Shortridge High School

Block 1

DP Spanish: Student reviewing lo que and quien. Using Realidades. Focusing on environmental concerns and global issues. Also have the use of the IB Spanish text.

Using key vocabulary concerning environmental issues to practice the grammar being focused on during the lesson. "Lo que me molesta lo mas es la polucion del media ambiente.”

Teacher is speaking Spanish much of the time. Stopping to give comprehensible input to scaffold student understanding. Students understand much of what teacher is saying.

Teacher sits with students reading while other students working on a recorded conversation.

6 students sitting with teacher reading

"You can never answer the questions without reading the text on IB exams." -Mrs. Macias.

Walks through the text in sections with the students. " what didn't number one ask. You knew where to look for the answer.

What answers can we take out?

Students read sections silently and convene as a group to answer the questions.

Block 3 - Theory of Knowledge Class

Six students. Students working on essays. Teacher individual conferencing with students. Works with students to set goals on their work and IA projects.

Mark Shullenberger - MYP Coordinator -

Try to get students to talk about meta cognition.

How does your perception change of the world with studying a language?

What does it mean to learn a second language and how has their perception of the world changed be of doing so?

Diploma Program - Inquiry is built in in the level of choice they have. Students have a commentary and write a paper about the culture of the country they are studying and language.

Students growing at their own pace. Student centered.

Lots of choice in exams. Not prescription based topics like traditional classes

Leveling is different. IB teachers not so concerned. Idea is to bring all kids forward.

With the grading scale 1-8 scale.

It's what you do that you get points for. Not points off for what you can't do.

You're not punished for that you didn't know when you came in.

Students and teachers being collaborative. Teachers helping students with their own inquiry. Where am I? How do I grow?

Transferring knowledge between classes and real life. Helps kids see good school is real life. Less division between school and an outside world.

Questions - Students from ToK class

What motivates you to be in an IB school?

Streamline into Shortridge. Helped that IB is the highest level of education you can get.

Got grades up. Didn't want to stay. Parents’ decision to stay.

Do you think IB classes have pushed you more than a traditional class would have to meet your academic goals?

Yes. Essays. ToK essay. Makes us strive got a higher quality of work.

Tok has changed me. Approach. ToK. Made everything makes sense. Traditional classroom separate. ToK makes all things make sense.

Linking math to poetry.

Do you notice any differences in the way you're learning?

Some teachers are better at inquiry. Math. More important to learn concepts.

Thinking a about things in a way beyond yourself. International focus.

No. In middle school I learned to pass the test. I pursue the knowledge now. IB makes it more interesting with the connections between classes.

Spanish 1 - Mrs. Jackson - second half after lunch- 10 students

Students working on informational posters about Spanish countries. Mrs. Jackson moves around the room to check on progress of projects.

Project incorporates social sciences and the target language.

Not much direct instruction. Students have 3.5 class periods to work on project.

Teacher does mini-conferences with students over tests. Talks to students about their performance and what mistakes were made. Works with students to see errors and gets them to see how they could fix it. Feedback to help students.

Not all students on task. How could this project been different by adding more inquiry to it rather than giving them a check list of details for the poster? More student choice? Is there any kind of follow up to this project?

Block 4

First half - Science class.

Students take notes on pedigrees.

Teacher walks around the room and sits at different desks around the rooms as she lectures. Makes connections to family trees while talking about pedigrees.

Students take notes by gluing teacher notes into notebooks. Students and teacher go over notes together. Teacher questions students over key words from the notes.

Teachers lead students to apply notes to practice problems with pedigree terminology. "The reason we are doing this is because...."

Applying concepts a of pedigree to characters of Harry Potter.

Prompts kids to use higher register words.

Students tell another student how to draw a pedigree based on their notes. Teacher prompts with questions to guide students.

Second Half - Native Speaker Spanish Class

Students and teacher discuss Zika virus. Students read article about animals in danger of extinction. Students then answer questions and fill out the worksheet that follows the reading. WS stresses development of cause and consequence of different problems relating to ecology

Teacher prompts use of new vocabulary words students are working on.

Teacher walks through the worksheet with the student. Prompts questions to get students to arrive at answer.

Students need to find info graphic that interests them regarding the topic of el medio ambiente.

Block 5 - Spanish

Class starts with 2 minutes of Spanish speaking. Students can talk about whatever they want to as long as it's in Spanish.

Teacher sits at table with some students to chat and get conversations going.

Use of conversation topics to prompt and guide conversation?

Class moves to some direct instruction over grammar topics: que quien and lo que

Teacher provides direction instruction over grammar topics and guided practice though helping students create their own sentences using the grammar topics.

Mrs. Macias works with a group of students on the reading. A different group that the ones who works with her last week. The remaining students will record 10 mins of a conversation in partners.

Teacher discusses reading strategies with students and works with them through the sample IB test.

Reflection

My visit to Shortridge was my first visit to an IB school/classroom. It was interesting to see the similarities between a “typical” classroom and an IB classroom. In my mind I was expecting to see huge differences in teaching styles and how inquiry in used in instruction. In reality, I did not notice many differences. It was as if I was observing a classroom in my own school, which is not IB. One of the best experiences from the day was being able to talk to the MYP coordinator and the students from the Theory of Knowledge class. They were very candid and open in their responses. It was here that I could see the effects of an IB education. They value the education they specially stated being able to search for information rather than be told to just memorize it.

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