IB MYP-DP EDITION February-2021 - The Gaudium
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IB MYP-DP EDITION February-2021
Table of Contents
1. Message from the Editorial Board
Coordinator’s take on the
Experiential Learning
2.
Curriculum
Perspectives on Teaching and
3.
Learning
4. Critical Reflection
5. Creative Side of Learning
6. Beyond the Classroom
7. School Events
8. Upcoming Events
9. Event Links
10. Editorial Board
2 © Copyright The Gaudium School, 2018. All rights reserved.
Message from the Editorial Board
Susmitha Mukherjee
Member of Editorial Board
“The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery”- Mark Van Doren
Dear Parents,
The excitement in students learning can be seen only when they are involved.
Designing fun learning activities for geckos is an art that is equipped in all the
facilitator of The Gaudium School. This can be witnessed through our monthly
newsletter. A sculptor has a clear idea about what he wants to shape out of the
marble block; a painter knows what he is going to paint; similarly a teacher has
a clear idea about the goal of his teaching and make our geckos a Global
Citizen.
This newsletter talks about ATL skills, experiential learning, various types of
assessments and International Mindedness. The activities are designed and
planned in such a way that it caters to our 5 developmental pillar. Students
reflection plays very important role as it helps them to understand their learning
and Newsletter is a platform where they pen down their creative and critical
thinking.
To fulfill our goals of developing successful students, the team of The Gaudium
work together with all the stakeholders in planning and building a school
community where our Geckos thrive as they enhance their learning capabilities.
So don’t miss out any sections of the Newsletter to enjoy and cherish every
events happenings in MYP-DP curriculum.
Regards,
Editorial Board
3 © Copyright The Gaudium School, 2018. All rights reserved. Stakeholder Engagement
Coordinator’s take on the Curriculum
DP updates : Learning, teaching and assessment
IB has announced a dual route to the May 2021 assessments. The decision was
undertaken after extensive consultation with the global IB community, including
a survey of all our schools. The IB team is in touch with the schools across the
globe via the network members and meeting with them, following the survey to
gain further insight.
In regards to May 2021 examination in India, IB has finally confirmed the path
forward for the school in India comes under the ‘examination route’. We will
conduct the IBDP May 2021 Examination in school campus (Kollur) following the
COVID-19 safety measures.
IB has also released May 2022 Examination schedule. To mitigate the loss of
instructional time and logistical challenges, IB has made decisions to help IB
schools plan for a manageable, practical and achievable teaching and learning
experience in the new academic year:
• Adapt the requirements for Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS)
• Adapt the May and November 2021 and 2022 session
IB has introduced a range of targeted removal and/or amendment of
assessment components or submission requirements to address the loss of
instruction time while ensuring the following objectives are met for all students
enrolled in DP subjects
• Rich, authentic and integrated curriculum
• Varied, valid and reliable assessment components to evidence student
learning
• Student outcomes to be continuous and comparable with prior sessions
• Timely reporting of results aligned to national and international recognition
standards
These adaptations aim to empower teachers to address each subject's aims and
objectives with flexibility and fairness in preparation.
Source: https://resources.ibo.org/dp/resource/11162-413751?
Vijeta Sinha
IBDP Coordinator
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Cont.. 5 © Copyright The Gaudium School, 2018. All rights reserved. Global Leadership
Cont.. 6 © Copyright The Gaudium School, 2018. All rights reserved. Global Leadership
Cont.. 7 © Copyright The Gaudium School, 2018. All rights reserved. Global Leadership
Coordinator’s take on the Curriculum
Reflecting on Reflection
“Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to
excellence, intelligent planning, and focused effort.” - Paul J. Meyer
This quote was very much evident in the IB MYP-DP Annual theater day
production. The Annual Theater Production is a much-awaited event in our
school calendar. As we celebrate our Annual day today, we eagerly look
forward to showcasing our students’ talents to all our stakeholders who have
always extended their support and encouragement in all our endeavors. The
only difference in Annual Theater production this academic year was, we had
a virtual stage instead of a physical one, however the excitement and
commitment to make it a best production was doubled. The key to a smooth
event is a lot of planning and effort. Team building and trust in each other are
the key pillars for such success. This was witnessed while our students were
working with the meticulous planning and execution of this event.
Participating in the theater production performance help students to
develop confidence and stimulates creative thought process. This process
enables students to be more aware and sensitive towards various issues. It
also empowers students to make a difference in their and others life through
a meaningful performance. The theme of the Annual production this year
was Truth vs Hype in Social media...Impacting today’s lifestyle from real
connect to virtual connect. The short play was designed by a group of IB
students with the help of the Arts teachers to present the impact of social
media on the young children and how they can overcome their social media
addiction. The intention behind choosing this theme was to bring an
awareness in the student’s body about making right choices for their social
and emotional growth. Mindfulness and wellbeing pillar of the Gaudium
Happy minds model facilitated students to plan this theme and showcase
their holistic excellence in the form of a short musical theater production. We
would like to thank our parents for their incredible support by taking out
time from their busy schedule and helping our students to prepare their
videos.
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Global Leadership
Coordinator’s take on the Curriculum
The other events and activities we had this month were the Read Aloud
week, International Mother tongue celebration and Makers challenge which
was much appreciated by our students community and provided them with
lifelong learning experience. This month students were provided with many
opportunities to showcase their skills and knowledge by using various
mediums. They were inquirers, knowledgeable communicators and critical
thinkers who are in their learning journey, who are striving to make a positive
difference in the lives of people around them.
This month was a brilliant showcase of diligence, commitment, dedication to
bring out the real learner from within and create a positive difference in self
and the community. This month students did realize the importance of
people around them in a physical world which includes their family and
friends around them and made a commitment to spend time with them.
They also took ownership to bring out the creative individual from within.
Our students certainly pushed their limits and gave their personal best. The
events this month were certainly a highlight of this academic year and
showcased a deep engagement by our geckos.
Bindiya Jena
IBMYP Coordinator
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Global Leadership
Perspectives on Teaching and
Learning
“When you learn, teach.
When you get, give.”
- Maya Angelou
10 © Copyright The Gaudium School, 2018. All rights reserved.Perspectives on Teaching and
Learning
Approaches to Learning [ATL] -Social Skills
Introduction
Social skills are skills used to communicate with each other and are learned right at
birth. In a world where society plays a major role in the development of an
individual, social skills are an integral part of our education system. In light of this,
at The Gaudium School, we value the importance of identifying and nurturing
social skills in our learners to empower them in their learning process. Thus, we
had a session about Social skills on February 5th 2021 with our geckos.
The session
The session was introduced by a short recap of the other sessions we had on ATL
skills namely thinking and self-management skills.
Later, the students were taken along a journey of discovery with the hands-on
activities designed for the session where they experienced the practice of social
skills. These activities were mainly on group work as the skill in focus was
collaboration. Learners had to collaborate on activities, following the instructions
given, present their ideas and in the end, reflect on the activities, by giving
feedback.
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Core ValuesCont..
The ATL Tools learned explicitly. The 3 tools that were taught in this session were:
• The Circle of viewpoints
• The Fishbowl discussion
• The Feedback sandwich
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Core ValuesCont..
Reflection from learners
Happy Mind Model
ATL skills, collaboration reflects the pillar Mindfulness and well-being where
students develop their affective skills. It is an opportunity for them to learn with
the help of the others and take ownership of their success and failure. This shows
the growth mindset [Carl Dweck].
Conclusion
The learners enjoyed the activities as they were part of them and participated
actively. The challenge is to apply these tools in their learning at an individual level
in other subjects. Practice makes perfect, so our geckos will surely touch the sky
when given the opportunity to use those tools in other subject areas.
\
Nandita Maunthrooa
French Language Facilitator,
Head of Foreign Language Department
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Core ValuesPerspectives on Teaching and
Learning
Pastoral care-Decision Making &
Problem Solving
Skills You Need
Making decisions and solving problems are very important areas that we use in
our day-to-day lives. Students of MYP1A were introduced to this interesting
topic on how they can develop their decision-making skills. Practicing this skill
from an early age will help them in becoming better leaders and to learn to
empathize over problems and find possible solutions to them.
Problem-solving often involves decision making and this skill is especially
important for management and leadership. These are closely related and each
requires creativity in identifying and developing options, for which the
brainstorming technique is particularly useful. ‘Social’ problems are one such
problem that we encounter in everyday life, not just adults but even middle
school and high school students. This may include money trouble, problems with
other people, health problems, and/or crime. It is important to create awareness
to our young minds about the existence of such things and how they can all be
solved without feeling too stressed or weak. These problems, like any others, are
best solved using a framework to identify the problem, work out the options for
addressing it, and then deciding which option to use.
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Holistic ExcellenceCont..
During our Pastoral Care sessions, students worked on exploring a decision-
making process and used it to navigate through a tough social situation or
scenario that they may have come across in their life. We explored, reflect and
discuss the means to crack a problem appropriate to their age. Middle school is a
transition of a growing child and we at the Gaudium IB MYP work towards
supporting students figure out how they can deal with challenging yet important
situations through these simple activities and practices. They further reflected on
how thinking from this perspective changed the way they looked at a problem.
Could it be useful Or how else would they use it in their homes, community, and
for the problems in our world?
Josna Vaz
MYP Design Facilitator
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Holistic ExcellencePerspectives on Teaching and
Learning
Enhancing the ATL Skill-Self Management Skill-
Reflection Skill-Implications on Disaster
While studying about the perimeter, students were introduced to Clear-cutting
which is a practice used in the logging and forestry industries where all of the
trees in a specific area are cut down. The damage can be vast. An aerial image
was shown to them where they could see the scale of the deforestation. They
had to measure the perimeter of the clear-cutting zone to understand the
intensity of deforestation. The concept doesn’t end by only applying the formula
and calculating the perimeter, it will be useful only if they can connect Globally to
understand the consequences of deforestation. This can be well demonstrated
using one of the ATL skills which is Self-Management skill. It is very crucial to
reflect on the implications of disaster. This was executed in the classroom
through researching online, finding out and describing the causes of the disaster
to the forest, people and society. where students gave their reflection on the
consequences, conclusions or actions. In Ethical implications students have put
their thoughts on moral questions like right and wrong, equality and fairness. In
Cultural implications they debated on considering possible harmony or clashes
with particular cultural beliefs or values. Finally, in Environmental implications
they gave their views on the effect on the environment.
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Core ValuesCont..
The mission of our school is to make our students a Global Citizen. Also IB
truly believes in imparting the curriculum that provides opportunity for
learning about issues that have personal, local and global relevance and
significance. As we view all the issues that surround us both locally and
globally, we continue to shape our school culture to not only focus on
student achievement but also to provide our students with the
competencies that they, as global citizens, are going to need to confidently
embrace and challenge the complexities and opportunities of our world.
Susmitha Mukherjee
MYP Mathematics Facilitator
Computer Science HOD
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Core ValuesPerspectives on Teaching and
Learning
Creating a wall of discussion
It is rightly said that when there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things
can be achieved. Same happened in the MYP1A Mathematics classroom where
students collaborated and helped each other by involving into healthy
discussions. Recently in this month a lot of discussions happened when we were
learning the concepts of Perimeter in real time applications. We all know rote
learning never helps anybody to apply the concepts in solving real world
problems. But when students are given the opportunity to apply the concepts of
mathematics in day to day real life problems around us, even complicated
formulas become simple to them. There are various ways to involve students in
the activity, but one of the most important is students collaborating with their
peers in the classroom learning. When they put across their ideas in front of the
peers, they discuss, debate, and assist each other in the whole process. Students
need to be involved in class discussions, however, at times they may not feel
comfortable speaking in front of their peers. For this reason, some of the digital
tools available for having students share ideas, such as inserting comments in the
Google Slide, are quite helpful for collaborating. Students can post their ideas,
share photos, videos, weblinks links or record audio to add to the collaborative
space. Meaningful collaboration promotes the building of peer relationships,
fosters peer interactions and by involving students in different discussions, it
enables them to understand different perspectives, and to give and receive
feedback. During these collaborations, students not only become more skilled at
working with their peers but also working with other adults besides their teacher,
while developing their online presence and being responsible in the use of digital
tools for learning. When students can see the work of their peers as well as their
own work featured on screen sharing of their classroom, they can discuss their
thought process. By reflecting on the steps they took to solve a problem,
students make their learning visible. In a collaborative classroom, students can
see the thinking of their peers as well as their own thought process. This can
spark discussions in whole-class learning environments.
When students collaborate, they learn to think critically, compromise, and
develop a skill set essential for success both inside and outside of school that will
help them to make Global Leaders. Collaboration is an essential component of
effective teaching and learning that translates to everyday experiences and
innovations.
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Global LeadershipCont..
References:
https://www.gettingsmart.com/2018/10/collaboration-bringing-students-
together-to-promote-learning-can-move/
Susmitha Mukherjee
MYP Mathematics Facilitator
Computer Science HOD
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Global LeadershipPerspectives on Teaching and
Learning
Virtual Play Production Process for Annual
Theatre Day
During the current pandemic, the theatre process experienced a lot of challenges.
As the theatre shows were organized in virtual platforms, many artists were not
able to experience physical performance space. As other theatre professionals
adapted virtual plot form, our students also invited google meets to rehearse the
Annual theatre performance. The rehearsal process was planned meticulously with
a collaboration by the supervision of IB principal, coordinators, and performing arts
teachers. The preparation of the script was based on the devised theatre process.
The director had considered several plan Bs in the production process.
Theme to script:
Once the theme was suggested, students engaged in researching for suitable
storylines for the play. They collected ongoing issues on the theme, social media.
Initially, we wanted to project the dark side of social media in the society. In our
research, we found that social media is also used for good causes. Then, along with
the negative side, we also planned to build scenes on the positive side of the social
media. After drawing the outline of the story, we observed a few more emotional
scenes. After spending a few weeks, we were able to see the entire script.
Choosing the Cast:
We organized a reading session on a virtual platform to initiate casting. The director
assigned a few roles and few characters were also given based on the audition. In a
few cases, students voluntarily came forward to select a character. After finalizing
the cast, we prepared our rehearsal schedule.
Rehearsals:
The virtual rehearsal was planned to organize without suspending regular classes.
For this, we called students to be part of the rehearsals in their free time. The
director used the film production process to train the actors. In this process, he
invited very few actors to explain the characterization and emotions.
Shooting self-videos:
Once the director gave his instructions for characterization and emotions, students
independently shot the videos at home with a wonderful support from the parents.
Here, the director’s advice included the actor’s position, type of the shot, and
camera angles. Here, the director taught the students self-direction to shoot the
videos.
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Stakeholder EngagementCont..
Editing:
After they shot the videos, students sent the videos to the director. The director
examined the expressions, and quality of the video and audio. He was constantly
communicating with students to get the videos. In a few cases, he asked the
students to reshoot the videos for better performance. Once it was approved from
the director, the videos were sent to the editor. The editor removed the background
and gave artificial background to establish location of the scene. It took almost two
weeks for us to see the decent shape of play.
Final cuts:
After the first draft of the video, we planned to change a few actions. We reshot
those specific actions and sent them to the editor. Finally, we got the output that we
expected.
Thus, we adopted technology to make the annual theatre performance in the current
virtual environment. Students also got an opportunity to explore acting for camera,
and self-direction through virtual rehearsals.
Dr Nagaraju
HOD, Performing Arts Department
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Stakeholder EngagementCont..
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Stakeholder EngagementPerspectives on Teaching and
Learning
Creative thinking process in MYP1 French class
Introduction
Creative thinking is part of the Approaches to Teaching and Learning [ATL] skills.
Also known as the skills of the 21st century, the ATL skills are those skills which are
implicitly and explicitly taught within a class. The following paragraphs exhibits
teaching and learning creative skills within a classroom environment specific to
French language using one of the tools, THOrTMAP.
What is a THOrTMAP.
A THORT-MAP is a version of a mind map with a twist. The structure of a
THOrtmap starts with the main Topic in the middle page with a layer of Headings
branching out from there; we then put all the ideas in order branching out from
each heading and lastly we add Trigger-words as branches from the ideas. The
first letter of these words spell out the made up word THOrt. In PROCESS
The learners were excited when the objective of the lesson was shared with them.
They were ready to learn an new tool in the class which would depict their
creativity. As we are starting a new unit in French MYP1 class, this was a perfect
opportunity for the students to showcase their EXPECTATIONS about the new unit
in a creative way.
Below are some examples of the maps of learners.
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Holistic ExcellenceCont..
Happy Mind Model
In line with the Happy Mind Model of our school, this activity reflects the pillars
Holistic Excellence in Learning as well as Mindfulness and wellbeing. This tool
enables visible learning theory, explained by John Hattie [University of Melbourne,
2008), where the benefits include, enabling meaningful learning, helps in
memorization and retention and makes complex issues easier to understand.
The second pillar is depicted through Reflection, when learners reflect on their
experiences to create and link ideas to the trigger words and heading.
Conclusion
This ATL tool was very useful to see the expectations of the students for the new
unit. It was a good opportunity for me as teacher to reflect on what should be
included in the unit to gage the interest of the learners. Another way to use this
tool was discussed with the learners, where they agreed that a THOrtMAP could
also be done for the units they already did, as a poster of their understanding
about the unit.
\
Nandita Maunthrooa
French Language Facilitator,
Head of Foreign Language Department
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Holistic ExcellencePerspectives on Teaching and
Learning
Fostering creativity in the classroom
A good classroom environment always has some elements of creativity which
makes the lessons more interesting and interactive. The right mix of creativity
along with curriculum helps students to be innovative and also encourages
them to learn new things. Students can grow up as good communicators in
addition to improving their emotional and social skills. Creative classrooms can
really transform the way students acquire education and how they apply it in
their real life. In fact, creative expression plays a key role in a student’s
emotional development.
Creative classrooms give an opportunity for students to learn with fun. The
teaching activities such as storytelling and skits help students to learn without
the pressure of learning. Students are always fun loving and including creative
activities along with curriculum gains their interest for learning. Teachers should
encourage this quality in students from the lower classes itself and inspire them
to believe in one’s own creativity. Unlike the conventional teaching methods,
the creative classrooms give them the opportunity to express themselves.
Whether it is debate or classroom discussions or field trips, students have the
chance to come out of their shelves and become a part of it. This freedom of
expression gives them a sense of goodness and happiness. A classroom
environment that promotes creativity opens them a world of communication.
Students can make better conversation and stimulate innovative thinking and
talking sessions in their free time. Classroom debates not only help them to
think creatively but also understand and welcome others’ views. This kind of
shared creative experience helps them to open up to one another and grow up
as better communicators. However, it is the role of a good teacher to bring in
the right mix of creativity in classrooms and bring out the best in the students.
The pleasure of creativity also contributes a lot to improved health and this
helps them to have a continued growth in academics as well as the world of
creativity.
Priyanka
MYP English Facilitator
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Core ValuesPerspectives on Teaching and
Learning
“Today a reader, tomorrow a leader.” –
Margaret Fuller
Books are important for the mind, heart, and soul. The power to be found between
the pages of a book is formidable, indeed. “Reading should not be presented to
children as a chore, a duty. It should be offered as a gift.” This famous quote by
Kate DiCamillo is apt for today’s generation.
Read Aloud Day – a week-long celebration at the Gaudium, has made students
reflect and analyze the importance of reading books and reading aloud. Reading
aloud helps students learn how to use language to make sense of the world; it
improves their information processing skills, vocabulary, and comprehension.
Reading aloud targets the skills of audio learners. Research has shown that
teachers who read aloud motivate students to read. Reading aloud with children is
known to be the single most important activity for building the knowledge and
skills they will eventually require for learning to read. Reading aloud and talking
about what you read encourages social-emotional learning, empathy, and
conversation skills, even in adulthood. Once we leave elementary school, working-
age adults often forget how much skill is needed to read aloud effectively. The
more one reads aloud – no matter the age – the deeper the connections made, and
the stronger the vocabulary learned. Fluency, vocabulary, and social-emotional
learning is not just for kids! There is an abundance of research to support the
benefits of reading aloud at all ages. In connection to Read Aloud Day, DP1
students read an extract from Calvin & Hobbes comic strip and a Pronunciation
poem. The multiple perspectives that the students presented on the comic strip:
implicating the Irony, multiple themes of relying on books or you enjoy doing
anything only when you want to do it- bustled the class with a plethora of
thoughts. Upon that, their enjoyment reading the Pronunciation poem aloud, had
no limits. Brain boggling, Tongue twister, Brain teaser-were the titles students
expressed. They identified that the poem is so ironic that the words used in it are
simple words that were learnt in primary classes but reading them together
sounded difficult. This activity exemplified approaches to teaching and learning
skills.
Sunita Indukuri
DP English Facilitator
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Holistic ExcellencePerspectives on Teaching and
Learning
Speaking library – recognizing the invisible
minds through their stories
Gaudium's Speaking Library is framed with the purpose to promote a self-
expression platform, channeled to bring light on unspoken tales and create an
open-minded atmosphere by discussing altercations that affect one's point of
view.
The proposal was pioneered by a student of DP year 1, Ms Ambe Jain and then
it went on spreading its roots in integrating more student’s initiatives namely
Aarnav, Blossom and Pranav creating and developing multiple drafts to give
structure to this idea and shaping it through a CAS project. After a lot of
brainstorming sessions, they finally came up with keeping three genres to
speak about in the context of social, local and global concerns. The idea
formulated was to allow the students to be part of this speaking library where
speakers(book) will choose a topic of their interest from the three genres and
there will be listeners(readers) who will get the chance to listen and understand
the speakers narratives and experiences and therefore open the platform for
others to open up and discuss about the topic. The objective behind this is also
to practice The Gaudium’s Happy Mind model that believes in instilling value-
based learning and making sure that students not only grow as an intellect but
also as a responsible human being, the speaking library aid the same principal
and motivates the students to create a positive social environment embracing
the core values of tolerance, respect, empathy, compassion, Integrity and
Humility.
The first volume was opened on 20th January on “Body Shaming” . The student
speakers (readers) participated with immense enthusiasm telling their stories
and concept of Body shaming and how every citizen of the country needs to be
aware of these stigmas and its impact in human psychology was highlighted in
high spirit. The platform helped like minded people to come together and
confront these stigmas related to Body Shaming and support each other and
eradicate the effects of its impact creating a healthy mind in today’s world.
Sukanya Das
School counsellor & DP Psychology facilitator
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Global LeadershipCont..
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Global LeadershipPerspectives on Teaching and
Learning
Affective skills; scaffolding self-awareness
through mindfulness.
Affective skills are one of the essential factor’s in mindfulness and wellbeing
which help students to develop their attitudes. These affective skills will help
students to learn the coping mechanism and will help strengthen their
cognition to deal in adverse situation.
In our daily lives we are constantly spending a lot of time mulling over the past
or brooding about the present or anxious about the future. In the process, our
mind gets scattered, less focused and at the end of the day feels drained and
exhausted. Also, the external world does create deviations holding it back from
moving on and dealing with the present and the reason for this confused
thought process is know as “distraction” and the strategy to eliminate this
negative distraction is to create a positive on in our thoughts.
The aim of the session was to “To develop focus and concentration in creating a
healthy mind to achieve specific goals in life”. The session highlighted three
fundamental strategies to a healthy mind firstly, to develop mental focus and
overcome distractions. Secondly, to overcome impulsiveness and anger.
Thirdly, to reduce and eliminate peer pressure, anxiety and stress. The students
of DP1 were provided with lead questions to open up and discuss about their
distractions and most of them responded having concerns of their future which
eventually lead them to distraction sometimes. These distractions when
converts to day dreaming and lack of attention and deviation from present task
this should be treated immediately. Strategies like mindfulness technique-
grounded exposure, body scan, gratitude journal techniques were discussed to
reduce distractions and help develop attention and mental focus in academics .
Immersion technique was demonstrated in the class and students have
participated writing the names of their friends in reverse order within 30 secs
helped the students to understand how to immediately bring control of the
mind from distraction and day-dreaming.
Students were given activity to identify their triggers of anger and impulsivity
and strategies to cope with the anger issues were highlighted. The students
expressed their triggers and challenges in the padlet sheet and how they can
cope with these behaviors through mindfulness techniques. The students were
able to connect and reflect well in the session which helped them provide
guidance to cope with the challenges.
Sukanya Das
School counsellor & DP Psychology facilitator
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Mindfulness & Well-beingCont..
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Mindfulness & Well-beingPerspectives on Teaching and
Learning
स खने के कौिल के शलए दृशिक णप
एक शिक्षक का कार्य केवल शवद्याशथयर् ों क पढाना नह ों ह ता बल्कि
उनका सवाांग ण शवकास करना ह ता हैं । हम अध्यापक क पहले
शवद्याशथयर् ों के स्वभाव एवों उनक स खने क िैल क जानना
जरूर हैं जैसे एक माल बग चे में कई तरह के पेड़ – पौधे लगाता हैं
जैसे हर एक पौधे क बढ़ने के शलए अच्छ धूप,पान ,हवा और खाद्य
क आवश्यकता अलग-अलग ह त हैं और हर पेड़ पौधे क जरूरत
के अनुसार माल अपने बग चे क दे खभाल करता हैं उस तरह एक
अध्यापक अपने शवद्याथी क सम्पूणय रूप से शिशक्षत करना चाहता
हैं ।एक अध्यापक भ अपने हर शवद्याथी पर लक्ष केंशित कर उत्साह
बढ़ाते हुर्े उसे हर तरह से स खाने क क शिि करता हैं और कक्षा
में नए -नए उपार् अपनाता हैं । इस शदिा में आगे बढ़ते हुर्े
अपने पढ़ाने के तर के में थ ड़ा बदलाव करते हुर्े अपने शवषर्
अनुभव [Theme- Experience] क कहाशनर् ,ों लेख ों से
ज ड़ा।कहाशनर्ााँ हमारे शलए सुनहर र्ादे ह त हैं । कहाशनर्ााँ पढ़ने
से ज वन में स ख शमलत हैं । अख़बार में छपने वाल नए लेखक क
कहाशनर् ों और लेख ों क शवषर् के साथ ज ड़ कर पढ़ार्ा गर्ा।DP
शिक्षण प्रणाल में पर क्षा मानदों ड और स खने के कौिल [ATL]का
अपना महत्व ह ता हैं । इस स खने के कौिल में chalk Talk
गशतशवशध क गई शजसमें पढे गए लेख – “शचत्र भाषा” से प्रश्न/ महत्व
पूणय िब्द शनकाल कर गेक्क स क प्रशतशिर्ा Jam board ल
गई।Chalk Talk गशतशवशध - शजसके अोंतगयत शवद्याशथयर् ों क शदर्े
गए िब्द और प्रश्न पर पढ़ गईों कहाशनर् ों क आधार पर अपन
प्रशतशिर्ा दे न थ । इस गशतशवशध से अनुभव शवषर् क जानकार
हाशसल करने के साथ-साथ कहाशनर् ों का महत्व भ जाना।
अध्यर्न पररणाम [learning outcome]- सभ छात्र नई
िब्दावल के साथ -साथ कहान लेखन व लेख लेखन के प्रारूप से
भ पररशचत हुर्े ।
Core Values
31
शहन्द अध्याशपका
© Copyright The Gaudium School, 2018. All rights reserved.Perspectives on Teaching and
Learning
Evaluation of resources
Research is a systematic process used to gain solutions to problems or to discover
and interpret new facts and relationships. Research is a life skill which we use every
day inside the classroom and out. We come across many questions in our daily life
like which smartphone should I buy? which place should I choose for holiday? should
I buy this dress and so on. All these questions need research to make a right choice.
Similarly we apply the same modes of research in our coursework for papers,
presentations, discussion posts, and more. It is crucial to know how to navigate
through this linear research process. In doing so, we will gain lifelong skills of
information literacy. To carry out research you need resources of information.
Finding information today is easy; it's all around you but making sure the information
you find is reliable can be a challenge. These resources can be literature in the form
of hard copies like books, magazines, articles or as soft copies called online
resources. But the big question is - are all the resources available authentic? Can we
rely on them and use them in our research? We have to evaluate these resources in
order to use them in our work. Source evaluation is the process of critically
evaluating information for a given purpose in order to check if it is appropriate for its
use. As part of MYP program initiated by Ms Bindya to instill research skills in
students a session was conducted on evaluation of resources on 9th Feb 2021 for
students of grade 6 and 7. Teachers expect students to use scholarly sources as
using better sources often results in better grades and good research. Some forms of
information, such as websites, allow anyone to contribute content or exist only to
sell products or ads by generating traffic. Therefore the need for evaluation of
resources arises. There are many tools available to evaluate and some of them are:
CRAAP (Currency, Relevancy , Authority, Accuracy, Purpose), TRAAP (Timeliness,
Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, and Purpose), OPVL (Origin, purpose, value and
Limitation), AACB (Authority, Accuracy, Currency and bias), RADAR ( Relevance,
Authority, Date ,Appearance and Reason)
All these tools have a common checklist as to when was the information published
and updated? Is it relevant for the research being pursued and the credentials of the
author? The accuracy of the information is also an important factor to consider as
inaccurate information will be misleading. The language used in the resource reflects
its credibility. Finally the purpose of the resource is also to be checked to find out if it
is objective and biased towards any religion or culture. The hidden agendas of
posting the information like advertising or for business purpose should be identified.
All these tools have a set of questions to authenticate the resources. A researcher or
student must have knowledge of these tools and use them carefully to produce
good work be it for school assignments, projects, internal assessment or extended
essay.
I enjoyed the session interacting with the little researchers of MYP and was happy to
answer their curious questions.
Padmaja Kakumanu
DP Chemistry Facilitator
32 © Copyright The Gaudium School, 2018. All rights reserved.
Holistic ExcellenceCont..
33 © Copyright The Gaudium School, 2018. All rights reserved.
Holistic ExcellencePerspectives on Teaching and
Learning
Flipped classroom
As IB teachers we constantly strive to inculcate the ATL skills in our students so that
they attain the IB learner profile of thinkers, inquirers, reflectors, researchers,
knowledgeable and good communicators. In order to achieve this we have to
incorporate the ATL skills from time to time in a sequential manner so that at the end
of their course they transform into a person what the IB aims to be. In alignment with
this a Flipped classroom was conducted on 27th January 2021 for IBDP1 HL chemistry
students. A flipped classroom is an instructional strategy and a type of blended
learning, which aims to increase student engagement and learning by having
students, complete readings at their home and work on live problem-solving during
class time. A topic on Ozone depletion, its global impact and solutions to reduce the
problem was taken up. Two days prior to the class a video from national geographic
channel and a document was mailed to the students so that they get a prior
understanding of the topic. They were asked to explore various solutions to reduce
the problems of ozone depletion. Once they come to the class the role of the teacher
becomes just a facilitator guiding the students. It is process oriented guided inquiry
class which is student centric. The students were assigned different roles of
manager, recorder, presenter and reflector so that student engagement is ensured
completely and they take up responsibility in the learning process.
Manager is responsible for managing the time and helps the group in completing the
task. Recorder makes a record of the discussions of the group about the task
assigned. Presenter presents the outcomes of the discussion on behalf of the group
and Reflector presents the group dynamics.
Since only three students were in the class reflector role was not assigned. In
donning various roles they learn the Listening, speaking, reading and writing skills
(LSRW). The roles will be exchanged for the next activities so that they take up all the
roles and acquire the respective skills.
A set of convergent (direct), divergent (open ended) and critical thinking questions
were given to the students and were asked to answer with the prior knowledge and
group discussions in the class. The students were completely engaged in taking up
the questions and deeply involved themselves in the learning process. At the end to
take up the topic to a higher level of exploration they were asked to find the research
applications of the topic and the current developments in that area. The students
understood the importance of team work, gaining prior knowledge of the topic in a
flipped mode so that they are able to come to the class with confidence to
participate in the learning process. They acquired ATL skills like inquiry, research and
critical thinking apart from LSRW skills. The students participated actively and as a
teacher I was amused to see them arrive at the conclusions. Flipped classroom
enabled to use the class time efficiently in solving and discussing the given task
rather than delivering the content in the class. It could be used very well for difficult
topics though I chose a burning issue of ozone depletion and find the solutions to
reduce it.
Padmaja Kakumanu
DP Chemistry Facilitator
34 © Copyright The Gaudium School, 2018. All rights reserved.
Holistic ExcellencePerspectives on Teaching and
Learning
Peer Assessment’ as a teaching technique
Introduction
‘Peer assessment came to widespread prominence about 20 years ago, and has
become extremely popular in the last ten years. An early definition of peer
assessment was “an arrangement for learners to consider and specify the level,
value, or quality of a product or performance of other equal-status learners”
(O’Donnell & Topping, 1998). Products to be assessed could include writing, oral
presentations, portfolios, test performance, or other skilled behaviors. Peer
assessment’ can be both formative [to improve an immediate piece of the work]
and summative [to improve future work]. In simple words, used as Formative
assessment, it allows students to evaluate their peer’s work based on a standard
depicted by the teacher. Not very common in classes, peer assessment, is an
activity involving the metacognitive skills of learners since they are involved in the
process of thinking about their peers are thinking and accordingly, try to connect
their experience with the required official rubrics.
In-class situation
It has occurred to me to think that peer assessment is another way to spend time
of the children without any outcome. However, when I tried it in my classes, both
at the MYP and DP level, in my subject, I was surprised to see the eagerness of the
learners to understand the thinking process of their peers and compare their own
work such that they can identify their mistakes and even think of solutions. Used in
DP class, this strategy shed light on the vocabulary and hierarchy of steps used in
describing a picture. The learners not only took time to read the exam rubrics
before evaluating the specific tasks but at the same time developed a deeper
understanding of the relevance of the different criteria for the internal assessment.
It was weird at the beginning for them to read their peers piece of work thinking
about having to evaluate their friend’s work negatively. Nevertheless, while
carrying out the evaluation, the feeling of ‘protection’ for their friend increased.
This is in line with what Keith Topping (2003a, 2009) described as overcoming
their initial fears and hesitations, which in turn leads to a better design of the task
for a better performance not only on a personal ground, but for their fellow peers.
After the task, the children had the opportunity to ponder upon their peer
evaluation process. From the feedback collected, it was valued that they indeed
enjoyed the activity and learnt from this novice experience. A glimpse of their
feedback is depicted below.
35 © Copyright The Gaudium School, 2018. All rights reserved.
Holistic ExcellenceCont..
Happy Mind Model
In view of the school’s Happy Mind Model, the pillar ‘Holistic Excellence in teaching
and learning’ would be a best fit to describe this activity. Peer assessment can lead
teachers to scrutinize and clarify assessment objectives and purposes, criteria, and
grading scales. This in turn is a benefit for learners to fine tune their learning
In conclusion
Though I tried it out in my class and the activity was time consuming, I believe that
if the learners are offered the chance to conduct peer assessment with the
detailed rubrics and criteria, this will not only elevate the understanding of the
learners but also the standards of the teacher as an opportunity to structure the
teaching. Peer assessment is a field that I will definitely explore more and more in
my classes.
\
Nandita Maunthrooa
French Language Facilitator,
Head of Foreign Language Department
36 © Copyright The Gaudium School, 2018. All rights reserved.
Holistic ExcellenceCont..
37 © Copyright The Gaudium School, 2018. All rights reserved.
Holistic ExcellenceCritical Reflection
“We do not learn from
experience, we learn from
reflecting on experience.”
- John Dewey
38 © Copyright The Gaudium School, 2018. All rights reserved.Critical Reflection
Reflecting on our understanding of International
mindedness
Today we all are a part of the global community. We are as much responsible for
the global citizens as much as we are for the local community. As a part of the
global community and as an international citizen, we should appreciate and value
the diversity of cultures in the world and make an effort to learn more about
them. The students enrolled at the MYP curriculum are aligned with the essence
from the very beginning.
International mindedness is open to the common humanity of all people and
accepts and respects other cultures and beliefs. International minded people also
take action and collaborate with people all over the world to make living on this
planet better. International mindedness is important because students with this
trait can work in harmony with peers from around the world, learn from each
other and learn about different perspectives. It also helps to promote respect,
empathy and compassion. Many schools have policies in place and organize
special events to help develop global citizens. To become an international
minded person, you need to be open to learn more about the world. So to start
off, maybe learning a new language or researching a part of our earth you’ve
never heard of or are curious to learn about. Some other ways to go are helping in
local communities, watching documentaries, trying new food from different
cultures. Mostly international mindedness is all about exploring, and finding out
new cultures and more with just the resources you've got. International
mindedness can also develop your character and change your perspective
towards our world. This experience can also make many realize that they should
always be thankful for what they have because many out in the world can’t afford
half the things we can/have. My experience with international mindedness hasn’t
been a lot but at least is something. I grew up in America and lived there my
entire life, and having a mom that is super contributive to the homeless and is
always open to learning new things and lifestyles, some of that rubbed off to me.
Once a month we would go to a local center and donate food and unwanted
items for the people in need for them. And every Saturday when we went out to
eat with my family, we would go to new restaurants and try different foods from
different cultures. Not only did I do this out of school, but in school we would
visit home shelters, museums, and more. Not only in America did I do this but
here in MYP, I've learned a lot of things in Humanities and English. For example, In
Humanities, we had to make a doc on how to stop the floods in Assam or when
we had to pretend we are a mayor of a town and had to make a presentation on
how to stop frequent floods. And in English when we talk about social issues like
discrimination in race, gender, LGBTQ+ and a lot more. - Nayonika MYP2
39 © Copyright The Gaudium School, 2018. All rights reserved.
Core ValuesCont..
A person who is international minded, accepts and respects other cultures and
beliefs. The internationally-minded person takes action through discussion and
collaboration to help build a better and peaceful world. Through international-
mindedness we can work in harmony with peers from around the world, learn from
each other and learn about various viewpoints. In history, we only look at one
perspective but if we try looking all the perspective, the history changes, We only
see bedtime stories as that is only for kids but if we read between the lines we can
see a whole new story rising and learning a new language helps us to understand
and appreciate different cultures, all the subjects groups has taught our about
international mindedness.- Shammita MYP 2
International mindedness can be expressed as the ability to be better prepared for
the 21st century global challenges, understanding ourselves to connect with others,
awareness that the world is much larger than the community in which we live,
respect and understanding for other perspectives, cultures and languages, and the
ability to see oneself as a responsible member of the community and a global
citizen- Bala Vignesh MYP2
Upama Chatterjee
DP Economics Facilitator
40 © Copyright The Gaudium School, 2018. All rights reserved.
Core ValuesCritical Reflection
Read Aloud Day
41 © Copyright The Gaudium School, 2018. All rights reserved.
Stakeholder EngagementCritical Reflection
My MYP Journey
My MYP journey has been going pretty smoothly. My classes have been easy,
I've been able to understand the topics and units we have been studying this
past year or so. MYP is a bit more understandable than IGCSE which I took last
year. MYP has been fun for me because we get to research a lot by ourselves
which I like doing because I'm an independent learner but at the same time I
also like group work which we also do frequently. The best part about MYP is
how it helps students focus on holistic education which is also a very
important aspect of the Gaudium five pillars. Some of the things I learnt this
year, I've already learned before in past grades and the other things I've never
learned. I’ve gotten closer with my classmates this year because we are now
studying in the same curriculum. Unlike last year where we both were in
different sections. I’ve learned a lot this year not only academically but also
about friendship and other social skills. I have learnt that building relationships
is very important. This experience has been fun, cool, enjoyable, easy
understandable and smooth. Through inquiry MYP we are given more
opportunities to do our own research and build our skills.
Some things I definitely would like to do more in my classes is have class
discussions regarding social issues like discrimination and various other topics.
We did have discussions about feminism, racism, etc. in English. I would like to
explore more other topics in different subject groups.
I also think we should do more class activities so we students don’t get bored
listening to a lecture for the entire day. But in every class of mine I did learn a
lot not only academically but about the real world too.
Overall, this experience was fun and I would definitely love to explore more
learning experiences on this journey.
Nayonika
MYP2
42 © Copyright The Gaudium School, 2018. All rights reserved.
Stakeholder EngagementCritical Reflection
Reflection time with MYP1 Language acquisition
Reflection is a process that is carried out after a session and it involves
metacognition. It is an activity that is conducted by both teachers, who reflect
on the aims and objectives of the class and the activities conducted in the
session and also by students, who reflect on how they learned. Reflection is
namely a cycle. Professor Graham Gibbs published his Reflective Cycle in his
1988 book "Learning by Doing." He explains that the reflective cycle has stages
that aids in thinking about learning experience. The diagram below shows his
Reflective Cycle.
Application in MYP1 class
A class was conducted on a task completed in French by the students where
they had to write a ‘wish card’ and wishes to someone for either New Year or
Christmas. This task was in line with the Unit being studied in class,
‘Celebrations’. They used a tool [reflect and sketch] to reflect on the task.
Link to Happy Mind Model
This session reflected Holistic excellence in learning where students are
reflecting on their learning and thus, are responsible to reach for excellence.
Below are pictures of reflection from students and their beautiful cards.
Nandita Maunthrooa
French Language Facilitator,
Head of Foreign Language Department
43 © Copyright The Gaudium School, 2018. All rights reserved.
Stakeholder EngagementCont..
44 © Copyright The Gaudium School, 2018. All rights reserved.
Stakeholder EngagementCont..
45 © Copyright The Gaudium School, 2018. All rights reserved.
Stakeholder EngagementCont..
46 © Copyright The Gaudium School, 2018. All rights reserved.
Stakeholder EngagementCritical Reflection
“Redirecting attention away from the teacher and putting
attention on the learner and the learning
We had a flipped classroom on the topic: Ozone. Since it was a flipped
classroom we had to learn and study the materials for ozone on our own and
explain it to our chemistry teacher instead of her teaching us the topic, a
flipped classroom. We were given time and materials by our teacher to learn it
before explaining it in class. I was the recorder and presenter for that day. My
job was to write the group discussions and notes during the session. My
classmate, Aarnav, was also given a role of manager as well as the presenter.
We all were given roles and through this way our lesson went smoothly. We
used many different ATL skills such as independently researching by learning
the topic ourselves, we were able to communicate and work together when
explaining to our teacher what we have learnt and understood. When we were
given questions, Aarnav and I were able to collaborate and easily answer and
finish the questions. This was an interesting way to learn the topic. I think this
can be done more often for certain topics which do not require much
explanation, so that we can learn independently and use our ATL skills. When
we have any questions or doubts we can ask our teacher to clarify them. I
thought it was a good way for us to understand the topic and have an
interactive learning environment.
Alisha
DP1 Student
47 © Copyright The Gaudium School, 2018. All rights reserved.
Stakeholder EngagementCritical Reflection
Reflection on Flipped Classroom-Ozone
During our chemistry class, we were introduced to the flipped classroom,
where the students would carry out the job of passing information and solving
the questions, which we would normally get for homework, during the class.
This was introduced to us for a change of pace from what we normally do, and
to enhance several skills to expand our knowledge to understand every
concept better.
Alisha and I studied the topic of Ozone, which is an especially important
concept as it protects us from high temperatures and even skin cancer. We
were separated into different roles, the manager, and the recorder. I was the
manager and was given the responsibility to ensure that the conversation and
the information is being passed properly and in an organized manner. We
talked about the distinct properties of ozone and how it is a different molecule
amongst many others.
Before presenting this, we had to research by ourselves what ozone exactly
was and its chemical characteristics. This is where the idea of the flipped
classroom took place. Whatever information and knowledge you learn in
school hours, we learn it at home by ourselves and present and solve the
questions while having a small discussion. We made our labels of the tasks we
were assigned, and it was a fun activity, mainly for the discussions we had and
that it was a different and a more fun way of learning exciting new
information.
My researching, organization, presenting, and communication skills improved
in this activity as we researched all the information required and organized
them in a smooth way, where one concept led to another to better understand
the topic, and our presenting and communication skills were being used while
talking about ozone. More than talking on the skills that were achieved, our
intellect was being challenged well. Instead of listening to the teacher and
taking down notes and solving questions, we researched an entire topic on our
own with limited guidance and we led the role of teachers. This enhanced my
learning by a great deal.
Aarnav
DP1 Student
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