Wait, what!?

A unit changes for whatever reason right before you’re about to teach it. You can feel the panic start to rise with questions swirling: “How can they…”, “What about…” ,“Why would…” Something similar happened at my school, in my grade, on my team, to me! It’s  easy being nostalgic about a unit’s ‘good old days”…even if the re-vamped unit is ultimately better. With not much time to plan before jumping in, I found myself vulnerable and uncomfortable. Even to seasoned teachers, sudden changes immidiately  before starting a new unit might feel unsteady and awkward. For some, it’s easy to get caught in the negativity about the unit; hence, clear teaching is suddenly blocked. So, how am I not getting caught in a web of negativity?

Where to go from here?

I breathed and took a step back to grab onto what I knew. Whether structured, guided, or open,inquiry teaching is about meeting students where they are.

1.No Assumptions

Rather than just assume, a “Chalk Talk” (aka a “Flat Chat”) guided how to plan provocations. Questions asked were based upon the enduring understanding (ie. central idea in PYP language) and criteria (ie. lines of inquiry in PYP language). As I wanted students to deeply engage in the discussion, I also included our class discussion cards directly next to the questions.”

2.Seek Insight

Using Twitter as a platform, I sought to use my vulnerability to benefit my students. By seeking advice via Twitter, I was able to take ideas and then manipulate them to meet my own student needs.

3.Look Beyond

Finding materials is something that can at times seem a challenge for a unit shift. With that, I chose to look beyond our team materials to develop provocations that used materials that weren’t specific rather, bring in materials that might spark thinking. Materials found were from across the school and age range.

              

At the end of the day, being uncomfortable and not knowing exactly how it will all unfold is ok. Move through the uncomfortableness and negativity by responding to student need with purpose.