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.

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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

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!”

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

Inquiry in the Classroom

“A good education must expose knowledge gaps and increase the hunger for further inquiries.” To understand this quote one must understand what is an inquiry, how it look like, feel like and sound like. The literal meaning of inquiry says investigation. However, it`s an approach for teaching and learning. That is what a new born baby does when he sees the world for the first time and he tries to experience it. He grabs every possible thing to investigate and that is how he learns.

It`s very important to know why inquiry, before we understand an inquiry classroom. Inquiry promotes learning, it motivates learners to explore things on their own thus promote self- management skill. Students take the ownership of their learning. It helps us to feel engaged where we take the learning ahead and we decide how much we will learn and how we will plan our learning. An inquiry teacher never bothers about what she wants to teach but rather she prioritizes student questions, ideas, and analyses. She makes sure students make the connection between their real-life experiences and learning. They are able to reason out topics and are skilled enough to give justification.

Inquiry in classroom looks like: Inquiry classroom looks like everyone is engaged in learning through experimenting, talking, investigating. It has flexible seating arrangement, display boards are reflective in nature not with beautiful teacher`s display.

Inquiry in classroom sounds like: Kids discussing with each other using visible thinking routine. Often teacher sounds like co-learner rather than a teacher. It sounds like someone presenting their learning. It sounds like the teacher providing feedback.

Inquiry in the classroom feels like: An inquiry classroom feels like kids might use what they have learned to contribute and make a difference. Here learners are valued and respected. Teacher asks open-ended question rather structured.

Few examples of inquiry in the classroom are: ➢ Students are engaged in experiential learning ➢ Lesson becomes project-based learning rather than a lecture ➢ More room for discussion ➢ Encouraging wonder wall ➢ Students use participation ladder to reflect an enduring understanding ➢ Classroom have inquiry table ➢ Student reflects their understanding through visible thinking routine or strategy, rather than the worksheets ➢ Evidence of uses of multiple intelligences ➢ Use of differentiated instructions ➢ Student reflections are authentic rather than teacher driven

Last but not the least an inquiry classroom provides you an opportunity to know your students better and it helps to build a strong relationship. As someone rightly said “No significant learning occurs without a significant relationship.”

MLSI/2018-Inquiry in the classroom Drafted by Chandrani Roy Banerjee

Soaring high in to the inquiry…

Today I read such an amazing post by David Gostelow . I personally believe an inquiry class room should be noisy, at times quiet.Every one should be engaged with their own learning.

In my classroom, kids select their own inquiries. I generally encourage group work. Sometimes independent inquiry.

Quiet time only happens when kids are reading in my class. They use noise meter to check their voice level depending upon their situation. It’s really a joy to see them in collaboration.

I was actually thinking, Is Agency new to PYP? If we see our classrooms , students were always inclined towards agency. They start their inquiry with their questions “What do they want to know “? What skills will they develop in the course of time? Reflecting upon their actions.

My kids, during our class room essentials agreement, mentioned that they will bring some new learning to share with their peers every Monday, and they religiously followed up. Wasn’t that agency?

As David said that kids are born inquirers so let them pilot their own learning however I strongly believe in giving feedback.

Our job is to give them constructive feedback so that they soar high with their inquiry and Learning. They get good insight to tackle their challenges.

Sometimes I feel kids will excel for sure in future, our job is to join their learning journey as a guide, as an expert and make their journey meaningful, joyful and more over stress free.

When I connected with my learning journey I realised that my own learning helped me the most and encouragement,appreciation mattered. I believe that, for any learners appreciation works like magic. However one should learn to see their learning critically. They should move ahead with changes and new understanding. That is what a PYP teacher’s role is in students learning.

I totally agree with Mindshift ” https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/50620/how-to-ease-students-into-independent-inquiry-projects “. It was a brilliant post of a PYP student’s success journey which proves the importance of free inquiry and also how important is to acquire the necessary skills and understandings to be successful with this increased agency over learning.

I somehow connect with few lines of the post where they mentioned “we begin in a Structured Inquiry model, transition to a Controlled Inquiry, continue to a Guided Inquiry and, if all goes well, conclude with a Free Inquiry.” It seems to me journey from EY to PYP exhibition. In PYP exhibitions students mostly indulge into open inquiry.

Open inquiry is associated with high order thinking skills. Which gradually students develop during their PYP years. According to Bloom’s Taxonomy, “The ability to analyses, synthesize and evaluate information or new understanding indicates a high level of thinking.”

Learners are more valued than students….

The word AGENCY is a well-known word to all, however, still doubtful for many of us. Agency to me is the empowerment of students who are capable of understanding any issues and ready to take actions pertaining to their acquired knowledge.

For me, it`s the choice of an individual for bringing changes to their surroundings for the betterment of life.

But the questions come when I talk about agency in PYP and early years. How do they understand agency? How do we introduce this word?

Often we end up guiding students for societal issues, even planning their speeches . Instead of providing them opportunities to find out problems on their own and think upon. In my class, one of my students faced bullying and thought of guiding other students how to deal with such situations. I arranged a workshop for her and we all were patiently listening to her. Bingo; AGENCY!!

I remember during the kite making competition one of my students designed a kite instead of making. When I asked why he thought of doing that, he replied: “Winning is not everything, sometimes we should do what we like”.  I call it VOICE!

Students must know about their rights and responsibilities as a student and as a citizen. This will help them in decision-making and take proper action. Here I see the importance of IB attitudes. We all know that IB-PYP Attitudes helps students to develop a positive attitude towards people and the environment. But I am bit concern about current changes in IB attitudes.

To reach their goal, students must learn to adapt these attitudes and must reflect how they know they possess these attitudes. Students must follow attitude continuum to reflect and justify their role on daily basis. Until they know their role, rights and responsibility AGENCY seems to be a FANCY word.