Maths and the IB PYP do not always feel like they are comfortable partners. It’s an uncomfortable truth to read and acknowledge, and yet, speak to any number of PYP teachers across the world and you’ll find that finding a way to be student led, inquiry based, and yet confident you are equipping every child … Continue reading Maths, Inquiry, Maths Programs and Finding Your Way Forward
Tag: IB
Thinking Skills: Working towards in IB ATLs
Back in October 2019 Mark and I shared our work to break down the Research Skills ATL based on a combination of IB guidance, Principles to Practice, the amazing work of other educators and the experiences we were having in our own school. The work proved to be very popular and, hopefully, helpful to many. … Continue reading Thinking Skills: Working towards in IB ATLs
A Community Approach to Conferences
Ask any teacher their thoughts on conferences and you’ll likely get a mixed response (even from just one individual). Conferences can be exhausting. Aside from the longer days as teachers stay after school to meet family, they can be mentally and emotionally tiring too. However, we learn so much about our students and their families, … Continue reading A Community Approach to Conferences
Understanding the IB Standards and Practices
What are the IB Standards and Practices? The IB Standards and Practices are a set of criteria for schools to guide how they implement programmes. These criteria shape the purpose, learning, culture and environment of the school - you can find them here. How should my school be using them? It can be tempting to … Continue reading Understanding the IB Standards and Practices
No more homework? Finding a way to support learning at home that builds skills and understanding without killing creativity and fun
In the face of a growing sense that homework is not effective for improving learning outcomes in primary age students, many teachers are facing the somewhat difficult question of what to do now. We take a look at the evidence, and the way forward from here. Does Homework Work? Evidence on homework is at best, … Continue reading No more homework? Finding a way to support learning at home that builds skills and understanding without killing creativity and fun
International Teaching: Everything you need to know.
This week we’re excited to launch a new series of blog posts: International Teaching: Everything you need to know. This series of 6 posts will be released over the coming few weeks and offer a wealth of information for teachers considering a move overseas, whether for the first time or the fifth. Click on the … Continue reading International Teaching: Everything you need to know.
5 Ways to Reconnect with Your Students After a Break
As teachers we all understand the value of community building at the beginning of the year, and how important it is to establish connections, relationships and expectations. However, mid-year breaks can sometimes throw things off a little. Taking time to reconnect with each member of your class (and your colleagues!) can help smooth the transition … Continue reading 5 Ways to Reconnect with Your Students After a Break
Community Engagement: Using Seesaw to help families get involved in learning
Community engagement and building the learning community has been the focus of a lot of discussion, debate and development in the past couple of years - especially with the rise of EdTech. There are many reasons for this, but the changing face of engagement is strongly influenced by two things; Social media - we're used … Continue reading Community Engagement: Using Seesaw to help families get involved in learning
5 High Impact Teaching Strategies to Support Student Growth
High Impact Teaching Strategies are a set of reliable practices which can be used to shape teaching and learning in your classroom. There are, of course, many more high impact strategies you can use too - but for today we’re focusing in on these 5. The thinking behind High Impact Teaching Strategies (HITS) is to … Continue reading 5 High Impact Teaching Strategies to Support Student Growth
Goal Setting: Starting with strengths not deficits
The process of goal setting is pretty well embedded in schools across the globe. We know that we make better progress when we have a clear outcome in mind and set reasonable goals to grow - and in an industry which can be slow to implement change, we've largely accepted this as a good practice … Continue reading Goal Setting: Starting with strengths not deficits