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2nd FREE Video-Inquiry Teacher Training! Developing Conceptual Thinkers

 

Welcome back! And if you’re just showing up….welcome! I have had an overwhelming response to video number 1! I’m beyond grateful for everyone who commented, sent me private messages and all in all, expressed thanks. I feel incredibly thankful to be a part of such a fabulously supportive, global community of teachers.

Video number 2 is here! Following on from training video number 1, where I introduce the idea of using concepts within teaching and learning, I’ll now go on to give you some practical ideas for developing conceptual thinkers.

These videos are a snapshot of my new online professional development course, Essentials for Inquiry: Getting Started with Inquiry-Based Teaching, which I shall be releasing SOON! I receive so very many questions from teachers all around the world and this course is designed to get you off to an effective start from planning, through the inquiry process, to assessment. It comes complete with lesson...

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FREE Video 3 Training for IB PYP Inquiry Teachers

Hello again! I am delighted to be sharing this inquiry teacher video training series for those of you new to inquiry-based teaching and/or the IB PYP.  If you missed video 1 and video 2 on concept-based learning, you can catch up right here by clicking the links. 

ANOTHER FREE WEBINAR COMING SOON!

With the ENORMOUS response I have had from this summer video series, I have decided to go one step further and will be hosting a FREE webinar about planning the inquiry!  And I know we are ALL over the world, so I have scheduled several times. Hopefully, you are able to make one of those webinars. I shall be sending out invitations to register in the next few days, so, keep an eye on your in box. If you would like to join in, and not yet subscribed to this blog, please drop your name and e mail in the box below.

Collaboration and Inquiry : Summer Training Video 3

The subject of this video in the series is something that is an integral practice to the...

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The Art of the Provocation in the IB PYP

The art of the provocation. Such a vital part of the inquiry classroom. This is the number one request for help and guidance that I receive from teachers, “How and what can I do to provoke this inquiry? ” If this sounds familiar, believe me when I tell you that you are not alone! But don’t worry. I have a few things up my sleeve that can help. In this article, I am sharing suggestions for planning a provocation as well as a guide to Six Simple Provocation activities that you can link to in my Instagram account. Also, read through to the end and you’ll be able to grab a FREE provocation template tool. Easy to use with ANY inquiry, simply edit to suit your needs.  It’s available in digital and printable versions, so whatever your situation or preference, I’ve got you covered.

No matter whether you’re teaching online or in the classroom, setting the scene of the inquiry and tuning in to the...

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Developing Personal, Social and Emotional Learning within the IB PYP

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The best way, I have found, to achieve our goals is to keep them at the top of mind so that we are always consciously and subconciosuly looking for ways to move closer to them. Over the years, I have shifted more and more towards positive affirmations as a perfect tool to help my kiddos to believe in themselves, to reinforce the belief that their uniqueness is their strength and to attract what they desire. It falls into the realms of that buzzword that’s been going around for a few years now….you know, growth mindset? And it is a joy to see the children as they develop the practice of positively affirming what they want and taking steps towards changing their mindset and going for it! If it all sounds a wee bit too woo-woo for you, I get it. It is absolutely woo-woo! But, by golly, it works and so I am all in on this particular woo-woo stuff. Check it out! I first heard about positive affirmation cards when I attended a conference way back in the early...

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Online Teaching with the IB PYP- A Starting Point

I am going to begin with applauding each and everyone of you, my dear colleagues, wherever you may be in the world, as we endure this CORVID 19 pandemic and work together to keep educating our young learners and making their lives as normal as possible given the incredible abnormality of the entire situation. I’m hoping, by sharing a few of my own trials and successes, that I can lessen some of the concerns you my have and help you to recognise that we are all feeling the same feelings. Teachers, children and parents alike.

We were thrown into this online learning situation with only 12 hours notice. Italy announced on a Sunday evening that schools would be closed the next day, for one week. Three weeks later, we re still working through it and growing from it! Stay positive, stay strong and focus on the silver lining of this cloud.

We have since learned that our children are incredibly positive, incredibly independent and incredibly willing. Their beautifully innocent...

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Strategies for Authentic IB PYP Inquiry with Distance Learning

And so it continues….

As some of us are now knee deep into distance learning, and some of us are still finding our feet with it all, the fact of the matter remains that for many of us, this new form of teaching and learning that has been thrust upon us, isn’t going away any time soon. I know, I know. But…..it isn’t all bad news. Let’s not forget the skills that we have learned, the inner strength we have developed and the technology hurdles we have overcome! Or perhaps that last one is just me? Anyway, I have a video replay with a few strategies up my sleeve that I’d like to share with you to help keep the inquiry authentic with the on-going remote learning.

                             
Distance learning brings out the crazed and the crazy in us all. Hang in there!

    

                     ...

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Amazing Books for Developing IB PYP Thinking Skills

There’s a lot more to this thinking business than we think. When developing IB PYP thinkers and inquirers, I believe it’s so important that we first  teach the children to become aware of their thinking. They need to know what this whole thinking thing is about. And before we point to that reference poster on the wall that outlines those sub-skills, I want to help them identify much of what those sub-skills involve. This is where books come into play!

When you’ve been teaching as long as I have, you come across a few books that become your favourite, go-to books over and over, for very specific purposes. This article shares my favourite books for developing the IB PYP Learner Profile attributes of Thinker and Inquirer and, in turn, the Approaches to Learning thinking skills.  In addition, I was excited to host a giveaway on my social media accounts and was able to give away 7 books to 7 teachers around the world!  In this article,...

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Developing Thinking Skills with the IB PYP

Hello again fellow inquiry teachers! This article is going to be expanding on my previous post where I was sharing my favourite books for developing thinkers and inquirers.

                                           

                             Looking for ideas for books? Read the article here.

Over the course of the next few weeks, I’m going to be breaking down the IB Approaches to Learning Thinking Skills and sharing strategies for bringing a greater awareness and understanding of the sub-skills to the children.  If you are a subscriber to my blog, you already know that I send you free samples of my new resources and examples of tools I’ve used.  Look out for those in your inbox over the next few weeks. If you’d like to become a subscriber and...

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To TEFL or not to TEFL? A quick summary for the international teacher

As an international IB PYP teacher, I am often asked if I am TEFL certified and what benefits this certification may offer a qualified teacher.

The short answer is yes. I got my TEFL certificate three years into my career. I have since taken several courses that assist with teaching English as  foreign language. But before I go into the reasons why I chose to become TEFL certified,  let me give you a wee bit of background.

What is TEFL?

TEFL stands for Teaching English as a Foreign Language. It refers to a course that you can take, either online or in-person to learn how to teach English to non-English speaking students/children who speak English as their second or even third language.

Within 2 years of graduating from university in Scotland, I applied for my first position as an international teacher. I was winging my way to Abu Dhabi with only 2 years of teaching experience under my belt and a whole lot of excitement; new culture, sunshine,  international...

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