APPROACHES to LEARNING:

ORGANISATIONAL SKILLS PYP PARENTS FORUM

25 April 2014

WHY ‘SKILLS’?

Students know WHAT to learn, do they know HOW to learn?

There will ALWAYS be a challenge.

IB Mission: “life-long learners” = How?

SKILLS = Approaches to Learning (ATL)

PYP Transdisciplinary Skills MYP Approaches to LearningSkills Clusters

Communication CommunicationSocial CollaborationSelf-management Organisation

AffectiveReflection

Research Information LiteracyMedia Literacy

Thinking Critical ThinkingCreativity and InnovationTransfer

Why are ‘skills’ essential in child development?

What is ‘organisational skills’? What are the challenges in developing

organisational skills? How do we support the development of

organisational skills?

Objectives

Teaching Your Child with SKILLS (ATL) in Mind

BUILDING AWARENESS:

A simple activity TASK: TANGRAM! – 7 piece puzzle 2 minutes to create the figure shown

3 members in each group1- Child (task in 2 mins)1- Parent (ONLY ASK QUESTIONS!)1- Observer (observe and write down what’s

happening)

Teaching your child with SKILLS (ATL) in Mind

TANGRAM: Figure 1

TANGRAM: Figure 1

Hand-out:Describe your EXPERIENCE as:-Parent-Learner-Observer

1 Minute

TANGRAM: Figure 2

TANGRAM: Figure 2

Hand-out:Describe your EXPERIENCE as:-Parent-Learner-Observer

1 Minute

TANGRAM: Figure 3

TANGRAM: Figure 3

Hand-out:Describe your EXPERIENCE as:-Parent-Learner-Observer

1 Minute

Child Parent Observer

Child = frustration Parent = difficult to ask questions! Observer = can see the confusion

SHARING

Focus on SKILLS/PROCESS OF LEARNING; SKILLS/PROCESS OF LEARNING > outcome Confusion is not a bad place to start “WHAT CAN

I DO WHEN I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO? “ …Besides…asking for help? Suggest ways / Provide tools Do not be too eager “How do I solve this problem?”, NOT “What is

the solution to this problem?”

PARENTS in teaching SKILLS (ATL)

“ORGANISATIONAL SKILLS”

Prepare a mind map

(3 minutes)

Group WorkGroup Work

Organisational Skills

ORGANISATION

ability to have your time, materials and

resources so arranged that you can use what

you need to support your learning.

to communicate your knowledge and

understanding in a logical fashion so that others

can understand what you are saying or writing.

Organisation is one of the hardest skills for

students to acquire. Why ?

Definition

Learning and mastery of organisational

skills involve two overlapping and

interdependent areas:

TIME MANAGEMENT SELF-MANAGEMENT

Th

ink-

Pair

-Sh

are

(3

min

s)

TIME MANAGEMENT

SELF-MANAGEMENT

ORGANISATIONAL SKILLS

Self - Management

Time Management

Self-management

Includes:personal goal

setting,

organisation of learning materials.

Time management

Includes: using time effectively in

class,keeping to deadlines, using time effectively

outside of the classroom,organizing a diary/plannersocial commitments.

To-do list Using a diary/planner effectively Duty roster Personal goal setting (daily, weekly,

monthly, yearly) Identifying strengths and areas for

improvement Give positive reinforcement if goal

achieved

Tools for Self-management

Complete tasks within the given time frame

Use a timer Estimate the time frame to complete a

certain stage of work Reinforce rules on time-keeping and

deadlines

Tools for Time Management

Key-questions Self- Management

Skills

Time-Management

Skills

What organisational tools do I have at home?

What aspects of my organisation do I need to develop?

What organisational tools do we have at home to help our children ?

How do we manage these tools?

BIG GROUP SHARING (5 mins)

•Are these scenarios familiar?

• How are your children being held back by their inability to organise their thoughts, materials and time?

• “There is a difference between a CREATIVE learning environment and

a MESSY learning environment.”

•Do you agree?

BUILDING AWARENESS

TIPS ON HOW TO DEVELOP

ORGANISATIONAL SKILLS

IN CHILDREN

ACTIVITY: Case-study3 GROUPS = 1 situation each

Work in groups according to the situations given.

5 minutes will be provided for the preparations of the mind mapping.

Each group will be given 3 minutes to share your ideas.

Your mind map should include:

- How can you help your child? - What are the tools that you can use? (Refer to previous tips shared/discussed)

ORGANISATIONAL TOOLSThat We Can Use…Goals Wall Clocks

Essential Agreements

Timer

Checklist Watch

Planner / Diary Duty Roster

Learning Materials(Academics, Interests)

Daily Schedule(Study-time, play-time, sleeping-

time)

HOW CAN WE USE THESE TOOLS?

Keep a family calendar.

• Encouraging your child to write his/her own entries and reference the calendar when making plans.

Suggested Tools:

Daily schedule, Duty roster , Planner

Introduce checklists.

It can be as simple as:

"3 Things To Do Before Bed" or

"What To Take On Vacation.”

Suggested Tools:

Checklist, Goals, Essential Agreements

Get ready the night before.

This one's always tough for both of you but it does work if you can get in the habit.

Suggested Tools:

Essential Agreements, Checklist, Clock, Daily schedule

Establish a homework routine. Set up a comfortable workspace . Encourage them to stick to the schedule even when they don't have homework.

They can read, review notes, or even do a crossword puzzle.

Suggested Tools:

Daily schedule, Essential agreements, Timer, Learning materials, Planner

Reward and provide support with organisational tasks.

Your child may find organising a challenge, so help her develop her routine and give her a treat for

jobs well done!

Suggested Tools:

Essential Agreements, Learning materials, Checklist

Cook together.

Cooking teaches measuring, following directions, sorting ingredients, and managing time. You can challenge her to help you put

together a shopping list.

Suggested Tools:

Checklist, Goals, Essential Agreements, Clock, Timer

Assign chores that involve sorting or categorising. 

Grocery shopping, emptying the dishwasher, sorting photos, cleaning out a closet, making lists, or arranging things are great choices. (breaking big tasks into smaller tasks)

Suggested Tools:

Checklist, Goals, Essential Agreements, Clock, Timer

Developing skills takes time……and effort…and consistency.NOT A ONE-SHOT APPROACH –

lifetime challengeNEEDS support from ALL LIFE

INFLUENCESSUPPORT = STOP GIVING THEM THE

ANSWERSCHANGE begins with AWARENESS

WRAPPING UP!

PYP Transdisciplinary Skills = Approaches To Learning Skills

Self-managementCommunicationSocialThinkingResearch

AWARENESS TEST

Everyday is a chance to know something special about our child…chance to learn something new

HOW MANY ‘MOON WALKING BEARS’ HAVE YOU MISSED

TODAY?

For us to think about:

1 thing about the session that you have enjoyed today

2 new ideas that you have learnt

3 things you will implement at home

Feedback:

EXIT TASK