Got My Mojo Back

Photo by Daniel Minárik on Unsplash

I had what I thought was a better image for this post. It was the scene from The Simpsons when Homer gets a helper monkey. By the end of the episode, the helper monkey has turned lazy and got out of shape. It's a good episode, but I probably shouldn't use copyrighted images. 

Morals foiled me again!

Then I went on Unsplash to find an image I could use. I typed "confidence" into the search bar and I found this image.

I didn't choose it because I agree with it, however. I chose it because while it is a nice catchphrase, I think things are not as simple as "Prove Them Wrong". 

What if you are in a place where you don't have the confidence to prove them wrong?

On Learner Agency

If you had asked me to define learner agency a few years ago - I probably wouldn't have been able to give a cohearant definition. Fast forward a little bit and my definition would have had something to do with independence -- which I still believe, but now my definition is including other terms I wouldn't have thought to include. 

Photo by John Schnobrich on Unsplash

According to the article What is learner agency?, learner agency is a term that is both hard to define, and one that encompasses several ingredients.

Terms such as ...

• engagement
• autonomy
• self-regulation
• active learning

all make up the term learner agency. 

One term I would have addedm, and I don't see, is something about independence or self-efficacy. 

When I think of an independent learner, I think of a student who understands the goal, is able to plan to reach the goal, and 

The term, self-regulation, is defined as

self-regulation, as learners need to know themselves well, to plan and monitor their progress when they take action. Learner agency often involves taking action with others and knowing how to organize ways of acting together in collaborative activities.

So actually self-regulation encompasses what I think of as independence. 

A Boxing Tale - Using Video to Tell Story in PE

If you count up all the drafts, I am a prolific blogger.

Photo by Johann Walter Bantz on Unsplash

I was approached with the idea of collaborating on a summative project for the MYP Grade 7 and 8 PE Boxing unit. The idea that was pitched was a grand event where students would share their movies. The image in my mind was of a PYPx or some other kind of exhibition. My role was to be the facilitator for the exhibition.

The first question I had was what were the ATLs? What were the skills students were to focus on? 

My next question was about adding the ATL of Information Literacy or Media Literacy as seen in the enhanced PYP ATLs. I am not up to date on the MYP ATLs, so it seemed that might be a logical starting point. 

Then I wondered what could be the "hook" for the students on this project. As I understood the unit when I came out of the initial meeting, I would just be supporting the final exhibition. I assumed the students would play their movies on their laptops, so I wondered if we could use AR to do something creative with movie posters. I had recently seen an art teacher on Instagram [link coming] that does some pretty amazing things with the AR app, EyeJack. 

So I went away with a little more of an idea of what was going on.

Some ideas for next time:

• Get the unit plan
• Have the teachers articulate their objectives
• Have the teachers tell their ATLs [skills] and how the students will show them
• Make time to talk with the teacher before the unit starts to see the bigger picture and to ask clarifying questions

Making Co-teaching Successful

We are in a period of online learning - again. I think this is the third or fourth time that the whole school has gone online during this pandemic.

Photo by NeONBRAND on Unsplash

When we first started teaching online, I was a homeroom teacher. My role was very straightforward. Since then I have moved to a support role as PYP Learning Support and Technology Coach. With this new role, I have more flexibility to join lessons as needed, but I find that since I am not in planning sessions with teachers (something I am pushing for) I can be called at any time to help with a lesson. When it is simply to be another adult in the room, there is not much need to go over things. But when I am being asked to co-teach a lesson, I can sometimes rush into it without fully knowing what the lesson is about. 

Yeah, I get excited to help others.

But today I went to a lesson and it was just an OK lesson. This was because I didn't have time to prepare and think through what I was going to be doing. I was given a lesson outline then a little while later I was to deliver. 

It didn't help that this lesson was online.

After the lesson, I was reflecting on how it could have been better since this situation will happen again -- online or in person. I came up with a few simple things my teachers and I could do before we teach together.

Develop a relationship with your co-teacher

• Co-plan
• Co-prepare
• Practice together before a lesson
• Reflect together

It looks very obvious, but unless it is made into a norm -- a part of the school's culture, it can be tricky to put into practice.