Reflecting on our students’ experiences, I have felt that we, teachers, usually kill students’ motivation and enthusiasm right in the first week of the new school year. I observe that teachers give course outlines, assessment criteria and sometimes even homework in the first week of the school. For new students (coming from the PYP or other schools), I definitely think ‘sink or swim’ approach is sometimes unconsciously used. It is important for us to remember that students are social beings and they need time to build relationships and develop confidence before they can engage with any academic work.
On the other hand, teachers are also excited meeting their new students. However, they are often worried there is not enough time to plan their curriculum and assessment. If teachers are new to the school, they particularly feel overwhelmed with the new curriculum, new students, new country, new culture, and so on.
In order to create a win-win situation for both teachers and students, I am proposing to run a two-day MYP induction and orientation for the year of 2018-19 at my school. The purposes are for students and teachers to:
While students are engaged in their induction and orientation program, teachers can have grade-level or department meetings to plan the curriculum, assessment and learning experiences. This could also be a great time for new staff to ask questions and clarify confusions.
Based on the three learning statements, I have came up with four key areas to develop our action plans:
No matter what we do at school, our ultimate goal is to help students achieve the four key aspects mentioned above. (Refer to Transitions between IB programmes.)
In the two-day MYP induction and orientation program, we hope students will get to know their classmates in their grade and also peers across different grade levels. Many students will be anxious but also feel excited to meet their teachers. I have design “class carousel” and “physical activities” for teachers and students to get to know each other. ( I am thinking a tug-of-war between teachers and students could be fun.) “Ethical chocolate” is an activity to promote TOK thinking and encourage critical thinking skills.
I will update the details and resources later.
Note: Special thanks go to @alohalavina for the ‘student panel discussion’ activity and @sjtylr for the ’30 circles challenge’ activity.
Below is the modified two-day MYP Induction and Orientation Programme with details of the activities. If you are interested in obtain a copy of this slides, please leave a comment or email me via alison@edu.kis.ac.th.
Note: Slides #12-15 are made by @sjtylr. Here is the link of the wonderful “Getting Going in MYP: Student Orientation” resource prepared by @sjtylr.
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View Comments
Nice presentation. Appreciate the efforts n thanks for sharing.
Thank you. It's very important for us to remember to create experiences with students and help them to build positive and interactive relationships.
Thank you for the comprehensive slides.
I would truly appreciate a copy of them if possible.
Thank you in advance.
Amanda
of course. Check your inbox.
Best,
Alison
Hi,
thank you so much for sharing your blog and resources. It has helped me a lot in my presentations to parents, teachers and students.
I would be grateful if you would share your slides with me.
Thanks
Lena
Hi Lena,
Yes. If you give me your email address, I can share the slides with you.
Best,
Alison
Hi Alison, Great work :) I would be grateful if you would share your slides with me.
Kind regards
Paul
Dear Alison,
Congratulations for such a great work.
Thankyou for your generosity sharing your ideas that enlighten us !
I would really appreciate sending a copy of the slides.
Kind regards
Fanny
Hi Fanny,
Thank you for your interest in our MYP student orientation program. All the resources I shared are free to use under creative common license on my website. If you would like to obtain the original copy of these Google slides, I request users to support the refugee scholars attending my school. Please read their story here: https://alisonyang.weebly.com/
You can make a donation in any amount that you feel comfortable with. All money received will go toward supporting KIS refugee families. Let me know if
you have any questions.
Thank you for supporting equity in education in advance.
Best,
Alison
Alison
Thank you for supporting equity in education in advance.
Best,
Hello,
I teach MYP Science at La Mirada Academy and want to first thank you on putting together such a helpful and thorough blog.
I would also like to request the above slides.
Thank you.
Hi Alisson, thank you for sharing this amazing resource. I am thinking about preparing an induction program as well. May I get a copy of your google slides?
Hi Tia,
Thank you for your interest in KIS MYP student orientation program. All the resources I shared are free to use under creative common license on my website. If you would like to obtain the original copy of these Google slides, you are encouraged to support the refugee scholars attending my school by making a small donation. Please read their story here: https://alisonyang.weebly.com/. You can make a donation in any amount that you feel comfortable with. All money received will go toward supporting KIS refugee families. Let me know if you have any questions.
Thank you for supporting equity in education in advance.
Best,
Alison
Hi Alison. Your orientation plan looks great and I would like to request if you would kindly share the slides. I am looking to make orientation next week as meaningful and engaging as possible.
Thank you.
Dear Parwez,
Thank you for your interest in our KIS MYP student orientation program. All the resources I shared are free to use under creative common license on my website. If teachers/schools would like to obtain the original copy of these Google slides to revise or modify, I request them in supporting the refugee scholars attending my school by making a small donation. Please read their story here: https://alisonyang.weebly.com/. You can make a donation in any amount that you feel comfortable with. All money received will go toward supporting KIS refugee families. Let me know if you have any questions.
Thank you for supporting equity in education in advance.
Kindly,
Alison