From Teacher to Publisher
Integrating the Learner Profile with the PYP Subject Areas
Curriculum Summit Europe, Prague • Friday, February 21, 2020
Welcome! It's great to have you here!
​
Hopefully you're here for one of two reasons (or both!).
​
1. You'd like to incorporate more experiences with the Learner Profile into your lessons, but you lack opportunities to do so, be it time, resources or other constraints.
​
2. You'd like to take your own teaching materials to the next level by polishing them with professional layouts and exploring opportunities for printing, publishing, and maybe even selling them.
​
​
Where shall we begin?
1. Incorporating Experiences with the Learner Profile
​
​
The IB Learner Profile is a complex concept which students will not digest if the attributes are reserved for last-minute cameo appearances at the end of a reporting period. In order to develop a panoramic vision of the IB Learner Profile, students need regular exposure to the attributes in multiple contexts.
Just for fun, here are some curricular statistics that a primary teacher should cover in a school year:
-
6 PYP subject areas
-
25 sub-strands
-
60 conceptual understandings
-
238 learning outcomes
-
6 units of inquiry
-
6 transdisciplinary themes
-
6 central ideas
-
12-24 lines of inquiry
-
8 key concepts
​
Looking at the 238 learning outcomes alone, a teacher has just enough contact time to unpack, inquire into, assess and move on from a little more than one learning outcome every day. (Forget about everything else in the list above.)
When you've got
no time...
DOUBLEuP
Combination is a trademark of transdisciplinary learning. If you can create a resource that infuses PYP subject area learning outcomes into experiences with the IB Learner Profile, you’ve not only honored the IB’s mission to develop internationally-minded people with a transdisciplinary approach, you’ve also saved time, and maybe even made some money.
How?
STEP 1: Search and Study
Choose your favorite IB Learner Profile attribute and study it. Below are links to just a few resources about the attributes. Definitions, synonyms, antonyms, images and teaching ideas are different angles from which to look at these concepts. Exposure to an attribute from multiple perspectives will give you a wider range of springboards from which to launch creative transdisciplinary activities.
IB Learner Profile Attributes
communicator
knowledgeable
principled
risk-taker
inquirer
open-minded
reflective
thinker
STEP 2: Mix and Match
Choose your favorite PYP subject area and pull out its corresponding PYP Scope and Sequence. Read each learning outcome through the lens of your attribute and ask yourself what links can be made between the two. Jot down the link in the language of activity directions. (*You don't have to do this with the learning outcomes. You can also look at conceptual understandings, or take out your units of inquiry and mix and match with your lines of inquiry!)
PYP Subject Area Scope and Sequences
Example 1: Motivate Your Motors
Risk-taker (trying new things)
+
PSPE Active Living Phase 1 Learning Outcome #6: develop a range of fine and gross motor skills
=
Directions: Your body needs regular movement, including exercises in both gross and fine motor skills. Gross motor skills involve your whole body, arms, or legs, while fine motor skills involve your hands and fingers. From the lists below choose 1 gross motor and 1 fine motor activity that you would like to become better at. Spend 20 minutes practicing these activities 4 times each week for 2 weeks.
Example 2: Instanalysis
Inquirer (questioning critically)
+
Language Viewing and Presenting Phase 5 Learning Outcome #1: view and critically analyse a range of visual texts, communicating understanding through oral, written and visual media
=
Directions: The term FAKE NEWS is pretty popular these days, but fake news has been around since there’s been news. The news comes from people reporting stories, and people embellish, leave out details, and sometimes downright lie! This is why it’s so important to inquire into the news you receive to determine how “true” or “fake” the news is. This is especially important because many people receive 100% of their news from social media. Have a look at the Instagram message below. What is your first impression of this message?
STEP 3: Rinse and Repeat
Choose your second favorite IB Learner Profile attribute and… (see Step 1). By the time you’ve combed the curriculum with all ten attributes, chances are dozens of those 238 learning outcomes will have been laced with a lesson on the Learner Profile. You would have had to teach those learning outcomes anyway; now you’ve planned a transdisciplinary activity coated with the mission of the IBO.
*Liv & Blue Publishing, LLC is not endorsed by, nor is it an affiliation of the International Baccalaureate Organization.
2. Self-Publishing Your Teaching Materials
Perhaps now more than ever we judge books by covers as we speedscroll through feeds and thumbnails, clicking only on the images that click with us. Kids are no different with the handouts they receive in class. The more professional your materials look, the more seriously your students will engage with them.
Let's
face it...
DIY
A black and white photocopy just won’t command the same attention as a full-color, professionally-bound workbook. Luckily the old stigmas of self-publishing have dissolved as the industry has become more diverse in the Information Age, where consumers expect to learn easily. (It’s one thing to publish your personal love story, quite another to publish your own nonfiction educational materials.)
How?
STEP 1: The Layout
You’ve got a piece of paper with brief directions scribbled next to a pencil sketch of a child riding a bike. Some of the resources below can take your plan to the next level with drag and drop ease: plug your text and images into pre-designed templates and come out with a professional-looking activity sheet. (Keep in mind these 4 principles of design: contrast, alignment, proximity, and repetition.)
Layout and Design Resources
STEP 2: The Stillthinkingofagoodparalleltermout
Standard copyright prohibits cutting, photocopying, scanning, and copy-and-pasting. Don’t take a chance on copyright infringement, especially if you’re considering selling your materials on platforms like Teachers Pay Teachers or Amazon. Use royalty-free images or buy licenses, which come in relatively affordable subscriptions.
Stock Photo Resources
*Always read the licensing agreements before using images, especially for commercial use.
STEP 3: The Printout
Transforming your computer screen creations into books your students can hold and take home is fast and affordable, with printing prices as low as 5.28€ for a full color, 132-page perfect bound book. Different printers have their own pros and cons, so it's important to research and find the one that best suits your needs.
Self-Publishing Resources
