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AT OIS – JVLR we are continuously looking for ways in which our students can share their learning in an ever changing world. A recent excellent example of this was in the Individuals and Societies classes for Grade 8 students, where social media was used as a wonderful opportunity to engage in new learning. We congratulate Ms Alexis Anderson and Ms Himani Sood and their students on their recent article in the International Teacher Magazine (ITM) describing the learning journey. LINK
Barb Batchelor
https://consiliumeducation.com/itm/2020/10/27/historical-social-media/
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Thank you to the Grade 9 & 10 parents and students who attended the recent webinars:
Assessment in MYP & intro to Personal Project: Grade 9 (Wednesday 7th October) Meeting Recording: us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/3ZFigE1k7zjH9yMYWq0wc7VXlYRH-AL5SVnE0Of1hjUIBgvmgtGrdWMnTeojjior.AtoPMXr-xTnOCIYe Access Passcode: 6w.VTe.@ Assessment in MYP and MYP Pathways Link to unanswered Q&A: docs.google.com/document/d/1Db4ph_m6rY4hiKELD_1ZOyeRCO1XMDIZhoo-da7rlik/edit Assessment in MYP and MYP Pathways: Grade 10 (Thursday 8th October) Meeting Recording: us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/7g-2Qwk_WwZUMslYycLvo-A-C1I5qgtIdgmkTOmlbmBnYbVEdBbEnvQRTup4f1e4.IB4LvnV02CHrU80T Access Passcode: P#2citaS When the problem is not the question and the solution is not the answer… In his 2008 paper(1) on Inquiry Teaching in the ATM, Andrew Blair(2) says that “knowledge comes pre-packed and is consumed in a way determined by the teacher.” Put that next to the OIS vision statement “We give our students the freedom to think, empower to be…” and you will notice why we have parted ways with teaching mathematics the traditional way. Inquiry, in mathematics, is the experience of observing patterns, noticing connections and asking questions that challenge what is already known. When using this model in class, the teacher introduces an inquiry prompt (unlike a typical mathematical question) and provides students with opportunities to explore the prompt in several directions. During the process, students exchange their ideas about how to learn and why to learn about a given concept in a certain way. Allowing this type of socialization enables students negotiate their knowledge trajectory based on their ability and previous understanding. When we decided to introduce this activity in Grade 8, our aim was to have a democratic approach to induce mathematical thinking and habits of mind. Students were given the inquiry prompt (Fig. 1) and set off to work in pairs to generate comments and/or pose questions about the prompt (Fig. 2). Their communication was mostly based on previous understanding of number theory concepts such as odd and even numbers, patterns in multiplication, rules of divisibility, patterns and sequences. (Figs. 3 and 4). They were required to examine the prompt and devise and test some conjectures based on their observations. Some of these conjectures could not be explained from the available information, which led them to the experience of not always reaching the solution for a given problem and keeping it open for further investigation. The subtitle of this blog post, When the Problem Is Not the Question and the Solution Is Not the Answer: Mathematical Knowing and Teaching, refers to a seminal academic research paper(3) from the 1990s that has discussed similar ideas on developing an inquiry culture in the mathematics classroom. It is a long but an interesting read to understand how students can develop this important thinking skill to become curious and inquisitive about their knowledge. It highlights how our traditional approach to perceive mathematics as a ‘perfect science’ of ‘accurate solutions’ is fundamentally wrong and rather needs to be replaced with efforts towards developing mathematical habits of mind. “Give a man a fish and he eats for the day, teach him how to fish and he eats forever…” they say.
Thank you to all those Grade 6 - 8 parents who attended the recent parent session: Introduction to Assessment in MYP - Grades 6 - 8. Due to technical difficulties I apologise to those who could not be part of this session. The link below will take you to the video recording. Science in Action: Grade 7The focus of teaching and learning sciences for grade 7 students has been around stimuli and responses in everyday situations. The aim was for students to connect their responses in these situations, to the stimulus and understand the perception pathway in human bodies. Grade 7 students engaged with an informed discussion on ‘why we respond the way we do’. This deepened their understanding of the way the human body responds. In this process, the students developed critical thinking skills, communicated effectively and worked collaboratively to enhance their own learning and learning of their peers. (Submitted by Ms. Aditi Bhardwaj) Science in Action: Grade 10 Redesigning Products
Our Grade 10 students are currently exploring the unit “ How do machines make our lives better?” in their Science classes . They are building on their ATL Skills - Transfer of learning through the various activities and tasks in this unit. They are drawing connections between the concepts of Motion and the Working of the Musculoskeletal System in Humans and how the knowledge of these concepts inspired the invention and designing of new machines that helps in making our lives better and comfortable. This was one such introductory fun task where the students used their prior knowledge and experience in redesigning a product of their choice. The outcome of this activity was very positive. The students applied their learning from subjects like Design, Arts and Maths to create the 2-Dimensional design of their redesigned product. This brought out the students creativity and innovation. They also got an opportunity to work on their collaborative skills as this activity was performed in groups. Task https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SbyACsLwfMF9pMcA2kYVz5dQ21T2EKXOASQUKFC2cWg/edit?usp=sharing Student Samples
 As we have been indoors due to this pandemic for approximately 6 months, the importance of fitness has come to light. Any form of exercise helps one balance themselves physically mentally as well as emotionally. We came across a video where we watched this kid do an obstacle race at home. You could tell by his expressions and excitement that it was an extremely fun and engaging activity.
Inspired by the video, we created a unit called obstacle fitness course for our grade 8 students to see how they adapt to change and maintain the same energy level at home. Obstacle courses involve a variety of elements such as climbing, running, crawling, jumping, dragging and so on. In this unit the students have to create an obstacle course at home in pairs on the basis of the 7 points given to them. Using different forms of communication, they collaborate and come up with creative ideas for a course which looks almost identical to their pair. The focus is on completing each aspect while being timed. Looking at their pre-test video they set realistic goals. After which, they plan workouts on each aspect of the course, to improve their timing for the final obstacle course which is done by the end of the unit. Here is the glimpse of their home based obstacle course. - PHYSICAL AND HEALTH EDUCATION - MYP OIS JVLR A warm welcome to our 2020/2021 academic year, to our returning students and families and to all those who are new. We begin this year as a fully authorised IB MYP school after a very successful Virtual Verification Visit from IB.
As we continue on our MYP Journey the past two weeks have been very busy for both the students and teachers. On Sunday 6th and Monday the 7th October all the teachers were involved in a Developing the MYP workshop allowing us to consider where we are at and, what our ‘next steps’ will be. Our workshop leaders, flying in from Australia and Indonesia, were very impressed and complimentary of our progress to date. It was a very productive two days.
Similarly our IB consultant, who oversees our development, has given us very positive feedback on our curriculum overviews. The following link will take you to our MYP website. Here you will find an outline of MYP at OIS along with links that are open to parents including an overview (Subject Group Overviews) for each year of the programme, as well as policy links. Please ‘star’ this website and from time to time visit it as we are update pages. From all the team we wish you are very happy semester break and if you celebrate Diwali, we wish you a very Happy Diwali. Kindest regards Barb
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This last month has been a very busy and productive month for our learning community, including for our parents. Thank you to all who managed to attend sessions ranging from Introduction to MYP Assessment, to MYP in Action, and Digital Citizenship. All of these sessions have intended to support you in increasing your understanding of MYP as well as supporting you, as parents, to better understand the digital world of your child/children.
Please find below the power point used as the base in the Introduction to MYP Assessment. Each of the three sessions unpacked a different summative assessment sample that is not included in the power point. The last two slides answer the three questions that were left at the end of the Grade 6 session. Many thanks for your continued support. Barb
A warm welcome to our 2019/2020 academic year, to our returning students and families and to all those who are new. This Middle School blog allows you to see ‘snapshots’ of learning happening in the subject areas both within our classroom walls and beyond. In addition, there will be posts sharing information (power points etc.) post Parent workshops.
This week we welcomed our new secondary parents to a session: Introduction to MYP and Managebac support, held in the auditorium. This was an opportunity for all parents attending to familiarize themselves with the IB MYP framework as well as an introduction to how MYP at OIS – JVLR works. To those who attended thank you for your time. Please find below the power point shared at this parent session. Please make note of future parent sessions dates:
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BARB BATCHELOR
MYP COORDINATOR Welcome to our MYP blog. I feel very privileged, as a passionate MYP educator, to be the coordinator at OIS - JVLR. Feel free to visit our blog as we endeavour to make our learning more visible to you. 
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