Which Learner profiles do you associate yourself to?

Has your teaching been impacted by the learner profiles that you have associated yourself with?

My DP Coordinators online workshop , Category 3 has started. Though just finished a hectic three programme evaluation visit last week, yet all excited to get on board and learn something new for a better understanding.

pic courtesy: Module of IB workshop resources

As a part of my first activity I have to blog which tow LPs I associate myself with and how I think they might influence my teaching.

Well I could right away chose open- minded and reflective. Very close to my heart. Both are related. The more you reflect, better are your chances to become more open-minded. These two attributes have made me break free of a rigid mindset and helped me accomodate other people's views and respect the same. having a difference of opinions is needed for the growth of a healthy ecosystem , but agreeing to disagree with dignity.

I have been always a physics teacher (since teaching DP) embracing technology to enhance the learning process. However this year's year 1 had one of them asking me "When are you going to teach Normal Physics?" I realized how difficult is must have been for the student to shift from his way of learning from textbooks and teachers to a system of self learning. So we had no ipads for the next few days and I made the batch comfortable so that their transition from textbook oriented learning to ipad based self learning could me a smooth one. And bingo,,,the same student is using popplet to design his formative assessment task infusing TOK elements in it. Hence I do think that being open-minded helps me respect views of students in the classroom and being reflective helps me tune into my teaching strategies as per the need of the students.

An LP that I myself did not get associated was being an Inquirer as being a student in India, my education system never demanded me to be one. Hence devising inquiry based teaching model took quite a bit of time to be accepted. However the pedagogy following of late using a 5E model of inquiry has sparkling results in the classroom. Surely looking forward to infuse more ATL in the classroom.

Reflecting on the Three programme evaluation visit by the Asia Pacific team

What does Evaluation mean for a DPC and the school?

pic courtesy : Standards Workshop Delhi , Sept 2014

My journey through this IB world takes turn all the time and at every juncture makes me realize how immense the learning and the transformation process is. Last week was the culminating visit of the three programme Evaluation team members. The heartbeat and adrenaline rush had already been high as the whole school had been busy in documenting evidences.

As I documented evidences for the DP , every statement of those standards and practices seemed to come alive. The whole process in itself was an eye opener. It made me realize of the high benchmark of implementation that IB has set.

pic courtesy : Standards Workshop Delhi , Sept 2014

A few days back also attended the Four in 1 standards workshop at Delhi which had already made me realize how all the standards were so very well connected.Everything was interconnected. My career in IB five years down the line had now made me realize the importance of all the documents that IB had made and all the new publications that came up.




The major highlights of my learning were:

• Success of any IB programme is based on regular scheduled collaboration with the staff alligned with the set standards and practices
• How important it is to interpret each one of IB 's documents in our school's own context and agree as a team on a sustained model of implementation. 
• Handling the curriculum development across all the three programmes, also made me realize how important it is for a DP educator to have a knowledge of the PYP and MYP. Made my understanding of the DP so very clear.
• Also having a clear cut system of documenting evidences is a must as it is a five year evaluation

What is IB education and Towards an IB continuum were the two documents that summed up everything. The Evaluation team liked many of the set practices in the school and looked for a stronger and sustained implementation of the planned model. Staff after their one on one meet felt the high levels of expectation in their work.

Amongst the set practices appreciated were the following:

• formative and summative assignments alligned with the grade descriptors throgh rubrics
• strong senior school assembly and global awareness sessions
• TOK integration in the curriculum
• support from the recent Year 1 parents and the transparency that the school had with them

Also what came out as a big understanding was why IB has placed ATTL in the heart and what it meant to the IB DP. Have alligned ATTL into our practices. All of us as a team just need to reflect at each step, imbibe the learner profile attributes in us and go ahead to have a positive impact on the community.

Please comment on what evaluation at your school meant to you?