TA's in the PYP

"The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires" (William Arthur Ward)

At SBS we believe the professional development of teachers plays a vital role in providing a quality education for our children. The teaching assistant (TA), is an important part of the classroom team. They must collaborate with and work alongside the homeroom teachers to help children get the most out of their learning. By helping teachers implement activities and make effective decisions to improve student outcomes, TAs can greatly enrich the educational experience of children. In this PLC, the team will have opportunities to explore, collaborate, communicate and reflect on the role they play in the PYP classroom.

Week #1: 29th of July

In our first session the focus was on setting the guidelines for our collaboration. The team set about creating an essential agreement to act as a set of expectations for the PLC. In small groups the team discussed what learning attributes they value before sharing with the wider team. This then became the set of rules and expectations that everyone must follow in order to ensure a successful PLC.

Taking the time to reflect on our current understanding is an important part of the learning process. It is our aim to challenge and extend our current knowledge about PYP. The teachers reflected individually by placing their name on a continuum between 'no clue' and 'complete understanding'. It was refreshing to see their honesty as this will help set our individual goals on the completion of this PLC.

In order to set our goals we need to delve a little deeper into what we understand. The tool we used to make this thinking visible was a 'KWHL' chart; where K is what we know already, W is what we want to know, H is how we are going to find answers, and L is where we quantify how successful we have been in learning when we reach the end of the PLC. While this is also a very personal reflection, the team shared their thinking with the wider group.

It was a great first session.

Week #2: 5th of August

In this weeks session our focus was on building a strong learning community where every member of the team feels comfortable to share opinions, ideas, and personal reflections. We began the a little ice-breaker, '2 truths and a lie'. In this activity the team were required to think of 2 truthful statements about themselves and 1 statement which is a lie. The team members then moved around the room speaking to one another, while trying to guess which statement was the lie. It was a fun activity that allowed us to get to know each other and help make everyone feel relaxed and comfortable for the personal reflection to come.

The goal for the next stage of our collaboration was to contextualize the concepts of 'Beliefs and Values', using the transdiciplinary theme 'Where we are in place and time'. By reflecting on what things they value in their lives, the team developed a greater appreciation for the concept. The team took a gallery walk to view the input of others. As a group we discussed the findings and reflected on the similarities and differences.

Week #3: 26th of August

It build upon last week, and to create a deeper understanding of belief and values, the teachers began to reflect on their own roles as a teacher by discussing the beliefs and values they have about their job. We looked at two main questions;

• What are your core beliefs and values relating to your job?

• How are these beliefs and values reflected in your practice?

Using the African proverb 'It takes a village to raise a child' we reflected on our role in developing each child in our class. In doing so the team began to see how the powerful ways they instill important beliefs and values in the children in our Kindergarten.

Week #4: 2nd of September

In this weeks inquiry the team took a look at 21st Century skills. They worked together in small groups to create a list of skills they felt were necessary for our children to have a successful future. As we shared our thinking and reflected on it, we began to notice some interesting results. The team had naturally selected skills and are that are present in the 10 IB learner profiles. Having this 'light-bulb' moment enables us to build connections between the IB beliefs and values and the development of skills and attitudes that will provide the foundations for a successful life.

In small groups the team were each given a selection of learner profile cards and they worked together to discuss what each one means and how someone might demonstrate them. They recorded their thinking on a graphic to be presented later.

Week #5: 9th September

To begin this weeks inquiry, the team presented their learning from last week. Each group created a graphic to explain what each of the learner profile looks like in action. After some discussion and reflection, the team set about their task for this week, to make connections between the IB mission statement and the learn profiles.

We started by discussing the IB mission statement. This represents the core beliefs and values of the IB program. The team compared it to their own beliefs and values about their job from a previous week to see if they could find some similarities.

The team then analyzed the wording in the mission statement to find words or phrases that reflect the learner profile attributes.

Week #6: 30th September

What an early learner needs from a teacher, is someone who is going to notice and name all the skills they demonstrate everyday in school. This is extremely important when it comes to developing a deeper understanding or the attributes of the learner profile. At any time during the day a child could be showing these qualities and we need to be alert to them so we acknowledge and reward their good behavior.

In this weeks collaboration the team worked together to create an info graphic to highlight the different aspects children might demonstrate the learner profile as they engage in different types of learning environments. The goal of the activity was to focus the attention of the team on the things they might see and hear from their children. By doing this we are ready to support a child's development in a holistic manner, and also promote the values of the IB-PYP and SBS.

Week #7: 7th October

We have spent the last number of weeks investigating the values of the IB-PYP and focused a lot on the learner profile attributes, the ingredients to a perfect human being. Now our journey takes us into inquiry based learning and teaching, a cornerstone of the IB philosophy.

Before we take our first steps, it is important we assess where we are in terms of our understanding of inquiry learning and teaching. Just like our students, the team members have different levels of experience and as a result different levels of understanding. It's important we understand the different entry points of the team so we can build on what we already know. For this prior knowledge assessment we played a three corner game where 3 points in the room were labeled with 'Yes', 'No', and 'Maybe'. The group were given various statements about inquiry learning and had to walk to the corner that represented their thinking. Each time the results were discussed with participates giving reasons for making their choice. Through this activity were able to reflect on what we currently know and the statements a provocation for deeper learning in the weeks ahead.

Example Statements:

1. Inquiry takes many forms

2. We should only be using inquiry during the units of inquiry

3. With practice, students become more discerning about what makes a good question

4. If a child's inquiry leads them in a direction the teacher did not expect - the teacher needs to support the child as far as possible

5. Students should be asked to pose questions at the beginning of a new unit

6. Inquiry cannot happen without BOOKS!

7. Inquiry cannot happen without a range of materials and resources!

8. Inquiry can happen without any resources

9. Responsible student actions should develop spontaneously from real situations

10. Collaboration within the PYP is optional

11. Every activity should be assessed

12. Attributes of the learner profile should be taught

13. It takes too much time to consider all the questions the child come up with

14. Children can't inquiry without asking questions

To finish the activity, individual group members personalized inquiry to their own context by sharing an image that represented and example of a child demonstrating inquiry skills in their classrooms. A really great session!!