Here's another resource I made for Toddle - Global Contexts as a Lens playbook.
This resource shows how changing the global context of a unit can completly change the focus. I've done examples for each subject group, based on common content:

• Language Acquisition: My School
• Language and Literature: Science Fiction
• Science: Pandemics and epidemics
• Mathematics: Statistics
• Arts: Pop Art
• Design Video Game Design
• PHE: Football (Soccer) 
• Individuals and Societies: Water Systems

The resource also includes some activities for unpacking/exploring the global contexts. You can download the resource for free here. 
If you haven't noticed yet - Toddle provides many free resources, including workshops, webinars, downloadable resources and blog posts full of ideas. Just click on the 'Learn' button at the top of the homepage

I created the following presentation as an assignment for my course with the University of the People. This presentation has students craft essential agreements with their teacher. It can be used in upper primary school or in student homerooms. The presentation has students look at five general essential agreements, which they can hack (change, delete, combine...). The focus should be on having a small number of 'rules', which can be supported by many procedures/protocols/routines. There is better buy in if the students help craft the agreements, instead of having them imposed by a teacher/the school. The presentation also has an activity for students to describe how the agreements would look in practice, as they are pretty broad/general. 
As it was an assignment, in the presentation you can see some of the research/rationale in the speakers notes. I've also made a PDF where you can easily view the speakers notes here. When you open up the presentation you will see that the first slide is 'hidden/skipped' - this contains some information for teachers.
As always, feel free to make a copy and use/edit it to suit your needs. You can do this by going to 'File' (below the document title, not at the top of your computer screen), then selecting 'make a copy'. If you don't work with Google Slides, you can choose to 'download' and save it as a PowerPoint.
I've made it pretty general, so it can be used by any school - there is one slide about the IB Learner Profile, which can be deleted for non-IB schools. Teachers might also choose to add in their school's mission statement.

I've just finished my first term for my "Master of Education in Advanced Teaching Degree" with the University of the People. I am really enjoying it so far. I have another masters from University College London, but didn't enjoy the course so much - I found we had a lot of lecturers and seminars, then one big assignment. UOP gives us lots of reading and multiple-assignments every week (usually a written piece, a portfolio piece and a discussion piece, but there is also a group project you work on for a few weeks). My previous masters was in Libary and Information Studies as I started my career in education, but it wasn't really geared to school librarians. SO I highly recommend the course - you can find out more about it here.
I've decided to start sharing some of the assignments - they might be a little different to my usual content, but hopefully they are useful or interesting to some of you!
Below is the group project we did - an assignment where we picked three different assessment types and explored the significance of each one. I took out the title page, but my teammates were Jonas Bitrus and John Yonas Lavor. This is from the module 'Creating Positive Classroom Environments'. Link to presentation here.

The lovely people at Toddle have put some of my ideas together into a nice resource! I previously posted a few different Key Concept games using photographs (you can see them here and here). I really enjoy doing these activities with students and have found they lead to excellent discussion! The activity, which is free to download here, has eight different games, a series of photos to use (all from Unsplash),  key concepts and their definitions and some reflective questions.
Here's a sneak peak:

In the next few weeks many people are going back to school! I'll be finishing my maternity leave and will be starting back on the 23rd, so am thinking of activities to do with the students at the start of the year. I've previously posted these back to school resources. This year I will do something with the IB Learner Profile, inspired by three things: 
1. When I attended a TOK workshop a few years back, they had an ice breaker activity where we would describe someone we admired, using the IB Learner Profile attributes we felt they embodied!
2. A while back I had my students describe each attribute in relation to my subject, Design. What does it mean to be a caring designer?  a balanced designer?  etc
3. Toddle recently put out this great resource connected to the IB Learner Profile. It also connected to the Global Goals (something I weave into almost every unit I teach!) In this resource there are a range of noteable people, with some key quotes and information about them, their connection with the global goals, then a chance for students to reflect, inquire and also describe how they might take action, inspired by that person!

I'll just be returning part-time, doing my MYPC role, and not teaching. This means I am thinking mostly about what I can plan for homeroom/advisory activities. Some ideas:
MYP 1 Homeroom: Icebreaker for Grade 6s - Describe someone who inspires them, using the IB Learner Profile attributes to describe them. Use one of the Toddle posters as an example (probably Amanda Gorman).
Grade 7-8 Homeroom: In groups give students a lamiated print out from the Toddle posters (a different one for each group). Have them find out more about the person and share back to the group. Then have the whole class brainstorm how they could take action, inspired by those people.
Grade 9 Homeroom: As the Toddle resource is organised geographically (Africa, Europe & the Middle East, the Americas and Asia-Pacific) I will get students to discuss different role models from different places - prompting them to think about their home country, host counry (Germany) or other places they associate with.
Grade 10 Homeroom: I'll have students explore this resource, then use it as inspiration to describe what they want to achieve by the end of Grade 10 (mostly focussing on the Personal Project). If someone was to meet them in a years time and make a poster like this for them, what would it say? How would they have demonstrated the IB Learner Profile attributes? How would they have taken action? What would they have done to work towards the Global Goals?

In subjects - Poster Design: Have students design similar posters, inspired by this resource, connected to the particular subject. This could even be a whole design unit - have students design IB Learner Profile hero posters - showing famous designers! This could be done in any class. 
In subject - Research Project: Have students research the different people featured in the posters, or research people relvant to the unit, and then create a similar resource to show what they have uncovered.
Assemblies/Newsletter: Feature a different person from the poster series in school assemblies or in the newsletter. For schools that have mini advisory periods in the morning these could be explored then.
Displays: Use the posters to create displays. You could have hero of the month, or different types of heroes around different areas of the school (for example, science hero outside the science labs). You could also create posters/displays showcasing different teachers/students/staff!

So often IB Learner Profile is explored so well in primary school, but often neglected in secondary school. These ideas are hopefully some practical/authentic ways to bring the learner profile into the secondary school classroom!

IB Learner Profile resource from Toddle is available for free here.

I finally got hold of a copy of my first book! I wrote a lot of this during my difficult pregnancy and was even working on some of the final edits when I had a newborn! The second book, which was also written under those difficult circumstances, will be out August 27th! I am super proud to put this out into the world and hope that it gives some inspiration to other design teachers! As an IB educator it is so difficutl to have 'final' or 'complete' units, as we are so used always changing and improving the units year after year! I hope that people find the units and/or the activities in the book helpful! I'd love to hear about projects students do, inspired by the chapters in this book! Let me know!

You can read my author profile here. I really liked this activity - I reflected on how I connect to each IB Learner Profile attribute - something I may get my students to try!

MYP Launchpad Pop-Up: Getting started as a new MYP coordinator
July 23rd - 24th, 2021
12:30pm GMT | 6:00pm IST | 8.30pm SGT

In a few weeks time I will be running a workshop for MYP Coordinators. This workshop is free and ideal for new or new-ish MYP Coordinators! I will be running it with Anshu Sharma, who is wonderful! She invited me to run a workshop at her school in India a few years ago - and when I met her, we just clicked!
We've been working on the workshop and have made sure it is super interactive.
The workshop is FREE, but the spaces are limited and filling quickly!
​Find out more and register here.