What does learning feel like?

In my previous post, entitled ‘What does learning look like?’ I described the process of our Year 6 PYP exhibition unit, through which learners explored social inequities.

The day was a huge success. The opening ceremony showcased how every student explored the topic through a creative medium of their choice. The exhibition itself showed what each group had learned about their chosen example of social injustice, and how we can take action to address it. exhilarating as the day was, the truly exciting thing was the learning that took place throughout the preceding weeks.

Here’s a sample of student reflections to share their perspective…

The most important thing I learnt in the process is that there are so many stereotypes out there. At the start I thought all homeless people where ugly bearded people. Now I know that you can’t tell. I will remember that we are so much luckier and have to be gratful for what we have. The next time I see a homeless person I will see him as a human. A person. Alive. (Zac)

The part I will remember forever is the process of doing the inquiry. This is the first time we have independantly made our own questions, used the transdiciplinary skills etc. I will always remember it because this way of learning makes so much sense, because you are able to deepen all your learning and learn more. (Josh)

The exhibition unit has been a really great experience. I have learnt so much and I feel like it has been an amazing evaluation of all our PYP learning. I think our group was fantastic, and we did both our presentation and our level of learning very well. If anything could be changed, we might have maybe stopped learning and learning, and started getting to work sooner! (Matt)

The most important thing I got out of the exhibition process was to always appreciate what you have because we are so lucky to live our lifestyle. The thing I will remember forever is the importance of being aware of whats happening in the world, not just what we see! (Hannah)

The most important part to me was learning in a whole new way. It really made me aware of all the horrible things in the world and all the social inequities. It taught me that everyone is equal in the world and we all deserve the same rights. I will remember my group taking action at the Glenroy Special School forever. It was such a meaningful day for me and I will never forget it. (Miffany)

I think the most important thing to remember is to work with your partner or else you wont be able to pull it together in time. I think the thing that I will remember is presenting to an audience and having that feeling that you are sharing your learning. (Oliver)

The most important thing that I got out of the exhibition process was learning how to work as a group and how to work collaboratively and cooperatively. Another important part of the process for me was learning how to work under pressure because during the end of the exhibition we had lots to get done in a very short amount of time. I will remember forever our excursion to Parliament house and meeting Janice Munt. Janice Munt was the former MP of Mordialloc. Janice Munt told us about gender discrimination in Australia. (Lexi)

I think my group were co-operating a lot and the process was adventurous and engaging and it will be an experience I will never forget. I think the end result was the thing I will never forget because when I stand there I can feel proud of myself. (Bianca)

There are many insights in these reflections that excite me. Students’ ownership and understanding of their learning, a focus on process not just end result, increased awareness of the world, students’ pride in their learning, an emphasis on big ideas and trans-disciplinary skills not just on content…

As a recently authorised IB PYP school, this was only our second exhibition. We know we need to focus on improving the information process and making sure all students synthesise and organise their information before hurrying to the presentation stage. We might need to adjust the way students are grouped, in order to maximise learning. We’ll revisit the provocations, consider how to refine the conference day and whether we can reduce classroom activities so that students can start their personal inquiries earlier.

We plan to take the lessons we learned from the exhibition unit and use them, not just to make next year’s exhibition experience even better, but to set some goals for learning in the rest of the school.

Further student reflections here and parent feedback here, on some of our Year 6 blogs.