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This podcast is for any teacher who is seeking for ways to enrich the learning in their classroom without breaking the bank. We will explore the simple steps on how to turn the traditional learning experience into one founded on practices of the PYP in 10 to 20 minute episodes. The PYP is part of the International Baccalaureate program, which focuses on developing the whole child by allowing students to create their own meaning from learning. If you’re not a PYP teacher, don’t worry. We’ll be sharing ideas that can be applied to your learning setting, because good practice can be used anywhere. https://thinkchat2020.weebly.com/podcast
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Send us a text Welcome back to our podcast and the fourth episode in our well-being series. In the last episode, we examined the power of fear in our lives. We are all struck with fear many times in our lives and there is no shame attached to it. In fact, we might have to worry if everything is perfect all of the time. Fear is a natural response to tension in our lives, real or imagined, that can take over our rational thinking. Many of us can be controlled by fear at...
Send us a text Welcome back to our podcast and the third episode in our well-being series. This is the most vulnerable I have been in some time. Fear is our mind’s early warning system. It shows up when we sense a threat (whether real or imagined) and while it can protect us, it can also quietly hold us back. Susan Jeffers, author of Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway, offers a powerful reminder: fear is natural, and it is something we all experience. Her message is not to wait until...
Send us a text Welcome back, my friends, to Confession 153. This episode is framed by this quote by Mo Gawdat, "Worrying is praying for what you don’t want." Mo frames worry as a form of negative visualization. Rather than focusing our energy on what we want to grow, worry channels our attention toward fear and imagined threats. When we do this consistently, we reinforce anxiety. We lose our sense of clarity. We become less joyful and less present. Mo reminds us that while pain i...
Send us a text Welcome back, my friends, to Confession 152. Today’s episode marks the beginning of a brand-new series on something that’s been quietly knocking at the door of my consciousness for a while now: well-being. If I’m honest, I used to push that topic aside. It just didn’t feel academic enough; too soft, too personal, too invisible in our talk about developing unit planners and learner agency. But some recent events stopped me in my tracks. A couple of weeks ago, I was all fired ...
Send us a text Hello my PYP family, this is Lu Gerlach from thinkchat. Welcome back to Confessions of a PYP Teacher as we explore confession number 151, which is a challenge for our essential specialist and supporting teachers. Over the past episodes in our specialist and supporting teacher series, we have explored some power topics, including The learner profile attributesInternational mindednessConceptual understandingNow, in the thirteenth episode of this series, it’s time to g...
Send us a text Hi friends, it’s Lu Gerlach from thinkchat, and today is a BIG one. Episode 150. One hundred and fifty episodes. It's the longest episode to date. Can you believe it? Because honestly, I’m sitting here with a cup of tea and a full heart wondering how we got here. What started as a passion project for me with a microphone and a head full of ideas has become a place of connection. This learner-centered community has kept me going, so a big thank you. It’s through your...
Send us a text Hey friends. Welcome back. It’s been a minute or two since we last connected, but here we are—episode twelve of our specialist and supporting teachers series. And this one? It’s a big one. Today, we’re diving into what I believe is the beating heart of deep learning in the IB: conceptual understanding—and more importantly, how it shows up in your space. This is the question I hear all the time: "Lu, I’m a PE teacher." "I support EAL learners." "I’m in th...
Send us a text Welcome to the eleventh episode of our specialist and supporting teachers series. Today, we are focusing on how we can further explore international mindedness in our practice. This requires some deeper thinking and collaboration to make it happen. In the last episode, we explored how to unpack international mindedness through local and global contexts and projecting across time. I am hoping that this episode will equally excite you to move forward with maki...
Send us a text Welcome to the tenth episode of our specialist and supporting teachers series. Today, we are focusing on bringing about more international mindedness in your classrooms with authenticity. There are so many possibilities of exploration with the focus of international mindedness. One of the most common might be to embody an international mindset by exploring new ideas, meeting new people, being open to new experiences, and traveling. Although this is open...
Send us a text Welcome to the ninth episode of our specialist and supporting teachers series. I’m super excited to talk more about the learner profile attributes. This is one of the most underused tools alongside the approaches to learning in the IB programmes. This is a bold statement to say, I know. I’m just tired of people using the learner profile attributes as character traits. They are SKILLS required to create a DISPOSITION. More than ever, we need you...
Send us a text Welcome to the eighth episode of our specialist and supporting teachers series. We are going to spend our time unpacking the learner profile in a new way. Oftentimes, the learner profile are reduced as a way to connect with behavior and they are much more than that. As specialist and supporting teachers you have a possibility to use the learner profile as a set of skills that create a learning disposition in your classes. It won’t take too much plannin...
Send us a text Welcome to our seventh episode in our series for specialist and supporting teachers. This has been a passion project that has been frequently delayed with my return to the classroom, a school-wide adventure camp, International day, the IB global conference, a trip to London (my favorite city in the world like so many others), and a workshop in Dubin, Ireland with the Nord Anglia school. As I go through this list, I am excited, yet invigorated at the same time. One...
Send us a text Welcome back to our specialist and supporting teachers series! This is our sixth episode leaning into inquiry for our supporting teachers, particularly the inclusion specialist. In specified roles that support learning and behavioral development, the challenge is there isn’t a set curriculum you are following. This is how the PYP can help you the most, because it’s full of approaches to help bring about the best in the learners that you support. This can b...
Send us a text Welcome back to our specialist and supporting teachers series! This is our fifth episode zooming into inquiry for you fabulous teachers. In this episode, we will explore how we might infuse more inquiry into our practice through think, chat, create, particularly in the PE classroom. This will be a fun exploration of how we might ask some thought provoking questions to bring about more local and global inquiry into our practice. For a written blog pos...
Send us a text Welcome to the fourth episode of our specialist and supporting teachers series. We are continuing our journey with agency through the lens of the specialist teacher, in particular the librarian. All other specialist and supporting teachers should be able to find ways to modify the strategies over the two episodes to help their practice. It's about look at practices and our content through a different lens. This episode is dedicated to Kerry Darby, a passion...
Send us a text Welcome to the third episode in our specialist and supporting teachers series. If you haven’t listened to the series so far, consider going back to the beginning, because we are getting into the nitty gritty about your roles in each part of the PYP. Agency is a huge push in the PYP, but I rarely hear it being discussed in the role of the specialist and supporting teacher role. It may have to do with your hectic schedule from 30-60 minutes per week to incorporate meaning...
Send us a text Welcome to the second episode of my new series to support specialist and supporting teachers. I just want to let you know that in this space you are so valued. The work you do makes the rest of the school more complete. Never forget this my friends as you try to navigate your role within the PYP framework. Before we begin, I want to honor the contributions of my friend Yuni Santosa who gave me so many ideas for this series. She is a fabulous educ...
Send us a text Welcome to our new series about specialist and supporting teachers. I have been thinking a lot about this series over the past couple months, especially during a visit to Le Jardin Academy in Kailua, Oahu, Hawaii. I had a candid chat with the specialist team and it made me think that other specialist and supporting teachers might appreciate the same guidance. This episode, we will review some of the common misconceptions about the role of the specialist and suppor...
Send us a text This is the final week of our exploration of Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain. We will explore how to build more intellective capacity with Zaretta Hammond. At my age, I feel like this capacity is waning, so I hope to pick up some tips! The chapter begins with a quote by Benjamin R. Barber, a political theorist. He states, “I don’t divide the world into the weak and the strong, or the successes and the failures, those who make it or those who don’t.&nbs...
Send us a text I can’t believe that we are almost done with Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain by Zaretta Hammond. This book has reaffirmed that some things I am doing are reflective of cultural responsiveness and that there are many ways that I can still grow. As we talked about in the last episode, it’s all about having a balanced academic mindset. We know that tasks may be challenging, but with time and practice, we still attempt them with a belief that we can d...
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In the bustling tapestry of education, the classroom becomes a microcosm of a school's expectations, pulsating with the promise of growth and discovery. As I embarked on a journey of exploration, unraveling the secrets of effective classroom management, I stumbled upon a hidden treasure trove of wisdom nestled within the digital realm at https://writinguniverse.com/free-essay-examples/hurricane/. It unveiled a profound insight into how we can manifest the expectations of a school within the very fabric of the classroom. Like a hurricane gathering strength, the classroom becomes a tempest of possibilities, where students are not just passive recipients of knowledge but active participants in their own education. Within these walls, the expectations of a school come alive through intentional design, collaborative learning, and a culture of respect. The physical environment breathes with purpose, with displays of student work adorning the walls like vibrant tapestries of achievement. Teac