Blog Posts

Reflection Questions

15/12/2021

Reflection prompts for student portfolios.
Below are some prompts you can use with students to reflect on a unit/piece of work. These can also used as exit tickets.

How did I use research skills in this unit/for this piece of work?
How did I use thinking skills in this unit/for this piece of work?
How did I use self-management skills in this unit/for this piece of work?
Who did I collaborate with and how in this unit/for this piece of work?
How did I use communication skills in this unit/for this piece of work?
Which IB Learner Profile attributes did I demonstrate or strengthen in this unit/for this piece of work?
How might I take-action inspired by what I have learnt during this unit?
What other perspectives did I explore in this unit?
How did this unit/piece of work help me better understand the unit’s global context?
How did this unit/piece of work help me better understand the unit’s key and/or related concept(s)?
How did I help others during this unit/when completing this piece of work?
What are the most interesting discoveries I learnt during this unit/when completing this piece of work?
What surprised me most during this unit/ when completing this piece of work?
What is the most important thing I learnt during this unit/when completing this piece of work?
What moments am I most proud of my efforts in this unit/when completing this piece of work?
What would I change about this piece of work or my contributions to this unit?
What would I do differently if I were to approach the same unit/piece of work again?
Could I effectively teach what I learnt in this unit to someone else? Why/Why not?
How will I use what I've learned in the future?
Based on this unit/piece of work, what do I want to learn more about?
When did I feel more creative in this unit/when completing this piece of work?
When did I feel most challenged in this unit/when completing this piece of work?
What did I find most difficult in this unit/when completing this piece of work?
What can I do with what I have learnt during this unit/when completing this piece of work?
What was my favourite part of the unit/piece of work?
How does something I learnt in this unit/when completing this piece of work that I can connect with something I already know?
How can I apply something I learnt in this unit/when completing this piece of work to another class/subject?
How can I apply something I learnt in this unit/when completing this piece of work to my life outside of school?
How can I apply something I learnt in this unit/when completing this piece of work in the future?
What questions do I still have about this unit?
How would I explain what I learnt during this unit/when completing this piece of work to someone in the grade below?
How would I explain what I learnt during this unit/when completing this piece of work to an adult?
If I was creating a quiz based on this unit/piece of work, what two questions would I include?

I worked with Toddle to create a visual guide to the MYP. This will help educators understand the key elements of the MYP. The document is easy to understand and has some teacher tips and activities for reflection throughout. You can download it here.

Educator Tips: Introducing New MYP Units to Students

18/10/2021

I made another resource with Toddle. This shows how I introduce units to my students. I don't tell them the content of the unit, instead I unpack the inquiry section, starting with the key and related concepts and then the global context. We then discuss the statement of inquiry, before I tell them what the unit is about. I believe this process helps add more meaning to the SOI and helps students with transfer!

You can find out more by watching the video here. There's also downloadable templates so you can try this approach with your students too.

Service Opportunities Inspired by the Curriculum

1/10/2021

I have noticed that many schools struggle with providing service opportunities within the curriculum or with students initiating service projects, inspired by the curriculum. Often service projects in schools are very disconnected from the curriculum, and are often just clubs, events and fundraisers.

I put together a slide deck with three main parts:
1. Some key quotes from MYP: From Principles into Practice about Service as Action
2. Some reflection questions for teachers
3. A series of reflection questions for students. These are designed for students to answer at the end of the unit. A teacher might pick one or two for all students to answer or might give them a selection to choose from. Not all will be relevant for every unit and some might seem to be repeated because they are very similar....BUT hopefully, they are useful.

Slide deck is here.

The Importance of the MYP Today

27/9/2021

I was invited to give one of the Keynotes at the Noida Pathway's Job-a-Like event! I decided to speak about the importance of the MYP today. My focus was on how important the MYP is for inspiring young people, but also how it helps shape them into better citizens/people who want to make the world a better place!
Here is the slide deck I used. I also had an accompanying slidedeck that people could fill in during/after the keynote. Feel free to use the second slidedeck as a tool for reflection.

Statemeny of Inquiry: Starter Pack

27/9/2021

I made another resource with Toddle!
This is a resource for MYP Coordinators or subject leaders to use with their teams. It is for helping them write or review and rewrite their statement of inquiries! Writing SOIs sometimes throws teachers through a loop as they think there are very rigid rules for writing them. Often teachers end up writing clumsy, hard to understand SOIs. This starter pack should help ease the SOI-stress and fear!

You can use the slide deck as a tool to present to your team or spend more time unpacking them with the suggested activities. Check out the blogpost and download the resource here.

Bonus: Check out this video: Educator Tips: Creating a statement of inquiry

Global Contexts as a Lens

27/8/2021

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

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