing and writing an article for a local newspaper about the discrimination against Spanish speakers in a particular city, as opposed to answering questions on a paragraph in Spanish from a textbook. It is only through subject matter of substance that students can employ and develop their critical-thinking skills to the fullest.

In our 21st-century knowledge society we have never had so much accessible infor-mation in such a variety of forms and from such a wide range of sources. It is neither possible nor desirable for any teacher to be the only source of knowledge about a subject. Students can access any information they want, at any time of day, through the World Wide Web. It is therefore vital that students learn how to question and think critically, so as to be able to determine the validity and authenticity of what they read or hear, to question the attitudes and history behind what they read or hear, and to develop the confidence and experience with which to form an opinion. These challenges face all teachers throughout the world.



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Here are some examples of inquiry cycles aligned with Kath Murdoch’s model. Use the cycle that supports your inquiry and leads to ACTION.Many cycles or processes have elements that are key to a quality inquiry, such as, the traits for writing, or, the elements of music for composition.

As inquiry is an active present verb, it is also important to plan for inquiry where students are actively connecting and thinking within the discipline(s).For example, students should not only study scientists and their discoveries, but also experience BEING a scientist to make his or her own discoveries.

MAKING SENSE OF INQUIRY CYCLESCreated by Natasha Hutchins at www.prodivame.com

InquiryCycle

Personal and Social

DevelopmentWriting Process

Reading Comprehension

Scientific Method

Research Skills

Math Problem Solving Process

Creative ProcessCreative Process Arts Responding

StagesInquiryCycle

Personal and Social

DevelopmentWriting Process

Reading Comprehension

Scientific Method

Research Skills

Math Problem Solving Process

Dance MusicComposition

Arts Responding

Stages

Tuning In

Concrete Experience

Pre-Writing Prior Knowledge/Predicting

Make Observations

Formulating Questions

Observing

Understand Inspiration

Inspiration First ImpressionsTuning In

Concrete Experience

Pre-Writing Prior Knowledge/Predicting

Think of a QuestionFormulating Questions

Observing


Inspiration First Impressions

Finding Out

Concrete Experience

DraftingVisualising

Research the Topic


Observing


Composing DescriptionFinding Out

Concrete Experience

DraftingConnecting

Research the Topic


Observing


Composing Description

Sorting Out Reflective Observation Sharing

QuestioningMake a Hypothesis Planning Plan

Exploration

Sharing AnalysisSorting Out Reflective Observation Sharing

InferringMake a Hypothesis Planning Plan

Exploration

Sharing Analysis

Going Further

Abstract Conceptualisation

Revising Summarising

Plan the Experiment Collecting Data

Act

Exploration

Revising InterpretationGoing Further


Revising Summarising Conduct the Experiment Recording Data Act

Exploration

Revising InterpretationGoing Further


Revising Summarising

Record the Data Organsing Data

Act

Exploration

Revising Interpretation

Making Conclusions


Editing EvaluatingAnalyse the Data

Interpreting Data

Reflect Expression

Practicing Background Information

Making Conclusions


Editing EvaluatingMake Conclusions

Interpreting Data

Reflect Expression

Practicing Background Information

Taking Action Active Experimentation Publishing Synthesising Present Findings Presenting Research

Findings

Reflect Expression

Performing Informed Judgement

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Making Thinking Visible

Ron Ritchhart and David Perkins

When learners speak, write, or draw their ideas, they deepen their cognition. Project Zero's Visible Thinking approach shows how.

What are your thoughts about arthropods?

Chances are you don't have too many thoughts about this particular phylum of invertebrates. But students in Naomi Arrow's 5th grade class at Bialik College in Melbourne, Australia, came up with many initial observations when Naomi introduced a unit on the creatures, everything from "I think they're creepy" to "They are hairy and have many legs." 1 Beyond first impressions, the students generated questions on aspects of arthropods that they were puzzled about: "How do they walk upside down?" "How does the spider produce its web?" And (in an intriguing somersault of perspective taking), "Is there stuff that they stamp on, like we stamp on them?"

Naomi's students were applying a thinking routine called thinkpuzzleexplore, which has students share what they think about a topic, identify questions they puzzle about, and target directions to explore. Thinking routines help learners ponder topics that might not seem to invite intricate thinking at first glance, such as arthropods. Such routines jumpstart thinking and make it visible.

Thinking routines are one element of an initiative called Visible Thinking that we, our colleagues at Project Zero, and collaborators in various schools have developed. In our research, we have explored the practicality of using thinking routines and documentation as classroom learning tools, developed a framework for pursuing cultural transformation in classrooms and schools, and devised tools for integrating the arts. This work has spanned elementary through university settings, included both public and independent schools, and involved schools in the United States, the Netherlands, Sweden, Belgium, and Australia. 2

What Is Visible Thinking? Six key principles anchor Visible Thinking and characterize our approach in schools.

§ Learning is a consequence of thinking. Students' understanding of content, and even their memory for content, increases when they think through—and with—the concepts and information they are studying. Thinking through issues is not a solo endeavor, however. Team members often share and build on one another's knowledge. Notational systems, specialized vocabulary, and various technological and other tools also free up memory for more complex tasks.

§ Good thinking is not only a matter of skills, but also a matter of dispositions. Open mindedness, curiosity, attention to evidence, skepticism, and imaginativeness all make for good thinking (Perkins & Ritchhart, 2004; Perkins, Tishman, Ritchhart, Donis, & Andrade, 2000). Such characteristics concern not so much a person's abilities as how the person invests those abilities. Children and adults often greatly underutilize their thinking capabilities. Accordingly, besides nurturing relevant skills, education needs to promote openmindedness over closedmindedness, curiosity over indifference, and so on. Several studies support this dispositional view of thinking.

§ The development of thinking is a social endeavor. In classrooms, as in the world, there is a constant interplay between the group and the individual. We learn from those around us and our engagement with them. The sociocultural character of classrooms and schools should ensure that thoughtful learning is pervasive, not sporadic.

§ Fostering thinking requires making thinking visible. Thinking happens mostly in our heads, invisible to others and even to ourselves. Effective thinkers make their thinking visible, meaning they externalize their thoughts through speaking, writing, drawing, or some other

Ritchart, R and Perkins, D. 2008. “Making Thinking Visible.” Educational Leadership. Vol 65, number 5. Pp 57-61.

Reprinted with permission. The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development is a worldwide community of educators advocating sound policies and sharing best practices to achieve the success of each learner. To learn more, visit ASCD at www.ascd.org.

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method. They can then direct and improve those thoughts. Visible Thinking also emphasizes documenting thinking for later reflection.

§ Classroom culture sets the tone for learning and shapes what is learned. We have identified eight forces that shape classroom culture: (1) classroom routines and structures for learning, (2) language and conversational patterns, (3) implicit and explicit expectations, (4) time allocation, (5) modeling by teachers and others, (6) the physical environment, (7) relationships and patterns of interaction, and (8) the creation of opportunities. Depending on their form, these forces can support or undermine the rhythm of thoughtful learning (Ritchhart, 2002, 2007).

§ Schools must be cultures of thinking for teachers. Professional learning communities—in which rich discussions of teaching, learning, and thinking become a fundamental part of teachers' experiences—provide the foundation for nurturing thinking and learning in the classroom. Administrators need to value, create, and preserve time for teachers to discuss teaching and learning, grounded in observation of student work.

First Grade Thinkers at Work … To show these principles in action, let's look inside another classroom at Bialik College, a private preK–12 school in Melbourne, Australia. The school includes students with severe learning disabilities as well as gifted students. First grade teacher Roz Marks has been implementing visible thinking in her classroom for two years through our Cultures of Thinking project. She has found the thinkpuzzleexplore routine a good way to uncover students' thinking and plan her inquiry based curriculum. When her class showed interest in the April 2006 Beaconsfield Mine collapse in Tasmania and the subsequent rescue of two miners, Roz used this routine to help define students' inquiry.

Gathering her class, Roz asked, "What do you think you know about the Beaconsfield Mine?" To provide think time, she gave them paper to draw their ideas. Students were soon eager to share.

"I think Larry Knight [the sole fatality] was a good person," Yasmin offered. Roz recorded Yasmin's comment on chart paper and gently pushed her thinking by asking, "What makes you say that?" The 6yearold paused before speculating, "Because maybe he offered to drive the truck and didn't mind that he wasn't protected."

Ivan added, "I think Larry Knight was scared when the rock was falling."

Roz probed, "What makes you say that?" Ivan pointed to his picture: "Because the rock was so big."

As the sharing continued, Roz followed each student's statement with "What makes you say that?" and documented responses to keep the collective thinking visible. Soon students justified their ideas without prompting. "I think one of the miners is ill," Jade offered, quickly adding, "because I heard it on the news."

Roz turned the class's attention to the mysteries of the mining disaster. "What are you puzzling over or wondering about the mine?" Hands shot up and questions flew. Some questions focused on causes of the tragedy: "How did the collapse happen?" "Why was the cage [part of the vehicle in which miners worked] so small?" "Why was Larry Knight not in the cage?" Others explored the rescue: "Why were the last three meters of rock the hardest?" Still others expressed personal puzzles: "Why wasn't I allowed to watch it on TV?"

After collecting students' "puzzles"—the questions students puzzled over—Roz discussed with the class how varied they were and asked, "How will we explore our puzzles?" Students suggested various media sources, such as newspaper and television. A few recognized the need for "the truth," not just information, and suggested visiting Tasmania or phoning the miners themselves. The class decided to keep looking at and listening to news reports. Roz and the students regularly



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brought articles to class, and students continued to form theories about the collapse and rescue on the basis of new evidence. Roz also made books about geology and mining available to students.

… And How Their Teacher Fostered Thinking In this interaction, Roz fostered thinking and made it visible in multiple ways. Even before the discussion, Roz signaled interest in her students' ideas. Through observing students' conversations and play, she recognized the opportunity for rich learning related to the topic of the Beaconsfield Mine. In Roz's classroom, student thinking is noticed, respected, and encouraged, fostering a culture of pervasive learning.

Roz gave her students time to become aware of their ideas and questions, and then used the thinkpuzzleexplore routine to support their inquiry. Like the familiar KWL strategy—What do you Know? What do you Want to know? What have you Learned? (Lyman, 1981)—thinkpuzzle explore taps students' prior knowledge, but with a key difference. By asking what students "think they know" rather than what they "know," the prompt uses conditional language that suggests possibilities and openness rather than absolutes (Langer & Piper, 1987; Ritchhart & Perkins, 2000). This encourages sharing of tentative ideas. All students can engage in a conversation focused on personal thoughts rather than definitive knowledge. As the conversation in Roz's class developed, students adopted conditional language in their responses ("I think Larry Knight was scared"). Such language communicates the message that learning begins with one's own ideas and truth is built over time.

Roz used the power of language to shape thinking by weaving in the "What makes you say that?" prompt with its gentle invitation to provide evidence. Over time, students took on this expectation for reasoned thinking. Finally, the question, What are you puzzling over? is subtly different from the traditional, What do you want to find out? and guides students toward investigating rather than stockpiling facts.

Creating a Culture of Thinking for Teachers At Bialik, teachers like Naomi and Roz discuss their efforts to create a culture of thinking in one of seven teacher study groups. These groups use action research, classroom observations, and reading and discussion to clarify how the eight cultural forces mentioned earlier in this article shape learning in classrooms.

The study groups regularly discuss student work through the Looking at Student Thinking protocol. Using documentation of students' thinking, this protocol guides teachers through closely observing student responses, speculating about students' thinking, raising questions, and exploring implications for teaching (information on this protocol is available at www.pz.harvard.edu/vt).

For example, Roz's group spent 90 minutes exploring and analyzing her class's conversation about the Beaconsfield Mine. Her colleagues noticed that student responses signaled great empathy and curiosity and marked emerging mathematical and scientific ideas about types of rock, weights, distances, and causeandeffect relationships. They noted that students presented evidence for all their statements, sometimes without prompting, and showed rich awareness of informational resources.

As the discussion expanded, questions emerged about the power of starting with student interests, the role of the media in presenting information, and adults' role in censoring that information. Issues arose about what opportunities students should have to delve deeply into ideas, explore their own thinking, and pursue research. Teachers suggested that Roz might extend the exploration into geology, Australia's natural resources, and the process of mining—or connect it to a discussion of survival skills and how events affect communities. Roz not only could see her students' thinking more clearly, but also could better situate their learning within the school's collective efforts.



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The Effects of Making Thinking Visible We have seen positive changes in school culture and student learning in Bialik and other schools implementing the Visible Thinking approach. Classroom activities become more learning oriented rather than work oriented (Marshall, 1988). Students who previously believed they lacked a voice or that their ideas weren't valued, including students with learning disabilities, participate more actively and confidently (Ritchhart, Palmer, Church, & Tishman, 2006); and students' awareness of thinking strategies dramatically increases at all grade levels (Ritchhart, Hadar, & Turner, 2008). Teachers at Bialik have told us that making thinking visible enables them to more accurately assess students' understanding.

Data from schools using the approach reflect improved student learning. High school students at Bialik reported that thinking routines helped them structure their thinking before they began writing essays for their state graduation exams, which boosted their confidence and increased the time they spent writing. At Long Lake Elementary in Traverse City, Michigan, where our colleagues have been implementing Visible Thinking ideas since 2004, student scores have significantly increased on state and district tests in reading, writing, and social studies. Efforts are underway to expand the program throughout the Traverse City district.

The longstanding goals of the Visible Thinking approach—deepening learning in the content areas and fostering thinking skills and dispositions—are vital in schools today. In our experience, this approach creates a chemistry that can be truly transformative for learners and teachers.



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Thinking Routines: Tools for Making Thinking Visible

Project Zero researchers developed more than 30 thinking routines in collaboration with K–12 teachers. Below are a few popular routines used by teachers. See www.pz.harvard.edu/vt/ for more information, including actual classroom examples, on these routines and many others.

Headlines

This routine uses newspaper headlines to capture the essence of an event, idea, concept, or topic. It works especially well at the end of a class discussion in which students have explored a topic and gathered new information and opinions. Ask students,

§ If you were to write a headline for this topic or issue right now that captured the most important aspect to remember, what would that headline be? If you ask the first question at the beginning of the discussion, follow up with these questions:

§ How would your headline change after today's discussion? How does it differ from what you would have said yesterday?

ConnectExtendChallenge

This routine helps students make connections. Ask students these three questions:

§ How are the ideas and information presented connected to what you know and have studied?

§ What new ideas extended or pushed your thinking in new directions?

§ What is still challenging or confusing for you? What questions, wonderings, or puzzles do you have?

SeeThinkWonder

This routine helps stimulate curiosity and sets the stage for inquiry. Ask students to make observations about an object, image, or event, answering these three questions:

§ What do you see?

§ What do you think about that?

§ What does it make you wonder?

Compass Points

This routine helps students explore various facets of a proposition or idea (such as a school dress code) before taking a stand on it. Ask students these four questions, recording their responses as the directions of a compass to provide a visual anchor.

§ E = Excited. What excites you about this idea or proposition?

§ W = Worrisome. What do you find worrisome about this idea?

§ N = Need to Know. What else do you need to know or find out about it? What additional information would help you?

§ S = Stance, Steps, or Suggestions for Moving Forward. What is your current stance on the idea or proposition? What steps might you take to increase your understanding of the issue?



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Source: Activities are adapted from Project Zero's Visible Thinking Web site (www.pz.harvard.edu/vt) created by David Perkins, Ron Ritchhart, Patricia Palmer, and Shari Tishman. © 2007 by the president and fellows of Harvard College on behalf of Project Zero at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Used with permission.

References

Langer, E., & Piper, A. (1987). The prevention of mindlessness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53, 280–287.

Lyman, F. T. (1981). The responsive classroom discussion: The inclusion of all students. In A. Anderson (Ed.), Mainstreaming Digest (pp. 109–113). College Park: University of Maryland Press.

Marshall, H. H. (1988). In pursuit of learningoriented classrooms. Teaching and Teacher Education, 4(2), 85–98.

Perkins, D. N., & Ritchhart, R. (2004). When is good thinking? In D. Y. Dai & R. J. Sternberg (Eds.), Motivation, emotion, and cognition: Integrative perspectives on intellectual functioning and development (pp. 351–384). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

Perkins, D. N., Tishman, S., Ritchhart, R., Donis, K., & Andrade, A. (2000). Intelligence in the wild: A dispositional view of intellectual traits. Educational Psychology Review, 12(3), 269–293.

Ritchhart, R. (2002). Intellectual character: What it is, why it matters, and how to get it. San Francisco: JosseyBass.

Ritchhart, R. (2007). Cultivating a culture of thinking in museums. Journal of Museum Education, 32(2), 137–154.

Ritchhart, R., Hadar, L., & Turner, T. (2008, March). Uncovering students' thinking about thinking using concept maps. Paper to be presented at American Educational Research Association, New York.

Ritchhart, R., Palmer, P., Church, M., & Tishman, S. (2006, April). Thinking routines: Establishing patterns of thinking in the classroom. Paper presented at American Educational Research Association, San Francisco.

Ritchhart, R., & Perkins, D. N. (2000). Life in the mindful classroom: Nurturing the disposition of mindfulness. Journal of Social Issues, 56(1), 27–47.

Endnotes 1 For the purist, most arthropods have many legs, but only a few are hairy. 2 For more information on Project Zero's practice and research, visit www.pz.harvard.edu/vt or www.pz.harvard.edu/tc.

Author's note: Some of the ideas and research reported here were developed with support from Bialik College, Abe and Vera Doravitch, and the Stiftelsen Carpe Vitam. The views expressed by the authors are not necessarily those of the foundations.

Ron Ritchhart is Research Associate and Principal Investigator of the Cultures of Thinking Project at Project Zero, Harvard Graduate School of Education; 6174954898; [email protected]. David Perkins is Senior Professor of Education at Harvard Graduate School of Education; [email protected].

Copyright © 2008 by Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development



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S T O P S T A R T C H A N G E C O N T I N U E

Northern Arizona University | Employee Development Day 2011

The STOP, START, CHANGE, CONTINUE (SSCC) model is an easy way to identify actionable steps to make improvements to almost anything. It can be done by an individual or in groups. It can be done to identify steps to increase personal happiness, affect improvements with relationships, improve business processes and even provide feedback to employees. It can be used to brainstorm possibilities and then narrow the field to viable alternatives for implementation. When using the SSCC model, try to generate a good number and a wide variety of types of ideas. Ways to improve both of the number and quality of the alternatives may include:

• Write it down • Capture all ideas • Devil’s advocate • Involve others • Sleep on it • Wait to evaluate

alternatives!

Source: http://getalegup.wordpress.com/2010/10/28/start-stop-change-and-continue/

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S T O P S T A R T C H A N G E C O N T I N U E

Northern Arizona University | Employee Development Day 2011

This model can be applied to almost anything that could be improved.

• Personal happiness • Departmental processes • Relationships with family • University processes • Household administration • Employee feedback

After a list of ideas and potential actions has been generated, they need to be evaluated. A quick list of items to consider includes:

• Who will be impacted?

• How much benefit will this action bring?

• How hard will this action be to implement?

• Are there resource constraints?

• How quickly will I see results – and does that matter?

• Is there anyone who needs to agree to this action before it is implemented?

In order to I am going to …

…STOP… …START… …CHANGE… …CONTINUE… • • • •

• • • •

• • • •

• • • •

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DOUBLE ENTRY JOURNAL

What I learned… How I can use it in my class and/or school…

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Documents

Teaching and Learning in the Pyp - International Baccalaureateteachandlearnpyp.weebly.com/uploads/4/8/1/7/48170511/...Layers of transdisciplinarity in the programme of inquiry Although