Autumn 2014
FOCUS ON INTERNATIONAL MINDEDNESS
CURRICULUM
Visual Arts reinforces themes The International Baccalaureate aims to “develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.” Through the Primary Years Programme and the units of inquiry, students have the opportunity to develop their knowledge, understandings, skills and attitudes towards international mindedness. Within the Year 4 unit of inquiry, ‘How we express ourselves,’ students encountered a range of learning experiences to encourage and develop international mindedness. For example, students shared their own culture through an object or artefact that connected to their traditions or beliefs. Students also explored their own cultural identity through a cultural observation interview that resulted in the making of their own culture flower. Through this, students were introduced to a wide range of cultural stories so that they can
begin to inquire into the values, traditions and beliefs they hold. It is through experiences such as these that students develop intercultural understanding and respect for themselves and others. Visual Arts plays a role in each of the learner profile attributes as they relate to international mindedness. In addition to the Year 4 culture flowers, recently the students focused on the attributes of ‘Caring’ and ‘Communicator’ by coming up with strategies to resolve conflict. The Year 4s were developing understandings about how individuals have a responsibility to find peaceful solutions to conflicts within communities. They inquired into the roles and responsibilities of community members to resolve conflicts. Through the lens of Visual Art, students discussed ways that visual images can be used, not only in the resolution, but also in the prevention of conflict. They communicated
these caring messages through artworks that were displayed around the school to further promote the conflict resolution work the students were carrying out with younger students. Students worked creatively to demonstrate their awareness of the affective power of visual arts to communicate and show they care. Donna Ellery, PYP Coordinator Kate Saunders, Primary Visual Arts Teacher
Mother tongue supports learning In the IB’s Every Teacher is a Language Teacher, it is stated that “languages have always been at the heart of the IB. You can’t build an international organisation without embracing them, and you can’t nurture international mindedness without enabling students to do the same.” The number of cultures represented by both students and staff in DC is staggering. Even more remarkable are the languages these cultures bring with them. A person’s language influences how they communicate, but also with whom they choose to communicate, and how effective they are at getting their thoughts and ideas across. At DC we fully recognise the importance of students’ mother tongues and encourage their use. Years 1 and 2 have been running highly successful mother tongue programmes with the help of parent volunteers to support student learning. Students are given a choice of language groups to be part of, such as German, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin and Cantonese, and then discuss the concepts and ideas they have been learning about inside the classroom in their chosen language.
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CURRICULUM
These groups help students to develop their ideas further, with greater confidence, while receiving constructive feedback from adults or friends. They can then go back into the classroom and share their thinking with the entire class. Sometimes students want to tell us what they’re thinking but find it challenging because they don’t yet have the language for it. The mother tongue groups are an invaluable opportunity for students who don’t always feel comfortable communicating their ideas in English to share and participate more in the learning. The mother tongue groups have become an integral part of the early years programme at DC. They wouldn’t be possible without the help and support of our parent volunteers. The importance of the mother tongue groups can’t be overstated. They have a huge impact because they support students to connect with each other and their learning. Jonathan Climas and Shann Anderson Learning Development Team Teachers