WSL PP Process Journal

I have always been interested in how to nurture a healthy dynamic between supervisor and student - in my 15 years of experience with the PP as a supervisor, MYP Coordinator and PP Coordinator - the most successful and authentic PP have come about as a result of knowledgeable, caring supervisors who understood the process and supported this self-initiated journey with the appropriate rigor and guidance - making for a joint celebration of the learning outcome! 

This is why I want to pursue a goal and develop a product to find ways to improve this experience for for supervisor and student. 

Elaboration on the product:

A workshop session  Or a series of workshops (in a school scenario) led by veteran PP supervisors (team of community PP Mentors) and myself. 

The session on the role of the supervisor will focus on inquiry activities into the nature and expectations of the role - resulting in role play where supervisors examine how to support student’s AFFECTIVE skills - wellness and management 

A second part to discuss and offer collaborative advice on how to support the process - academic honesty, research opportunities, motivation, positive  7 regular feedback on product progress and evidence = ACTION

lastly reflecting on what worked well, how to improve the experience and perhaps to support the celebration of the work and the best fit approach on assessment.

The ATL skills I will use and hopefully develop further will be:

COMMUNICATION SKILLS: Exchanging thoughts, messages and information effectively through interaction - I think the strands I will focus on are:

Give and receive meaningful feedback

Use a variety of media to communicate with a range of audiences

Negotiate ideas and knowledge with peers and teachers

Share ideas with multiple audiences using a variety of digital environments and media

THINKING: CREATIVE THINKING - Generating novel ideas and considering new perspectives

Use brainstorming and visual diagrams to generate new ideas and inquiries

Consider multiple alternatives, including those that might be unlikely or impossible

Design improvements to existing machines, media and technologies

Apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products or processes

Create original works and ideas; use existing works and ideas in new ways

Practise visible thinking strategies and techniques

Of course there will be others such as Social - collaborating with colleagues and other community members (in a school setting and participants in the workshop setting) Self-Management. Within the workshop supervisors will be developing approaches to teaching that will support approaches to learning in the PP.

The new guide offers several clear suggestions throughout for how to support students in the process....I will start designing my activities by using this as a starting point. IT’s time to make an action plan! 

Now that I have found a topic/theme/area that I want to explore further.  It’s time to THINK (AtL) about how to COMMUNICATE/express (AtL) my goal and product!

I really want supervisors to think about how:

AND - how will supervisors? 

support inspiration 

unpack the criteria 

offer valuable feedback 

encourage success?

I wonder how I can lead or facilitate a supervisor induction ceremony... where supervisors can immerse themselves into the experience of the students and understand the process through the lens of the inquiry cycle - inquire, act and reflect.  Encouraging this requires time and commitment from all stakeholders in a learning environment. 

Perhaps create a session in the workshop to:

inquire into the role of the supervisor

write down challenges and benefits of being a supervisor

brainstorm ideas for how to emphasis and support the development of AtL in the process

go over the requirements and suggestions in the guide

role play with colleagues 

Basically, an opportunity to discuss and practice positive approaches to teaching (AtT) for the Personal Project!  Yes that it? :)))

A chance to practice guiding students with initiating a goal, offering support, ideas and encouragement along the way....

I think it’s so important to have the support of the administrators and the time and resources for this goal to work and for the product to be successful. The school community all stakeholder must have a shared interest in the success of the IB MYP PP!

Basically, when it comes to supervision I agree with this:

OK I think there are some areas in the new guide that I would like to explore further. Maybe one of these areas will allow me to set a smart (specific, measurable, action, realistic, time) goal that I will enjoy learning more about by exploring through prior knowledge and feedback from colleagues and will give me an opportunity to be creative.  

I also need to think about which ATL skills will support my ideas.  

So I will look at the stages of the PP and decide which parts to focus on:

I very interested in the success of the project as a whole which is largely dependent on the support and guidance offered by the supervisors and in turn the coordinators and admin. who support the supervisors..... this is an area that schools could strengthen and in turn would enhance student engagement in the PP and in the quality of the goals & products. 

It may even encourage students to pursue a PP that involves community and service elements.  

For a long time as an MYP & PP Coordinator I have been interested in how the PP can inspire service ...  how a service project can then be continued into the DP and serve as an authentic CAS opportunity. I am inspired by the ideal :) of the IB Continuum and in turn bringing the IB mission to life through service, community and action.   So here are few of my ideas: 

Each of these ideas has benefits and challenges. Some of these areas are covered in subject areas like research methods. Working on a goal that encourages all types of community members to be  involved could be interesting.....  

Today I finished reading the new the IB MYP PP Guide.  I am so impressed with the clarity, guidance and emphasis on ATL in this new guide.  The changes are so clearly laid out for all parties: admin. coordinators, supervisors and students.  The inclusion of the broader community (librarian, counsellor, experts and even staff members) and how they can play a part in supporting this independent student centered journey is equally well explained and exciting :)

The explicit links to the ATL skills in the objectives and criteria are also clear.  

In the past the criteria strands were ambiguous and challenging for students to decipher.  The students often had superficial links to the global contexts and the IBLP.  Now the the students can operate within a local and/or global context based on their persona goal rather than making it fit into a box and the connection to a context is made organically based on the goal and product choice. The attributes of the IBLP are generated by and authentic evaluation of the journey in terms of impact to self and others. 

The success of the product is in relation to the goal and personal growth (yeah!)  

The explicit reference to how the PP supports the IB Continuum is also exciting. The development of the ATL that will enhance student achievement in the DP projects (ToK, EE, CAS) are now made clearer.  There is room for students to pursue interests from their PP into ToK and EE.  This is authentic learning and a demonstration of life-long learning. IT is good to see that these possibilities are highlighted and shows the emphasis on the IB progression of learning. 

The inquiry cycle (Inquire, Act , Reflect) is evidenced in the PP aims and in the criteria: the stages are concise, clearly explained and includes all 3 aspects of the ATL: knowledge & understanding, skills and attitude.  

Most importantly the ‘learner/student’ is the center of the process. The visuals and tables provided in the guide have been especially thoughtful and useful.  

These are just a few of the changes that I like :) I have been through 4 iterations of the PP guide during my career as and IB MYP teacher and I have to say this is the best one so far. The GUIDE truly offers guidance on all aspects from timeframe, supervision, resource allocation to explicit direction on what to look for in the criteria and how to apply the command terms.  

I also like that the 25 hours is emphasized and instead of word count the report is based on the number of pages and corresponding media - with clear guidelines on font size and spacing. Also students can include evidence as necessary to show their thinking process through-out the report using visuals and other sources to demonstrate the stages of inquiry, action and reflection.  

The report in fact is a refined process journal rather than burdening students with multiple requirements.  In fact, the student could actually work on their report as they develop their product rather than after the fact.... This is an approach to the PP I am interested in encouraging... how can the PP become more about the journey rather than the destination? a possible goal for learning engagement 2?

It makes me wish it had been this clear in years past.... but it also show how time, reflection and feedback can be applied to create positive changes that can support learning in the IB. 

Now that I have a good grasp on the some of the key changes in the guide I need to start thinking about a learning engagement (LE) 1 and 2.  

1. Design an activity for workshop participants to understand the new changes  (I think I have an idea for this :D)

2. Express a clear goal and a product in relation to this upskilling workshop and the changes to the PP.  There are few areas I would like to explore for this LE.  

I will brainstorm some of these ideas on my next post.....

Today, I started an inquiry into learning engagement 2 for my IB MYP up-skilling workshop.  I am working on deciding what goal I should pursue. 

What could be a useful goal that would support:

student success in the PP 

the role of the supervisor 

an effective strategy for workshop leaders