INSIGHTS
Reflections from classrooms, leaders, and learning communities
Why the IB framework is not a roadmap to conceptual understanding
Lockdown 3.0: As we start our second period of full remote learning (please, God, let this be the last!), I am reflecting more and more on the value of concept-based learning. And the conclusion I have come to is this: the IB curriculum framework (PYP, MYP or DP) does...
Vertical planning: developing a conceptual scope and sequence
In my last post, I wrote about horizontal planning and developing a more conceptual focus across a grade-level. But each grade-level sits within a larger scope and sequence, and our curriculum needs to reflect this interdependence. We naturally look to texts (or...
Horizontal planning: minimising content to maximise understanding
The old idiom "less is more" has so many different applications, but 2020 certainly gives it new meaning. By the first couple of weeks of remote learning back in the spring, I realised what a truism that statement is in relation to curriculum. Despite the many...
The ‘F’ word
"Miss, is this a formative or a summative?" That word: formative. In my classroom, it's almost as bad as that other f-word. (Likewise, the s-word is summative.) Over the past few years, I have been asked that question more often than I can count. What most students...
Using SDGs as IDU entry points
I've been writing a lot about IDUs lately, partly because I've been working to help develop the ID learning programme with my school and that's naturally where my focus has been. But I've also been taking stock of the global events that have been unfolding -- either...
The 3-day IDU: a simplified model
I've written twice now about developing IDUs but thought I would simplify my 3-day model here. I want to emphasise that there is no right or wrong way to deliver an IDU. The IB does not give a minimum or maximum length requirement, and different schools do things in...
Students as “authors”: using creative writing to develop critical analysis
This post is sort of a follow-up to a guest post I recently wrote for my publisher, Hodder Education. I've been reflecting a lot lately on how to develop students' analytical skills. As an English teacher, this is an ongoing focus, but I suppose the reason I am...
Fostering an interdisciplinary learning culture
Say the letters I-D-U in a crowded staff room and I bet you'll see a cluster of MYP teachers scatter to the winds. For some reason, The IDU has taken on a beast-like persona. Perhaps because teachers see it as an extra burden? Perhaps because they feel that they the...
COVID-19: An interdisciplinary experience?
There is a very tired saying that we learn by experience. The learning that results from an experience is not compartmentalised; we don't naturally think in disciplines, do we? Well, we are currently living through an unprecedented (another word that has been overused...
Approaches to learning: aligning skills with concepts
One of the things that I love about the IB Middle Years curriculum is the different pieces that fit together to create the big picture. It is a rich and layered curriculum that, if managed strategically, can add depth and breadth to a student's learning experience....
Remote teaching: an opportunity for conceptual learning to flourish
Before I try to switch into holiday mode (whatever that means these days), I am giving myself a bit of space to reflect after an intense 3 weeks. I am trying to reframe my thinking to consider opportunities rather than dwell on disappointments or unmet expectations (I...
Hello, teaching world
I hesitated on the timing of the launch of this web site. The idea has been germinating for quite some time. Now that I have almost 20 years of teaching (over 10 of that in the IB) under my belt, and several student textbooks to my name, I finally feel like I have...