Forums

In this page you can find all my contributions to the different discussion forums that I have added an entry to reflect on the knowledge learned during the subject:

Forum 1: Who we are

Hi everyone!

After reading some of your comments, I totally agree with most of you.

Talking about my philosophy and learning style, I consider that, as teachers, it is changing, or better said, improving all the time. As Elena de la Cuerda said in her comment, after some years of experience and living and teaching in other countries, my idea of education is much different now from the idea that I had some years ago.

It's true that there are some points that I have always considered basic, as Elena Rodriguez said, in my classes a good environment, sensorial activities, an active role of the kid and contextualised activities related to the childrens' interests are essential, especially with kindergarden and primary children, if we want to get a significant learning.

Actually, I'm working in a Montessori school where I'm learning a totally different way to teach comparing to the types of methodologies I used to be familiar with, even though, I've learned a lot of innovative methologies through my years of teaching and learning, such as emotional and multiple intilligences (methodologies that I really like since they focus on the different ways of learning that each child has and a way to teach based on developing their emotions), the Montessori method is showing me the capacity of very young children to be indendent and develop their own knowledge. The way to act of a Montessori guide is based on helping children to learn for themselves. For example, in the atmosphere (it's the way to refers to a class) of children between 3 and 6 years old, they have a lot of different material related to different subjects, all of them manipulative materials to develop their mobility, so each child choose the material that he or she want to use in each moment, and the guide just try to develop his or her learning through questions that help the child to discover his or her own knowledge. So, as you can see, it is a very different way to learn that differs a lot from the traditional way of learning based on subjects, but the knowledge that children acquire is the same as the one you can achieve with other methodologies.

On the other hand, even if I work in a school based on the Montessori method, I try to include other methodologies in my classes, since there are things that work for some groups and not for others. So, depends on the situation, I try to vary it. Consequently, I can't stablish a specific learning-teaching style, but, as Elena said, being flexible is an important part of our role of teachers.

In conclusion, what I want to say with it is that there are many methodologies to teach that can be totally different but equally effective. For this reason, my teaching philosophy is not always the same and it is usually a mix of different methodologies, such as the connection with emotions, the use or physical response which is the connection onf our movements with the knowledge we want that the students learn, the use of visual elements like flashcards connected to real objects to develop a contextualised knowledge, as I said the active role of the pupils in their own learning process, etc.

Forum 2: Wolves change rivers video

After watching the video, there are several concepts that come to my mind and we can apply in the PYP classroom. Firstly, the macro-concept with which I can see more connection is the area of Science since the video is about how animals and ecosystems are interconnected, especially the concepts of living things, Earth and space and force and energy . Focusing on the micro-concepts related to that area, I can see a connection with cycles, regulation, balance, conservation, sustinability,interactions, ecosystems and equilibrium because animal life needs each specie to survive (conservation), so this is a cyclic circle (cycles), talking about the example in the video, even if wolves kill deers, they need this regulation because if they continue growing,vegetation wouldn't be enough and the sustainabilityof the specie would be in danger. Consequently, thanks to wolves, a balance in the food chain is produced, so these interactions give room to an equilibrium between animal and plant species (Ecosystems). This idea can be applied to undertand the general topic about how the nature works, so it is an interesting resource to show it to children with an especific example that they can understand and apply to a context.

Also, I completly agree with my classmate Ainoa (previous post), who said that we can connect this video with other concepts related to the social area, such as cooperation, behaviour, relations, impact and so on, thinking on the idea that wolves can change a complety Ecosystem, we can make our students understand that their own behaviour affects to others and each contribution helps to create a climate in the classroom.

In general, since all these concepts are interconnected to other areas or subjects, we can apply this video to work in other areas like language, maths, art, etc.

Forum 3: Perspectives, Models and Definitions

After reading reading the different texts about the inquiry topic, and also some comments of our classmates, I consider that the opinion that I connect the most is yours.

I also think that the model that I see more complete and useful for us would be the Inquiry model by Kath Murdoch. From my point of view, the way in which questions are ordered, depends on the information you want to know, is very clear and can be applied to every area. Moreover, there are several especific questions for each stage of the cycle, so it is easy to know if we are folllowing the cycle or not. What I see interesting as well it is that the questions are focused on the students, I mean that pupils can use them to reflect about their own knowledge and undertanding, so they would be an active part of their learning process and assessment.

As you said in your comment, it is easy to see the connection between this inquiry cycle and the IB depending on if they are factual, conceptual or debatable questions.

Regarding my definition of inquiry, this concept can have a lot of definitions depends on the perspectives. In my view, the general concept of it would be the same as Evelina, the act of asking and investigating. However, especifically and relating it with the International Education approach, I would say that inquiry is the capacity of questioning everything and investigating about a topic without taking it for granted, as well as applying these inquiries and knowledge to other topics or areas and to create connections between them.

Consequently, using inquiries is essential to develop the teaching-learning process in which both teachers and students should use them as strategies for meaningful learning.

Forum 4: Connection between interrogatives and inquiry in driving discussions

Hi Evelina! I coudn't agree more with you! In all the examples we can see the important role that questioning has in the learning process of children.

In the Baby's Inquiry story, we can see the connection that the child does between the real watch that his mother has and the watches that he can see in the magazine since he tries to listen the same sound in the catalogue that he listened in his mother's watch. So here, the inquiry is non-verbal as you said, but also the answer since the mother doesn't explain him anything, she just shows him the real watch and its sound. Consequently, here the role of the mother as a guide of the child's knowledge is essential even if she doesn't explain it to him. Showing the object is enough to increase the child's learning.

Regarding Wilfred Gordon story, I also think that the child reflects, with the collection of objects that he carries to the woman, is own understanding of what memory is through the answers that he collected from the people that he asked to. Consequently, these people also act as guides of the child's knowledge, and even if they answer him what each one think that a memory is, it helps the child a lot to get his own conclusions about this concept.

Moreover, about the Lindfor-Wells' second example, I understand what you said about that the teacher's role is minimal since his contrinutions are very short, but also it is essential to get that the students disscuss and ask themselves about it and the teacher helps them to clarify some concepts that they don't have clear, so as you said, I also think that the teacher lead them to the understanding of the concept, but they are who achieve the right conclusion on their own. For this reason, I do think that the most important aspect in the teaching-learning process is an active role of the student in its own knowledge, even if I also think that the teacher's role is crucial as you emphasized.

Finally, I consider that the expression that the children of the different stories use show this process of critial thinking that they are conducting, since the ask for clarification and also express their own conclusions. So, of course these processes can be extrapolated to other disciplines, since the three examples are completely different, but the process of asking and learning is the same.

Forum 5: grouping policy

Hello Elena, after reading your comment, the topic syllabus and also the grouping policy about my school, I can say that cooperative learning is essential in education nowadays. This type of learning is based on giving students an fundamental and active role in their own learning process in which they work together as a cooperative way and allow students, not only to have more confidence on their own, but also to accept others' differences through sharing opinions and experiences, consequently, they develop an open-minded vision about other people, cultures and ways to see the same thing.

As it is said in the text, the amount of improvements through working together is enormeous, but its basic elements are a positive interdependence, since students are able to resolve problems together; develop their capacity to carry face to face interactions, accept an individual responsibility since each one has to contribute to the group task and share social skills as communication, conflict resolution,etc. and be able to carry tehir own self-assessment to be aware of one's own functions in the group.

Moreover, the general way to group students is based on heterogeneous groups that can carry different kinds of teams. However, each school can have its own grouping policy. About the policy that is carried out in Elena's school, I consider it very interesting and also very related to my school policy. Since my school is a Montessory school, even if independent work is very important, collaborative activities are also necessary. Students are divided in 3 periods (0-1, 1-3, 3-6 years old) We are concious that in this period of life, specially the last stage, children want to experiment together. For this reason, Montessori emphasize individual work, since working together is something that children do as an innate way and then, we don't have a structured grouping policy. However, there are some basic strategies that we carry on related to collaboration.

Firstly, since students of each period differ a lot between them, normally older students help and teach to the younger ones. It is similar to the Elena's big brother policy, but instead of having a specific student to help, my students decide in a free way who and when to help the others, it is something that they do naturally or as teacher, we guide them to realise the importance of helping others through encouraging them or activities based on collaboration or even in basic situations such as set the table, etc.

Also, another strategy that is similar to the Elena's one is also based on taking care the environment. In our case, students have to care plants in the class, clean the class together and mantain it in order, so they decide who carry each task, deciding and collaborating together.

Morever, even when work is individually, there are moments in which they can decide to share their own work. In this case, a student that is working with a material can decide to share with another classmate or let him/her being an observator of its work. So, It is another way to learn from others.

Also, we have a a table in the class that is called the sharing table. It is usually used when children have any disagreement or argument between them. The teacher guides them to that area and they don't stand up until they have solve their problems, when they have an agreement they continue with their tasks. It is a way to teach children to solve problems and empathize with the other's feelings.

In conclusion, even if Montessory method varies from the International grouping strategies, that for example, Elena explained about her school, there are some common points that in every innovative method are necessary because of the fact human beings are social individuals, consequently, learning how to work and live together is something that children have to start developing as soon as possible.

Forum 6: Ways of diferentiation