Transdisciplinary Learning

At an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School, transdisciplinary learning is the name of the game. The Primary Years Program (PYP) endorses a belief that students learn best when the learning is authentic and transdisciplinary— relevant to the real world—where the learning is not confined within the boundaries of traditional subject areas but is supported and enriched by them (Making the PYP happen: A curriculum framework for international primary education 2009).

PYP classrooms and schools provide learning environments where coherent, authentic teaching and learning takes place, as opposed to the all-too often compartmentalized, disconnected teaching and learning experience that can happen in a classroom. The PYP allows transparent connections to be made across the teaching and learning, so that students are aware of the relevance of the learning to their reality and are encouraged to respond with a high level of engagement. (The Primary Years Program as a Model of Transdisciplinary Learning 2010).

In order to truly embrace transdisciplinary learning, teachers must reconsider the framework of the traditional school day. At a PYP school, subjects shouldn't be locked in place and time. We must be flexible and help students to see connections from one subject area to the next. One simple way to do this is to integrate content area learning into language arts.

This is much easier to do when the focus of our instruction is lead by grade level standards, and not the textbook. Is it more work? Yep. But you will see increased student engagement when students are interested in and making connections to the content in the texts they are reading.

I had the opportunity to experience this first hand when a new teacher asked me to model this process for her. We started by examining the district curriculum maps. One of the literacy focuses in second grade, at this time of year, is to use the strategy of rereading and the skill of using main idea and key details when reading informational texts.

Next we took a look at the literacy anthology adopted by the district. The lesson in the anthology provided students the opportunity to learn about rereading, through a grade level text about lightning. While the lesson got after the strategy we wanted to teach, the passage about lightning wasn't connected to learning occurring throughout other parts of the school day. Thus, the search for a different text ensued.

We were able to find the passage Comparing Solids, on ReadWorks.org, at a second grade level (510L). After we found the grade level passage, we had to ask ourselves "What is it we want students to know and understand during this lesson?". We determined that we wanted students to understand why people reread and how it can help them as readers. 

During the lesson, I started by projecting the article for the students. I read the article to them, and then introduced the strategy of rereading. We discussed why readers reread and what it means to read  accurately, with fluency, to understand new vocabulary and to comprehend. 

Next, I provided each student with a copy of the text. I began by modeling rereading, noting new vocabulary and new learning. I gradually released responsibility to the students as they reread parts of the passage with a partner and shared their new learning. The partner work gave me the opportunity to check for student understanding. I even saw students going back to reread again as they shared their learning with the whole group after the partner work concluded.

Co-constructed anchor chart created during the lesson

Students walked away from this lesson not only understanding when and why we reread; they also gained knowledge that supports the learning taking place in their IB unit of inquiry. The learning intention of this lesson was not related to content area standards, but connections were made nonetheless!

PYP Enhancements

One of the biggest components of the IB program is a culture of reflection.

• We expect students to reflect on their work and their behavior
• As teachers, we are constantly reflecting upon our practice and making adjustments

Reflection is a part of the IB PYP action cycle, it's one of the 8 key concepts and reflective is one of the Learner Profile attributes. If you take a look at the IB Program Standards and Practices, you will see the word reflection over and over again. It's a big deal!

Just like the IB Organization expects members of a school community to be reflective, they are constantly reviewing and reflecting upon the IB program and often ask for input from educators in the field. These reflections have resulted in the PYP Enhancements.

Implementation of these enhancements will begin in October of 2018. IB will slowly be rolling out components of the enhancements this year, along with informational webinars, along with opportunities for Q&A. 

A few of the enhancements include:

• The early learner will be redefined to include students from 3-6 years. The enhancements require these learners to inquire into a minimum of 4 units each year. 
• Collaborative planning teams will have the flexibility to decide the time frame and duration for each unit of inquiry. Examples include year long units, or two units running simultaneously.
• Teachers will have the option to use a newly designed PYP planning template, customized for early learners, subject specialists and grade level learners. 
• There will be an increased focus on the learning community, including leadership roles for all members of the school community; immersing students in the interplay between learning technology, learning about technology and learning through technology; and the learning environment.
• Revised Program Standards & Practices will be reduced from 73 to 42 practices due to streamlining and the removal of repetition. 

While some things will look different, there are aspects of the PYP that remain pivotal to the philosophy and pedagogy of the program. These include:

• Inquiry
• Transdisciplinary Learning
• Learner Profile
• Program of Inquiry
• Concepts Based Learning
• Exhibition

This post summarizes my current understanding of the PYP enhancements. It is not all inclusive and is sure to develop as I learn more about the enhancements. 

You're (NOT) Doing it Wrong

This weekend, I had the opportunity to introduce my children to the 1980's classic, Mr. Mom. In this movie, Jack Butler flounders with daily activities as he acclimates to life as a stay at home dad. In one of my favorite scenes, Jack tries to navigate the school drop off lane and gets told "You're doing it wrong!".

This scene resonated with me as an educator. In a world where expectations, standards and best practices seem to be constantly changing, I've heard teachers say on numerous occasions "Just tell me what to do and I'll do it!". It can be frustrating to try to keep up and teachers can't help but wonder..."Am I doing it wrong?".

My colleagues over at Carter Lake Elementary are getting ready to launch their very first IB units of inquiry next week and, while there is certainly excitement surrounding this new beginning, there is naturally a bit of panic as well. This post is for you my friends. I'd like to offer a few points to ponder, along with the reassurance that you're NOT doing it wrong.

• Don't reinvent the wheel. So much of what you already do will fit. We are fortunate to work in an innovative district where worksheets, basal readers and teachers lecturing to rows of students who are expected to absorb information are things of the past. Language investigations fits with IB. Collaborative group work fits with IB. Co-constructing anchor charts fits with IB. A variety of whole group, small group and individual instruction fits with IB. IB identifies constructivism and inquiry as effective teaching practices that should be used throughout the day, even when it doesn't fit directly with the content taught in a unit of inquiry (think math! think art! think PE! think music!). Take comfort in knowing that you don't have to chuck your teaching practices.
• The little differences become big. People sometimes visit an IB school, wanting to see how it looks different. They expect to see glaring differences from an IB school to a school that doesn't offer the program, but he changes are subtle. IB identifies the essential elements of concepts, knowledge, skills (a.k.a. approaches to learning), attitudes and action. It's deep understanding of these elements that make an IB student. It's easy to look at these elements and say "of course I do that", but it's the explicit teaching of each of these elements that lead to a deep student understanding, which enable students to transfer these elements to new situations. So, don't forget to post, reference and explicitly teach the concepts, skills and Learner Profile attributes identified in your planner. Share the action cycle and celebrate action. Soon, you will start to see students incorporating these elements into their lives. That is when the little differences become big.
• There are no IB police. Seriously. No one is going to swoop into your room and tell you "You're doing it wrong!" when a lesson isn't executed perfectly. This candidacy phase is your time to muck around with the pieces that are new and to see how the things you are already doing can fit within the IB framework. YOU are inquiring into what works best for you and your students.

So, take a deep breath, have fun, learn, reflect, grow and rest assured that you're NOT doing it wrong. 

Starting Over

Before I update this blog for the first time in TWO YEARS (in my defense, I updated this blog last spring), I have to thank my Twitter friends over at #pypchat for motivating me, inspiring me and pushing me to be better. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be posting today...

For the past 4 years, I have worked as the PYP Coordinator at College View Elementary in Council Bluffs, IA. It's almost scary to think about how much I didn't know when I got started. I had read a little about IB, thought it sounded like something that would mesh with my beliefs about teaching and learning and always enjoyed leadership roles; so I applied and got the job! I worked hard to educate myself about IB and worked with the amazing staff at College View to develop the program.

But the IB coordinator position has always been only half of my job. Throughout the years I worked as a literacy interventionist and classroom reduction teacher during my other half. As much as I tried to balance the two positions, it was tough. Teaching students took up a good chunk of that half of my day, but I also had to think about planning, reflecting, progress monitoring, intervention meetings, conferences, etc.. Inevitably, the literacy portion of my day ended up occupying more of my time than IB.

Last winter, our district decided to move forward with another PYP school at the opposite end of town. While I took part in the feasibility study for this school, when the discussion about hiring a PYP Coordinator came up, I didn't even consider that person being me. I kept thinking about how, if one person took on the role of coordinator at both buildings, they would be responsible for EIGHTY units of inquiry (preK-5) and TWO exhibitions each year. No thank you.

The position for coordinator at Carter Lake Elementary was posted and I didn't apply....but I couldn't stop thinking about the "what ifs". What if they don't get any applicants? What if they hire the wrong person? What if the right person for the job is me??? I pondered those questions in my mind for a while, but I still didn't apply. A few weeks after the position was posted, I got an email from our superintendent, asking me some questions about the position. In my response, I let her know the "what ifs" floating around in my head. I let her know that the biggest concern I had was wanting what's best for BOTH programs. Her response solidified my decision to apply: "This could be good for Carter Lake and College View. And very good for CBCSD (our district) and even for Erin."

You know what? She was right! I am now the coordinator of BOTH programs, splitting my time 50/50. What I love best is that it's 100% IB! The single focus has really helped move the programs at both schools forward. I'm able to take things that we did really well and things I wish we had done differently at College View and share them with Carter Lake. I've also been able to look at our program at College View through a fresh lens. There are things we were on top of at the beginning of our journey with IB that we need to revisit 5 years in.

I'm so glad I was a risk-taker and decided to tackle coordinating both programs. Yes, eighty units of inquiry, sixty plus teachers, two administrators, and two exhibitions is a lot; but it turns out it's what's best for Erin and I'll work tirelessly to make sure it's what's best for Carter Lake, College View and CBCSD.

IB Verification Visit

Monday, Sept. 23 marks a big day for College View teachers, students and families. It marks the beginning of our final phase as an International Baccalaureate candidate school. We began our journey with IB in January of 2011 when College View looked like this:

We started by gathering a group of soon-to-be College View parents to form an IB Parent Board. This group of parents, along with College View Principal, Sue Rice, and myself (the newly hired IB coordinator), began studying the elements of the IB Program.

Shortly after the formation of the parent board, Sue and I attended an IB workshop to learn more about the program and how it might fit with the initiatives that were currently in place in Council Bluffs.  

After the workshop, we immediately began writing the official Application for Candidacy, requesting that College View be granted candidate status from the International Baccalaureate Organization.  The application was accepted a few months later and that’s when the real work began.

College View teachers began learning about the program - both through official IB workshops and building-based professional development. Many teachers had the opportunity to see IB Programs in action by visiting authorized IB World Schools.  

They learned about the Learner Profile, a set of 10 attributes that all members of the school community strive to demonstrate. Teachers worked collaboratively to develop in-depth units of inquiry. They reflected on their planning, teaching and student learning, and revised and refined those units.

Special area teachers worked to incorporate the elements of the IB Program into  areas like Spanish, PE, music, special education and art. After all of this hard work, we felt that we were ready to become an authorized IB World School. We submitted our Application for Authorization last spring. It was accepted and a verification visit was scheduled.

That brings us to today. IB has sent a team of two educators to College View to verify that we are ready to become an IB world school. Over the next two days, they will meet with teachers, parents and administrators to discuss how the program has been developed and will continue to grow in our school.

They will visit classrooms, speak to students and view student work looking for evidence of teaching and learning that engages students as thinkers and inquirers. They will review units of inquiry and our Program of Inquiry looking for a written curriculum that builds upon students’ previous learning experiences and that allows for meaningful student action to take place.

The College View Program of Inquiry

After the visit, the verification team will write a report summarizing the findings of the visit. It is our hope that the report will result in a recommendation that College View Elementary become Southwest Iowa’s first authorized IB World School.

Am I nervous? You bet.

But I also know that the teachers at College View have worked tirelessly to incorporate the elements of the IB program into their teaching. I know that the administrators involved believe in the program and have helped us to align the philosophies of the IB Program and of CBCSD. I know that the parents at College View are excited about having the IB program at our school and want to see it grow in our district.

And the students? Wow. As a College View parent, I’ve seen first hand that the students are inquirers within the classroom and beyond. They understand the language of the Learner Profile and strive to live by those attributes.

Reflecting upon all of these things calms my nerves. We’ve worked long and hard to implement the IB Program at College View.

We’ve got this.

Rethinking Action

As we begin to reflect on our last units of inquiry for the year, student action becomes a topic of conversation. We know that, as a part of the action cycle (choose, act, reflect), students are expected to take action as a result of their learning. It can be hard to capture student action because it doesn't always happen within the context of the school day. One of our jobs, as PYP educators, is to make sure that our student's parents have a good understanding of the action cycle and are aware of the concepts we are studying in each unit of inquiry. I have developed a very simple parent letter that could be used for this purpose at the beginning of a new unit. Feel free to edit this document to meet your needs.

It's also important that we have a good understanding of what we are looking for when it comes to student action. In Making the PYP Happen (2009), it states that effective action does not need to be grandiose. It begins with the most immediate and basic level: with the self; within the family; within the classroom, the hallways and the playground. Effective action can be a demonstration of a sense of responsibility and respect for self, others and the environment. 

In Fahey's book, Ways to Learn Through Inquiry (2012), she gives several examples of student action including ideas. Fahey describes a situation where a preschooler was learning about different homes and came to the realization that not all people have a place to live. As he was playing with counters in his classroom, he created a "town" where all people had a home. This child didn't solve the homeless problems in his community, but the inquiry into homes in his classroom, helped him understand homelessness and he made a change in his thinking. This is taking action! It doesn't have to change the world, just the way you think. 

So...in the last few weeks of school, be an observer. Don't let student action pass you by!

Setting the Stage for Inquiry

As teachers begin to launch their fourth units of inquiry for the year, I've been thinking a lot about setting the stage for inquiry. In a unit of inquiry we obviously want the students to be asking questions. This is something we have had lots of discussions about during our PYP meetings. Many of you have expressed concern that it is difficult for students to generate questions or that they often generate low level questions.

If we want students to ask questions, we need to provide them with something that truly sparks curiosity. Something that they can relate to on some level and that they want to learn more about. I think this starts with our provocations.

Before you even introduce the central idea, think about how you want your classroom environment to look during this unit of inquiry. Some things to consider displaying include:

• Related pictures and vocabulary
• Real world items
• Books and magazines
• Posters

The First Graders in Mrs. Hargrave's class are already beginning to wonder about these famous world leaders

Could someone infer what you might be studying by looking around the room? Will the items you have on display spark questions? Could students predict which transdisciplinary theme the unit will fall under? Could they make a guess as to what the central idea might be?

If students are asking questions before the unit begins, you are setting the stage for a great unit of inquiry!