In the light of changes, especially Cat 3 workshops, I have started to document how I have transformed the workshops that I have led to include the enhanced PYP and the new Principles into Practices.
During our upskilling, we were given these guidelines regarding Cat 3 workshops:
Category 3 workshop leaders will need to…
- Be familiar with new graphics, terminology, page references, Standards and Practices – ensure these are updated for inclusion in workbooks, workshop spaces, PPTs
- Use the new template for workshop planning
- Increase focus on self-assessment and reflection (eg reflection threads and success criteria linked to teacher capabilities and workshop understandings)
- Consider different approaches
Main documents that are changing
PYP: From principles into practice” – this will be a digital resource organized around these three areas:
- The Learner
- Learning and Teaching
- The Learning Community
Big Ticket Items – The Learner
- Agency – underpins voice, choice and ownership for students, schools and whole community
- Learner Profile – subsumes the Attitudes and no formal assessment but monitor to support development
- Action – core of student agency, a process but not a cycle, multiple forms of action, personal and collective
- Early learner – is from 3-6 years of age, focus on play as learning, four units of inquiry as a minimum
- Exhibition – repositioned to connect to student agency, not seen as a summative assessment, can be inside or outside the PoI, can be year-long, can move from guided to student-led
Big Ticket Items – Learning and Teaching
- Elements (not essential elements) and there are now four as opposed to five – attitudes have been absorbed into the Learner Profile
- Concepts – there are now 7 key concepts – reflection is inherent in the inquiry process, more clarity on key and related concepts
- Assessment – integral to teaching and learning (not positioned as the written-taught-assessed)
- Approaches to Learning (ATL) – continues to align with MYP/DP/CP and can create sub-skills based on local context
- Transdisciplinary – authentic integration of science & social studies, relationship between disciplinary and transdisciplinary
Big Ticket Items – The Learning Community
- A community of learners is reinforced
- Leadership
- Importance of learning environments
- Policies – assessment, academic honesty, inclusion, language as well as child protection and admissions
Steps to take
Review the session guidelines and conceptual understandings. Consider how these will link to :
- Reflection threads
- Success Criteria
- Teacher Capabilities
Reflection threads
a small set of pre-determined general questions that prompt reflection throughout the entire workshop. These can be reflected upon at different points.
Success criteria
- A set of “I can” specific statements that participants can choose (3-4) from. Drawn from capabilities, workshop conceptual understandings. Can either be reflected upon or evidenced in their own learning journals. Participants encouraged to create their own also.
- Determine reflective threads and success criteria that link back to the teacher capabilities and conceptual understandings – each workshop should explicitly build on several specific teacher capabilities.
