【Education】Theory and Praxis of IB philosophy
Introduction
According to IB mission goal in the first part:
“The International Baccalaureate aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect… encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners.” [1]
Taking education for example, for me, education just like the wide and unlimited land. Many children will have fun in there when teachers put lots of equipment on the ground, then kids could try it for their interests and decide what kind of toils they want. As time goes by, they will clarify their different directions in their life. Hence, they will pick up their weapons and break a way through bramble and thistle to their goals. It means that inquiring, knowledge, caring, action, compassion and lifelong learners are more important right now, implying that education should assist students in advance. Without knowledge, you can’t figure out where you should go; Without action and compassion, even if being a lifelong learner, you can’t trudge through the long distant and high mountains; Without caring, you can’t trek for long time; Without inquiring abilities, you won’t know your direction is correct or not.
Above all these descriptions, on one hand, IB mission cultivates the idea of personality for students, relating to the Learner Profile which includes inquire, knowledgeable and caring facts. Moreover, IB mission also wants to inspire students to get more open-minded so as to explore their horizon.
l Inquiries：We hope students are eager to their society problems and do their best to find solutions. Besides, they are encouraged to implement in real. Getting the goal that create a better and more peaceful world.
l Knowledgeable：Students know where to find information and identify the useful knowledgeable, which is important for students to action in the next step. Hoping they can create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect
l Thinkers：Encouraging students use critical thinking to solve the problem, which connected with global context issues. Students need to analysis and evaluate issues and ideas by different prospects(understand that different points of view from others). Hoping them can help to create a better and more peaceful world.
l Communicators：Students present what they found certainly to others who had different background. Moreover, they can listen others’ perspectives and give meaningful feedback to each other. (understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.)
l Principled：IB mission hopes any of students has their personal principle in their whole life. Therefore, they can create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect
l Open-minded：Students should listen to other opinions and ideas. Moreover, they can accept different views from others. They need to understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.
l Caring：We hope students love their society and their environment around them. They also have service to what they like. Besides, they can give positive different in the lives of others. Hoping they can care young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.
l Risk-takers：Students know how to avoid getting risk. They should be a risk-taker in their life. It is useful for them when they across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners
l Balanced：There are different parts of our life. Such us, intellectual, physical, and emotional. Above all, they can connect them together in daily life. It is useful for them when they organization works with schools, governments and international organizations
l Reflective：Students should be know their weakness and strength in order to support they works with schools, governments and international organizations and across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners.
In my opinion, the most important thing for a new generation is that lifelong learners are the key in their learning life. How do students maintain their learning passion and curious? How do teacher guide students in achieving the lifelong learner skill in their life? To answer this conceptive question, the Learner Profile also offers other facts for students to follow, such as “principles”, “balance” and “reflective”, then eventually become a thinker, communicator and risk-taker in their whole life.
About History Education
Comparing with IB mission and History education in Taiwan, it is quite different between them. After Reading “Dangerous Mind”[2], which were wrote by the doctor named HOU, WEN-YONG, I was impressed by some sentences:
“Actually, the education in the west, they respect your learning life and hold full expectation to each student’s inspiration and imagination.”
“Education in the West just like a child; Education in the East just like an elder.”[3]
He pointed out the difference of education system between the East and the West. In Taiwan, Spoon-feeding education had been conducted for over fifty years in most students’ school time, and so was my own past experiences. LU, SHI-HAO[4], the professor of History in NTU once said: “It is not that history is useless. It is a problem in the way we learn history.”
Furthermore, The stereotypical history courses in Taiwan often require rows of students to memorize facts from the boring books, and a teacher usually manipulates tests in the end of the week and asks questions like “What happened in the 1895?” or “ Who participated the Second War?”. However, these don’t help students become self-thinker in the future, to be honest, these problems are really happening in Taiwan. As for Taiwanese, the first impression about history subject is nothing but to recite.
Nevertheless, it is definitely wrong interpretation about history education. History, geography and citizen are usually distorted into different directions under Spoon-feeding education, and they even lost their truthful wisdom. This situation matches with the England during 1970 age, facing the history subject climacteric. People thought that history is nothing but a reciting subject and useless for human life. The following statements would show out how they thought at that time:
The sequential approach to chronology that the curriculum envisages is a return to the approach from 1900 to the 1970s, when the study of outline courses died out — because children found them boring and history was fast being overtaken in popularity by social science subjects and even geography![5]
But is that what history really means? Why actually we should learn history and for what purpose?
Actually, History is closely to daily life, which connects with IB learner Profile “Caring”. From my perspectives, History is the filter paper that help us observe the writer’s system of value in the article. This idea connects with IB learner Profile “thinkers”. We often use it to filtrate any of versions and identify what kind of ideologies expressed in the texts. What’s more, it is crucial that we should understand writers’ background and writing purpose in the articles, which would led us to get rid of writers’ preoccupation or bias. This idea connects with IB learner Profile “open-minded”. Therefore, we could get closer to what ideologies that writers’ made and reflect the atmosphere and pulsation in that ego. One other hand, there is an old saying goes: “The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.” It points out how important history it is. Shouldn’t we teach students about their history in the class? This is a beginning of my curriculum design.
My Idea in the History Curriculum Design
As Benedetto Croce[6] said, “All history is contemporary history.” From his perspective, history is made by different ideology in different writers according to their own life background and self-experiences; As George Orwell[7] said, “History is a powerful weapon for anyone who know it how it works and how to use it.” It shows that many writers are all definitely influenced by their political ideology, and thus use it to answer the demand of that time so as to proclaim what they try to achieve.
Therefore, History also gives us a hand that we consider different perspective from the article and what they want us to believe.
Otherwise, refer to Abby Reisman[8] comment about history education points: [9]
i. Use texts as evidence.
ii. Develop historical reading skills. (connecting with Reading Like a Historian)
iii. Demonstrate through modeling.
iv. Build a document-based lesson.
1. Introduce students to background information so they are familiar with the period, events, and issues under investigation.
2. Provide a central historical question that focuses students’ attention.
3. Have students read multiple documents that offer different perspectives or interpretations of the central historical question.
4. Have the students respond to the central historical question in writing, a classroom discussion, or both.
v. Engage in whole-class discussion.
Above all these statements are my thought of History. Let’s go back to IB individual and societies paper and their aims in History. The aims of MYP individuals and societies are to encourage and enable students to:[10]
1. appreciate human and environmental commonalities and diversity
2. understand the interactions and interdependence of individuals, societies and the environment
3. understand how both environmental and human systems operate and evolve
4. identify and develop concern for the well-being of human communities and the natural environment
5. act as responsible citizens of local and global communities
6. develop inquiry skills that lead towards conceptual understandings of the relationships between individuals, societies and the environments in which they live.
These aims are mixed with geography, history and economics, which closely related to humanity. However, in my opinion, these goals will always influence the way of human to balance between economics and environment, and thus try to achieve sustainable development on the earth. Therefore, based on these concentration goals and IB learner Profile“caring”,“thinkers”, “open-minded”, and “communicators” , I have planned a simple project activity for students.
History Curriculum Design Purpose
Before I designed the simple subject activity with pedagogical approaches, I had referred the Video of history education Stanford University History Education Grope: Reading Like a Historian.[11] This curriculum designed hit the point of mine.
In the video, the teacher uses inquiry-based curriculum[12] and let student express their observation on the class. Besides, as soon as students read articles and face obstacles of the writers’ meaning, the teacher should appropriately inputs history knowledges and key points into the class.
The curriculum designed matches with my pedagogical approaches. Reading Like a Historian[13] is also a wonderful curriculum designed for History subject.
There are some preconditions for the beginning:
1. Considering curriculum design 3s:
i. Students from the ages of 11 to 16, which matched with MYP. [14] Besides, there are 40 students in the class.
ii. Subjects are included history, geography and economics.
iii. Society issues are related to world trend or what teenager caring.
2. About the role of a teacher and Pedagogical design:
i. Guide inquiry[15]: Teacher decides the concept and the discussion topic. Students have rights to decide how to them find the resource, and how to manage their statement and how to report it.
ii. Using “Jigsaw learning[16]” in the class: Students learning in the two parts. One is home groups, which they are different experts in the same country, the other one is expert groups, which they are the same expert in different countries.
Jigsaw learning
iii. Adopting the “Student-centered teaching and learning” methods: such as considering what they thoughts? What they are interests? How to inspire their learning passion?
3. About class time and equipment:
i. Time: 50 minutes for one class. I will take three class implement the activity.
ii. Equipment in the class: the projector, the blackboard and the computer for the teacher.
Above all these statements, I have designed my simple subject activity as following.
My simple subject activity
1. Title: how would you make decision to protect your country’s economics during the China–United States trade war, when you are a leader of other countries?
2. Topic: China–United States trade war
3. Key concept: World Trade
4. Related concepts: culture, economics, geography and country relationship.
5. Global context: world discussion and world negotiation.
6. Revised statement of inquiry: During China–United States trade war, you need to cooperate with others country and make your next step by considering culture, economics, geography and country relationship, which maybe influent your country.
7. Revised Inquiry question:
i. Factual Questions: Who is powerful country in the world?
ii. Conceptual: What are different between USA and UK industries?
iii. Debatable: Do you accept the policy “higher the trades tax” in your country? Why? Or why not?
8. Connected with IB Learner Profile
i. Caring: During the activity, students need to understand what their country are and what happened in the world. Hoping they can care young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.
ii. Thinkers: During the activity, students need to use critical thinking to solve the problem, which connected with global context issues. Students need to analysis and evaluate issues and ideas by different prospects (understand that different points of view from others).
iii. Open-minded: During the activity, students need to listen others’ presentation and their ideas. They need to understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.
iv. Communicators: During the activity, students present what they found certainly to others who had different background. Moreover, they can listen others’ perspectives and give meaningful feedback to each other. (understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.)
How it works in the class?
Beginning
This curriculum model imitates the real world. First of all, divided 40 students into five countries, which means home groups, and each home group(country) has 8 people. Then, divided 8 students into four parts in the same country, which means there are 2 people in each expert realm.
Procedures
Procedures: simple schematic diagram as following.
There are three steps in the activity. First, the teacher explains about the world situation, during the China–United States trade war, and raises the event that influences to these five countries. Each of expert searches for the resource and information about their country. Then, going on the next step, process three parts of discussion to figure out what are the conflicts between countries. Finally, five countries make a consensus or final resolution for this topic.
In the second step, as following simple schematic diagram. Each country has a speech at the speech table and Country groups discussion.
This is simple schematic diagram about the Expert group discussion.
Through jigsaw learning, students can discuss with different parts and think deeply in their situation. In the end, they must negotiate with others country and do their best to make a resolution for each other in the final round.
About Examples and Non-examples lists
To meet with IB mission, I refer to ATL skills framework[17], before I design the Examples and Non-Examples lists. Therefore, putting five facts including Communication skills, Social skills, Self-management skills, Research skills and Thinking skills as following:
i. Caring: During the activity, students need to understand what their country are and what happened in the world. Hoping they can care young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.
ii. Thinkers: During the activity, students need to use critical thinking to solve the problem, which connected with global context issues. Students need to analysis and evaluate issues and ideas by different prospects (understand that different points of view from others).
iii. Open-minded: During the activity, students need to listen others’ presentation and their ideas. They need to understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.
iv. Communicators: During the activity, students present what they found certainly to others who had different background. Moreover, they can listen others’ perspectives and give meaningful feedback to each other. (understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.)
Examples
Communicators
¨ Give and receive meaningful feedback to students
¨ Encourage students to discuss with his/her peers
Open-minded
¨ Teach students how to negotiate effectively
¨ Teach students how to build consensus with people who have different background
Caring
¨ Teach students how to find information about issue.
¨ Teach students read news paper and understand what happened in the world
Thinkers
¨ formulate factual, topical, conceptual and debatable questions
¨ When students facing challenges, the teacher needs to teach them how to identify obstacles.
In the second part, I put about three non-examples of teacher behavior for me, which I possibly show out in subconscious situation.
Non-Examples
Communicators
¨ Students can’t have enough time for discussion.
Open-minded
¨ Judging students’ conclusion in my preoccupation.
¨ Offering information for students just by myself.
Caring
¨ Teacher don’t allow students use recent newspaper.
Thinkers
¨ Do not teach students how to identify primary and secondary sources
¨ Don’t teach each students how to use appropriate strategies for organizing complex information
Performance assessment in the activity
“Challenges students to use their high-order thinking skills to create a product or complete a process.”[18]
There are three points about performance task:
1. Content knowledge
2. Process skills: interdisciplinary and subject-specific
3. Work habit: time management, individual responsibility and persistence.
Performance assessment emphasized on real world scenario.
Notes
From my perspective, the most important that critical thinking should implement in the class, but there are something should be notice, such as how we can judge students critical thinking levels? Are there some points we can follow? In views of these, I refer to Linda Elder,(the miniate guide to critical thinking: concepts and tools),Reflective thinking as following：[19]
1. Clarity: can you detail explain your thought?
2. Accuracy: how can we proof it?
3. Precision: can you give me a specific explanation?
4. Relevance: what is the relevance between your questions and problem? What kind of issues you want to resolve?
5. Depth: what are possible reasons in your problem? How can we resolve it?
6. Breadth: if we observed from different viewpoint, how could we get?
7. Logic: can you describe your idea logically?
8. Significance: what are your key points in your sentence?
9. Fairness: do you have some preoccupation in your idea? Why you have this conclusion? Is it fair for the person who is criticized by you? Why? And why not?
Moreover, I refer to Carol Tomlinson suggested in teaching [20] , for seeking more completed checklist for self-reflection. This is what he suggested:
1. How about students’ preparing for the class?
2. Is the topic interesting for students to participated?
3. How students learn new knowledge?
I also afraid that I can’t hold the process of discussion and maybe influence other classes because our noise. Referring to “Classroom control”[21] book, it suggests some strategies that I can use in the class.
Therefore, I put emphasize on critical thinking and make a simple checklist for self-reflection in lesson design and instruction.
Checklist for self-reflection in lesson design and instruction
¨ Do I give students enough times to discuss and make a final purpose?
¨ Can I achieve IB mission by planning this activity?
¨ How can they obtain in the class?
¨ Are there any defects that we can avoid or improve it?
¨ Can I control the process of curriculum activities?
Conclusion
As beginning, IB Mission tends to socialism education. Therefore, this is a basis requirement that my curriculum model should imitates the real world.
Related to facts of Learner Profile, I try to mix them in our curriculum design. Such as to be open-minded to other perspectives and be active to discuss you’re your partners. Besides, I put emphasis on critical thinking and communication skill, which highly related to history essence. “Qin Shi Huang: What’s the Right Thing to Do?”[22]gives me a good inspiration in paper reading and critical thinking training. Combined with Jigsaw learning and model United Nation experiences, I created this history curriculum design. Moreover, this history curriculum design is based on “Reading Like a Historian” knowledge, which are truly implements in the history education in the USA. It is also closely to my idea of history essence.
Are there other ways that I can nurture the Learner Profile? I will suggest the book: “Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher[23]” in advance, before the teacher plan for the curriculum activity, which includes ways of using social media and technology to assist in teaching and professional development. This is a wonderful propose for the rookie teacher. This book also full of great ideas for teachers. However, I still learn how to help young people who will make a better world tomorrow, it is a crucial and essential issues for any of teachers. To be honestly, I still on the way to achieve it, which are seen like far away for me.
In the end, there is an old saying goes, “To do a good job, an artisan needs the best tools. Good tools are prerequisite the successful execution of a job.” If I am a fresh teacher in the school, I would explore the resource in the school and try to figure out what kind of resource I can use in the class for my students.
Citations
Ø Wineburg Sam, Martin Daisy and Monte-Sano Chauncey. Reading Like a Historian, New York: Teachers College Press, 2016.
Ø H. Lynn Erickson, Lois A. Lanning and Rachel French. Concept-Based Curriculum and Instruction for the Thinking Classroom, 2018.
Ø Elliot Aronson and Shelley Patnoe. Cooperation in the Classroom: The Jigsaw Method. London: Pinter & Martin, 2011.
Ø Paul, R. W., and Elder and Linda. The Thinkers Guide to the Nature and Functions of Critical and Creative Thinking. CA: Foundation for Critical Thinking, 2012.
Ø Stephen D. Brookfield, Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher, United States: Teachers College Press, 2012.
[1] MYP: From principles into practice (2015).
[2] Translated from Chinese: HOU, WEN-YONG, Dangerous Mind. Taipei,2016(侯文詠，危險心靈，台北：皇冠，2016)
[3] As same as the above, p.238
[4] Translated from Chinese:呂世浩。He is a history professor in National Taiwan University.
[5] History and policy, Back to the past for the school history curriculum? Link: http://www.historyandpolicy.org/opinion-articles/articles/back-to-the-past-for-the-school-history-curriculum
[6] Benedetto Croce (1866–1952), historian, humanist, and foremost Italian philosopher of the first half of the 20th century.
[7] George Orwell (1903–1950), Orwell was a British journalist and author, who wrote two of the most famous novels of the 20th century ‘Animal Farm’ and ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’.
[8] Dr. Abby Reisman is an Assistant Professor of Teacher Education in the Teaching, Learning, and Leadership Division. Copy from Graduate School of Education Penn GSE Professional Biography, link: https://scholar.gse.upenn.edu/reisman
[9] Graduate School of Education Penn GSE. The Educator’s Playbook Teaching students to think like historians. Link: https://www.gse.upenn.edu/news/educators-playbook/teaching-students-think-historians
[10] IB Individuals and societies guide p.7
[11] Website: Stanford University History Education Grope. Link: https://sheg.stanford.edu/history-lessons
[12] The class participated including inquiry, action and reflection.
[13] Wineburg Sam, Martin Daisy and Monte-Sano Chauncey. Reading Like a Historian, New York: Teachers College Press, 2016.
[14] According to MYP: From principles into practice p.3
[15] H. Lynn Erickson, Lois A. Lanning and Rachel French. Concept-Based Curriculum and Instruction for the Thinking Classroom, 2018. P.146
[16] The origins of “ Jigsaw learning” collaborative learning can be traced back to the collaboration of Aronson and others at the University of Texas in 1971.
[17] Appendix 1: ATL skills framework, from p.97-p.103
[18] Chun. 2010
[19] Paul, R. W., and Elder and Linda. The Thinkers Guide to the Nature and Functions of Critical and Creative Thinking. CA: Foundation for Critical Thinking, 2012..
[20] Carol Tomlinson and Eidson.(2003). P.3
[21] Routledge, Milton Park, Abringdon and Oxon. Classroom control, UK:CPI Group(2012). Chapter 5.
[22] Translated from Chinese, LU, SHI-HAO, Qin Shi Huang: What’s the Right Thing to Do?. Taipei,2014.(呂世浩，秦始皇:一場歷史思辨之旅，台北，2014年)
[23] Stephen D. Brookfield, Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher. Short summary of the book: Building on the insights of his highly acclaimed earlier work, The Skillful Teacher, and applying the principles of adult learning, Brookfield thoughtfully guides teachers through the processes of becoming critically reflective about teaching, confronting the contradictions involved in creating democratic classrooms, and using critical reflection as a tool for ongoing personal and professional development. Copy from: GoodRead.
Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1133516.Becoming_a_Critically_Reflective_Teacher
