Cracking the Code of Gen Z Employees- Secrets to Engage and Inspire…….

Recently, during a conversation with my colleague, Ms. Rashmita, we delved into the topic of Gen Z language and how important it is for us to stay updated in order to bridge the generation gap. This sparked an idea in my mind to research Gen Z employees and gain valuable insights into their expectations. To my amazement, I discovered a wealth of information.

Gen Z, the generation born between the mid-1990s and early 2010s, is entering the workforce with distinct expectations and priorities. In order to attract and retain top talent from this generation, organizations must grasp their needs and adapt their workplace practices accordingly. Let’s delve into some key aspects of what Gen Z employees truly desire.

First and foremost, meaningful work is of utmost importance to Gen Z. They seek opportunities that align with their values and contribute to a greater purpose. Organizations should clearly communicate their mission and values, emphasizing the positive impact their employees can make.

Additionally, career development and growth opportunities play a crucial role for Gen Z employees. They highly value organizations that invest in their professional advancement. Establishing mentorship programs, offering training opportunities, and creating well-defined career progression frameworks will demonstrate a commitment to their growth. Regular feedback and recognition will further instill a sense of value and motivation in them.

Gen Z employees also place great emphasis on work-life balance and flexibility. They appreciate a healthy integration of their personal and professional lives. To cater to this, organizations can offer flexible working hours, remote work options, and cultivate a supportive work environment that nurtures a sense of well-being.

Technology and digital integration are paramount for Gen Z employees, who have grown up in the digital age. They expect organizations to embrace technology and provide efficient digital tools and platforms that streamline workflows, enhance collaboration, and boost productivity. By staying up-to-date with the latest technology trends and fostering innovation, organizations can meet these expectations.

Moreover, Gen Z employees value diversity, inclusivity, and equality. They seek organizations that foster a culture of respect, belonging, and openness. Embracing diversity in hiring practices, promoting inclusive policies, and encouraging diverse perspectives in decision-making are crucial steps towards creating an inclusive environment that resonates with Gen Z employees.

By adapting to the needs of Gen Z employees, organizations can tap into their full potential and create a workplace that thrives in the modern era. Understanding and implementing these key factors will not only attract and engage Gen Z talent but also ensure sustainable success for organizations.

In conclusion, as we continue our journey alongside Gen Z, it is vital for us to stay updated on their expectations and preferences. By embracing meaningful work, prioritizing career development, fostering work-life balance and flexibility, integrating technology, and nurturing an inclusive culture, we can bridge the generation gap and cultivate an environment where both employees and organizations can thrive.

Credit: https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/consumer-business/articles/understanding-generation-z-in-the-workplace.html. https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20220613-gen-z-the-workers-who-want-it-all. https://hbr.org/2023/01/helping-gen-z-employees-find-their-place-at-work

Diffentiation and IB framework

Differentiation is not a new concept to the PYP. It has been an integral part of the program’s philosophy and practices since its inception and is a key element in promoting academic excellence, inclusivity, and social and emotional learning.
The PYP holds that every child is unique, possessing their own strengths, interests, and learning needs. Consequently, the programme emphasizes the importance of tailoring instruction to meet the diverse needs of learners.

The PYP framework enables facilitators to differentiate instruction through a range of strategies, such as adapting teaching resources and using a variety of teaching approaches to accommodate diverse learning styles and preferences. Facilitators also use formative assessment to track individual students’ progress and adjust their instruction accordingly.

The PYP recognizes that differentiation is not solely about adapting instruction, it is also about creating a supportive and inclusive learning environment that promotes the academic and personal growth of all students. Facilitators must be trained to identify these opportunities and help each learners to reach their potential.

I would like to connect with other IB community in regards to this aspect and would love to know their perspectives. Feel free to keep your comments and let me know your thoughts on this.

Life post Pandemic …..

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on everyone’s lives, including children. Schools are struggling with learners behaviour issues. Here are some common behavioral issues that children are experiencing:

Anxiety and stress: Children may continue to experience anxiety and stress. They may worry about getting sick, changes in routines, or socializing with peers.
Social skills and interaction issues: Some children may struggle with socializing and may have difficulty interacting with peers after a long period of social isolation.
Learning difficulties: Remote learning and disruption to school routines may have caused some children to experience learning difficulties. They may struggle with attention, concentration, and motivation.

Sleep disturbances: Changes in routine, increased screen time, and stress may lead to sleep disturbances, such as difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep.
Mood swings and irritability: Children may experience mood swings and irritability as they adjust to changes and cope with stress.
Parents need to be patient, understanding, and supportive as children navigate these post-COVID behavioral issues. Encouraging healthy habits, creating routines, and providing emotional support can all help children adjust and overcome any challenges they may face. If behavioral issues persist or become severe, it may be necessary to seek professional help from a therapist, counselor, or pediatrician.
#school #learning #postpandemic #covid19crisis # #motivation

Ungraded 2020 Student

Dear future teacher,

The year is 2020.

We treated each other like equals and held each other accountable. We ate our snack when we were hungry and went to the bathroom when our body said so without asking for permission.

On some days, we threw out the schedule because we needed to say somethings with our chest and that takes a lot of time.

We negotiated homework, we were honest and explained how pointless it was . On some days we gave up. We complied. We kept the peace. We were tired.

We were woke! We spoke about racism and the radicalness of feminism. We questioned protests and we discovered that some things had to be done, by any means necessary.

We explored our privilege and unpacked it. We checked our teacher and held her accountable for when she acted like a dictator. We lent our voice to those who needed it. We spoke truth to power.

The learning was messy and exhausting on some days. We hated the mandatory testing. We did organise a petition along those lines but COVID-19 happened.

We were distraught because everything came to grinding halt. This was our last year of Junior school. Some of us were slowly warming up to the end as we transition. Some of us were worried that we would never truly be free to learn what we chose and what we wanted as senior school would be all serious and no play.

A lot of the learning that I am doing now you will never document and assess because it doesn’t lie within the confines of the specific subject areas. I can assure you, I did a lot of learning. I looked after my brother who had a high fever, I prepared meals for my family this week, I had to go back home and live with my grand parents on short notice. I am not in touch with many of my friends and I cannot wait for this to end.

I’m sorry that none of this can be reflected in the benchmarks or the grade level expectations. These life lessons couldn’t be captured on the report card and could never be learned within the confines of the school walls.

I especially enjoyed opting out of lessons and ignoring your emails because I had a lot going on that day and your assignment could wait.

I did what was important, I did what I had to do- survive…

Yours truly,

Ungraded 2020 student

kahubire

Covid-19 – a dreadful opportunity for schools

On Tuesday the government here in The Netherlands announced that primary schools will re-open on 11 May and secondary schools on 1 June. Although somewhat anticipated, it’s triggered a lot of discussion about how schools will re-open in a safe way that respects the physical distancing rules still in place.

What’s obvious to all is that schools cannot re-open and carry on like they did before. It won’t be possible for everyone to be in school at the same time and that means our schedules, classes and routines cannot simply be re-activated. And realistically, we won’t be able to re-activate them for a long time as disruption is here to stay for the foreseeable future.

Image by CoxinhaFotos from Pixabay

Is this a massive headache? Yes. Is there a simple answer? No. But it is a (dreadful) opportunity for us to re-think the way schools work and perhaps emerge from the crisis in better shape than when we entered.

We know that a lot of things schools currently do don’t make pedagogical or even basic sense. For me, the biggest is that schools are usually built upon the idea of groups of people doing the same pre-planned thing at the same time. Students are batched by age and expected to learn through fixed a timetable of classes often set for them often years in advance. 

And this jars with our understanding of learning as a very personal, individual process. As Sir Ken Robinson argues, we have systems based on a paradigm of standardization when what we need are systems based on the individuality of those they serve: the students and their unique bundles of interests, talents and needs.

Sir Ken Robinson – Changing educational paradigms (RSA Animate)

So why do we still do what we do? My experience of trying to influence that paradigm is that it is so strong because the assumptions it’s built upon pervade everything: the schedule, the curriculum, the mindsets of teachers, parents and students. Everything. So if you want to change the paradigm from standardization to anything else, you need nothing short of a revolution in all areas!

Covid-19 isn’t a revolution or something that anyone wants. But it is forcing us to go back to the drawing board and re-think everything we do. And that is an opportunity to do things better.

The good news is that we’re not starting with a blank page. There are plenty of “alternative” models to education and even more smaller scale initiatives that might be useful starting points.

For example, a number of schools in the #Future of Education Now network run a “9th day” timetable. This is where on regular days through the year – the 9th day believe it or not – the timetable is collapsed. Instead of regular classes, students sign-up for extra-support sessions, enrichment classes offered by teachers, students or other members of the community, or activities that take longer than an ordinary class would allow. Similarly, teachers can sign-up students who they feel need some extra support.

This initiative could be combined with existing systems of online learning to provide more effective personalized learning both during the Covid-19 crisis and after. Online task setting and classes remain, but students have a designated day(s) when they are in school with some of their peers – at safe distances! – accessing the sessions and support they need, rather than attending the classes their pre-set schedule tells them they need to attend. It provides flexibility as staff and students can self-isolate when they need to without disrupting provision. More importantly, it’s scalable, perhaps starting with one day and increasing as and when possible.

As I previously said, there are no simple answers. 9th day models won’t work for a lot of schools. Maybe when the details are looked at it won’t work for any! But the point is that there are options out there for schools to try and make Covid-19 a trigger for systematic improvement, not just a crisis to managed. That’s a point made by many others too; are we going to look back at this as a “temporary blip or a permanent flip”?

I’d go further to say that it is our obligation to try and make a permanent flip. If healthcare workers are walking into buildings full of the virus and people working in the food industry turn up to work each day to make sure we can all eat, the least we can do is try to think about long-term, systematic improvement and ensure their children return to schools better able to meet their needs.

So I’d be interested to hear what opportunities you see to improve schools during this crisis? And, more importantly, how do we bring them about?

Life in the time of Covid 19…

We were very happy with our success in culture mela. Every year we showcase our learning and understanding of different country’s culture. Last year we worked for our own country states. Our celebration day went very well we declared holidays for spring break with a nice staff photograph.

Never knew that was our last contact with our students, parents and colleagues, we are now under social distancing due to Covid 19.

Covid 19 taught us the new term, ”social distancing”. Isolation from our society. Our state Maharashtra is facing the highest cases of Covid 19 positive. According to the Indian Council of Medical Research and Ministry of Health, we have confirmed 519 active 40 recovered and 11 deaths. It’s really sad. Felt so helpless for the first time.

I was following my friend Kevin from SIS Japan, updating us on a regular basis since January. I was religiously following his updates on Covid 19.

I learned about Corona virus. I was wondering about e-learning and all.

I determined I am not going to give up in such a situation. Our state-imposed section 144 across the states till 31st March 2020. However, we started our e-learning mode on school reopening day that is 16th March 2020. Our Coordinator Ms Bushra Khan made us understand the current situation and train us how to go about it. And yes we officially started our e-learning on 17th Match 2020.

We successfully running our e-learning and my students started planning their own learning. They sent me how they want to design their learning which promotes agency, however technology sometimes hits us. My students sometimes unable to login due to poor connections, we sometimes get stuck in the middle of the discussion. But we are happy that we are coping well together. Nothing can stop us from learning. We are now planning for PYP e exhibition. I know we need loads of motivation and learning.

We really appreciate all those educational platforms and organisations such as Google, Microsoft, Toddle, ManagBac, Seesaw, Edmodo, flipgrid, padlet and many more for extending all the support. Can’t imagine learning without their support. I am thankful to my Twitter family Abhimanyu sir, Kevin, Levi, Devid, Devika for always sharing their resources and experiences. I am thankful to Twitter for always helping people with all their updates. And yes how can I forget my family who all are my strength. My husband is my biggest support at this point in time. Missing my students very bad, and hoping for better things to happen. I believe “as long as there is life, there is potential; and as long as there is a potential, there will be a success!”

My year of Agency

I haven’t felt successful in a while. I’m glad this feeling has come to me on a Friday afternoon knowing that I will ease into the weekend feeling like this has been a great finish. Starting this year off in Grade 5, a class I had never taught and adding the agency concept into the mix of it all is to say the least, overly  ambitious. 

My team and I started off the year in pretty great spirits. We were all on different journeys in regards to agency and we had our lives outside of it all. We were determined to empower learners to design their learning, plan their own trips and write their own budgets. We knew what we were doing and couldn’t wait to get on this exciting path.

Two weeks in and all hell was breaking loose(this memory still triggers me).We had thrown out the first unit and attempted to write the new unit from scratch. The biggest mistake of them all is that we had no systems in place that would keep us together before it could all come tumbling down. Those were the most stressful 7 weeks ever.

What I had not seemed to prepare myself for is that agency does test you as a human. Agency will force you to have the conversations you seem to be shying away from. You and your new found beliefs will be put to test. Like, Is your teaching really grounded in solid pedagogy? Is your image of the child really what you seem to think it is? Do you have agency as a teacher? Do you truly understand agency? These are all the questions I have had to dig through to find myself because at the end of it all, if I don’t know who I really am then the foundation from which I base my instruction is shaky ground.

It has been a rough 6 months from having many lightbulb moments to feeling like I was engulfed in darkness. To not writing at all and questioning whether I was in the right profession. From giving students choice workshops every Friday to trying to prove to parents that we have covered the different benchmarks and their child will be ready for middle school. From hoping to teach children to set and plan their homework to filling up their time with math problems so that I can prove that they have retained the knowledge dispensed to them. My journey had been a wrecking ball swinging from one extreme to another with the hope that I aim for something specific and feel successful at one.

This week started off a little shaky. Little did I know that this would help me unpack what agency truly is for me. One of my students was found using technology inappropriately which could have potentially escalated into cyber bullying. I decided to use this as a teaching point. We unpacked PYP concepts using this incident, I shared my twitter account and we talked about who we want to be on social media and how we choose who we want to be. My favourite part? Watching TikTok videos to get inspiration for PYPx. What was different about this week is that it allowed me to be human. I allowed myself to feel.I journaled.  I allowed my personal life into my work life.I’ve been vulnerable with them and tried to understand their struggles, and how I might be part of their problem. I’ve allowed myself to fail. I’ve made decisions without seeking approval. I’ve existed. From letting go and allowing myself to be, I’ve found who I was. I’ve made friends with my curriculum. I’ve read it over and over. I am making friends with benchmarks and my curriculum. I am letting my true self into my teaching because only then, can we truly be free…

Kahubire

Revelations about team teaching

A couple of weeks ago, I was lucky enough to attend the Future of Education Now conference at the Western Academy in Beijing. For me, one of the most exciting revelations of the conference is about team teaching.

If you’d asked me before the conference if I was involved in team teaching, I would have said “of course!”. After all, our team plans units together, we design and share resources and we help each other think about the learning going on in each others’ classes. Of course we team teach!

Except we don’t…

And here is the revelatory slide:

• 

What we actually do is franchise teaching. Yes, we work together on the planning and take an shared interest in the learning of all of our students, but when we step away from our collaborative meetings and into “our” classrooms, we’re on our own. And the students are on their own with us.

I’m not saying this model is bad. Teaching is so personal, it’s great to have the flexibility to implement a unit in the way we think it’s best done for our students. However, we’re missing so many benefits of team teaching. 

See exhibit B from the conference, WAB Middle School’s Learning Lab and their approach to team teaching math:

Essentially, what they do is combine three or more math classes and set a common, differentiated math challenge. Students can then choose how they want to approach this challenge by going to a certain learning space. One space might be teacher-led, like a more traditional classroom set-up. Another might facilitate small group work on the challenge and one space might allow students to withdraw into a “cave” and think on their own about the challenge. Each space is supported by one or more math teachers.

As the video explains, this empowers students to make a choice about their learning, giving them ownership even when the learning objective is prescribed. And, dare I say it, choose to work with the teacher with whom they feel they have the best connection. Again, teaching and learning are personal, and we need to accept that some teacher-student relationships are stronger than others.

Having multiple teachers allows each one of these spaces to be well supported (if a single teacher tries to differentiate a classroom like this, they inevitably leave one or more groups to their own devices for at least part of the session). Furthermore it allows teachers to play to their strengths. Are they best in a more structured, teacher-led format? Then supervise the teacher-led section. Are they great questioners? Then maybe the small group area is the best for them.

My school isn’t blessed to have the amazing learning spaces seen at WAB (my colleague and I did seriously consider taking a sledgehammer to the non-load bearing walls between the classrooms – that’s the thinking you get when you cross 14 time zones in 6 days), but team teaching is something many schools can easily implement. 

For example, we’ve always griped about classes in the same subject being blocked with each other on the timetable: if one teacher is away, it’s very difficult to get a subject specialist to cover the class. But this structure means that two or more classes can be team taught straight away, simply using the different classrooms as the different zones.

And there are lots of different ways to use the different teachers and spaces, not just for the style of learning. Thinking from a Global Politics perspective, we could offer 2-3 group case-studies on the same concept, and allow the students to choose which is most interesting and relevant to them. During revision time, we could set-up the room based on different revision needs – one room looking at the human rights unit, one at peace and conflict, and one at exam technique – again dividing the rooms between our areas of speciality as a teacher.

Sometimes the most simple ideas are the best and this is certainly one we’ll explore further. And who knows, maybe one day I’ll be let loose with a sledgehammer.

How do you promote Assessment for learning…..

I love the quote which says “Assessment is the engine which drives students learning” so true. We often focus on assessing Kids, which brings a kind of anxiety.

This time in the PYP 5 we thought of having an assessment in a productive way. Our kids got a task on the Impact of changes in matters on the environment. They recorded loads of experiments which helped them to understand the state of matters and how they change. They conducted a mini session on physical and chemical changes. They documented all their learning using IPad which was great fun.

Furthermore, they presented their overall learning to their peers and peers provided constructive feedback on kids inputs. They also recorded the entire process of presenting their learning and getting feedback using IPad and A4 paper. They managed the entire process of their learning journey very well. Surprisingly they used criteria for providing feedback such as content, research skill, communication skill, conceptual understanding and overall presentation.

It was an amazing experience where kids drive their learning journey which is meaningful. I am so happy to see this progress in kids which made me thinking why can’t we enjoy assessment for learning?

MLSI/2019/ Nov / Assessment for learning Drafted by Chandrani Roy Banerjee

Lesson 3 from a year of self-directed learning: give them a stage!

In September 2018, we established a program that enabled a group of MYP students to direct their own learning for a year. In these blog posts I share three key lessons from that year.

Lesson 3: Give students a stage

So far, this series of blog posts might have given the impression that there were more failures than successes in our first year. But that’s definitely not true! I saw some extraordinary things last year. A 13-year old, new to English language and literature, writing, producing and promoting on her own Broadway-style musical. Students overcoming deep-rooted fears of public speaking and math. A debate between a group of 12 to 15 year olds about the merits of liberalism, Marxism and anarchism that wouldn’t have been out of place at a university. 

“You’re Next: The Musical”. One of the most extraordinary student achievements I’ve ever seen.

A common factor in each of these successes is that the students had a stage on which to demonstrate their learning. In the case of the musical, it was literally a stage, but in other projects it was simply running a workshop for peers or sharing learning at a student-led conference. 

A flipside of handing students ownership over their learning is that we teachers also lose a lot of control over the learning process (read: deadlines!). We tried to negotiate mid-point review and final deadlines with the students, but it often happened that when these approached, the students would make the case for extending the deadline; just a little more time for some final research, another day to do the final touches. Anyone who has written a dissertation will know the feeling. 

By giving students an authentic stage, we take away the possibility of extensions. It forces students to reflect on their learning and bring it together in a final product for their audience, be it their peers, parents or wider community. Furthermore, we don’t have to play the bad guy by refusing to give deadline extensions and can instead coach the student through.

For example, early on in the year we had a student working on a project about anatomical drawing. He was interested in Da Vinci and, with our arts and science Learning Guides, was developing his drawing skills and knowledge of muscle groups. For many weeks he sat quietly by the window sketching away, telling the Learning Guides he needed a bit more time to achieve his goals. As time went on we grew concerned about how he was progressing. Was too much time being spent on this project? When would the final product emerge?

We decided to give him a stage by asking him to give a workshop to the group the following week. It certainly caused some anxiety. The sketching became more frantic and on the morning of the workshop the student asked to postpone his session. But it had been advertised on the schedule and there was no backup plan, so he’d need to go ahead! We talked through how the workshop could be delivered and encouraged him onto his stage.

What followed was a session that any teacher would have been proud of. The student was able to teach us those techniques he’d spent hours practicing, all the while talking us through the different muscle groups and cheering everyone up by telling us that we all actually have six packs…somewhere! His knowledge and expertise shone through and was contagious. So much so, the group asked for another workshop the following week to continue their drawings. 

A lesson any teacher would be have been proud of.

Speaking to the student afterwards, he admitted that he’d begun to tread water with his project. He had put so much time into it, he didn’t know how to bring it together and was worried about what he’d do next. The workshop gave him the incentive to face these challenges and critically consider what he’d learned. Furthermore, the “buzz” of being an expert in front of peers was something he wanted to feel again.

We now try to ensure student’s are always given a stage for their learning, be this a one-off performance or exhibition, a workshop for their peers or a student-led conference with their family and friends. It doesn’t mean the end of their learning: just an authentic checkpoint.

Lesson 1: Democracy doesn’t work

Lesson 2: Traditional paradigms of education are difficult to escape