Reseting Focus- TAB

Resetting as a Visual Arts Teacher

While I have enjoyed the challenges and adventures of being a PYP 5- exhibition teacher, this year I am starting a new journey as the PYP Visual Arts teacher.

Drawing inspiration

I have spent the past 6 months researching Teaching Artistic Behaviors ( TAB) and exploring how to develop learner agency in Visual Arts to support thinking skills across our PYP  program (Pre-K 3 to PYP 5)

I chose Teaching Artistic Behaviors as my methodology after visiting the American School of Warsaw (ASW) to participate in a workshop on Teaching and Learning through inquiry with Kath Murdoch. On that weekend visit, I saw evidence of a learner centered classroom. There were anchor charts to guide student inquiry and materials were accessible.

Guided Inquiry Anchor Chart

Without viewing teaching and learning in action, I saw evidence that students were in control of their learning and I said to myself, I want to see that at my school!

Artisitc thinking in inquiry in the corridor

As I researched, I learned that TAB has 3 fundamental points:

What do artists do?
The child is the artist.
The classroom is the child's studio.

I see these as key areas of an inquiry based education.

Observing Mentor Teachers

I wanted to see what this looks like in a teaching day, so I requested to observe the art program at ASW to learn about their inquiry process. 
Some things I wanted to see/discuss were:

• How did they design their room to be accessible to all artisits? 
• How do they balance instruction and inquiry? 
• How do they develop agency?
• How do they assess and report?

I was excited to learn that they use TAB and participated in a TAB workshop. ASW has 2 large art rooms in PYP and a series of art inquiry centers in their early years program. In the PYP they have 7 centers and each center is organized so that once it is "open," students can access resources and explore the skills independently.

Studio Centers check in

A labeled Drawing Center

Developing Routines

They were in their second year of implementing TAB and it was at the end of their school year. Routines were firmly established and students had adopted the vocabulary of the domain and the thinking routines.
I observed 2 days of lessons with two teachers in two studios. I saw a consistent TAB routine across all lessons as students:

•  entered the room
• reviewed what they had done last lessons
• got to work on projects
• cleaned up for the day
• shared their progress and reflected on each others work
• left for their next lesson

The Studio Structure

Inquiry in Action

Teaching Methods- 

Once students got to work, the teachers moderated the action by: observing and taking notes, asking questions, and suggesting modifications of materials. I heard teachers asking guiding questions rather than giving instructions.
At all age levels I observed students working on their own projects. Some were working independently, others collaboratively.  Students were taking time to think about what they wanted to do, researching, planning and revising their products.

 Transitioning to a New Practice

As the last school year eneded, I was overwhelmed by how I would go from not having taught art before to opening a TAB classroom. I decided to take baby steps over the summer and baby steps this first year.

During the summer break, I set myself the goal of digging into TAB. I read Studio Thinking From the Start and started a TAB book club. About 200 teachers came together on Facebook to discuss the book. We analyzed what TAB might look like in our different contexts, how we were going to organize our studios, plan our lessons, assess student work in the TAB framework. It was helpful to collaborate with a group of teachers making the transition to TAB.
 This got my mind focused for starting the new school year. 

Going forward:

This year I have set a few goals for myself:

• Develop a Studio Arts room that maximizes student agency using 4 centers
• Using simple routines to develop the basic awareness of the Studio Habits of Mind in my students
• Teach independence in developing a simple artistic portfolio using Seesaw

I hope that by the end of this year I feel grounded in setting up centers and helping my students developing their artistic thinking so that next year I can dig deeper into the practice.

Reflecting on the experiment

Reflecting on the experiment

Last year I tried an experiment  called Silent Teacher Day that I have renamed Independence Day. Last year's kids really rose to the task and learned a lot about their roles as learners. I had very high hopes for this year's students.

I have been watching this group of students for 3 years and they are incredibly sweet and considerate, but they are often very passive and dependent on the teacher, asking for permission, waiting for instruction, wanting others to make choices for them.

I've been reflecting on how I encourage them to be independent and think for themselves. I've increased some responsibility in the classroom to try to expose them to more opportunities to take control, but they are uncomfortable with it.

We have taken 2 away trips where they had to organize their materials, keep their rooms tidy, make their meals and tidy up after. Some of them really shined. A few struggled and had to reflect on their actions (over packing, playing instead of packing, standing at the sink trying to figure out how to wash a plate and cup)

I have several students do not want to take ownership and ask for my approval/ permission constantly. I knew it would be a different

How it went that day

Oof, it was a challenge. They came in and got their materials out.  Student A read the board and announced what they needed to do.

Hint 2 on our weekly objectives

From the beginning Student B came up next to me and began saying my name repeatedly. She was joined by student C. They literally stood there for 5 minutes repeating my name. 

I got up and tidied the aquarium to try to change their behavior. 

The two students returned to their desks.  They all began talking about their weekends. After 18 minutes Student C  said "Quiet!" and everyone became quiet. 

Then they began whispering. They talked, read, drew pictures, and 2 students began flipping paper balls across the room. 

Hint 1 on our unit journal

After 35 minutes  Student D and E came up next to me and began saying my name repeatedly. After 2 minutes of his saying my name, I got up to run a false errand trying to rest their behavior again. (I hoped that by leaving the room they would make a plan.)

Instead the play increased and when I returned Student F cocked his arm back to throw a paper ball and accidentally hit me in the chest.
Student G begun doing missing work and Student D took out work he turned in and began revising it. The rest were just entertaining themselves.

Hint 2 on our daily objectives

It was almost impossible to keep going after an hour.  I identified it wasn't going as planned, but saw an opportunity to add value by completing the whole day. I kept taking notes of what they were doing and saying.
I had a teaching assistant deliver notes to the two paper throwers that they needed to clean the room instead of going to break.

Their lack of independence continued on with their snack time, break time, and transitions to specialists classes.

At the end of the day, I sent home an email to parents explaining my objectives and asking them to ask their children what happened, what they did/did not do all day? 

 

The next day:

The next day we had a huge discussion about "Independence Day." I reviewed my notes with  them from their Independence day. Then I reviewed the notes from the year before. They identified how differently the previous year's kids took the day and  asked for a redo. We wrote journal questions and I gave them 3 days to reflect on what they did during Independence Day. 

For me the most telling was a very respectful and obedient boy approached me and said "Do I have to write the journal, too? I didn't do anything." 

He and I spoke about how around him his friends were throwing paper, he knew it was wrong, he didn't stop them. He saw the assessments on the table, he didn't do them, he saw his central idea star and didn't write it. He just sat quietly and read. By sitting quietly, the problem continued.

We discussed what would have happened  IF he had asked his friends to stop throwing paper, he had gotten up and written his star, he had started his pre-assessment. If one student had done anything how could the day have changed. He is beginning to identify how being passive is still being part of the problem.

How it has changed their motivation and behavior

A whole unit has passed since we have had Independence Day and I have seen small but noticeable gains in their independence.
Students are making small actions when they disagree with the behavior of each other.

 They are making better choices in how they work together, some students have even started taking on additional "teacher tasks" like passing/collecting papers at the start of a routine or calling for focused attention in a class discussion.

Last week we started the exhibition and I encourage the students to control their learning environment by designing their own space. Students asked building staff for what they wanted and created "good fit" spaces for themselves.
 Some of my favorites were:
 a social kid who wants to focus and not engage in small talk built himself a little cave
 a high energy student gave herself a bouncy station so she gets the wiggles out without disrupting
 a collaborative pair used a table in a unique way so they can bounce ideas off of each other.

To me, these small acts show their awareness of what they need to do and an intention to do  it

Challenges and benefits

It was hard to see them struggle and watch a class day fritter away, but I am glad that I committed to staying silent and giving them a chance. They have grown so much from their reflection. 

A couple of students are falling behind in the exhibition because they still wait for me to guide them. I hope that in the next few lessons they will "click" into independance. If not, I'll keep nudging them towards success.

Have you tried this? How did it go? What did you learn about your students? What did they learn about themselves?

New Year, New Kids, New Goals

This year's group of kids is really different in personality and skills from last year's. As such, I've modified my teaching methods to meet their needs.

Let's start by reflecting on last year's goals:

Last year I wanted to:

• Improve my constancy with having students write the central idea for each unit
• Introduce Cornell-Scratch notes earlier in the year so they are confident when the exhibition begins
• Develop Key Concept question cubes to reinforce the KC as a way of evaluating a subject
• Increase my student's motivation to take an action during the year
• Increase my practice in having student inquiry lead the discussion

How well I met my goals:

I began switching my classroom focus from the white board to the unit board. We actively used the unit board to track where we are and ask deeper questions as we progress in the unit.

Students building the foundation of the unit board

I implemented Cornell-Scratch notes in each unit and most students were able to use them independently in the exhibition. Many were able to use their notes to write essays and to ask further questions.

I began creating Key Concept question cubes during workshop for my first two key concepts in unit one, but I need to focus on incorporating them more often.

I enjoyed the focus of listening carefully to student questions, and identify their interest in the units, then encourage actions (Inspired by Chapter 4 of The Power of our Words, Responsive Classroom.)

To refine these skills I read Dive into Inquiry with the PYP Book Study Group and used the conversations to focus on guiding student's inquiry.

Goals for this year:

This year I have a few new goals for this year's kids:

• Develop their awareness of the world 
• Develop their public speaking skills so that they are confident, knowledgeable, and have fun
• Develop their ability to ask meaningful questions
• Develop their confidence to take small but meaningful actions across the unit.

How I plan to meet my goals:

This year I have undertaken a new project based on a discussion at the Kath Murdoch workshop. A group of exhibition teachers got together to discuss how we promote inquiry in the process of the exhibition. A teacher from Bern said that their team organizes a weekly guest speaker to share their passion and I was impressed by the big idea. 

I've been implementing weekly speakers this year and have seen how consistent exposure to models and mentors is improving their research and presentation skills. In future posts, I plan to discuss how they have been learning by doing.

An optometrist modeling measurement and tools

Each Thursday we have a guest speaker, 23 speakers across the year. They give a 15 minute presentation of their passion.  The students have 5-10 minutes to ask questions.  While the presenter is speaking the students take notes. We do a gallery walk to observe each others notes and take a few minutes to

An alumni shares his passion for cultural explorations

add more details. After, we come together and write 5 questions as prompts for reflection journal. 

Over the year I have been modeling how to write questions. Now I am having them generate the questions as a class and choose 3-4 that they can answer in a 1 page reflection.   

A passion for analyzing safety data

Practicing data analysis methods

 I am satisfied with what I am seeing in my first year trying this process because:

• The speakers are opening them to new perspectives in the world
• The guests are exposing them to a wide variety of public speaking styles
• It gives them a focused chance every week to ask both interview questions and reflection questions
• The guests are modeling how they take action, guided by their passion 

They are seeing a wide variety of presentation methods and figuring out what interests them. We have had standard PowerPoint presentations. Guests have brought models for students to explore, workshops for them to try, and presented photo galleries. Observing this wide variety of presentation methods is building their sense of style.

Most importantly, they have seen guests have technological problems and carry on with grace. When our technical analyst could not connect to our projector she kept going using both her laptop and our white board. The students responded with empathy and gave extra focus to her small screen, asking clarifying questions.

Taking notes and reflecting

Taking notes and reflecting

I have been seeing their note taking and questioning skills develop. Each student is developing their own style to take notes, but  the majority are identifying key terms, using symbols.

By extending the exhibition across the year, they have developed a taste of what they might be interested in studying and how they might like to present it to the community.




I'm curious:
What goals do you have for the school year?
How do you prepare students for the exhibition?

Please comment below to develop the conversation.

A weekend of inquiry

Last weekend, I went to an intense workshop with Kath Murdoch on inquiry based teaching at the American School of Wroclaw. 

It was a great time to reflect on and extend my practice with teachers from around the world.

I centered myself on the idea that we teachers need to create the  space to cultivate curiosity.

Here are my 2 💥s and 1💙on my current practice:

💥 Creation time allows my students to spend 40 minutes a week designing and making whatever their heart desires
💥I feel like I am "Goldilocks" in my practice. Not too closed; not too open.
💙I want to help students bridge the gap between where they are at the start of the day and where they want to be.
So, if students are low energy, how can they power up to explore and learn? I want to help them recognize when they're off course and set goals to bridge the gap.

Bridging the gap to 3:30

I took away a few items that I will focus on during the exhibition:

• We will revisit our essential agreement and revise it for our exhibition. 
• We'll view Toto the Turtle and look at it from the perspective of the student, the mentor, and the teacher. To that end, I completed a chalk talk with the mentors. The students and I will review what they wrote and how they can get the most from their mentors
• The X factor: this year I want to try to organize a pitch session. Students will present their pitch  to a panel for feedback after researching form, function, connection, and change and before moving on to their actions. The pitch will include:



The pitch!

• Focus:
• Reason:
• Inquiry:
• Assist building:

I think that these modifications will help them take more control of their exhibition.

This group has been particularly hesitant to take control. They wait for unneeded permission. I hope that we're able to find the flow and they feel comfortable leading their own inquiry.
We start today!

Our classroom this morning; under new management

Internal view of our room this morning. 

The countdown to our celebration!

Starting the 2nd stage of Exhibition Preparation

My students and I have been developing their skills so that they are ready to take 100% control of their learning during the Exhibition Process.

The Central Idea

They at the end of each week they have been writing and revising their central ideas, describing what they have learned during the unit.  In the process, they have become more focused, thoughtful, reflective.  Some of them are still focused on the activities and I am trying to have them focus on the learning.  Many of them are really digging into what we learned and are writing clear central ideas that cover the broad idea of the units. In the process, we are also reflecting on how well we addressed the lines of inquiry.

Evaluating the Units

They are developing the unit boards and explaining the essential elements. This is really helping them to identify their understanding of the essential elements.

Building a unit board

After we complete the pre-assessment we take a period to identify each aspect of the unit and they have been working collaboratively and creatively, making connections. During the government unit, one of the students drew a bird looking down for perspective. We talked about his symbol for perspective each time we discussed the benefits and detractors of a form of government and the students really understood the key concept.

Our illustration of the Essential Elements

Designing the page layout for the unit book

Later they had a hurtful moment on the playground that ended up in a long class discussion. When they entered the classroom, one student let me know something had happened and another announced "Let's look at it from each person's perspective!"  This ownership of the key concepts led to a healthy conversation about what each person experienced, including the perspective of the kids who were across the playground, and were frustrated that their friends let their game get out of hand.  In the end, they were able to see it from a variety of perspectives and apply it to future game play.


At the end of each unit they take down the unit board and put it into a book. This book building is a reflection of what we learned in the unit, and what I need to revise for next year.  

Parent Exhibition Information  Evening

When I went to the exhibition workshop, one of the big takeaways was having the students develop a Parent Exhibition Information  Evening. This gives the students the responsibility to explain the process to their parents and is another sign to the parents that they students are in control of the process. It is also a formative assessment of what aspects they understand and what I need to continue preparing them for.

They each chose a section of the Student Exhibition Handbook, and applied their summarizing skills to jigsaw the  key ideas of the exhibition:

• roles of the student, teacher, mentor, and parent 
• the weekly planner
• the essential elements 
• academic honesty
• the elements of the exhibition
• how they are assessed

After they had taught each other, we discussed their favorite learning moments to find a way to teach their parents. They decided on a teaching game so that their parents weren't bored and stayed involved. We then brainstormed their favorite games and eventually landed on Monopoly.
It was a stroke of brilliance!

Game set-up

We made a huge playing board and turned each of the key ideas of the exhibition into 3-4 Monopoly places.  When parents landed on a spot, the student who created that card stood up and explained it to the audience. At the end of the game, we reviewed the few places that hadn't been landed on. It was a clear and active introduction to the concepts of the exhibition.

Parents playing and learning from their children

The majority of my parents are English Language Learners and they have a huge range of English language skills so I also gave them a formal presentation with a print out of my PowerPoint that they can refer back to later if they have any questions.

Celebrating our presentation

I have kept the game pieces so that we can play it again at the beginning of the exhibition and perhaps at mentor training. 

How about you? How do you help your students make connections? What are your stages of preparing for the exhibition? How do you inform parents about the exhibtion process?

Reflecting on the experiment

Reflecting on the experiment 

I have taken a few weeks to observe the effects of the Silent Teacher Day Experiment.

It was so much more than Silent Teacher Day;

 It was Passive and Uncommunicative Teacher Day. I did my best to not give them a hint about what to do to how to do it, other than the signs I had written the night before.  No looking at them, no winking, no shrugs; neither approval nor disapproval. It was painfully difficult. After so many weeks developing our classroom community, we are habituated to respond to each other. I didn't want to shun or ignore them, but to make it work, it became obvious that I couldn't give them a smidgen of attention if I wanted them to be independent. I felt like a mother robin waiting for her chicks to take their first flight.

How it went that day:

A big hint

It was a bit tricky at first. I sat at my desktop writing reports, pretending to focus on the screen. A few students tried to engage me, but they soon figured out I wasn't responding and started the morning routine.
They figured out to leave their sticks in place. They read the morning message, fixed the errors, then sat on the carpet making small talk.  

It took them 25 minutes to get a hold of what was happening. I took notes the whole time.

My favorite moment was:  8:25 A- Looks back at the Attitude sticks and says, "I think we have to be independent."
  B- says “Ahhhhh” and they all get up and start their math routine

C- announces that they need to complete the Whodunit, and explains why to A.

She then tells D to read aloud for the class.

A- announces he doesn’t have his math packet

  D and C announce "Oh. Next student!" without skipping a beat.

A found his packet, then spent 3 minutes sorting his book bag.

E, F, and D are using evidence to lead solving the riddle with class. 

G & H are working alone. 

B is figuring out the puzzle and joining in the discussion now

E,F, & G developed a hypothesis and took a vote with the class about the solution

A is off-task; discussing if girls can have tattoos and C kindly asked him to focus

H & I are just looking around passively

A looks confused, but isn’t asking questions.

The whole class discussed if this is all that they are doing today, can they go to recess? 

Now the conversation is revolving around death penalty…. 
(The Math puzzle had them solving a crime.)

Hint #2 with their editing marks

Once they got started working as a team, they loved it and the experiment really took off. After they completed the Whodunnit, some students decided that they needed to complete our math stations. They put out the math games and led inquiry conversations in small groups discussing past unfinished work.

After Maths, C decided that she would read aloud our book during snack time. She read with a clear and confident voice when some students started cross talking. She gave them a "quieting" look and continued reading. Moments later, everyone was settled in to the story. I was proud that she used positive strategies to elicit the desired behavior. She seems to be really developing her social/communication skills.

Students working in Maths Stations

They started using the timer to manage their time and get themselves to specialist classes. They also discussed how they would get themselves to their after school classes or parent pick up and what they would need to do tomorrow if the pattern continued.

My second favorite part of the whole day was during assembly.
They led themselves to After School Care, got themselves arranged, and quieted each other while the lower primary was presenting. At the end of assembly, they volunteered themselves to rearrange the room for ASC. They then went back to our room, figured out how much time they had until Polish class, and started reading and working independently between lessons.

During the entire day, the only time they came to me was for questions I make a point of never answering:
Can I go to the bathroom? Can I have X school supply?

At the end of the day, a student decided that it was time to start the agenda. They named the day's process "Independence Day" and another student volunteered to sign their agendas. Then they all went their separate ways. I felt like a proud robin, watching them fly off of the high branch. 

How it went for the specialist teachers that day

The specialist teachers commented positively on their behavior that day. The music teacher said that it was their best behavior all year. They got their instruments ready and began practicing without instruction. Then, they asked for private assessments for our upcoming performance.

How the experiment has changed their motivation and teamwork

It has been fantastic:
The next day we reflected on what happened. They were really happy with the way that they cooperated  and got everything done.

Student Leadership in snacks

They were able to identify how they solved behavioral problems instead of responding to them. We had a long discussion about good choices that they made in problem solving and team work.
A strong example was when A didn't start with the math activities, they kept going and he eventually came around and joined the group. In the past, they might have chosen to tell him what to do, causing a conflict. They are now trying to apply that skill without me. They were able to compare their past reactions and recognize that if he is being resistant and they respond he resistance will increase; however, if he they keep doing what needs to be done, he'll join in. This was an unanticipated outcome, but it has really helped them.

The first few days they asked me when they could have "Independence Day" again. I pointed out that

Building the next unit board

everyday should be "Independence Day," they need to start looking to themselves for the answers, not me. When we begin the exhibition process, every day will be "Independence Day."  I will mostly be  sitting in the back of the room, taking notes to reflect with them at the end of the day.

They are still coming to me for permission to do things that they should be able to decide for themselves, like going to the bathroom and getting basic resources. I give them a look and they figure it out that they can decide for themselves.

I think that asking for permission is a hard habit to break. I am seeing the substantial changes happening in their group work.  They are holding each other accountable in group discussion and projects. Their collaboration and time management skills are greatly improving.

We just finished the Summative Assessment for Unit 2 and the Pre-Assessments for Unit 3. They used the skills from "Independence Day" to guide their own work, to check their rubrics, and get everything finished on time. My favorite moments were during the Maths Pre-Assessment, when they decided to use their math reference materials to complete the tasks without requesting permission.

Challenges and Benefits

For me, the biggest challenge was in letting it get started on their terms. It was a tense beginning. I had to trust them to settle themselves down and get organized. By 8:15, part of me really wanted to intervene. But I stayed firm. When they did get going, there were minimal hiccups.

The benefits have been their taking ownership of teaching and learning, becoming independent of me, but cooperating as a team. They are getting better at figuring what they need to do and setting their own goals to measure their accomplishments.  I am hoping that this will guide them towards taking action in their inquiry.

I am so thankful that I read Adam Hill's post about he and his partner trying this. 

Have you tried it? How did it work out for you? Do you want to try it? What is holding you back?

A little experiment

I am very proud of the work my students have done this term. They're cooperating more, becoming independent, and taking responsibility for their learning. I saw this post on Adam Hill's blog about he and his teaching partner trying Silent Teacher Day and I thought it could be a useful strategy for my students to develop collaboration and independence as a team.

We're at the end of our How We Organize Ourselves unit. Now is the perfect time to try it.  We just came back from a 3 day field trip to Warsaw. On the trip students developed independence in organizing their rooms, their meals, their budget, and were in charge of their learning.

It was also a reflective trip for me. We traveled with my past students, who I taught for two years. It was interesting to see what skills and behaviors stayed the same and which they had left behind. After reflecting on the 3 day trip, my goal is to improve my student's ability to lead their own inquiry and motivate them to take control of their learning. 

I will be silent and passive with them all day, observing and analyzing, but not engaging with them. They will need to: figure what is going on, figure out what needs to happen, work together to accomplish the day's routine and learning activities. 

I think this is the perfect opportunity to try it out. Our unit is focused on how societies organize themselves.

Central Idea

Communities have created a variety of ways to organize rules and resources.

Lines of Inquiry

• There are a variety of ways to organize governments

• Government structures can be changed

• Governments have many responsibilities

I did not tell them that I will be silent and passive all day, but I did my best to prepare them. Today we discussed what needs to happen tomorrow so that they have a clear idea. I have set up the room for students to use our daily structure. 

Our morning meeting message includes what needs to be done, as does our agenda. As always, they will fix the errors in the paragraph, and I hope in having the discussion, it will reinforce what needs to be accomplished.

Our morning message

 I have set their attitudes on independence and cooperation to inspire them.These might seem at odds, but I need some of the students to focus on working independently, without me, and others to focus on working with their classmates to complete their tasks, rather than control each task. My attitude is set on being tolerant, but is also across commitment, a reminder to stick to the plan and let them work it out at their own pace.

Our attitudes

In case they are blurry eyed in the morning, I left them a little note to keep their attitudes in place. 

A brief reminder

I also set their daily tasks so they have another reminder of what to do.

Our routine

I know that it will be a real challenge for me to sit back quietly and not speak. I will want to intervene. I will want to help them solve whatever challenge they encounter. By sitting back and letting them solve it,  I hope that it will empower them to work through the chaos, work together, and guide their own learning. They will need to follow our essential agreements without my support.


I hope that the work I have done in the previous 11 weeks will give them some of the skills they need to motivate themselves, guide their own learning, and work cooperatively.