A whole school collaborative reflection…

Conversation…

Clusters of teachers are scattered in different areas of the school talking about learning… It’s a student free day and we’re discussing the IB standards, reflecting in groups on our practice and recording evidence as part of our self-study process. 

Relaxation…

We start the day with a brief mindfulness exercise followed by a meditation  session, led by Fiona, our Head of Learning Resources. She’s modelling a focus on wellbeing and encouraging teachers to use these approaches with their students.

Inspiration…

We view the first few minutes of the Apple recruitment video, mentally replacing Apple with Our School’s Name. The messages include –

Collaboration…

We’re a three campus school and our teachers rarely have a chance for inter-campus interactions, so this a great opportunity to establish connections and collaborate with different people.

Integration…

There are printouts on the tables of each of the four curriculum standards (Collaborative Planning, Written Curriculum, Teaching and Learning, Assessment) as well as our school’s Learning Principles. The task is to make connections between all the above.

Investigation…

Making connections in this way encourages teachers to carefully read and consider the various practices, analyse and discuss them. Experienced practitioners work with some who are brand new to the PYP, drawing on examples and deepening understanding collaboratively.

Application…

Time for creativity. Teachers work in small groups, sharing photos of great learning from their classes, finding suitable illustrations of the various practices analysed and discussed in the previous session. Peer support and encouragement are at hand for those still mastering the tools on recently acquired ipads.

Presentation…

Here’s an example, connecting practices across the four standards, including living evidence!

Reflection…

Clusters of teachers are scattered in different areas of the school talking about learning… For the final session, the teachers break into their assigned teams (in which they have been working since last year) to reflect collaboratively on the standards and practices and record evidence from across the school.

Celebration…

It’s exciting –

• to see the high level of engagement and participation.
• to notice teachers (some of whom haven’t before) taking the lead and driving important conversations.
• to observe new members of staff making valuable contributions.
• to listen to over a hundred voices engaged in educational dialogue.
• to hear teachers say they will apply some of the strategies modelled today in their classrooms.
• to receive so many ‘thank you’s for organising this day of learning.
• to realise how far we have come in the past few years…