I'm very excited for Denise Kraft and her team as they welcome Trevor MacKenzie to their Igniting Inquiry conference in Middletown, Connecticut on June 27-29, 2024. For more information, please watch this video!
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I've known Mondrea Mitchell for the past eight years. She was my first work colleague and friend that I met in Houston after spending a decade teaching abroad. After a few months, I knew that she was a kindred spirit, because she was equally excitable about the PYP and constructivist teaching. I am beyond excited to work alongside Mondrea at the Igniting Inquiry conference happening next month, because I know she will bring a wealth of experience and excitement to the conference. I'm a naturally curious person, which is why I'm in trouble half of the time. I can't help myself, because I still have that innate question bubbling inside of me, "WHY?" I want answers. In preparation for Igniting Inquiry, I was very curious about the surroundings of Middletown, CT itself. Denise Kraft has assured me several times that it's quite adorable, but I wanted to see it for myself First of all, look at this Hallmark movie setting of a downtown district. I so can see a Christmas tree lighting happening at the end of the street and local citizens gathering to solve a major obstacle to the town's annual festivities. Then, I wanted to see the relative location of the city to anything else. I didn't realize that a river ran through it, which makes it more interesting in my eyes. I love being near any body of water. I adore New England towns, because they have a quaint atmosphere. I can't wait to explore every nook and cranny of this community and NYC. Who will join me? For the past four days, I've had the pleasure of working with this fabulous group of educators around the United States, who are trying to making the PYP happen with fidelity despite major obstacles. It's not easy to being open-minded to a process that requires a lot of work and a mindset shift. Even with their challenges, this group was open to new ideas and embraced how they can adapt the process to their context. This is all we can ask.
A big thanks to Alexis and Ahmad from UWC-USA for their encouragement, support, and systems to make this workshop a success! Like most educators, I have been muddling through my journey trying to put the pieces together to make sense of what is best for learners. I'm continuously trying to stretch myself through various trainings, engaging with thought leaders, and trying out new strategies. I just think this good teaching practice...nothing usually special. One day, you are asked to help co-facilitate an inquiry conference and you are stunned. Why would anyone want me to help them? I'm just a normal person. I'm not published or particularly gifted...or am I? These have been the questions that have floated through my mind as I've prepared for the Igniting Inquiry conference this upcoming April. I can't believe my face in on a poster featuring some big inquiry thought leaders. I believe we are our own worst critics. We all have unique gifts to share with the world. I may not be a published author or a famous person, but I do have my own unique perspectives to share. I'd love for you to join me, so I know there will be friends in the audience. Who knew that an online IB workshop would completely change my life. I met Denise Kraft while leading the Your Exhibition workshop with her team. That group of educators was so special and I've made bonds with several of them since the event. Sometimes, you just meet people who put in a smile in your heart that stay for a long time. Move forward a year, Denise meets my friend Mondrea Mitchell through her school's verification visit. One thing leads to another. I'm invited to help plan an inquiry conference with Kath Murdoch. Everyone is on a different part of their inquiry journey, so if you haven't heard of Kath Murdoch, it's okay. Legend is a word I'd describe her. When I first began my PYP journey, I was completely lost. I can still hear my colleague Karen Roddis tell me repeatedly to make learning more inquiry-driven and to use more conceptually driven questions. I didn't know that any of that meant until I took a workshop with Kath in the fall of 2014. Within two days, the shackles of confusion left my eyes and I finally understood what this inquiry-based learning was all about. No surprise, I had been doing it wrong, but it was part of my journey in becoming better. I'll never forget that learning opportunity, because it began the change within my mindset of how education could look and feel. Since that moment, I've had a chance to be guided by Kath and her books, The Power of Inquiry and Getting Personal with Inquiry Learning. This past summer, Kath gave me permission to podcast my thought s and reflections about her book after participating in a book club. To have a listen, click here. I've had the pleasure to engage with Kath online and meet her in-person at the Crafting Inquiry conference in Portland in October 2022. What a treat! In 2021, I received a message on Twitter from a woman named Misty Paterson. She had seen some of my posts and wanted to connect with a like-minded person. Soon, our friendship blossomed and I knew that she was a keeper. Pedagogically, I realized her brilliance when I received a copy of her book Pop-Up Studio: Responsive Teaching for Today's Learners. I participated in a book club, which opened up my eyes to Misty's ability to weave ideas together to share a unique story. A couple weeks ago, I was able to participate in an Edu-retreat with Misty in Brussels. This was a transformative experience, because I saw ideas from the page come to life in real practice. I know that I will continue to learn new ideas at the upcoming conference. I've had the chance to learn and explore with the two other inquiry leaders, Mondrea Mitchell and Michael Medvinsky in a variety of capacities, but mainly as good friends and thought leaders. They are both modest in their abilities to craft ideas that make me pause and reflect. Every time I engage with these two, I walk away feeling full of new ideas that I had not considered before. Truly blessed. My mom would always remind me that I reflected the company that I keep. Every once in awhile, I'm curious who's company that I'm keeping on social media. It was fun to see so many faces that I already recognize, but new ones that have added a spark of curiosity in my life these past few months. I can't wait to check in six months time to see if there any changes. A big thank you to my professional learning network for add depth to my work and helping me to make deeper connections to yours.
After attending the Pop-Up Studio EduRetreat, I was on a mental high. The number #1 lesson that I learned is the old adage, "less is more." We all know it, but do we live by it? In preparation for the Making the PYP Happen: Implementing Agency workshop, I knew I wanted to transfer my learning. Coupled with my recent IBEN development experiences, I knew I could make it so much more meaningful to my learners. In preparation, I followed some common steps over again to guide each session. It always began with an experience, question, or open-ended task. Here, we are using the materials mingler that was modeled by Misty while in Brussels. The directions were simple: Use the materials to show line and shape. Some participants took it quite literally while others created abstract works of art. We picked up our papers and angled them differently so the ink would run together to create new shapes and lines. Something so simple, but so needed to get our thinking to come alive. To support the thinking, we took random Dollar Store materials and sorted by use. This was done through this question: What scientific principles do you see? Concepts are the hardest things for new teachers to the PYP to grasp. This is natural, since it's the moment abstract. By sorting materials using scientific principles, we were then able to label the grouping with a related concept. Poof...the light bulbs went on. To help us synthesize the big ideas of the workshop, we used the PYP Nano Resources to gather new ideas about inquiry, transdisciplinary learning, or central ideas. Each group chose their topic (agency) and captured their notes on the back of seven strips from our materials mingler with lines and shapes. Each group was able to capture the big ideas and weave their strips together. I modeled how you can highlight the words that are peeking out to create a big idea of the Nano engagement. Here is an example of a teacher's summary statement: "In the PYP school, students are not restricted to standards and have a peaceful learning environment." One major aha moment: teachers realized that they had created a central idea for their PD Nano engagement. We discussed how to deconstruct the process, so we don't add so much pressure on ourselves to have the perfect wording. We are striving to create central ideas that are thoughtful, provoking, and worth researching. One of the best parts of this experience was reducing the number of extra slides that I had incorporated into my facilitation. In all, I cut about 100 slides. Less is definitely more.
I can't wait to try it again! I was so inspired and motivated by the edu-retreat that I had to post it everywhere on social media. I couldn't help myself! After an amazing first day, I was didn't think anything would top my experiences. It's amazing how you can be proven wrong so quickly.
One benefit to my material mingler was having time to chat with Sean Walker. I've been following him on social media and have been impressed with his work within early years. He's all about the free use materials, play, and inquiry. As a wannabe early years teacher, I rather marvel at the ease in which he creates art and puts ideas together. I may have fangirled just a little. One of the highlights for me was revisiting our watercolor paintings from yesterday. Misty cut them into strips and we had to write down impressions, sentences, words, or phrases from a reading passage within Pop-Up Studio: Responsive Teaching for Today's Learners. We took our ideas and wove them together into a tapestry of knowledge. Every culture weaves together ideas and stories that shape their understanding of the world. In this engagement, we reused materials from prior engagements in order to synthesize our ideas to create summary statements or found poems. The biggest takeaway is using less engagements and reusing materials from prior learning. I plan to use these ideas in my future workshops. The sweetest part of the day was a chocolate lesson from Youri, one of our hosts from Bogaerts International School, North Campus. He studied to be a professional chef and master chocolatier. We tasted from a range of chocolates - American to high grade Belgian - which I did not mind at all. The highlight of this experience was seeing the complete joy on Debbie's face as she chose the chocolate covered cherry. We all were dying to get that one, but she was the lucky winner. She was all smiles after that! Here's the final group picture from the edu-retreat. What a treat to meet so many wonderful new friends from around Europe and the world. I can't wait for our paths to cross someday soon! A big thanks to Misty Paterson for giving us her passion, ideas, and excitement for inquiry and concept-based learning. I walked away with even more clarity on how to lead my own professional development.
We always hear less is more. This workshop reminded me to create less activities and reuse materials to extend the learning. I can't wait to get started! Within a few hours, I felt a kinship with Rafael and Youri, the heads of school of Bogaerts International School, North Campus and founds of Ampers and Consulting Group. They are my kind of people. Jovial, passionate, and open to new possibilities. Together, they have lived all around the world and now they bring their passion to their learners in Brussels. After an amazing weekend of learning, the dynamic duo took us around Brussels and treated us to an authentic Belgian meal. I know this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship and many possibilities ahead! Everyone needs to be nourished, challenged, and to think anew. My opportunity came in a bespoke training by Misty Paterson at the Bogaerts International School, North Campus in Brussels, Belgium. This workshop focused on ways to POP UP our teaching practice through inquiry, concepts, materials, and experiences Material Mingler: we entered an inviting room to find a long table with eyedroppers full of different colored liquid and watercolor paper. We were invited to create using the materials and our personal styles.
This was a beautiful creation from my new friend Debbie. She put ink on both pictures and smashed them together. To be honest, it reminded me of two lungs searching for the breath of life. What do you see? Misty brought us together to create a shared experience around objects and concepts. We created a dynamic web of connections using related concepts to share the connection between objects and ideas. Afterwards, we were put into small groups to make a model of our thinking. Here, we are examining the concept of grounding learners, teachers, and evaluators to the concept of identity. We created a strong conceptual based that was watered by inquiry and it's roots were evidence of learner agency. We grounded our identity through the lens of authenticity, purpose, and cultural connections. During our learning journey, we discovered a magical supply cupboard to add to our new creations. I made a connection that there is a difference between a US supply cupboard to a Belgian one. Can you spot the difference? To synthesize our thinking, we walked around the learning spaces to find authentic evidence (our rubbings) of learning happening. I thought of post-it notes and how they help to find our voice within the learning context. Even with jet lag, the amount of movement, thinking, dialogue, and doing kept me awake. I felt rejuvenated by the experience of learning with and from Misty in this workshop. I can't wait for day 2!
It's hard to imagine that 10 years ago, I was beginning my journey to become an IB workshop leader. We all have those moments that define who we are and where we go next. I've been blessed to attend more than one IBEN Development (IBAEM and IBA), since different regions certify only one role at a time. Through each development, I grew even more into the workshop leader that I am today. A big shout out to the people who helped me along the way! Darren Arbour who saw my potential for working in schools and to Anne Grisham for mentoring me through the years. I could not have done this great work without your mentorship and support. Now, I work with the IBEN Development team as a coach for Asia-Pacific and as a lead coach in the Americas. Truly blessed. The teachers at Creation Village had fun using the CME Model by Misty Paterson to create a representation of change and/or consequences. We unpacked the concepts and they used loose parts to create their model. The key to this experience is agency. You can assign some materials, but I chose to allow the learners drive the process. I have found it's more fluid this way and it sparks creativity. I'm using the CME model to help teachers to better understand how to use concepts in their practice and make deeper connections. How does my model represent change or consequence? What is it? Supporting conceptual thinking and reflective practice at Creation Village World School in Celebration, Florida. This team of teachers are on fire about supporting concept-driven learners. One year after leaving Houston ISD, I had an amazing experience working with early years teachers from across the district to better understand the program. We dismantled central ideas, lines of inquiry, agency, play, learning environments, inquiry, and more. It was a fun filled time sharing ideas and showing our creativity as we enter this new school year. We are extending our creativity with loose parts to create an engagement that will transfer of one to one correspondence. I know these teachers will make an impactful difference this school year and for many to come. After so many years leading virtual workshops, it's been a pleasure to lead workshops for Texas IB Schools again. This summer, I will be at each of their events, which has been on my bucket list, since leading workshops in the IB Americas region. I'm so lucky! One sweet side of TIBS Austin is that we are always treated to some yummy eat to begin a week of meaningful learning. This year, we were given some delicious macarons. When we think about making our learning spaces this year, how will we create safe spaces where learner well-being is safeguarded? This is one of the key principles of the IB workshop, Making Space for Learning. At TIBS Austin, I was able to work with educators over three days to examine the spaces that build an agentic environment. I was stretched to think differently about elements of learning space design. A big thanks to my friends Mondrea Mitchell and Vidhya Ganesan for all of their ideas and support with this creation process. I love having friends who inspire me to be better. I remember being so nervous recording my first podcast episode. I must have deleted the recording 50+ times to get it "just right." The main reason, I didn't like the sound of my voice. It's amazing how hard we are on ourselves, especially when being recorded. We sound too loud, too husky, too squeaky, or too everything. With a deep breath, I launched it on May 24, 2020. I decided to podcast, because I saw a lot of teachers struggling to make sense of teaching with the onset of the pandemic. Being stuck home all of the time, I also used the podcast as a form of therapy. I got to speak the ideas on my mind that I was never allowed to share at any of my schools, because they were too radical. Two years later, the little podcast that could has 10,000 downloads with 92 recorded episodes. To say this was a journey is an understatement. More importantly, my heart warms when I engage with other PYP educators and they share their favorite moments or ideas that have been applied to their practice. This is why I became an educator, I wanted to help learners. Now, my learners are just a bit older. Here's to 10,000 more as we spread the love of the PYP! This week, I had the best time leading a workshop for teachers in Nashville, Tennessee. They were so open-minded to new ideas and ways of learning. This summer, more than ever, rebooted our thinking and our passion of education. Here I am enjoying the fruits of my labor with fellow IB educators around the United States at a Dolly Parton inspired rooftop bar and restaurant. I lived out my pink dreams at White Limozeen. I had the absolute pleasure to work with UWC-USA this year for the first time and lead the IB workshop, Creating a Curriculum for Transdisciplinary Learning. This online workshop experience pushed my capacity once again as I had to return to the digital space to learn and share. It's amazing how quickly we lose skills if they are not nurtured and reflected upon. One of the hallmarks of this workshop is its structure based on the Design Thinking Process. You can learn more here from Tim Brown, the design thinking guru. Educators took these principles and applied them to education. When I consider making big curricular changes in a school, I use the design thinking process to guide my way. If you are struggling with understanding how to make transdisciplinary connections, consider taking this workshop. I enjoy working at Texas IB Schools, because the teachers always stretch my thinking. This time, I was able to meet teachers in Carrollton, Texas near Dallas. We worked together to unpack the elements of the PYP and how they apply to the early learner. I just love this stuff! We worked in teams to use loose parts to create our ideal learning spaces. It truly revealed what people value and how the learning space greatly impacts play and inquiry in our practice. We collaborated to extend mathematical understanding of number sense concepts. Groups presented their engagements with each other to stretch our practice. Although we learned through play, we made deeper connections to our systems and how they drive help or hinder the learning process.
We are creating patterns in art as a response to the CME model (concepts, materials, experiences). This group displayed their risk-taking by sharing their creativity and art form with the school community. We are working together in teams to make conceptual connections to our unit of inquiry content. We are using the QFT to help us make a wider range of questions. This group made a colorful display of the type of questions they frequently ask in their practice. |
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