Science Inquiry for Early Years

Each Monday at my new school, I have an hour long lesson with a class of 3-4 year olds, many of whom are English Language Learners (ELL). All of my lessons are centred around science inquiry. One may wonder if inquiry is even possible with a group of children this young, but, so far, I have been impressed with what my students can handle. Last week, we looked at materials and tried to discover which Japanese coin cut through ice the fastest. The kids enjoyed trying to melt holes through their own blocks of ice with various coins. I asked the kids to make predictions, and, once we all had a chance to test out every coin, I had the kids vote on which coin they thought cut best through ice.

This week, I have started a seedling project with the kids. My goal for this week was for them to practice making inferences and predictions from observable information. We are practicing being IB  Thinkers and Inquirers. To scaffold, I showed the kids the unopened seed packet filled with runner beans and explained to them that I had a surprise. I told them that I wanted them to take one object from the bag and look at it in their hands. Once everyone had a bean and had had some time to look at it, I asked them what they knew about the object by looking and touching.  The kids had a lot of great descriptive words, including colors and textures. Then, I asked if anyone knew what the object was. Lucky for me, some of the kids are already budding gardeners, and they saw immediately that the seed was a “bean” or “tane”. Together, we brainstormed about what seeds need to grow and checked our understanding by learning this song about planting. Once we all agreed that plants need water and sunlight, I introduced the activity:

“Today we are going to plant our beans…but we are not going to go outside!”

Understandably, the kids were shocked. I asked them to think about how I could plant seeds inside, and, to help them, I showed them the activity materials: a paper towel, a plastic bag, tape, and water. The kids tried their best but couldn’t quite figure out how we were going to plant our seeds. From there, I did a guided inquiry, which means I demonstrated how to dip the paper towel in water, wrap it around the bean, and place it in the plastic bag, while asking the kids why I was doing each step. They were able to guess why the paper towel had to be wet. They were also able to guess why we were going to tape the bags to a window (for sunlight). Lastly, I asked the students the big prediction question:

“How many days do you think it will take for the seed to sprout?”

I had the students write their number on their bag. Because they are learning their numbers 1-10, most of the predictions fell in that range. Every day I see students checking their seeds. Some of them swaddled their seeds like babies, and some folded their seeds in neatly. Some had lots of water, and some have none at all. We are excited to see which seeds sprout first!

Lesson materials:

• Beans/seeds
• Quart sized plastic bags
• Permanent markers
• Paper towels
• Water

My first days of school (as a teacher and a student)

This week I started Prep Week at my new school and graduate school in the Educational Technology Department at Boise State University. This is the power of technology!

I will continue to post about my classroom experiences on Miss Lee Makes Lessons, but my coursework for the EdTech program will be available at Lee Ung: EDTECH Learning Log. 

I am currently developing curriculum for an after school club that is both Inquiry-based and science related. It is a welcome challenge. My new school already has a raised garden bed, student-constructed pond, and worm compost. Hopefully my after-school club will contribute to the school’s overall green/sustainability Initiative. I can’t wait to get my hands dirty!

Stay tuned!

International-Mindedness and the IB Primary Years Programme

I am in my last week of the online Making the PYP Happen course. It has been a fantastic reflective experience and opportunity to see International Baccalaureate teaching from other perspectives.

One of the major qualities that the IB programme wants to nurture in its students is international-mindedness, but, for many, the term “international-mindedness”. For one of my final assignments, I made this video connecting international-mindedness to the IB Primary Years Programme (PYP).

I used Powtoon (again), but this time I made the video from scratch instead of using a template.

Enjoy! Let me know what you think! Was it easy to understand? Did I leave out any important context?

 

Using the G.R.A.S.P. Assessment Model

My task for today is to use the G.R.A.S.P. model of assessment and develop a summative assessment for a  lesson that I critiqued earlier in this course.

My challenge here is that the G.R.A.S.P. model involves a lot of student-directed planning and involvement, and, at the ages 3-4, the ability of students to plan is greatly limited by development. Children at these ages are not yet familiar with typical forms of summative assessment (final tests/projects, papers, recitals, etc.), but pretend play can be a useful tool in the classroom and in assessment.

For this activity I will plan a summative G.R.A.S.P. assessment plan for  this unit of inquiry:

How we organize ourselves

People play different roles in the communities to which they belong.

Key concepts: form, function, responsibility

Related concepts: community, rules, interaction

Lines of inquiry:

Various communities we belong to
Roles of people who are part of our communities
How communities are organized

 

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Assuming that the students will be studying the form and function of various jobs that people can have, I decided that the best way to check the student’s cumulative understanding is to have a group pretend play event where students play various job roles.

To run this assessment, I would include the parents–I would encourage parents to help their students plan an appropriate costume/prop and come see the final “presentations”.

Goal

• The students will pretend play various jobs that have important roles within a community.

Role

• You are a policeman/fire fighter/doctor/chef/post office worker/[community job role]

Audience

• The target audience is a class of 3-4 year olds and parents.

Situation

• You need to show what your job is (form), what you do to help the community (responsibility), how you do your job (function), where you work.

Product/Performance and Purpose

• You need to make a costume, prop, or drawing to show what your job is.

Standards & Criteria

• You should be able to describe your job duties, including how you help others, and where you work.

• Your costume/prop/drawing should help you explain your situation and  have a clear purpose related to your job role.

VIDEO: 6 Things to Know about IB Assessment

This video was created for an online IB (International Baccalaureate) professional development course, Making the PYP Happen in the Classroom. The assignment was to create a presentation for parents who are not familiar with the IB PYP methods of assessment.

This was my first time using Powtoon to make a video. It took me about 3 hours to make (including planning what to write in the video itself). I feel crazy accomplished right now.

I’m also happy to find a service like Powtoon that is available and free (to a certain extent). It took a little while for me to figure out, but I would definitely use it to create informational videos in the future. I feel like videos are better suited as supplemental material rather than the main attraction. If I was doing an actual presentation to parents, I would run a PowerPoint and then send them home to watch this.

Enjoy!

Mind Map: Assessment

The first part of this activity asked us to create a Mind Map for Assessment. Then, we were to read about the International Baccalaureate’s Assessment Philosophy and add new information to our Mind Map. Then, because this is professional development, I was asked to reflect on my thinking and learning.

 

Personal reflection

One of my worries about working at an IB School is that from the outside, the whole school curriculum can seem vague and alien to an inexperienced teacher (me, specifically). As I am going through this course, I am realizing that the building blocks that make up the IB programme are the same ones that I have based my own teaching philosophy all along–constructivism, social responsibility, inquiry, backwards design, etc.

I learned that I have an inherent bias in my choice of assessment tools. In the past I have used rubrics and checklists built into textbooks or set programs, but I can see that I vastly prefer exemplars, continuums, and anecdotal records in my assessments. I also tend to value anecdotal records and continuums over tests. This may be due to the fact that I started teaching in special education classrooms and, by nature, the IEPs I dealt with as my summative assessment guidelines were based much more on anecdotal evidence than traditional testing. It could also be due to the fact that in the Pre-K to 2nd grade level, student’s test-taking abilities are still developing, so teaching test taking strategies and processes are actually part of the learning goals. I need to check my practice of assessment to ensure I have a balanced approach.

I’m loving the Mind Map exercises at the beginning of the learning modules in this course because one of my goals in taking this course was to dust off my teaching strategies and remind myself why I have certain classroom philosophies.

This exercise asked us to make a Mind Map of our thoughts about Assessment. Please click to go to the active version of the map at Mind Meister.

 

Please click to go to the active version of the map at Mind Meister. The 2nd draft edits are written in red.

 

How balanced is this sample curriculum for 3-4 year old PYP Learners?

Here I am looking at the entire grade levels curriculum and judging it’s balance and coherence.

 

Sample Unit Planner for PYP Learners ages 3-4.

Who we are

Family relationships contribute to shaping our identity.

Key concepts: form, responsibility, reflection

Related concepts: similarities and differences, belonging, roles

Lines of inquiry

• Diversity of families
• Responsibilities within the family
• How families influence who we become

 

Where are we in place and time

Spaces and facilities in and around buildings determine how people use them.

Key concepts: form, function, causation

Related concepts: space, structure, design, safety

Lines of inquiry

• Characteristics and arrangements of physical spaces
• How people use different spaces
• Our responsibility in sharing spaces with others

 

How we express ourselves

Through play we express our feelings and ideas and come to new understandings.

Key concepts: function, connection, perspective

Related concepts: imagination, creativity, communication

Lines of inquiry

• Communicating through play
• Imaginative use of materials
• The role of toys in play

How the world works:

The Earth’s natural cycles influence the activity of living things.

Key concepts: causation, change, connection

Related concepts: cycles, interaction, pattern

Lines of inquiry

• Natural cycles (eg night and day, weather patterns, seasons)
• The actions people take in response to Earth’s natural cycles
• Patterns of behaviour in living things related to Earth’s natural cycles

 

How we organize ourselves

People play different roles in the communities to which they belong.

Key concepts: form, function, responsibility

Related concepts: community, rules, interaction

Lines of inquiry

• Various communities we belong to
• Roles of people who are part of our communities
• How communities are organized

 

Sharing the planet

Animals and people interact in different ways in different contexts.

Key concepts: connection, perspective, responsibility

Related concepts: characteristics, relationships, needs

Lines of inquiry

• The different roles animals play in peoples’ lives
• Suitability of particular animals for specific functions
• Our responsibility for the well-being of animals

 

Because 3-4 year old children are becoming more independent from their parents, they will be developing the skills needed to express their needs appropriately and interact with others as a member of a classroom community. They will also be discovering that other children are people with their own emotions and needs, which will create tension. This curriculum does an excellent job of addressing the concepts and skills that the students will need to grow as independent members of the classroom and larger society. This is a good opportunity for instructors to start challenging students to think about why certain actions are appropriate, instead of simply adjusting themselves to positive and negative feedback.

Considering the developmental milestones and goals for children ages 3-4, the focus on function, connection, causation, and responsibility is essential for helping PYP Learners build their understanding of their classmates and surroundings and learn how to express and react to stimuli appropriately. By 3 years of age, they will know how to express their needs but not in relation to others who also have needs and desires. I especially like that each of the units includes at least one line of inquiry that touches upon how people act and interact. This provides students will the appropriate time to discover how their actions affect the people and environment around them.

At this age, PYP learners will be discovering that they are part of a larger systems that does not exist solely to provide for their needs. They will be learning about interacting with others their own age, classroom spaces and tools, and personal safety. I like how these units can cover a number of subjects but always tie back to the concepts and skills that the students need to develop. At this age, I believe building a solid framework of abilities and conceptual understanding is more important than learning specific content, and this unit allows for that well.

 

Looking at the PYP Planner

This week, I am analyzing a program of inquiry from the PYP Sample Planner. I have chosen the Unit of Inquiry for students ages 4-5 that addresses the transdisciplinary theme “How the world works”.

 

This Unit of Inquiry is designed to address the transdisciplinary theme: How the world works. It is aimed at PYP Learners ages 4-5.

 

 

How well does the central idea reflect the concepts identified?

From the central idea, my impression of this unit of inquiry is that students will be investigating the different forms that materials take, observe possible functions and determine ways to use the materials. There would also be a part of the lesson involving using materials with different functions together to create a new function.

The key concepts for this unit (Function, Causation, and Change) focus on the “How?” of materials. This implies that the lessons will focus primarily on examining the mechanism of change that affects materials and the usage of that material in its new form. Considering that, two key concepts, Function and Change, are directly addressed by the central idea; however, Causation (Why is it like that?) seems like a concept that would be naturally addressed during the process of inquiry but doesn’t directly address any of the goals mentioned in the central idea.

I would probably add Form to the key concepts because the students’ will be heavily relying observation during this unit. I feel like there should at least be some pre-lesson scaffolding using the students’ schema to cover Form. The lessons in the Kindergarten class at DESK come to mind as a good way to review and build on students’ schema.

The related concepts (behavior, prediction, and innovation) fit perfectly with the intent of the central idea and lay out a loose framework for how the inquiry process should be shaped.
How well does the central idea reflect an aspect of the transdisciplinary theme identified?

From Making the PYP Happen, “How the world works”:

An inquiry into the natural world and its laws; the interaction between the natural world (physical and biological) and human societies; how humans use their understanding of scientific principles; the impact of scientific and technological advances on society and on the environment.

I think that the central idea does a beautiful job of addressing the transdisciplinary theme, “How the world works”, in a way that provides a myriad of possibilities for scientific inquiry and exploration. Students will be able to directly experience the interaction of materials from the natural environment and the people that use them. It will also help students experience the importance of observation and exploration in the discovery of useful functions of materials.
How well does the unit provide opportunity to explore multiple subject-related concepts and knowledge through multiple perspectives?

This unit can be widely applied to different subjects, and students can use their own perspectives and experiences to contribute to the classroom dialogue about different materials and material functions.

Science: The unit has scientific inquiry built into the theme it is addressing, so science is a huge part of the learning experience.

English/Language Arts: PYP instructors can include literature focused on characters discovering new objects and materials and finding use for them. Students can exchange or write stories about a material and what they use it for.

Math: Students can use tangibles in their classrooms as a visual assist to their current math lesson. The PYP instructors can then lead a class reflection on why that material helped with the lesson.

History/Social Studies/Multicultural Exchange: Students can learn about what different materials various cultures use for the same function. Students can share materials that they use at home for a given function.
Which subjects do you think are most relevant to exploring the central idea?

I think that Science and History/Social Studies/Multicultural Exchange are the most relevant subjects because they connect scientific discovery to the human application of materials. The skills that the students will gain through the exploration of materials and their functions combined with learning about how different people can use different materials to perform the same function will directly fulfill the central idea while also helping teach to the PYP Learner Profile.

 

Devise some open-ended Teacher Questions that would help learners to explore the lines of inquiry.

What is a material?

How can we describe a material (What words can we use to describe a material)?

How can we change how a [material] looks?

How can a material’s form change how we use it?

 

 

Mind Map: The PYP curriculum

The PYP curriculum is made up of three parts:

• Written curriculum
• Taught curriculum
• Assessed curriculum

This assignment asked us to connect aspects of the three curricula together. I sketched a rough visual for how I think the three curricula interact during the teaching process.

The visual is rough and the metaphors not entirely connected, but it has helped me visualize the PYP curricula together.

 

Edit:

How does the interaction of written and taught curriculum support students learning and lead to the development of the IB Learner profile?

 

By teaching the 5 essential elements of written curriculum (Knowledge, Concepts, Skills, Attitudes, & Action) through inquiry, the central strategy of taught curriculum, students are active practitioners of the strategies that will lead to them developing into IB Learners.

Because the taught curriculum guides students through difficult open-ended processes, like exploring, making connections & predictions, questioning, researching, discussing and taking & explaining positions, and the written curriculum is designed to support those Inquiry-based activities, students will be active practitioners of skills and attitudes that reflect all of the aspects of the IB Learner Profile.

By emphasizing the importance of major concepts and skills over content, students will be capable of tackling any number of academic subjects. They will have the ability to ask the questions that will clarify and get to the heart of their learning materials as well as the ability to discover the answers to their own questions.

Instead of focusing on content standards, the concept-based PYP curricula ensure that students who go through the program will be capable of being all of the following:

• Inquirers
• Knowledgeable
• Thinkers
• Communicators
• Principled
• Open-minded
• Caring
• Risk-takers
• Balanced
• Reflective

 

In addition, the Attitude and Action pieces of the written curriculum, especially,  extend past the academic areas of the students’s lives because they teach students how to conduct themselves when facing challenges in a way that is useful in non-academic and extracurricular situations. Students will be used to feeling and expressing positive attitudes to themselves, their classmates, and their environment because it is an noted valuable asset to the classroom. Students will also feel empowered and be able to determine what actions are appropriate in their environment. All of these abilities are valuable in and out of the classroom.

 

 

How do my beliefs and practices about teaching and learning align with the PYP?

Note: I am currently taking an International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme course to refresh myself in preparation for this fall. For posterity, I will be posting written assignments and activities from that course to this blog. A lot of it might seem random. Bear with me!

 

How I learn:

At this point in my career, my teaching philosophy is based on the convergence of my personal classroom teaching experiences, child development theories, and learning theories.

In that sense, my personal learning theory is closest to Constructivist, driven by my belief that intelligence is incremental. My challenge to myself as a teacher is to keep current with best teaching practices and to be aware of and work to reduce my own personal biases and weaknesses in the classroom. This means daily, lesson-by-lesson self-evaluation and professional development.

 

How I teach:

Because I have primarily worked with children ages 5-8, the influence of learning theory on my teaching style is tempered by my understanding of the development of students at that age.

My ultimate goal in early years teaching is to aim at teaching students how to think, how to question, and how to develop skills that will help them ultimately further their personal learning goals. I believe that the best way to teach students that their “intelligence” is a changeable entity and that they can develop tools to shape their knowledge is to engage students in active learning where they are pushed to think about the why and how of what they are learning.

There are basic content goals (literacy, number recognition and theory, etc.) that must be taught, as well as and social/emotional development, so at an early age I don’t think that teachers can place as much responsibility on the students to make connections and expansions. At the same time, much can be taught to students at a young age through collaborative and guided learning. Appropriate scaffolding and modeling are key to the success of any lesson.

 

CONTENT-EXTEND-CHALLENGE (Module 1, Activity 4)

a. Content:

I have always agreed with the concept of multiple intelligences (Gardner). I don’t think that most people are dominantly innately talented in one area, but I do believe that students will tend to learn better with different modes of instruction (visual, kinesthetic, etc). Because of that I consistently try to diversify my teaching strategies across subjects.

I also believe that intelligence is a malleable, workable entity (incremental), but, more than that, it directly benefits a student to see their own intelligence as something they can alter and change through the practice and development of critical skills.

I also made a lot of personal connections between my own teaching practices and the methods and routines from Project Zero Visual Thinking. I love making visual representations of what the students are learning and how they are thinking, and the suggested routines here are wonderful and specific.

One of my favorite activities is having active Read-Alouds where I ask students questions and observations, focused around a specific concept, while reading a book to them. In order to be able to run this lesson, the students have to be used to questioning and thinking critically about the story without losing the plot, and that requires a lot of practice and development of mini-strategies. I found a lot of common ground between my lessons leading up to the active Read-Aloud and Project Zero.

 

b. Extend:

The 5 Es–Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, Evaluate–from the pH Factor very clearly describes the steps of constructivism to the point where I can clearly see how they align with the PYP program. I went back and evaluated non-IB units that I have taught and see where I could modify lessons to create PYP-appropriate material. What I now realize is that with those previous lessons and in many non-IB textbooks much of the “extension” work intended for the pre- and post- sections of lessons would actually fall along the lines of the 5 Es, but those sections were often been passed over in classrooms I have worked in because of time restraints. In a content-based curriculum, the amount of material covered within a given time is the primary concern of the instructor and that comes at the expense of concept learning, especially steps like Elaborate and Evaluate.

 

c.  Challenge:

I would be interested to explore specific instances of how the PYP meets content standards while not compromising the IB Learner Profile. I think this might be especially challenging with early learners that don’t have a large schema to reference for content or content building strategies. I have previously worked with a 2nd grade (8-9 year olds) textbook-based program, ThinkMath!, that was ultimately incorporated in my elementary school’s IB curriculum, but since I am working with much younger children, I am wondering how the early years of PYP are structured and planned.

How widely applicable is the PYP in terms of content? Are there resources that give examples of entire PYP units with the broken-down lessons?