Lighthouse PLC - October 2016

26 October 2016

Present: Regan, Shane, Beth, Caro, Kathryn, Cindy, Craig
Location of our meetings	Move to 8A
Student Voice Engagement survey results	General discussion
Identification for 2017	What information/Data was useful to you this year? In 2015 we gathered: Parent nominations Student profiles Register using Google doc. (2016 sample) Calling for expressions of interest via the Korero Letters to parents
Rose bowl festival	Cindy to take over
Reports	Moderation(?) of ticks for reports - National Standards and the ceiling effect.
Next meeting	Venue: 8A Date: Thursday November 17 Focus: Acceleration in the PYP

Teaming Meeting: Languages - 25/10

Supplied and presented by Gareth Haman

Planning the inquiry

1.  What is our purpose? 1a) To inquire into the following: ●   transdisciplinary theme An inquiry into Who We Are or How We Express Ourselves ●   central idea Language and Tradition are Essential Elements within Cultural Identity

Class/grade: Year 7 and 8 Age group: 10-13 yrs School: Berkley                           School code: 70223 Title: Teacher(s): Date: Proposed duration: 6 weeks.

1b) Summative assessment task(s): What are the possible ways of assessing students’ understanding of the central idea? What evidence, including student-initiated actions, will we look for? Culturally Aware Students will identify a cultural aspect of their selected language to share and teach to the class. Students to share and reinforce specific vocabulary in addition. This can include, a traditional song or dance etc. Students need to explain how their selected piece supports the development of their selected language and why it is important these traditions / ideas are maintained. This can be done through the Key Concepts; Form: What does it look like? Function: What is its purpose? Responsibility: Why do we need to protect it? Change / Reflection: How has studying other cultures helped me to understand my own cultural and personal identity? Fits the criteria: - Complex (they don’t already have the answer) - Open-ended (they can go in many different directions, there is no specific one result you are looking for) - Authentic (is there something the kids can connect to in the task).

2.  What do we want to learn? What are the key concepts (form, function, causation, change, connection, perspective, responsibility, reflection) to be emphasized within this inquiry? Form: What is a Cultural Identity? Function: Why do we have different cultures? Reflection: How does learning other cultures support our own identity? Related Concepts: Identity, Culture, Tradition, Language What lines of inquiry will define the scope of the inquiry into the central idea? Language is an essential element within cultural identity Traditions are an important aspect of cultural identity Understanding others, helps us to understand ourselves What teacher questions/provocations will drive these inquiries? Who Am I: Students create a Cultural Identity outline - how do they define themselves as kiwi or other nationality? Bus Stop Activity: Students rotate around tables and try to identify what cultures / countries are identified within the images (how do the know) Could You Survive: Students are given a series of challenges (ideas to communicate) without using English - can they get the idea across? Questions; Why is it important to recognise culture? What connections are there between cultures? How does language help us develop understanding?

© International Baccalaureate Organization 2011

3.  How might we know what we have learned? This column should be used in conjunction with “How best might we learn?” What are the possible ways of assessing students’ prior knowledge and skills?  What evidence will we look for? Who Am I: Cultural Identity Map This assessment will allow us to identify what students already know about culture and identity. Students will be able to give examples of how they represent, reflect or exhibit this. Examples might include having a traditional name, following a particular sport or speaking a particular language. Please Note: If a child struggles to identify their cultural identity we can ask, why is this potentially hard to do, how could we overcome this and what are the consequences of not having a cultural identity. What are the possible ways of assessing student learning in the context of the lines of inquiry?  What evidence will we look for? The related concepts are what drive our inquiries into language, so we will focus on assessing developing understanding through these lenses. Identity: Can students share who they are and what contributes to this self image. Culture: Can students share their cultural identity and / or recognise aspects of other cultures. Tradition: Can students share and explain the importance of traditions in developing cultures and cultural awareness. Language: Can students use and explain the role language has in developing cultural identity, understanding and awareness. Newton Principles: Through the engagements listed in section 4 we are addressing the following principles: Integrates language and culture from the beginning. Engages learners in genuine social interaction. Encourages and develops an exploratory and reflective approach to culture and culture-in-language. Fosters explicit comparisons and connections between languages and cultures. Acknowledges and responds appropriately to diverse learners and learning contexts. Emphasises intercultural communicative competence rather than native-speaker competence.

4.  How best might we learn? What are the learning experiences suggested by the teacher and/or students to encourage the students to engage with the inquiries and address the driving questions? Identity: Through this inquiry students will develop an understanding of identity. This includes developing a greater sense of self and appreciation for other cultures and people. Possible engagements include: Who Am I Cultural Identity Map Prince EA clip: This clip examines how we explore ourselves through labels, you’re white, i’m black etc which stops us from truly understanding who we are. Possible Questions include... Do we label other cultures? How can we look deeper? What would happen if we understood one another fully? How does language help us to achieve understanding Culture: Through this inquiry students will develop and understanding of culture. This includes looking at the different aspects we use to help explain and illustrate a culture, including language, music, traditions and customs. Possible engagements include: Culture Mind Map: Students identify all the different ways we recognise culture, within ourselves and in others. Language Connections: Students are provided a list of words and have to unpack what they mean. Students explain how they came to their conclusions. Possible Questions include Why are we able to identify some words and not others? Can we make connections between our language of focus and English How and why does language travel. 1000 languages or a Global Language: Students to explore / debate the benefits / negatives of having 1 language as opposed to 1000’s. What would be the consequences of this? Tradition: Students will explore different traditions to develop their understanding of culture. Students will understand how and why traditions remain and their importance moving forward. Possible Engagements Include: Tradition Comparison: Students to look at a “common” tradition / celebration and make comparisons highlighting similarities and differences, for example Chinese New Year and Our New Year, or traditional foods, what are they, how are they sourced / produced and eaten (rituals / prays etc) Tradition Focus: Students explore a tradition of their choice from their selected country and present this to the class. Language: Students will develop an understanding of the importance of language in developing cultural identity and will develop their ability to recall and apply their language knowledge. Possible Engagements Include: Who Am I: Students learn how to introduce themselves. Who Are You: Students learn how to ask simple questions and provide simple answers. Language Appreciation: Students to create a “Dream Chart” of how they want to develop their language skills and what they want to do with these. (this can be used to develop future learning goals and promote student agency) What opportunities will occur for transdisciplinary skills development and for the development of the attributes of the learner profile? Learner Profile Communicator: Students will develop a deeper understanding of the importance of being a communicator Open Minded: Students will explore and appreciate different ideas. Reflective: Students will reflect and develop their understanding of identity. Transdisciplinary Skills / Approaches to Learning Communication Skills Listening and Speaking: Students will develop their ability to hear / understand and to speak / communicate in a second language. Thinking Skills Synthesis and Evaluation: Students will develop a deeper conceptual understanding of culture and identity and will use this to develop future goals and in developing a more complete self image.

5.  What resources need to be gathered? What people, places, audio-visual materials, related literature, music, art, computer software, etc, will be available? The following websites relate to this topic: How will the classroom environment, local environment, and/or the community be used to facilitate the inquiry? We will become our own market place for trading.

© International Baccalaureate Organization 2011

Reflecting on the inquiry

6.  To what extent did we achieve our purpose? Assess the outcome of the inquiry by providing evidence of students’ understanding of the central idea. The reflections of all teachers involved in the planning and teaching of the inquiry should be included. How you could improve on the assessment task(s) so that you would have a more accurate picture of each student’s understanding of the central idea. What was the evidence that connections were made between the central idea and the transdisciplinary theme?

7.  To what extent did we include the elements of the PYP? What were the learning experiences that enabled students to: ●   develop an understanding of the concepts identified in “What do we want to learn?” ●   demonstrate the learning and application of particular transdisciplinary skills? ●   develop particular attributes of the learner profile and/or attitudes? In each case, explain your selection.

© International Baccalaureate Organization 2011

Reflecting on the inquiry

8.  What student-initiated inquiries arose from the learning? Record a range of student-initiated inquiries and student questions and highlight any that were incorporated into the teaching and learning. At this point teachers should go back to box 2 “What do we want to learn?” and highlight the teacher questions/provocations that were most effective in driving the inquiries. What student-initiated actions arose from the learning? Record student-initiated actions taken by individuals or groups showing their ability to reflect, to choose and to act.

9.  Teacher notes

© International Baccalaureate Organization 2011

Questions we have:
- How do we encourage more student ownership/autonomy/agency?
- How do we establish a culture in our room? (looking at traditions we have in the classroom).
- How do we keep it moving with a range of groups, so they don't get left behind/remain static.
- What does the planning look like for the lesson, is they supplementary plans e.g. iPpiT, Kath Murdoch...
- Where is the clear direction - on what Language planning should look like?
- What does realistic planning of teaching languages look like?
- What is the explicit purpose of teaching languages to this age group?
- Integrating specialist teaching into the classroom.
- How can we link to the whole team?

Our thoughts
Making connections with other culture's traditions and our own (could be classroom traditions).
Look at culture and traditions separately
Quizlet (a mobile app) is a great way to consistently move groups on at the same time.
Sometimes the agency of what we do doesn't come at the time of the unit, but after.
Making connections through the language
Go forth and search - relate to the Key Concepts - research - present back to the class
Planning in advance, the teaching of the language, and developing understanding of the culture they are learning about.
Passing on the passion for learning a second language and gaining basic language skill/knowledge that will take them into secondary school.
Shifts in our own thinking about how we develop Newton's Principles: the idea of culture...