The Journey Outwards

SIMPLIFYING, CONNECTING AND CREATING POSSIBILITIES

Teachers establishing what units of inquiry really are about, conceptually, in very simple terms Creating visual tools and lenses to help students see the presence of concepts in their own lives Helping students see connections between their thinking and the written curriculum How letting them go brings a wider variety of curriculum expectations into the equation

Thanks!

Why?

Trained and untrained in the UK

Went a long way (and sometimes too far) in Dhaka

Two strange, tragic but professionally rewarding years in China.

Started working on the 4 Core Elements of Education with Chad Walsh

Moved to New International School Thailand

The pace of life in Bangkok and NIST

Competitive teaching who can work the hardest? Who is more stressed? Who goes home latest?

Race to Nowhere

Last Child in the Woods

My own children

Sir Ken Robinson

We believe we are preparing kids for the Real World but they are in it now. This is their time.

A three-year old is not half a six-year old!

Sir Ken Robinson

As a teacher, it is not hard to stay relevant. The kids bring relevance into your classroom every day. Just be open to it welcome it into the room and help them use it to learn.

Alan Fletcher

It is their future do they know that?

The Art of Looking

Develop a positive relationship with time

Always think twice before taking time away from people, including students.

Give them time

Give teachers time

Create time

Use teaching time wisely by looking for connections wherever and whenever possible.

If you dont know where youre going, all roads lead there. Roman Proverb

Know your students, know your curriculum Powell & Powell

A Mindset

Conceptual rubric to guide learning

Conceptual sentences to explain student understanding

Key Concepts

One word that describes what this unit is about

One word that describes what this unit is about

As a team, can you boil down one of your units of inquiry to one word?

Key Concepts

What are the key concepts? Are they the right ones for the job?

Conceptual sentences to explain student understanding

Can you write a We want the students to understand sentence for each of your key concepts?

Conceptual rubric to guide learning

Do you provide students with a conceptual rubric that guides their learning?

TUNING-IN

It is enough to open minds, do not overload them. Put there just a spark. If there is some good inflammable stuff, it will catch fire. Anatole France

Self

Is the central concept of the unit present in the students lives? Where? How? How can you find out?

Self

Can the student take their understanding of the central concept beyond how it applies to their own life (a journey outwards)?

Is the central concept of the unit present outside the students lives? Is it still worth learning about?

Self

How can the students bring the central concept closer to home as they progress through the unit?

Self

Know your students, know your curriculum Powell & Powell

If you dont know where youre going, all roads lead there. Roman Proverb

Receptive Language

Expressive Language

Looking (viewing) Listening Reading

Presenting Speaking Writing

If kids are not receiving much, not much will come out!

And of course, not much real thinking will be going on.

As teachers, we often believe students have done no learning if they do not do some form of expression. If there is nothing on paper then nothing has been learned! Is that really true?

What are all the possible ways that students can receive?

Have a look at your POI are there plenty of chances for them to do so?

We assume our students know how to look because they all (usually) have eyes!

We all need help with looking, particularly in these times.

Round-Robin Reflection
Give each person a number from 1 to 3 or 1 to 4. Number 1 starts by completing these sentences: I contributed by This helped us because Person 2 summarizes what person 1 said, then completes the sentences themselves. Then person 3 summarizes, and so on. Person 1 summarizes what person 4 said. No interruptions and no cross-talk.

The Art of Looking