Skip to main content

Refresher course in PYP

Months ago I had come across this very familiar video sent to me by a twitter friend. I had glanced at it, marvelled at genius of the animator and sighed.
Today, at the PD session, I was pleasantly surprised to see the same video presented in a context that I could relate to: International-mindedness. How do we make our students more aware of the world around them and nudge them from being passive observers to problem solvers of the world. Our children are growing up in an age where things are in a constant state of flux. What we teach them now may not be valid later. Do we need to focus as much on the individual needs of children as in the curriculum? Where do we find the time? How do we get teachers who are uncomfortable with IT to teach their students web 2.0 tools. Later web 3.0 tools! Is it necessary? The pace of life is overwhelming and teachers have a huge task ahead of them(at least those who want to make a difference in the life of the kids). What is the role of education in context to creating a child of the future? Is education the only thing that shapes a human being? The video is amazingly fast and one may get distracted by the visual bombardment. But seeing this repeatedly makes for some great staffroom discussion nonetheless!



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Unravelling the inquiry cycle in a PYP class room

“ People can make choices to support the sustainability of the Earth’s energy resources .” Me to students : Does that make sense? Students to me : (after a while)...not really...  Their understanding of "energy" during the pre-assessment task also reflected a superficial knowledge of the term. And thus our unit of inquiry started. As I was browsing the net, I came across this picture prompt- a map, which I thought would serve as a great provocation. The annual energy consumption per person . Kids love guessing where countries are, so it was a great way to address some geography at this point.  I had also been reading Craig Dwyer's  post  which inspired me to change my inquiry cycle and use a simpler one. Wonder (while exploring)- Explore (while wondering)- Create (while reflecting)- Reflect (with subsequent wonderings). I was feeling more at ease now. The map allowed the students to make a lot of inferences based on patterns whi...

A teacher's antidote to stress

Life can become hectic for us teachers. What does a Friday feel like to you sometimes? By the end of the day, I feel like having a hot bath, switching off my mobile phone, and ignoring everyone around me. For my Masters program, the first thing we were made aware of was the intense stress teachers go through and how important it is to make time for yourself. I always felt selfish when I took out a little 'me' time. My kids would be banging on the door while I was getting a massage done at home. When I would come out after one hour, feeling happy, I would get sarcastic looks from everyone in the house! But I always knew that if I did not take out some time for myself, I would get mad! I love Hatha Yoga. Every morning I feel and enjoy the stretches; I am conscious of how I breath. I silently communicate with my body and get to know it. With a little practice, this becomes a really good habit. I love smooth pebbles! I collect them whenever I see one that intrigues me...

Famous and the infamous

A reflection: It's funny how people start addressing women as Sir in India once they do something heroic! A step by step process of my inquiry lesson. I think I'll keep updating the same post in order to keep this on one page! 23rd August My class is learning all about heroes, and I have created a short but provocative video ( I hope! ) using Animoto. What a wonderful tool :) Famous and the infamous This was my provocation. I decided not to tell the kids what they were going to inquire into. By carefully watching the video they will have to identify the characters they know. I posted a power point of the famous and infamous characters on the new class blog (The kids are absolutely thrilled and amazed to see themselves on it) so that they can go home and show their parents the ones they had trouble identifying. 24th August The following day we made a Venn diagram. A three way one. I used http://billsteachingnotes.wikispaces.com/Graphic+Organisers  to make copies ...