IBEducatorStudy Session One

Thank you to everyone who got involved with the first IBEducatorStudy. I've been sent lots of feedback, as well links to other great resources! I'll also switch up from light, easy reads to more serious articles, and for the visual activity I'll switch between art and photographs. I will try and use different tools and activities for every session, and will try and build in some live discussion after every few sessions!

If you want to complete either of the activities - there is stil time (but your responses won't be included in the write up).
Article: You can do the first activity by reading "" and responding to the prompts here.
​Visual: You can do the second activity by completing this google form.

Article
Here's what we did for our first session:

​Teachers were invited to read 'Make Your Own Grass Greener' by Rebecca Mieliwocki. Teachers were then asked to reflect on what is working well in their school and to share some advice. I think this is important to do at this time of the year, as everyone is exhausted and many are closed to being burnt out. Sometimes it can be easy to dwell on the negatices, so reflecting on what is working is important and can actual re-energize us. 
We used the tool DotStorming (similar to Padlet...but free). This was quite tricky with the number of participants, so here are some screenshots to better show the reflections (visit the full board here):

Visual

The next activity was a series of thinking routines to get partcipants to unpack the photograph below. The photo is from:"They have to give up everything": A photographer captures the human drama at the border.
​​Without context, participants first did the routine See, Think, Wonder. They were then provided some context and did the Circle of Viewpoints routine, focusing on one person from the photograph. There was then an optional activity, where participants looked at another photograph from the series and completed the routine Step-In, Step-Out, Step-Back. Lastly participants reflected on the experience.

Take a look at the participant reflections below. To see all responses click here (names/emails removed).

Lastly - my reflections as a facilitator:

• Potentially the most valuable part is seeing other people's responses. I need to make this easier and quicker for participants to see.
• I also want to build in some live time, perhaps using Wonder for people to meet up and chat. I will most likely to FlipGrid for the next activity, so participants can't easily see and hear other peoples' ideas and can respond too.
• Perhaps after every third session or so I will organise a live session. This can be hard to do, as people are all over the world...but maybe I will offer it at two different times?
• Finally, one person mentioned  adding an activity to the visual exercise, which allows people to take action! I think this is a wonderful idea! For now, try these
  • Demand healthcare and protection for migrants during COVID-19!
  • Peru, protect people fleeing Venezuela
  • I WELCOME - Campaign
  • Take Action for Refugees and Asylum Seekers
    

Please take a look at the fantastic ideas shared by the participants. If you want to sign up for the next session, fill in this form.