CAS Projects
Compass Education x IB Regional Workshop (Individual/Collab)
3 student workshop days: April 21st, May 12th, June 3rd 2018 & September 22-23 IB Conference
1: Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth
2: Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process
4: Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences
5: Demonstrate the skills and recognise the benefits of working collaboratively
6: Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance
Investigation:
This CAS experience is one of my favorites. I was invited by Ms.Katina and Ms.Cindy to be a youth leader for the IB regional conference at NIST and to go through leadership training with Compass Education. At first I was unsure whether this would be a valuable experience, however, upon researching more about Compass Education and discussing with Ms.Katina about working with IB teachers from all over the world to help facilitate workshops, I felt this project would hone my communication, collaborative, and leadership skills incredibly well.
Preparation:
To prepare for this project, I communicated with other students from both NIST and Wells who were also a part of this workshop. I additionally prepared for my IB workshop facilitation by doing research on Mindfulness, Psychology, Neuropsychology, and Education. The presentation that my co-facilitator, Ms.Gemma provided me prior to the IB conference allowed me to understand the foundation of the workshop and what kind of discussions she would like teachers within the workshop to have that I may be able to help guide in addition to providing student insight.
Action:
There were 3 total workshop days for leadership training, with one in April, one in May, and one in June. On the first day of the workshop, I had the chance to work together with all the other students from both NIST and Wells participating in this project as well. We had icebreakers and group activities to get to know each other more and share ideas. We then watched a video about inequality and poverty, and had a discussion about the poverty cycle as well as identify inspirational leaders for us. In the afternoon, we created a presentation in groups and shared our leadership experiences to each other. I paired up with Jai, my classmate, and discussed our experience with planning Prom for the Class of 2018. We also listened to other students talking about their own student clubs which included environmental and sustainable clubs that have a rooftop garden to grow fruits and vegetables, as well as initiatives to ban plastic straws and utensils at NIST.
On the second day, we learned how to be effective leaders. We first learned about analyzing situations by using the Iceberg method to identify underlying factors that impact a broad issue. We used the example of Nora Hussein from Sudan who was subject to a prison sentence because she killed her rapist "husband." We identified institutional and federal systems that bred inequality in Sudan, as well as societal norms that halt gender inequality and push traditional marriage/gender roles. After sharing our ideas, we then learned about how to be agents of change, and what to expect when introducing new ideas, as there will always be "iconoclasts" being against our ideas. We also learned that to effectively succeed, an idea does not just require a leader, but a follower.
Day 3 was to plan rehearsals for my Keynote with Jai, and prepare for working collaboratively with Ms. Gemma, a teacher from Australia that I was co-facilitating with during the IB conference. My keynote with Jai was about identifying inequalities within a classroom, as there are certain privileges that some students may have (eg. private tutoring), that other students may not have access to. We provided ideas of how teachers could create a classroom with more equality, as well as encourage passionate learning through the identification of such privileges and inequalities, and appreciation of students.
The IB conference was a 2-day conference, and the workshop that I co-facilitated with Gemma was on Mindfulness in education. The highlights from this workshop includes the multiple mindful meditation and yoga sessions throughout the conference, performing a mindful walk in the grass barefoot, as well dancing to Jay-Z.
Reflection:
Overall, this CAS experience was truly mind-opening, and I learned how to become a better leader, collaborator, as well as become more aware of the importance of mental health and mindfulness in institutions. I greatly enjoyed co-facilitating the Mindfulness in Education workshop with Gemma as it focuses on the wellbeing of students, which is especially important considering the rise of mental health importance in this day and age for students worldwide due to anxiety, depression, etc. This workshop allowed me to understand the perspectives that IB teachers have, as they truly care about their students, and the wellbeing of them. It also allowed me to provide insight to teachers about how students feel about school traditional school administrations that may not be open minded to radical ideas like mindfulness or meditation. Additionally, the Keynote during the conference went well, as the teachers enjoyed the opening simulation we had. However, I think that the keynote would have had more impact if Jai and I practiced our parts more and planned more in advance so that we would not have to read the script off of our phones.
Demonstration:
The knowledge that I have acquired from the youth leadership workshop allowed me to understand what truly makes a good leader. For example, I have been as appreciative of those following a movement as the ones leading it since no movement would be possible without followers. This had allowed me to become a follower of an environmental movement in Thailand and joined in on the Climate Strike - something I would not usually do as I am used to being a leader, however, now I understand that being a follower is just as essential to a cause. Moreover, my engagement and understanding of Mindfulness from Gemma's workshop allowed me to add a new tool to my toolbox. I have started becoming more mindful in my daily activities and have downloaded a Mindfulness application on my phone in which I use to meditate during stressful days.
Primary Teaching Assistant (Individual Project)
1: Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth
2: Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process
3: Demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS experience
5: Demonstrate the skills and recognise the benefits of working collaboratively
(September - December, 2017)
Investigation:
For this project, I assisted Mr.Steve, a fourth grade teacher, teach his class mathematics. I also assisted Mr. David in his 2nd grade language & reading class. I was assisting individually for Mr. Steve and assisting collaboratively with my classmate Lila for Mr. David. I was introduced to this project by Ms.Katina as she had posted this opportunity on the CAS classroom page, and discussed it with Lila. We agreed that it would be a valuable project that would allow us to understand the experience of teaching, as both of us have been told that we would be good school teachers - so we decided to see whether that is true in practice.
Preparation:
To prepare for this project, we communicated with Ms. Rehka, the head of Primary at Wells. We indicated our free periods to her, which she would then match with a teacher's class which needs assistance. I also signed a consent form and communicated with my respective teachers, Mr.Steve and Mr.David, about the classes that I would have to assist. For Mr.Steve's class, I would have to assist ESL students with mathematics, specifically word problems. For Mr.David's class, I would be working collaboratively with Lila to assist Mr.David in grading papers, assembling paper books, and aiding the students with technology. I researched beforehand for Mr.Steve's class about ways to assist students effectively, and I read about how I should point or gesture without speaking instead of explaining to get students to understand problems on their own.
Action:
Mr.Steve's class is very lively and enthusiastic about mathematics, and during the time I was there, the students were learning how to understand word problems and analyze the methods necessary to answer the question. I was assisting an ESL student who had a little trouble understanding the word problems, but was excellent at performing the mathematics once the question was understood. I sat nearby the student to ensure that he understood, but also allowed him space to work independently when he felt confident.
Reflection:
Sometimes it was challenging to ensure that the student understood my explanations, and I tried to simplify the question as much as possible without assisting him too much to the point that he would not be able to work independently. I read about ways to effectively teach, and I finally tried a method that involved minimal explanations. I would ask the student which parts of the question and which words that he did not understand, and would simply give him definitions so that he would be able to think about it on his own. I would also point out key words that he could use to identify which method of math that the question is asking for. Overall, I really enjoyed this experience and I believe that it helped me learn become more helpful as a teacher to allow students to be independent rather than reliant.
My experience with Mr. David's class is quite different, as it is a language and reading class. This class was on a Friday and was during the last block, so the students were all in a good mood. During this class, Mr.Steve would give students time to read their own books, do spelling practices, or present a story that they have written. Lila and I helped grade papers, check students' spelling, and encourage students to participate. Additionally, the students would do online grammar and spelling practices on iPads during class, which required our assistance as some students would have trouble using the program.
Reflection:
I thought this was interesting as these students were born with iPads and other forms of technology. I often saw students easily accessing Google, Safari, and other search engines to help define words, and access gaming apps during free time with ease, but would struggle with typing as it was difficult for them to type usernames and passwords into the spelling program. This was something that Lila and I could only help temporarily as we could type the password for the students, but this is something that should be fundamentally solved by teaching students how to type at a younger age as typing skills are crucial for the modern world. Overall, I greatly enjoyed this experience as well as it allowed me to interact with joyful students who were eager to show me their work. This experience also allowed me to reflect on the life of the younger generations and how each generation will have different advantages and struggles.
Demonstration:
I appreciated this opportunity to work with young students who were usually enthusiastic about having me in class with them. I also learned that there are multiple styles of teaching and multiple tools that teachers use to get students to focus, be quiet, or to be more organized. Having two younger siblings myself, I sometimes help them with their homework or help them understand a concept. So, when helping my younger sister with her math assignment, I always try to utilize my "pointing" and "showing" technique rather than explain it to her and give her the answer. I think this really allowed her to understand math concepts on her own, as she was the one doing the thinking, and I simply showed.
Prom 2018 (Collaborative Project)
2: Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process
3: Demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS experience
5: Demonstrate the skills and recognise the benefits of working collaboratively
As a class representative, I was largely involved in the organization committee for the senior prom. In Wells International School, it is tradition for the juniors to organize prom for the seniors. I, including the 2 other class representatives, were responsible for creating different committees such as the decoration committee, finance committee, hotel committee, and music committee. We ensured that these committees worked effectively and on time. I worked alongside members of each committee, travelling with them to Chinatown to purchase fabrics, flowers, and other decorations that were required for preparation.
The event was successful. However, reflecting back on the experience, it was also very challenging. Throughout the entire process, the class representatives had to come to a compromise between the seniors' expectations as well as our budget. This may have upsetted some seniors, however we decided to make it up by purchasing Oscar awards and awarding them to each senior with their own superlative so they would feel appreciated. There were also some technical issues such as the transporting of the (very heavy) Oscars from school to the venue, however together as a class we persevered through collaboration. Additionally, when we were urging seniors to dance on the dance floor, some were hesitant, so we had to intervene and dance as well to create a less awkward atmosphere. All in all it was a joyous experience and was definitely gratifying as a lot of hard work was put into it.