9 IB PYP: "Yeah, We Do That"

Change and reform have been on my mind lately (see previous blog post) and it will probably continue to be a recurring theme here.  As I've been reading articles about change and ed reform lately, something has repeatedly come to my attention.  After reading article after article and post after post listing the things that the US education system needs to include to improve, I find myself saying "Yeah, we do that!" when thinking about the IB PYP curriculum at my school.


Consider this post from @angelamaiers who is well known for her approach to "passion based" education.  She mentions using relevant experiences to build knowledge outside school, allowing student negotiation of the curriculum, and teachers being balanced models for their students as some of the tenets for her approach.  Thinking of the IB PYP framework, I can say "yeah, we do that!"  We use relevant topics, constructivist approaches and negotiate learning experiences with students keeping them at the center of our instructional approaches.  We also believe that all people involved in the learning community are models of the profiles of the program from teachers to students to school staff.

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1 Best Ed-Reform Resource Right Under Your Nose

I did a little twitter spring cleaning tonight (well actually this morning because the only time I don't have two kids jumping or sleeping on me is in the wee hours of the morning!) and went through my followers and those that I follow as well as lists I have made.  I was absolutely humbled by the extreme talent, dedication, and in depth thinking that is represented by all of the members of my PLN! From well known bloggers to lesser known tweeters, message after message contained something insightful that was found or a link to a blog post that had astounding original applications and solutions for what is happening in education today.

This got me thinking.... if all of those great minds are out there and connecting on twitter, is anyone noticing? I mean, yes, me and about 1 million other educators who are advocates of twitter have noticed, but have any of the people in politics starting paying attention to us yet? I've seen many politically connected names and important positions on twitter but do the people who are making the laws and reforms watch our twitter feeds?  Many of the people who are making decisions for education reform today are still mainly politicians and other "non-education" persons speaking on our behalf.  I would love for them to spend a week looking at the twitter feeds and reading the blogs of some of the leading education reform bloggers and tweeters out there.  These are quality people who aren't spending their time complaining but are sharing the amazing ways that they make change and inspire learning to happen every day!  One week reading things from @kevinhoneycutt, @web20classroom, @angelamaiers, @gcouros ... (the list goes on and on!) and they would have their fill of innovative ideas for learner centered, engaged learning with new technologies and suggested ways for the leadership of that change in the educational sphere.  Surely after one week they would gather enough ideas and suggestions to make significant changes in the system today. Is this happening? Are the politicians and reform makers using the most amazing resource that's right under their noses?

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3 Stanford Needs IB Students

I read an article yesterday that has been rattling around inside my head all day today.  I read about a family who is receiving legal assistance from the Mills Legal Clinic which is a part of Standford University's School of Law. While the case itself is interesting and I encourage you to read it (especially if you are interested in special education), what caught my attention was a quote from Stanford Law Professor Lawrence C. Marshall, associate dean for clinical education.  Regarding the skills that law students need to have to succeed as lawyers, he responded "Part of what we need to do is to get them into the habit [of reflective lawyering] and develop the skills to be able to look back on a day of practice and figure out what they can learn from what happened that day."


This struck a chord with me because my first reaction was 'Well then he should find IB graduates!' I found it interesting that he mentioned that he needs to teach that skill to his law students so that they can be successful lawyers in the future.  Imagine my excitement when I realised that we, at my IB PYP school, are already teaching our students these skills starting from kindergarten! Our entire curriculum is based on the idea that learning requires reflection.  Peer, self, group, class, teacher, and school reflection.  What I wouldn't give to find out if the students that are the most successful at the Mills Legal Clinic are students from schools that have simliar curriculums to the IB; Curriculums based on skills and 21st century practices and not just content or tests.

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0 Great (Education) Expectations

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about expectations.  There are a number of reasons why this has been occurring, but most likely it's because I actually have time to take a moment and reflect now that I have a few weeks off for my winter holidays (or North American summer holidays however you like to view it!).  With all of this reflecting, I've come a few conclusions about expectations and their implications in my professional contexts.  I've realised that it boils down to three types of problems that occur with expectations: too low, not clear, or too high.

Too low- I've been doing a lot of reflecting and thinking about change and how to encourage change in my work context (see my previous post on change here).  I've come to realise that we as educators have our expectations TOO LOW for our profession.  I cannot count the number of times that I have discussed WHY education doesn't seem to be changing to help our students gain the needed 21st century skills for the future and the answer I almost always receive is "change is slow in education."  I disagree. I don't think change is slow in education; I think we have our expectations too low for what we can do as a profession.  Plenty of other professions, business, health, marketing for example, change to accomodate the needs of their clients and customers in a timely manner... why can't we? It's not impossible.... I think "education" just accepts the status-quo that has been passed along for far too long.  We can change.  We should change.  We need to raise our expectations and expect that change to happen. Now.

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1 A Tale of Two Twitterverses

A funny thing happened to me recently.  Now that I'm on vacation I've been using Twitter a lot more (sorry for all those extra tweets everyone!) and during very different times than my normal schedule.  As I have a pretty heavy workload during the day, I'm usually on Twitter at night after I finish being a Coordinator, Mom, and Wife.  That means I'm not cracking open my TweetDeck until 10 or 11 at night.

Now, during my North American summer holidays, I have LOADS of time during the day to surf, update, and explore Twitter.  And a funny revelation happened to me.  It started with the recent relocation of a friend and twitter pal of mine (@amichetti) to my old home in Singapore.  Now that she's moved there, it's like she's vanished from my Twitter radar! Unless I specifically do a search for her or dedicate a column to her, her witty banter that I'm used to seeing throughout the night is no longer visible.

That got me thinking.... what else am I missing over there in Asia where I know so many amazing and dedicated teachers who are on the forefront of educational technology?  Because I was up late at night I would see the daily tweets of my friends and technology gurus over there but not any more. They provided some amazing insight into the various issues and struggles that are happening in their educational contexts.  And those contexts are VERY different than the ones that are currently in the media here in North America.

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1 Passion for Change?

I'm visiting my family for North American summer and talking to my father this morning was quite an interesting experience.  One thing that I love more than anything else is when everything you've been reading or learning about suddenly shows up all around you in your life!  A "zeitgeist moment", if you will!

So that is exactly what happened this morning as my father argued with me about eating breakfast.  According to him, he knows perfectly well that it is healthier to eat in the morning than to not.  He knows that it helps give you energy all day and that it jump starts his metabolism (which he's worried about as he gets older). So, I asked him plain and simple "So why don't you eat breakfast in the morning if you know it's healthier for you?" His answer was also plain and simple, "I'm lazy. As soon as I can afford a maid to make me breakfast every morning, I'll eat it!"

What does that have to do with education you ask? After listening to the #ISTE11 talk #yeahbut by @willrich45 and @Robmancabelli I was reminded of the talk I had heard earlier this year at the ASCD conference in San Francisco by @chipheath on his book Switch. My father is just like the people in those books that are told that they must change their health or they will die, and they don't.

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8 Reflection on ISTE11

For my inaugural post on my blog I thought I would begin by reflecting on what I learned at the recent ISTE11 educational technology conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  It was a long journey from Chile but definitely worth the trip! There were so many excellent workshops, student displays, and inspiring educators there!  What is below is a run down of the speakers that "stuck with me" so to speak.  They had a message and now I'm trying to apply it in my context.  I encourage you to click on the links and find out how their message can inspire you as well!

@kevinhoneycutt: A simple message but powerful. Use tradigital (traditional and digital) resources to inspire our students to be more and go farther.  We shouldn't limit them but get behind them and help them soar in the 21st century.  His website had a million tools to view and inspire teachers and students and he encouraged everyone to take a "digital safari" on his site.

@leecrockett: He was passionate about promoting 21st century fluency skills (be a committed sardine by visiting his site!) The message was another simple one-we need to teach the skills that students need for the future (solution, collaboration, creativity, media, information) because the economy of the world is changing in favor of creative, collaborative jobs. 

@willrich45: Presenting with another colleague, Rob Mancabelli, they led us through a great discussion about change and how to help educators embrace the changes coming in education.  The message was so clear and useful- consider the emotional side of the arguments against change as well as the rational.  Their book recommendations (click on Reading List) are a valuable resource alone!

@stevehargadon: While I wasn't fortunate enough to see him give a session, he did a wonderful job hosting a social media roundtable discussion which I was fortunate to be a part of.  Another powerful message came from this- Administrators and teachers alike need not be afraid of social media. We need to unlock, unblock and unthether the students from the four walls inside the school.  While the social media debate is similar to the one that has raged for decades on sex education in schools, let's use our time to teach admin, teachers, and students how to use these tools appropriately through engagement.

So, what's the mashup? I plan on continuing to work on our PLN (Personal Learning Networks) at my school but start the next semester with a look at the emotional arguments toward change by discussing the "elephant scenario" from Chip Heath.  After, I'm hoping to challenge my staff to a digital safari looking for resources to teach and develop aspects of the 21st century fluencies that are needed.  While I would love to address the open network issue, I believe I'll table that for another day (or blog post!)

How might you use these resources above? Did you attend ISTE11 and find resources that you too want to mashup into your personal context?

Jessica