IIBB JJoouurrnnaall ooff T Teeaacchhiningg P Praracctitcicee Action research report Sustained student action in The purpose of this study was to examine authentic student- generated action within an IB school. The study aimed to ex- the PYP: A multi-staged action amine and reflect on action as part of the planned, taught and assessed curricula. The study was conducted at an international research project school in Germany using an iterative process of data collection on a convenience sample of 36 PYP students and 7 PYP teach- ToScA KIlloRAn, JeFF HoFFART, ers. Reflective analysis of the data collected contributed to the ADAM BouRReT final understanding of sustained action within the learning com- munity. Instruments that included qualitative surveys, checklists and reflective journaling were used to collect data specific to the various research sub-questions. We determined a need for a definition of action and discovered that students’ action was ru- dimentary and required more support – in the form of an action phase document and explicitly taught skills – in order for it to be sustainable. Furthermore, we developed a resource website that supported teachers in fostering student-led sustainable ac- tion. Future research could entail whole-school data collection inclusive of the MYP and DP programmes in order to develop a cohesive definition, philosophy and curricula that support sus- tainable action at the school. InTRoDucTIon denced within our planner documentation. Additionally, when it did appear in the planner it was really a “transfer task”, which learners The school that is the centre of this research is a growing community used to show their understanding in a different context (Wiggins & school in a quiet, green city that was once home to the capital of McTighe, 2005, p. 153). West Germany. The school’s community consists of members from the United Nations as well as other non-governmental organizations Several teachers, intrigued by this trend, began to engage in a peda- (NGOs) and large corporations. The school is composed of 704 stu- gogical debate. In Making the PYP happen (2009), the IB states that dents from three to eighteen years of age and the demographics are that action will “make a difference in and to the world” (p. 25) and diverse, with 61 different nationalities represented, 15% of which this is what we envisioned enabling our students to do. We debated are German citizens. The language of instruction is English, but the if the transfer of knowledge equated to student-generated action. Ac- school provides support for the host country’s language in the form tion seemed to have become a pedagogical conundrum. As individu- of German classes once per day. English as an Additional Language als, we struggled with how we defined action, but as a group we were (EAL) supports the diverse EAL student body. The school has been united in the understanding that the concept of action is a funda- authorized as an IB World School for 11 years and implements the mental component that underpins the PYP and, most importantly, Primary Years Programme (PYP), Middle Years Programme (MYP) is linked directly with the types of learners we want to develop. From and Diploma Programme (DP). these discussions, we banded into a small research team, inspired by the words, “The process of solving problems with evidence collected The Primary Years Programme Coordinator (PYPC) works with through research can help teachers think critically, reflect on their the teachers to embody the IB learner profile attributes, and weekly work, connect theory with practice, take charge of their own learn- meetings are often devoted to reflection on all aspects of the planning ing, and take action to make change” (Falk & Blumenreich, 2005, and teaching processes and practices. During one of these reflective p. 7). We devised an action research study in order to: meetings the staff decided that student action was not strongly evi- IB Journal of Teaching Practice, Volume 1, Issue 1 1 IIBB JJoouurrnnaall ooff T Teeaacchhiningg P Praracctitcicee Action research report • assess teachers’ and students’ understanding of action staged project, utilizing surveys that were designed by the research team and completed by PYP students and teachers. For the student • examine what aspects of planning, teaching and assessment poli- and teacher surveys, we identified keywords and phrases specific to cies and practices foster action our definition of action in the PYP and used this information to de- • identify key understandings and skills that lead to purposeful ac- fine the topics and dimensions to be included in the survey. As the tion school is small, the study was based on a relatively modest sample of 36 students and 7 teachers. We surveyed six randomly selected stu- • determine the factors that contribute to student self-efficacy with dents from each grade level (kindergarten through grade 5). For the regards to taking action student survey, the research proposal was introduced to the parents through a letter of introduction, including a permission letter that • develop a baseline school-wide definition for action as we moved we distributed at the beginning of the research process (see Appendix forward as a learning community. A). Our stated goal in the letter of introduction was to establish a We viewed the study as a significant stepping stone to unpacking our baseline for students’ understanding of action within the context of hypothesis: The concept of action is more a state of mind than a product. the PYP as well as to ascertain the relationship between this under- Action can make a resonating difference to and in the world only when it standing and the definition of action in the PYP. Students completed is developed in tandem with a toolbox of explicitly taught skills, modelled a five-question survey, which simplified terms and facilitated comple- behaviours, scaffolded plans and a gradual release of responsibility. tion of questions by English language learners and emergent readers STAGe 1: ASSeSSInG ouR PRIoR KnoWleDGe (see Appendix B). A limitation of the survey was that the research focused on student action only within the context of the school and Applying research methodology from the text Introduction to edu- classroom and did not include the scope of home or external envi- cational research by Mertler and Charles (2006), the staff designed ronmental factors that could contribute to student-generated action. a qualitative method for data collection and analysis. We created a For the teacher survey, the research proposal was distributed with a let- plan in which each of us took on a variety of roles as teachers, re- ter of introduction (see Appendices C and D) at the beginning of the searchers, data analysts, curriculum and website designers, event or- research process, with our stated goal the same as the student survey. ganizers, and mentors as we journeyed through the various stages of The assumption was made for both surveys that students and teachers the study. We collaborated closely and worked as a cohesive team would answer the survey voluntarily and honestly; thus, we would be through each phase of the project. Our research began by searching able to measure prevailing attitudes and feelings on action in the PYP. for peer-reviewed articles to add to our knowledge base and to build our literature review. However, we were confronted with a distinct From the aggregated data, it became clear that the majority of the lack of research that offered insight into our hypothesis in search en- student body did not have a clear understanding of action in the PYP. gines such as ERIC (http://www.eric.ed.gov/) and JSTOR (http:// In fact, 80% of the students responded that action was some sort www.jstor.org/). This encouraged us to continue our research project of body or sports-related movement. Of the students that showed a and gather data on this subject. developed understanding of action in the PYP (using the keywords or phrases: changing the world, helping others, local to global, and/ This was a qualitative research study, which developed into a multi- IB Journal of Teaching Practice, Volume 1, Issue 1 2 IIBB JJoouurrnnaall ooff T Teeaacchhiningg P Praracctitcicee Action research report or making a difference), 71% were from grade 5, indicating that this particular cohort had a unique understanding of action in the PYP. This in turn begged the question, Why? What was happening in this classroom? The collated data for the teacher survey indicated that five of the seven teachers believed that students needed explicitly taught skills, modelled behaviours and a gradual model of release towards inde- pendence in order to take action. The data raised an additional ques- tion: Were teachers’ beliefs regarding action reflected in the docu- mentation and planning of their teaching practice? STAGe 2: exAMInInG ouR DocuMenTATIon The second stage of the study consisted of an analysis of the school’s Programme of Inquiry and the documentation of action in each grade level’s unit planners. This analysis was based on the assumption that the information documented in the planners was an accurate repre- sentation of the teaching and learning that had occurred in the units of inquiry. We searched for patterns of instances of explicitly taught skills, modelled behaviours, or scaffolded experiences as documented on the planner, and increases in student action being recorded in box eight of the PYP planner. Within the PYP planning documents, this school’s teachers often use descriptors of an inquiry cycle based on Kath Murdoch’s work (http://www.kathmurdoch.com.au/), in order to help envision the unit as an evolution of understanding. As we analysed the planners we found that most contained fully described activities for the stages of the inquiry cycle such as tuning in or finding out, but none of the grades, with the exception of grade 5, had explicitly planned for skills or modelled behaviour with the expressed intention of promot- ing student-generated action. We inferred that the planners seemed to suggest an overarching school philosophy that action would or- ganically spring from the units of inquiry and did not need to be scaffolded throughout the learning cycle. Moreover, the final stage of the inquiry, “reflection and action”, often included limited infor- mation or was left blank. In box eight of the unit planner, teachers also reflected that many of the actions taken by the students were often rudimentary and lacked the depth the teachers had envisioned as possible outcome of the units. The information documented on the planners did not match the results from our research regarding teacher beliefs on action; it became clear there was a gap between teachers’ beliefs and practice regarding action in the PYP. Figure 1: Action in the PYP: Analysing and sharing data in new ways IB Journal of Teaching Practice, Volume 1, Issue 1 3 IIBB JJoouurrnnaall ooff T Teeaacchhiningg P Praracctitcicee Action research report STAGe 3: evAluATInG ouR PRAcTIce allowed students to share their learning with each other. Setting the tone for collaboration and conflict resolution enabled students to de- The third stage of the study involved going back to our question of velop the self-efficacy to take meaningful small actions on a daily why grade 5 had such a unique understanding of action. As a team basis in their own lives and the lives of their friends. we needed to examine why the students within that grade viewed action differently and how teaching and learning in their classroom After an ethos of risk taking and problem solving had been estab- shaped their views. A case study on grade 5 and their journey to- lished, the second initiative was to identify specific skills that students wards the culminating event of their primary years, the PYP Exhi- needed in order to take action. Hoffart identified and planned the bition (PYPX), was conducted to better understand what planning, teaching of investigation skills, including: teaching and assessment policies and practices fostered action, and to • developing higher-level Socratic questions through philosophy identify key skills that led to purposeful and beneficial action. circles Case study: The grade 5 PYPX • how to find quality research (using keywords, age-appropriate The reflective journal writings of Jeff Hoffart (the grade 5 teacher) re- search engines) vealed that he believed sustained student action required careful plan- • developing note-taking abilities (collecting, recording, organizing ning through each step of the journey towards the PYPX. He began data) with a seemingly simple plan: to create a classroom environment that supported the development of students’ collaboration and conflict • how to acknowledge sources (references, citations). resolution skills. As students began to develop strategies and skills, he celebrated their growth by initiating a “student expert board”, which Students were asked to plan their action and develop time-manage- Figure 2: Student expert board IB Journal of Teaching Practice, Volume 1, Issue 1 4 IIBB JJoouurrnnaall ooff T Teeaacchhiningg P Praracctitcicee Action research report ment skills (using schedules), organizational skills (making lists, nam- that exemplified our definition of sustained action. Such affiliations ing files), as well as planning and tracking skills (goals and action could help support the global action initiatives created by our students. diaries). Additionally, students needed to choose an appropriate me- As a result, we organized a TEDxYouth event at our school to allow dium for their action product (for example, written, oral, visual com- students the chance to communicate their ideas on a global platform. ponents, ICT). In order to advocate effectively for their cause and TED is a non-profit organization that began as a four-day conference share their findings, students had to develop verbal and non-verbal in the United States over 20 years ago, and now, though multiple ini- presentation skills. They also had to share, market and promote their tiatives such as TEDx, it provides a professional platform for speakers action and develop publishing skills (for example, graphic layout, to share ideas with others across the globe. As the website explains, design of websites, blogs, wikis, brochures, pamphlets or books) in “In the spirit of ‘ideas worth spreading,’ TEDx is a programme of lo- order to aid in that process. cal, self-organized events in which video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connections in a small group” (http://www. Hoffart reflected that beyond all of these skills, it was clear that stu- ted.com/pages/about). Through the organization of TEDxYouth@ dents needed to define action. The students were challenged to per- BIS students observed teachers taking action to support their students’ sonalize action and view it not just as a mandate of their programme, initiatives and helped to reinforce action as a lifelong mind-set. but also as a lifelong mind-set. Jeff Hoffart’s class began to explore the concept of sustainable action. Students grappled with the idea of having a bake sale and sending shoes or clothes to “poor kids”. They were encouraged to think how these constituted one-off actions that were not ongoing or long-lasting. The grade 5 students began to reflect on their own community of learning and identify issues they wanted to address. Exclusion on the playground became one topic of interest and students designed collaborative, inclusive games that they taught to others on the playground. To help sustain their ideas, the students began to catalogue their actions on a website (http:// actionhub.weebly.com/index.html) they designed and created. Over time, this conferencing and reflecting on the concept of action re- sulted in a more solid understanding within the learners, and deeper issues with better solutions began to surface. Figure 3: TEDxYouth event Jeff Hoffart viewed the PYPX as the vehicle for students to put their As a result of the classroom environment, skills, modelling, organiza- newly acquired knowledge and skills to use. In order to aid in this tion and management of the PYPX, students were able to share their process, he made the decision to edit his planning documentation and authentic action with the world confidently via the TEDxYouth modify Kath Murdoch’s inquiry cycle by unrolling the “taking action” event. MYP and DP students became inspired by the younger stu- phase before the “sharing findings” phase. He found that changing the dents and contributed by sharing the action they had taken for vari- inquiry cycle and initialising action earlier meant that the focus for the ous Community and Service—as well as Creativity, Action, Service exhibition shifted from students merely sharing their knowledge and (CAS)—projects they had initiated. Feedback from teachers, parents, understanding of a topic, to how that knowledge and understanding students and audience members were compiled and the results con- had provided the skills to enable them to take ongoing action. verted into a Wordle graphic. Wordle operates on algorithms that Taking it further with TEDx express the percentage that a particular word or phrase shows up in a given text as larger or more predominant. It is a word-cloud of data In the student issue of IB World (2012), students boldly challenged that provides insight into a theme in a piece of text. From that visu- readers: “What’s the point of learning, if we’re not bettering the alisation of data it was clear that the words “action”, “sustainable”, world?” (p. 14, 15). The research team reflected that part of our role “change”, “difference”, “amazing” and “inspired” dominated the was to take action as well by creating connections with organizations minds of those in the school’s learning community. IB Journal of Teaching Practice, Volume 1, Issue 1 5 IIBB JJoouurrnnaall ooff T Teeaacchhiningg P Praracctitcicee Action research report learning journey in the PYP. This document moves students from Figure 4: Wordle graphic of TEDxYouth event feedback teacher-guided action in the younger years to independent, skilful and sustained action in grade 5 or beyond. We also noted that a ReFlecTIon AnD IMPAcT phase document alone would not provide teachers enough clarity to plan for action in the classroom. Consequently, we developed a web- By opening a dialogue about action at the school, we were able to site (http://www.helptakeaction.com/) to host and complement the identify areas of strength and areas for improvement. The research phase document, offering resources, guides, posters, worksheets, les- team found that the information recorded in the unit planners did sons and activities in order to help teachers unpack the skills needed not match the teachers’ beliefs on what action could and should be to take action within classrooms. at our school. Through the case study of grade 5, specific skills and “We envision embedding the action phase document into the school culture and making sus- tained action a more inherent part of the curricula throughout grade levels, in order to shift the perspective of action from primarily an organic by-product of learning to more of an empowered state of mind. ” modelled behaviours were identified to enable students to take sus- The impacts of this study for the school were far-reaching and nu- tained action. Upon reflection, the research team decided that these merous. Students from many grade levels have come forward with in- skills were too numerous to be developed with any depth over just dependent, student-generated projects and ideas for action regarding one grade and teachers needed support in order to effectively use the learner profile, social issues and community-based projects. As the PYP planners to encourage action within their classrooms. As teachers observed their students’ excitement from taking action, they a result, the team decided to create an action phase document that too have been inspired to learn new skills, such as creating websites, details how these skills could be developed throughout a student’s e-books and apps that will assist them in actualizing ideas for making IB Journal of Teaching Practice, Volume 1, Issue 1 6 IIBB JJoouurrnnaall ooff T Teeaacchhiningg P Praracctitcicee Action research report a difference in and to the world. Action is a state of mind, rather than a product, that requires a set of explicitly taught skills, modelled behaviours, and scaffolded plans During the last staff meeting of the year, the administration and in order for it to be sustainable. In addition, we identified the tools teaching staff identified action as an area of focus for the upcoming to scaffold student execution of action and provided a platform for school year. We began the process by reflecting on the IB programme sustained action in the form of TEDx. In future, we could revisit standards and practices (2010) relating to action, and celebrating our our documentation to see how teachers have begun the process of success to date. We envision embedding the action phase document explicitly teaching the skills for action. We could also re-evaluate the into the school culture and making sustained action a more inherent patterns between the skills taught and student action. One clear limi- part of the curricula throughout grade levels, in order to shift the tation of the study was that the survey sample size was very modest perspective of action from primarily an organic by-product of learn- and further research could include whole-school data collection in- ing to more of an empowered state of mind. We understand that this clusive of the MYP and DP. By researching and collecting data on idea may make teachers uncomfortable by challenging what teachers the whole school, we would further consolidate a cohesive definition, may believe action is, and how it unfolds through our students’ learn- philosophy and curricula that support sustainable action. ing journey. However, this study was not merely based on conjecture ReFeRenceS but the analysis of data, which lead to changes within our own pro- gramme. Our research suggests that the students at our school were The Action Hub. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://actionhub.weebly. not organically producing action from learning and needed more com/index.html scaffolding to reach that point. Falk, B. & Blumenreich, M. (2005). The power of questions: A guide Each stage of this action research contributed to our understanding. to teacher and student research. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. We developed a working definition for action specific to our school community and the PYP curriculum we are implementing: We de- Help Take ACTION. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.helptakeac- fined action for our school as making a difference to and in the world. tion.com/ International Baccalaureate. (2009). Making the PYP happen: A cur- ABouT THe AuTHoRS riculum framework for international primary education. Cardiff, Tosca Killoran holds a master of education and IB Teach- UK: IB Publishing. er Award Level 1. Originally from Canada she has spent International Baccalaureate. (2010). IB programme standards and 11 years teaching in international schools in Asia and practices. Cardiff, UK: IB Publishing. Europe. She currently is the Early Learning Team Leader at Bonn International School. Mertler, C. A. & Charles C. M. (2006). Introduction to educational research (6th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon. Jeff Hoffart holds a bachelor of education from the University of Saskatchewan. Originally from Canada, he Murdoch, K. (n.d.). Kath Murdoch—Education Consultant. Re- had four years of experience teaching in IB international trieved from http://www.kathmurdoch.com.au/ schools prior to moving to Germany. Currently, he is a TED. (n.d.). About TED. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/pag- Grade 5 teacher at Bonn International School. es/about Adam Bourret works at Bonn International School as What’s the point of learning if we’re not bettering the world? (2012). the PYP language coordinator and EAL teacher. Origi- IB World, 64 (January), 14–15. nally from the United States, Adam holds a master of education from George Mason University and a bach- Wiggins, G. & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design. Alexan- elor of arts, summa cum laude, in Anthropology from dria, VA: ASCD. the University of Oregon. IB Journal of Teaching Practice, Volume 1, Issue 1 7 IIBB JJoouurrnnaall ooff T Teeaacchhiningg P Praracctitcicee Action research report APPenDIx A Ap ri l 2 8 , 2 0 1 2 D e a r P ar e n t s , W e a re cu rr e n t ly c o n d u c t i n g a m u lti staged action research project titled, ‘Sustained Student Action in the PYP’. The p urp o s e o f t he s tu d y is to : a) Es t a b l i s h a b a s e l in e fo r t e ac h er s ’ a n d s tu d e n t s ’ u n d e r st a n di n g o f a c t i on w i t h i n t h e c o n te x t o f th e PYP b) Asc ertain the relationship between the understanding and application of a ct i o n i n t h e P Y P . T h e p u rp o s e o f t h i s le t t e r is to a sk f o r t h e p a rt i c ipa t i o n o f your chil d in the data co l le c ti o n p r o ce ss fo r t his p ro j ec t . Y o ur c h i ld w i ll b e a s k ed t o an s w er a s h or t su r v e y of f i ve qu e s t i o n s t h at w i ll t a k e l e s s t h a n 5 m in u t e s . Y o u r c h i l d ’s r e s p o n s e s w i ll b e a n o n y m ou s . N o i n d iv i d u a l in f o r m a t i o n , su c h a s na m e s w i ll b e sh a r ed . T h e d a ta c ollec ted w i ll be aggregated and then used within the researc h paper to be considered for publication to the IB Journal of Teaching Pr a c t ic e i n a u g u r a l ed iti o n 2 0 1 3 . N O T Y o u r p a r t ic ip a ti o n is v o l un ta r y . B y r e s p o n d in g t o th i s n o ti fi c a t i o n y o u a re g iv i n g c o n s en t f or y o u r c h i ld to b e part icipant in the study. If you do not wish to participate , simply send Ms. Tosca Killoran an email and she will ensure your child is not part of the study. If y o u h a v e a n y q ue st io n s re g a rd i n g t h e s t u d y p le a se c o n ta c t T o s c a a t to s c a . k il lo r a n @ b o n n - is .d e . Y o u may a lso contact the Director of Bonn Internation al School at [email protected] if any concerns arise du ri n g t h e co u r se of the study. B es t R eg a rd s, T o s ca K i ll o r a n M Ed Adam Bour ret MEd Jeff Hoffart BEd IB Journal of Teaching Practice, Volume 1, Issue 1 8 Killoran et al 1 IIBB JJoouurrnnaall ooff T Teeaacchhiningg P Praracctitcicee Action research report APPenDIx B Grade: EAL:Y/N LS:Y/N F/M Su s t ai ne d St u d e n t Ac t i o n in th e PY P Ac t i on Re s e a r c h Pr o j ec t St u d e n t Su r v e y 1 . W h a t i s ‘ a c t i o n ’ w h e n w e a r e t a l k i n g a b o u t t h e U n i t s o f I n q u i r y ? 2 . H o w d o y o u k n o w i f y o u h a v e t a k e n a c t i o n ? 3 . C a n y o u g e t b e t t e r a t t a k i n g a c t i o n , w h y ? 4 . W h a t h e l p s y o u t o t a k e a c t i o n ? 5 . I s i t e a s i e r o r h a r d e r t o t a k e a c t i o n i f y o u d o i t w i t h a f r i e n d , w h y ? IB Journal of Teaching Practice, Volume 1, Issue 1 9 Killoran et al 1 IIBB JJoouurrnnaall ooff T Teeaacchhiningg P Praracctitcicee Action research report APPenDIx c IB Journal of Teaching Practice, Volume 1, Issue 1 10 Killoran et al 1