IB Continuum Night at Westwood

Last night Westwood hosted an evening dedicated to learning about the IB continuum: PYP, MYP and the Diploma Program. All three programs presented their framework, shared work samples from RRISD's authorized campuses.  There were also student representatives from all the IB schools in our feeder pattern (Spicewood, Anderson Mill, Grisham and Westwood). Spicewood was lucky enough to be represented by 5th grade students Helen, Shannon, Carly, Greta, Emma, and Sunny. They shared some of their work and also spoke about the benefits of the PYP program from their own standpoint. They all mentioned the strength of the Learner Profile and how Spicewood is a caring place where students are celebrated for their work as peacemakers. Thanks girls!

If you were unable to attend the event, view the presentation here.

Resources for Learning About the IB Primary Years Program

PYP is such a broad and encompassing framework for learning, there are so many fascinating components to delve into. Many of our parents attend our parent education night (check out the one coming up at Westwood High School on February 13th) but I know you also look for ways of exploring PYP on your own.

I wanted to share with you some of my favorite resources for learning about the PYP. Here are some suggestions:

Sharing the PYP Blog: hosted and sourced by the IBO it shares perspectives on the many different facets of PYP from practitioners around the world
Inquire Within: a great shared blog about the various forms of inquiry, questioning and student driven learning
More Curious Minds: a blog  by John Barell reflecting on inquiry and concept based learning

If you have other resources you would like to share, link them in the comments!

How Do We Learn?

Inquiry is a student driven approach to learning that allows our students to construct their own meaning. This is powerful when you consider that knowledge transfer is at its strongest when:

Student autonomy and initiative are accepted and encouraged.
By respecting students' ideas and encouraging independent thinking, teachers help students attain their own intellectual identity. Students who frame questions and issues and then go about analyzing and answering them take responsibility for their own learning and become problem solvers.

The teacher asks open-ended questions and allows wait time for responses.
Reflective thought takes time and is often built on others' ideas and comments. The ways teachers ask questions and the ways students respond will structure the success of student inquiry.

Higher-level thinking is encouraged.
The constructivist teacher challenges students to reach beyond the simple factual response. He encourages students to connect and summarize concepts by analyzing, predicting, justifying, and defending their ideas.

Students are engaged in dialogue with the teacher and with each other.
Social discourse helps students change or reinforce their ideas. If they have the chance to present what they think and hear others' ideas, students can build a personal knowledge base that they understand. Only when they feel comfortable enough to express their ideas will meaningful classroom dialogue occur.

Students are engaged in experiences that challenge hypotheses and encourage discussion.
When allowed to make predictions, students often generate varying hypotheses about natural phenomena. The constructivist teacher provides ample opportunities for students to test their hypotheses, especially through group discussion of concrete experiences.

The class uses raw data, primary sources, manipulatives, physical, and interactive materials.
The constructivist approach involves students in real-world possibilities, then helps them generate the abstractions that bind phenomena together.

These suggestions are adapted from In Search of Understanding: The Case for Constructivist Classrooms by Jacqueline G. Brooks and Martin G. Brooks (Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 1993)

These are the ways we engage students in learning at Spicewood and in the PYP. Ask yourself when the last time you learned something new was. What types of learning experiences took place before you felt your knowledge or skill was solidified? Now how can we help students have these types of experiences so that they can master new understandings and make connections to their learning?

PYP Learner Profile in Action

At your goal-setting Fall conference your child's teacher shared Spicewood's Learner Profile Continuum with you. This is a document that provides teachers and students with a place to reflect and assess the student's growth in the ten Learn Profile attributes (inquirer, knowledgeable, thinker, communicator, principled, open-minded, caring, risk-taker, balanced and reflective).
Together, the IB learner profile attributes represent key aspects of intellectual, personal, emotional, and social theories of learning that interact with and inform each other. The attributes clearly reflect, and concisely express, the IB’s unique mission and history. They shape and mutually reinforce each other.

By engaging in conversations with our students about how they exemplify these attributes, and using this dialogue to set goals, we are both outlining their value and helping students continue to develop these skills through reflection and practice. The Spicewood Continuum also allows your child and his/her teacher to communicate their specific strengths and goals so that you can support their progress at home.
If you have any questions about our Leaner Profile Continuum, please do not hesitate to contact me at doriane_marvel@roundrockisd.org

Inquiry in the PYP

Last weekend, Ms. Kim and I flew to LA for three days to attend an IB PYP workshop on inquiry. Inquiry-based learning is a learning process through questions generated from the interests, curiosities, and perspectives/experiences of the learner. When students engage in learning centered around their own questions, curiosities, and experiences, learning is an organic and motivating process that is intrinsically enjoyable.

We reflected on the way we learn best, and then looked at the learning environment we provide for our own students. When reflecting on the ways WE learn best we came up with:

• subjects that are relevant and interesting to us
• tackling real-world questions, issues and controversies 
• collaborating and interacting with other learners in a variety of ways
• solving problems or creating solutions
• exploring concepts through a variety of materials and resources
• sharing our learning with others and then reflecting and revising our ideas based on feedback
• opportunity to practice and revise our thinking

     We really enjoyed meeting with educators around the United States to discus the best ways to  support inquiry based learning in our classrooms. We know that we learn best when given the  opportunity to engage in the process using using inquiry driven strategies, so that is what we  are committed ti providing for our own students!

Spicewood Parent IB NIght

Please join us on Thursday, October 24th at 6:00 pm for a parent information session called "What is an IB Education?"

“constructing meaning”       “sustained inquiry”       “critical reflection”
“broad and balanced”         “effective teaching and learning” 

"meaningful assessment"            “creativity and imagination”

“conceptual”        “rigorous”    “aspires to empower”        “principled action”

Driving questions:
What is the leaner profile and how does it impact my child’s education?
How is inquiry used to drive student learning?
What is the action cycle?
How can I support action at home?
What is the IB continuum?
How does reflection enhance learning?

What Do We Value?

The IB recently released a new document that aims to clearly communicate what lies at the heart of of an IB education.
It states: "The aim of all IB programs 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."
With that in mind IB programs focuses on learners, develops effective approaches to teaching and learning, works within global contexts and explores significant content.

Spicewood's own vision echoes these values:

Spicewood aspires to be a community of caring, global-minded thinkers.

This summer Spicewood teachers and administration sat down together and asked ourselves: What do we value? Why are we here? What do we want our students to know and be able to do? This vision is our answer to that question. We value students treating each other, the planet, and fellow humans with dignity and respect by being caring. We value our community, and what it means to collaborate and exist as a member of it-our commitment to one another and our roles as members. We value looking outside of ourselves, our families, our city and our state-to the wide world around us and asking: What can we learn?and What are the different perspectives?

We live our vision and are proud to embody it along with you, our Spicewood community.