Bringing design thinking to the staging of #PYPx

Wow was that week 5 of PYPx gone? For those just joining, you may wish to look at previous blog posts. Breaking the mould of #PYPx - Part 1 Authentic collaboration in #PYPx - Part 2 Peaks and Valleys of #PYPx - Part 3 We started our staging process this week by reflecting on previous...

Peaks and Valleys of #PYPx – Part 3

We are officially finished week 4 of our PYP Exhibition Expedition and I'm trying to blog our experiences of the process. For those joining the journey be sure to see the previous posts. Breaking the mould of #PYPx - Part 1 Authentic collaboration in #PYPx - Part 2 Peak - not being in school but...

Authentic collaboration in #PYPx – Part 2

We are officially into 'Week 2' of our PYP Exhibition Expedition and I'm trying to blog our experiences of the process. For those joining the journey be sure to see Part 1 Breaking the mold of #PYPx - Part 1 Time We started this week feeling pushed for time. Public holidays, school events and other...

Breaking the mould of the #PYPx – Part 1

After a few years of acting as a PYP mentor, this year I find myself working with our Year 6 team on exhibition. Over the next few weeks as part of our exhibition, I will try to document our journey. The Year 6 team identified that for an exhibition to be powerful, it needs to...

Agency begins with a culture of ‘yes’

During the Christmas holiday, one of my students emailed me asking if she could organise a Skype between the class and her godmother in France. We had just finished reading Alan Gratz's phenomenal Refugee, as a class read aloud. The class had previously Skyped one of my contacts who works for Amnesty International, and now...

Makerspace or Making Space for Learning?

As computers have become more ubiquitous, old-style computer labs have gone the way of the dinosaurs. Children don't go to a separate room to learn programmes just in case they might need to use them as adults. They are using programmes as part of their learning now, with a strong likelihood that the device and...

Decluttering pedagogy – what to stop doing in 2019

New Year's resolutions. January 1 flips over and we spring into action trying to improve ourselves. Yet by February, those promises are long forgotten and we're back to our old habits. Thanks to Maire Kondo's Netflix series, decluttering our homes of unneeded possessions has been added to the standard new year's resolutions along with getting...

Rethinking student councils

When schools are asked how they include students in decision making, they often point to student council as an example of students having voice and choice in the running of a school. This mirrors what happens out in the 'real world' we vote for representatives and then entrust them to lead and make decisions on...

#ishcmc3E – engage, empower, energise

4 years ago I decided to spend a day of my vacation hanging at the International School Ho Chi Minh City. That day turned into a week. Since then, I've come back three times for the school's annual 3E conference. True to the conference aims, I've been engaged, empowered and energized. Engage When I first visited ISHCMC...

Saying no to Classroom Eye Candy – Planning for Agency from Day One

No matter how many years I've spent in education, I never sleep well the night before the first day with a new class. I fret about mispronouncing names, how amazing other teacher's learning spaces look in comparison to my own and wonder if I have enough activities planned to keep the kids 'occupied' until the...