PYP PRACTICES Planning, Teaching & Assessment Colegio Colombo Británico Claudia Fayad, PYP Coordinator

P L A N N I N G

Planning in isolation from other teachers. Planning collaboratively using and agreed, flexible system.

Planning disconnected from curriculum. Planning based on agreed student learning outcomes and in the school context of a coherent school-wide program.

The teacher making all the key decisions. Involving students in planning for their own learning and assessment.

Planning which ignores students’ prior knowledge and experience. Planning which builds on students’ prior knowledge and experience.

Planning a large number of units which will be covered superficially. Planning fewer units, to be explored in depth.

Addressing assessment issues at the conclusion of the planning process. Addressing assessment issues throughout the planning process.

Planning which present the curriculum as separate, isolated disciplines. Planning which emphasizes the connections between and among disciplines.

Planning which assumes a single level of language competency. Planning which recognizes a variety of levels of language competency.

Planning which assumes a single level of ability. Planning which recognizes a range of ability levels.

Planning units which focus on one culture or place. Planning units which explore similarities and differences between cultures and places.

Planning units which are a token to minorities and have internationalism tacked on. Planning units which explore broad human experiences from a range of perspectives.

Planning units in which exploration of major issues is incidental. Planning units which focus directly on major issues.

T E A C H I N G

Over-reliance on a limited set of teaching strategies. Using a range and balance of teaching strategies.

Over-reliance on one grouping strategy. Grouping and regrouping students for a variety of learning situations.

Viewing the teacher as the sole authority. Viewing students as thinkers with emergent theories of the world.

Focusing on what students do not know. Building on what students know.

Over-reliance on one teaching resource from one culture. Using multiple resources representing multiple perspectives.

Teaching about responsibility and the need for action by others. Empowering students to feel responsible and to take action.

Viewing students as passive recipients. Involving students actively in their own learning.

A teacher-directed focus on rigid objectives. Pursuing open-ended inquiry and real-life investigations.

Employing teaching strategies suitable only for first language learners. Maintaining constant awareness of the needs of second language learners.

Employing teaching strategies suitable for one level and type of ability. Addressing the need of students with different levels and types of ability.

A S S E S S M E N T

Viewing planning, teaching and assessing as isolated processes. Viewing planning, teaching and assessing as interconnected processes.

Over-reliance on one assessment strategy. Using a range and balance of assessment strategies.

Viewing assessment as the sole prerogative of the teacher. Involving students in peer- and self-assessment.

Over reliance on one strategy of recording and reporting. Using a range and balance of recording and reporting strategies.

Seeking student responses solely to identify the right answer. Seeking student responses in order to understand their current conceptions.

Concluding each unit only by summative testing. Involving the students in shared reflection at the end of each unit.

Assessing for the sole purpose of assigning grades. Enabling students to see assessment as a means of describing learning.

Embarking on new learning before assessing the levels of students’ current knowledge and experience. Assessing the levels of students’ current knowledge and experience before embarking on new learning.

Evaluating units in isolation from other teachers. Evaluating collaboratively using an agreed, flexible system.

T h a n k y o u ! T h a n k y o u !