Sep. 29, 2016 Visit to El Nido, Colegio Bolivar, Cali

Our lovely hosts:  El Nido, Colegio Bolivar in Cali, Colombia - a Reggio-Inspiration!
History of the program:  Ten years old.  A house transformed.




Question & Answer PM Session:
I noticed the therapist taking notes, and the teachers were both busy with students sometimes also taking photos, but when do you take written notes, fill checklists, other documentation.
Teachers complement each other and based on observation when children leave we sit down and process our observations about students.  It is listening and observing.  When it is academic and we want to use a developmental continuum checklist.  We choose the moments when we document to record words and comments by children.  We design experiences and then decide who will record and who will be facilitating experience.  Sometimes we also use videos to capture what we are looking for.

Eg.  Use CA Dept Education Developmental Continuum.  This year looking at Math standards - benchmarks.  Then collect records of examples.

Video clip:
Exploring Math Standards - looking for evidence of mathematical understanding of classification.
Level 1.  This is how we thought students begin to learn to organize objects - this is not the continuum.  So we defined it for ourselves.  Here are the videos to show the levels.  Next Level - sorting shoes - based on one attribute - by color dinosaurs into colored egg cartons.  Next Level 3.  Organizing objects into groups with based on functional attribute - insects with wings or not in sandbox (dialog guided by teacher) - spoon colors at snack time.  Next Level - two groups.  Plastic bottles, tall, short, tall and fat, clear, and green - sorting activity in which student answers questions to develop language expression for his classification system (Vygotsky - language furthers cognitive development).

Planning:
XXX

Weekly planning -
Provocation planning document:
date:
place:
time:
What you wish to document:
Reflections about experience:
Photo documentation of process:

Parental communication:
Agenda
Newsletter (once every two months) - electronic
Narrative Report Cards (3)

Planning each week in grade level teams or by teacher class team.  Suggest that each week teachers plan by class teams to reflect the interests and needs of each student class group.  For broader common objectives have decided on how we design and facilitate to collect evidence and extend growth for all students and report on.  Every Wednesday El Nido teachers meet to PLCs - next time we meet we will look at classification examples and see how they match our continuum - exemplars at each level.

Language development?  How go deeper without using child's home language.
Goes back to use of 100 Languages.  Also constant dialog with other teachers to support and deepen learning.

Eg.  Sharks was spontaneous project initiation (often Wolf character in other years).  Shark has become part of group, now make food for shark, sometimes it chases us, all kinds of
Todo juego es una metafora de la vida....

How do you work around shifting interests of students?
The way that we teachers transform and create learning experience, enrich their ideas with every element you have, you invite all students to participate.  They are all motivate to join because of the inspiration you infuse.  It is never just the interests of the children, also our own interests.  Children are magnificent in taking apart our ideas.  We don't know where it is going.

Share of project:  Una Ciudad para Jugar. - A City for Play.
Trip to city to visit and explore places, looking for places to play and other places in the city.
Back at school, interpret home experiences at school.
Transpose onto city places photos pictures of 'play places' they created to enhance the city.
The open-mindedness of teachers allows for a project like this to go in a direction that continues the whole year.

Looks easy, but requires lots of thinking, reflection, and dialog.

Our inspirations - Shark theme of things we ate up here -
Shuruq:  Dialog between all of the teachers.
Liz:  How comfortable the students are.  The calmness and security.
Analisa:  Stop being a teacher.
Stephanie:  How will I feel?  Like magic!  In every room the way you received us the way you receive children and absorb them into this magical world.
Andriena:  How the teachers guided children in the store activity.
Monika:  Opened my eyes on ways to work with my assistant.

Sep. 28, 2016 Visit to Colegio Colombo Britannico, Cali

Documentation Analysis

Daily Schedule

"Documentation is not about what we do, but about what we                                   are searching for."     -Carla Rinaldi

Documentation is displayed or easily accessible to teachers, children and families to:

• provide a record of the learning process
• reveal connections between events
• review past experiences
• plan future experiences
• make learning visible to children and families
• honor children's words
• honor children's families

Through documentation and display, children see their own images and ideas having an impact on the physical space around them and on others.

Three Elements of the Documentation Process (article).

Agreements are school-wide and align with the PYP.  'This is not a display.  It is interactive.  Kids are involved in making it and using it.  They take responsibility."




I like the metaphor tied to a plant, they are growing, their families grow.  It comes together nicely.  Will help us with connections to out units of how plants grow.
















Teacher observation comments.  Seems to be documenting a lot.  Nice visual we might be missing observations of certain students.







Interactive with pictures.



Nice background.  It validates the kids and play, and exploration.  Adding interpretation and documenting the process....could use more box pictures to create a 'What to do with a box' book.


Describes the activity, what the kids were saying, the connections and developing our community.  Is this connected to mirror on door?  Yes, to have people from outside our classroom to look at themselves with a friend and compare - find connections.


Documenting learning about the everyday.  'Here are the Dolphins.'

Tips and Tricks for keeping on top of your pictures and documentation:
Create folder on desktop and keep adding the relevant ones.

Looking for Documentation...

In order to get us started at looking at our documentation we split into groups and found evidence of documentation within and around our EC classrooms.  Each team of three looked through the rooms and hallways, and then decided to focus on two specific pieces of documentation they found.  The teams then discussed their interpretations of the documentation and questions the documentation provoked.  We then met back as a whole group to listen to the feedback and questions.
Here are the welcome boards from the start of the school year.

Reflections about Back to School Night - Open House

As a team we met to discuss how our Back to School Night went.  We went over some of the questions parents had for us, and our own reflections.

Reflections about Back to School Night: (2 stars & 1 wish)
Things that went well:
The observation around the room.  Parents were even looking under tables.  Going over the transdisciplinary skills having them try to match the skills with what is happening in the photos we showed of the students engaged in inquiry (brilliant idea Analisa!).  Thanks to Shuruq for the lovely transdisplinary skills display.  The flow of the presentation, the activities.  The involvement in the activity so that it wasn't only me talking.  They were interested in the 'small world area.'  Parents were asking how these things were going to be assessed, but they seemed to answer their own questions as they went along.  Parents got an idea about what their kids were learning by walking around observing and then discussing them.  Going over the blog was helpful and made it easy to have the tabs there.  Getting together as a group to plan presentation as a jumping off point, and having done that in advance gave me time to do the presentation organically but knowing the parts I wanted to get done.  Mosaic of hands activity - gave time to wait for parents, find the photo of your child's hands.

Things that left us wondering or wish to change:
Wish we had all the parents together at the same time or more evenly divided.  Could we maybe do it after school?  Parents asked where their child's learning was going to be at the end of the year.

Wonderings:
What to do if the child goes to the construction center every day? (Doesn't do fine motor?)
Would like to learn more about discipline and working with special needs?
If learning expectation in T1 is 1-5, what happens if they are not in an area where they count things?
How can we help kids be involved in other centers, so they can develop their skills?

Parent Questions:
One parent was confused about why they don't have assigned seats.
My child likes to have her own things, how does it work if everything is shared?
Do you help them learn manners?
Wood table - what kind of learning tools?  What do they do with all the accessories?  What do they use the house for?
What part of the room do they use the most?
How much time do they spend outdoors?
Should we have the same sorting system at home for art supplies?
Is there a type of punishment, how you discipline children?
How do the children manage time and know what is next?  What does this inquiry mean?

Sharing is fundamental to everything we do when we learn.  Kids have things to take responsibility for but sharing things develops their executive functioning skills, fostering community - social cooperative skills.  Taking turns.
The children are everywhere all the time, but the teepee is a place where most kids like to go.  Using observation to inform practice of how to design classroom environment to invite all students to participating in learning within those areas.  Keeping records of where kids go, with whom, how long, what they do is essential for us to really develop all learning areas in our classroom.
The challenge is to design activities in each area where all skills are developed, and also be creative in our design of spaces and activities to draw them out.  For example, integrate blocks or trains in other areas of the room, Batman cut outs.
Positive discipline in the classroom is emotion coaching.  Labeling the feelings, Addressing the behavior, Problem Solve together. (Role play can also be helpful to reinforce).
Keep in mind Stephanie's Peace Dove on your shoulder - don't let it fly away.
'Rain is what makes children grow, not thunder!" - wise words of wisdom from Shuruq.