What should TOK+ do to support mission-relevant competencies
by Johannah Bernstein
1. All advisors should be TOK teacher. TOK class should be advising context. In some ways I have a connection with my first eyar TOK is more consistent thant with my advisors. And if TOK teachers and advisor were one... Then you can streamline adviros meeting. It would have to be logistically----.. BUT I think role of TOK teacher is different than advisor who makes the global assessment. I see TOK teacher who develops competencies and makes strong case for the development of se competencies. And advisor does have a sessement role /testimonial. If you dont like your TOK teacher, you may not like your advisor..... Does it eliminate possible support...... BUT then we need to connect TOK teacher and ADvisor. And idea that every adult is also a coach
1.1. Every teacher should teack TOK. TOK purpose is to help develop other ways of knowing. Any teacher should teach TOK, it is not a humanities based discussion. Biology teacher has benefitted from teaching TOK. We have to fiture out how this person figured out x. This is in the IB Gide... David H will ask connection between Economics and TOK..... But for David: IB holds peope accountable to conent knowledge And NOT teh competencies. BUT content side is too volumnious so that has to change at an IB level. If they dont want to become obsolte))) they have radically change bk it doesnt teach 21st competencies. If IB doesnt want to die out, it will have to bring TOK question ito
2. Start having the confidence that these competencies are important. Part of me feels like i am taking their time for IB prep. We have to keep reinforce that capaciity to colaboratie with others, to be great communicators, to understand intera personal skills, these are really and probably more important than ab initio French in terms of our capacity to have a positive impact in teh world.....
3. flipped classroom. REverse the idea of teacher deliverying the knowledge, and students use space for experiential learning. Actual knowledge is the homework and the application of he knowledge is the classroom. So they need to know certain thigs that you havent taught them. So with flipped-- go find out yourself and then find skills
4. CONTINUE / DO MORE OF
4.1. Explain how we acdtually get to Learner Profile attributes
4.2. IB Assessment model-- Approcahes to Learning where they lay out skills: thinking, communication, social, self-mgmt, research skills. IB appraoches are teaching skills, based on inquiry, conceptual udnerstanding, grounded in local and global conetxt, differentiation to meet the needs of students, culture of larger set of skills beyond academic achievement. We have partners in IB who really want to value other types of learning becyond academic.....; informed by formatic and summative assessment. AS TOK teachers we looked at core competencies..
4.3. TOK competencies were related to UWC values and skills. We hope to make students aware of a set of skllls that they are acquiring beyond academic skills. Tehse are soft sklils and which we have incorporated into our pgormame
4.4. Some of our skills dont necessariyl align wiht UWC movement
4.5. Initially we would give feedback on skills, we emphasised proficiency. BUT we needed to speak in terms of competency (whether you have adopted that knowledge in yor life) and that is what we want the conversation to be focused.... is this education transformational. Are you taking leadership bk you have these skills...
4.6. Four core competencies were developed to help students thinki about learning beyond academic: well being and sM; communication and conflict-resoluton colllaboration, steweardship and community engagement
4.7. Have authentic audieces, esp special topic days are most successful bk stakes are high
4.8. effective reflection
4.9. OPen discussions that challenge persepitives
4.10. Copntinue the relationship that we created with our students in TOK via vivav oce
4.11. VIVA VOCE is personal time with teh students, they really appreciated
4.12. Increased shared expeirence among studnets, more
4.13. Keep the team approach both through regular meetings and retreats, but also when we are inthe classroom together, it makes course more robust
4.14. Keep the schedule ofy ear 1 and year 2, n ierms of the IB content, this is a keeper,
4.15. Keep the experimenting part, the fact we have had ou share of problems and failures is a sign that we are in a learning process, and is developing through experiemnting, through tria land error
4.16. Keep emphasis on experiential and experimental. In our reports this year we are still using language of prlject based learning, i feel we are repalcing language of el, so BE Clear about the fact we are talking about EL and project based learnign as oe face
4.17. Keep individualit of the teachers in their approach to TOK. Even tho we are doing the same thig in class Differentiated and personalised instruction. In first year, we move ahead week by week doing teh same thing, or when students talk together they are on same page
4.18. Keep curriculum, We have really nailed it and a great rubric
5. STOP
5.1. Overwhelming focus on exam prep
5.2. One of the projects in second year is gift to the community, we must stop it as it is , it has failed enough. The current model is nt working
5.3. Stop talking to the students about the course, sometimes I eneed to tell a story to enable that I help them make sense. BUT students just want to jump right in ot epxeriences, Stop theorizing EL course
5.4. Repetitive reflection taht happens, duplication of reflectoin... Streamline
5.5. Discrediting the value of the course, there is a general air among the students taht it s just TOK
5.6. Part of that is that we should peppering the 2 year with free blocks and have concentrated breaks for them to study on specific things, otherwise it undermines the seriousness of the class
5.7. stop differentiation between teh IB TOK and UWC skills and instead having it integrated. I am very clear with IB requires and then indciate that we are doing UWC skills bthey dont erlate but we took advantage to do UWC skills in what was a free block. So be very distinct!!!... The only connection is that they are mirror images, one is focused on To K and the other is focused on Experience. They are counterbalanced anc omplementaryi. And there are some complementarities, we put group discussion as a real important starting point when yu are building a class sabout knowledge and uestioning where knowledge is coming from. So there are some excellent complementarities and there are some that dont belong to IB but whic we think i is an iportant skill
5.8. Fake reflection
5.9. Stop making it a course and instead make it a space for them to learn
5.10. Stop using google docs bk we are oversuing so stop overusing
5.11. But in some cases journalling has been widely used. They are students are very excited todo reflective writing in their jounrals. They use their laptop, but for thoughtfulness and reflection,
5.12. journals, students are not using them
5.12.1. give students other ways andmeans to journal their thoughts. I told them that they would never be read by teachers... Sometimes it is used for brainstorming, .....They can use it for whatever, adn take them with them...
5.13. Faciltate more and stop being a teacher
5.14. using labels like 21st century skills/competency--- we call them "core competencies"... It is helpful to have a common idea of what are the areas where tudnetns are making growth....We spent a lot of time in discussion with students adn faculty to develop skill set that was important. .... so maybe "changemaking competencies" othercentered neesd to be at th ecore. We want to emphasise the skills to be leading life of service
5.15. Stop doing whatever it is we do that casues certain behaviours, ie associated with experiences that studnets identify as a course with a teacher... Best case scenario for a student is shen they come to class and teacher is not there, so how can we change that-- so students see teacher as best case opportunity.....
5.16. Dscourage learning and ensure differentiated instruction. Each teacher needs the space to be who they are so we can reach teh studnets. Is there some way that
5.17. Stop calling it TOK. Students understand the logic that we are doing that has nothing to do for their IB assessment, so one hlpeful thing woudl be to align the course with what inspires students to come to Pearson an dsay to the best of our knowledg, this course wwill deliver the learning and collaborative oppos that will allow you to grow in . For many students thi sis a huge break, this cold provide connector space.....
5.18. Stop calling it TOK in both years, some school incorporate IB requierments for TOK and call it something else. It would empower us to have a thread over the two eyars that incorporated the wonderful elemnets of TOK but where we did work required of us but students stepped in and knew that it was personalised to tour school and mission
6. Start
6.1. Build in more time for meanintful and authentic critical reflection
6.2. vcCreate more opportunities for teachers to get to know students..
6.3. We are making discoveries in first year which doesnt in second year, and we need to find better ways of building relatinosihps.
6.3.1. There is something about independent learning, but in a general way not just in TOK+, in our individuality as teachesr, whenever something is happening in class that isnt correct, you HAVE TO STOP.
6.4. Change scheduling model of blocks and devote each day to topics
6.5. Focusing on where they are coming from how this applies to their subject, how they learn and how they think... all these discussions in year 1 needs to be happening in year 2, but not so much pearson, but rest of your life....
6.6. Take essence
6.7. New name for TOK+ at COA Human Ecology Ciore Course. The idea of the core course
6.8. By second year, when we are doing a lot of planning, students have gone through process of who is where and what, but as first years, how do you make something happen at PEarson is more nebulous. So early in first year, --- do a small project that walks them through the ins and outs. The fundamental logistics
6.9. Make sure that Jack Mathews challenge to build something
6.10. Dont add but incorproate
6.11. One of the pbroblem with gift to community-- Jack Mathews Day allows for time to be concentrated i one day, students could use design thinking to preapre something powerful
6.12. Start making coaching a more central persitent perennial part of the classs
6.13. more peer to peer learning
6.14. different spaces so when it is time given for them to work on university applications, they shouldnt have to do it spanish class where wifi is bad, but when there
6.15. First years and second years together and teachers not only TOK but other resources like Devin
6.16. Start letting students taking over the course and allow them to choose their schedule....
6.17. Integrate some othe theories of inquiry based learning=-- teacher respon is to know the curriculum and student responsibliit is to identify what they want to learn and then htey go to all the teachesr who will identify curriculum. Dont know how we can change TOK to make it inquiry based, but many other IB courses are very suited to inquiry based
6.18. Start personalising the curriculum so it is embedded in teh place. Challlenges that Canada has about marginalised bpeople, is very much like rest of the world. The concept about marginalisation is something that many students have not known. TOK programme should have a thread through it that it is really personalised to our cotext.....
6.19. Emphasising that alternative schools are an equally valuable patheway
6.20. TOK classes after village meeting and internaitol affairs, are always very rich. So in TOK block have guests visit and faciltate smaller convesration, so that individals that wouldbt inclided to speak woudl speak up..... Just having the space to have fresh ideas, Clint brought different perspective......
6.21. At begining of cours we mentioned that we give a lot of experience but not enough reflection. So course could be structured time for reflfection. So start taking more of what students are already doing and coach them in understanding connection to real world. So moving village meeting expeirence into TOK ore moving Internatioanl Affairs into TOK. So rather than having to thinkg up disingegnous assessment opps, then use TOK class can be better linked to International Affairs. Speak with Nazim......
6.22. Find ways to mainstream critical reflection required in so many oter dimensions. This group can propose to school -- that does more consolidation of allthe reflections. Go deeper than wider....
6.22.1. Identify formal relfections and figure out a centra place for those reflectiosn to happen so all of those people who need to access them, can access them Google classroom is not ideal and data base. Find some way htat wont be a big learning curve for thsoe
6.22.1.1. One of the key elements is the need for an authentic audience for the reflfections. The student doesnt feel taht they are reflecting for anyone. If you say that this reflection will have an authentic audeicne say so, we want to see the milestones taht you have produced.... Share moment forts. More emphasis on reflection as reflection for the sutudent and
6.22.1.2. Refelction adn conslidation tie into notion of coaching. I havent sufficiently internalised the notoin of reflection, so that my reflection that is done indpendently. Group reflection adn paired reflection is very good... We need reflection techinque that students can buy into. Perhaps every student could meet once a month that was resopnsible for recording that conversation
6.22.1.3. Some of th most useful work in TOK is when they work in pairs, that becomes more coaching. At year start, we set them up in coaching pairs, and that paired person is a consistent coach
6.22.1.4. We need to develop better skill sof reflection. So if journal works for some, and introduce it as one way, paired conversation is another rway. Introduce them to different ways to reflection!!!! So create a menu of reflection
6.23. If one TOK teacher came from each faculty, it is a nice way to foster turst, by talking about how leangauge can be a way of knowing
6.24. Other people, should be invited to TOK
6.25. Everytime we have TOK retreat it is very energizing, the challeng is that we know what we know, but to have an impacton the school is challenging, so there is something we need to do si to present what we are doing to our colelagues so they give it a high profile. TOK is still mariginslied. We need to help the school do a better job to ensure the core-ness, so we need a title that captures the core nature of what we are doing Human Ecology Core Course
6.26. Socratic seminar
6.27. We all have free blocks so lets seize chance to learn from each others..
6.27.1. I just ant TOK+2 to incorporate more opps like individuals who took on special roles like Adva on regional days and Aziz on wifi.....teach civic engagement