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Thank you very much for volunteering to mentor our G5 students
as they embark on their collaborative inquiry journey.Inside you
will find helpful information, templates and questions to guide you
as you meet with your groups.If you need help or advice at any
stage, please contact the PYP coordinator or G5 homeroom teachers
who will assist you.The 2014-15 cohort thanks you for your time the
Exhibitionn
Mentoring
2
Contents
What is the Exhibition? Page 3
What are the Essential Elements of the PYP?Concepts, Knowledge
and skillsPage 4Action, Attitudes and the IB Learner ProfilePage
5Whats my role as a mentor?Mentor rolePage 6Community Roles in the
ExhibitionPage 7Questions to ask at each stage of the inquiryPage
8/9Key Concept cardsPage 10TemplatesMentor meeting samplePage
11Mentor feedback 1Page 12Mentor feedback 2Page 13Student
assessment rubricPage 14
AppendixGlossary of termsPage 15Exhibition online Its
learningPage 16
What is the Exhibition?
In the final year of the IB program, students participate in a
culminating project known as the Exhibition. Students are required
to engage in a collaborative transdisciplinary inquiry process that
involves them in identifying, investigating and offering solutions
to real-life issues or problems. The central idea must be of
sufficient scope and significance to warrant a detailed
investigation by all students.
The PYP exhibition has a number of key purposes:
For students to engage in an in-depth, collaborative inquiry To
provide students an opportunity to demonstrate independence and
responsibility for their own learning To provide students with an
opportunity to explore multiple perspectives For students to
synthesize and apply learning of previous years and to reflect upon
their journey through the PYP To provide an authentic process for
assessing student understanding To demonstrate how students can
take action as a result of their learning To unite the students,
teachers, parents and other members of the school community in a
collaborative experience that incorporates the essential elements
of the PYP To celebrate the transition of learners in the primary
to middle/secondary education
ConceptsEssential Elements of the PYP
The 8 key concepts drive the inquiry and are shown through the
use of key questions that stem from each line of inquiry. Form What
is it like? Function How does it work? Causation Why is it like it
is? Change How is it changing? Connection How is it connected to
other things? Perspective What are the points of view?
Responsibility What is our responsibility? Reflection How do we
know?
KnowledgeStudents have identified particular transdisciplinary
themes that may be explored through their inquiry and are expected
to share responsibility for finding, evaluating and using
significant, relevant and meaningful evidence in their search for
understanding.
Transdiciplinary SkillsWithin the search for conceptual
understanding of a students topic, it is important that the student
develop appropriate skills as they construct meaning. These skills
include: Social Skills: Accepting responsibility, respecting
others, cooperation, resolving conflict, group decision making and
adopting a variety of group roles Communication Skills: listening,
speaking, reading, writing and non-verbal communicationThinking
Skills: Acquisition of knowledge, comprehension, application,
synthesis, evaluation, dialectical thought and metacognition
Research Skills: formulating questions, observing, planning,
collecting data, recording data, organizing data, interpreting
data, presenting research findings Self-Management Skills: gross
motor skills, fine motor skills, spatial awareness, organization,
time management, safety, healthy lifestyle, codes of behavior and
informed choices
Action All students are expected to engage in sustained,
authentic and appropriate action as a result of their learning.This
may take place at school or away from school with supervision and
parent permission. Students are encouraged to think of a variety of
ways to take action from the beginning of their journey.
AttitudesThroughout the Exhibition, students are expected to
practice and demonstrate the following attitudes: Appreciation,
commitment, confidence, cooperation, creativity, curiosity,
empathy, enthusiasm, independence, integrity, respect and
tolerance.In doing so, it is our intention that they will become
internationally minded citizens of the world, possessing the
attributes of the IB Learner Profile.
The IB Learner ProfileWe strive to be: Inquirers, risk-takers,
thinkers, knowledgeable, communicators, caring, open-minded,
Reflective, balanced and principledWhats my role as a mentor?
Ask questionsEncourage and support the efforts of the
studentsSuggest/Provide resourcesHelp organize tripsHelp interpret
difficult information Facilitate interviews/telephone calls Offer
suggestions for action Assist with where they are on the inquiry
cycle Help with organization of filesHelp them with collaborative
behaviourORGANISING TRIPSOne advantage of having a small group is
that it gives the students an opportunity to visit places that
might not always welcome a whole class. Such events can take place
after school/at the weekend if the parent mentor or group members
parents are willing to organize the event.If a trip needs to take
place during school hours because it is not possible to do any
other time, the teacher mentor needs to properly organize
permission and notification of teachers and administrators and get
parent permissions, organize transport and consider costs. School
buses are only available between 8.30am and 2pm and must be
organized at least one week in advance. (Joint trips are a good
idea too so keep each other informed)
Questions to ask at each stage of the inquiry
Connect: What were some of your reasons for choosing this
particular challenge/inquiry? Do you have a connection to this
issue personally or through someone you know? What burning
questions are going to be answered for you in this inquiry?
Explore Connections:At this stage the students will need to be
exposed to and exploring a range of ideas and resources; possibly
guiding them towards more manageable issues. We want to be
solution/action oriented and realistic. You have created your group
central idea and begun to search for more information. Using your
concept questions and lines of inquiry, what have you already found
out? What questions have been difficult to answer so far? Have you
been surprised or shocked? Have any of your questions changed? What
might be some possible alternative ways to find out? What might
some possible actions look like?
Inquire/find out: This stage will involve lengthy and thorough
research using all conceptual lenses coming back often to the CI
and highlighting misconceptions. This stage might help identify
suitable action possibilities. Before going on to inquire further,
go back to the central idea, lines of inquiry and key questions.
Which question will we start with and how might we find out what we
need to do? Thinking about your central idea & key questions,
is there a responsibility question that prompts you to think about
some kind of local action?
Think and Sort: This stage involves sifting through research
found and addressing misconceptions and missing information. The
students will be going back through the inquiry cycle to explore
new connections and inquire again. Action planning should be
addressed more fully to make sure it is sustainable. Lets bring
together what we have each found out about a particular question.
Have you collected a range of data and/or perspectives? How have
you collected them? What new ways might you try to find out more?
Is there a way of checking or seeking an alternative viewpoint?
Does your evidence match with and answer the initial question? Have
you made a plan of action? Lets review it.Present/conclude: Groups
should be ready at this stage to start drawing conclusions and
engaging in planned action. They should also be thinking about how
they will share all their information and action with the
community. Now that you have all the evidence that answers your
questions, what conclusions and generalizations can you make? Is
there an argument youd like to make or a stance youd like to take?
What justifications can you make to defend your argument? What
predictions could you make? What might be some powerful ways to
share this with a multi-age audience? What will you do to share the
process of your journey? What stage are you at with your plan of
action? What steps have you taken and how effective have they been?
What will you do next?
Staging the Exhibition Draw out your plan and sequence map to
show what your presentation will look like, who will do what and
what space you need. What materials &/or equipment do you need
to assemble? How long do you need for setting up? How long will
your presentation take? Do you have evidence of your journey to
share? How will your audience know what your project is about? Have
you included a range of
multi-age/multi-lingual/multi-intelligence/multimedia engagements?
Is there evidence of your stage in the action process?
The students will be expected to plan and prepare their
presentation, carefully considering the planet when they estimate
their use of paper, card & laminate.You should ask to see their
plan and help them to think of creative and resource friendly ways
to demonstrate their understanding and share their messages.
FORMWhat is it like?
Everything has a form with recognizable features that can be
observed, identified, described and categorized
Related concepts: properties, structure, pattern,
comparisonFUNCTIONHow does it work?
Everything has a purpose, a role or a way of behaving that can
be investigated
Related concepts: behavior, role, system, pattern
CHANGEHow is it changing?
Change is universal and inevitable. It is the process of
movement from one state to another.
Related concepts: transformation, cycles, sequences, adaptation,
growth
CAUSATIONWhy is it like this?
Actions have consequences. Things dont just happen; there are
causal relationships at work
Related concepts: impact, consequences, pattern, sequence
CONNECTIONHow is connected to other things?
Nothing exists in a vacuum. We live in a world of interacting
systems. The actions of any individual element affect others
Related concepts: interdependence, relationships, systems,
networks
REFLECTIONHow do we know?
There are different ways of knowing. We are challenged to
examine and reflect upon evidence, methods and conclusions
Related concepts: interpretation, evidence, behavior
PERSPECTIVEWhat are the points of view?
Knowledge is moderated by perspectives; perspectives lead to
different interpretations, understandings and findings.
Related concepts: truth, beliefs, opinion, prejudice,
subjectivity
RESPONSIBILITYWhat is our responsibility?
People make choices based on their understanding, and the
actions they take as a result make a difference
Related concepts: citizenship, initiative, values, rights,
responsibility
In bold are the key concepts with a sample generic question and
an explanation of meaning. Below each explanation are possible
related concepts that can deepen an investigationMentor meeting
sample checklist
Date: Venue:Time: Participants:
Decide who is scribe this week (others will copy out during the
week) Review purpose/CI/ Lines of Inquiry/conceptual focus/inquiry
cycle stage Research? Field trips? Arts? Math? Write any action
items Agree on completion date and who is responsible for each
item
Items to discussAction to takePerson to actionCompletion date
YesNoLate
Mentors Comments:
Other information:
Additional notes
MENTOR MEETING REFLECTION (1st 3 weeks)
Mentor Names: _____________________________________________
Group Members: ___________________________________________
Date: ______________________________________________________
Please take a minute to respond to the following questions:
What went well in your mentor meeting today?
Any concerns about your group/individual students?
What do you need your homeroom teacher to know about your
group/individual students?
What plan do you have for your mentor meeting next week? (Group
needs)
Thank you for taking the time to meet with our students! They
are enriched because of the time you have given!
MENTOR MEETING REFLECTION (4th week onwards)
Mentor Names: ________________________________________Group
Members: _______________________________________Date:
_______________________________________________
Now that the students are half way through their exhibition
process, please be sure to comment on the following areas in your
mentor reflections
Where do the students place themselves on the inquiry cycle?
(Can they justify this and identify goals for the next stage?)
Are the students using their key concept questions to guide
their inquiries? What questions are they focusing on?
Looking again at the Central idea and lines of inquiry, what
possible courses of action are the students anticipating? Are they
thinking about sustainable action?
What messages do you have for the homeroom teacher?
Gathering data about individual students during the process is
important. Please comment for each student according to this rubric
at the end of the ExhibitionGlossaryPrimary Years Programme (PYP)
terminologyEssential Elements that must be part of the written,
taught and assessed curriculum. Knowledge: significant, relevant
content that we wish the students to explore and know about, taking
into consideration their prior experience and understanding.
Concepts: Powerful ideas that have relevance within the subject
areas but also transcend them and that students must explore and
re-explore in order to develop a coherent, in depth understanding.
Skills: Those capabilities that the students need to demonstrate to
succeed in a changing, challenging world, which may be disciplinary
or transdisciplinary in nature. Attitudes: Dispositions that are
expressions of fundamental values, beliefs and feelings about
learning, the environment and people. Action: Demonstrations of
deeper learning in responsible behaviour through responsible
action; a manifestation in practice of other essential
elements.
Transdisciplinary theme: How knowledge and learning is organized
in the PYP: themes that have global significance, offer
opportunities to explore the commonalities of human experience that
are support by knowledge concepts and skills from the traditional
subject areas but that transcends the boundaries of these subject
areas.Central idea: One sentence that expresses concisely an
enduring understanding. It should be substantial enough to generate
in-depth inquiry, be conceptually driven and promote critical
thinking. It should challenge and extend prior knowledge and should
extend understanding of particular aspects of transdisciplinary
themes.Line of inquiry: These statements (inquiries into) clarify
the central idea and define the scope of the inquiry. They provide
a focus for research and give rise to key concept questions. Key
concept question: Student and teacher initiated, open-ended key
concept questions drive the inquiry and frame research
possibilities.
RolesTeacher Mentor: Any faculty member who leads the weekly
group meetings and is available during school time for further
guidance.Parent Mentor: Any parent from the school community who
wishes to assist a group of students during the exhibition, working
alongside the homeroom teachers, teacher mentors and PYP
coordinator to provide support in a variety of ways as highlighted
on page 6 of this handbook.Super Mentor: Any faculty member or
parent who is not attached to any specific group who provides
ongoing support with particular aspects of the exhibition in a
supervisory or as-needed role.Guest speaker: Any faculty member or
parent who can provide knowledge, guidance, information or
community contact with a third party organization according to the
interests and/or needs of particular groups. THE ISB OFFICE &
GUARDS MUST BE NOTIFIED
ITS LEARNING terminologyCourse: ISB teachers have their own
course page where the collaborative planning is structured
according to the 12 stages of the Exhibition.Project: Each
exhibition group has their own project page which documents the
learning, organization and evidence of content knowledge. It is the
hub for group members to contain their inquiry and connect with
others.E-portfolio: a collection of portfolios that can be
published as an entity on the internet, much like a homepage.
Students can publish different types of portfolios, such as
assessment portfolios and private portfolios. The E-portfolio also
contains a personal blog and an information section to create a
virtual identity
Exhibition Online Platform: Its learning
Sign in to:https://ibo.itslearning.com/index.aspx
Your username is BEL + first initial + family nameE.g.
BELstomlinson
If you have not received an email, click forgotten password and
enter your school email address to receive a new password. Change
to a memorable password once you are logged in.
The students will be able to guide you towards their project
pages where mentor meeting notes will be kept.
There is a project just for the adults called grown up groups
where we can keep up to date, share ideas, ask questions and learn
how the project pages works. Teachers and mentors will be taught
how to access and use this project.