The Role of the MGIS Teacher in the MYP

By Anjou C. on Tuesday, 27 March , 2007 - 8:44 am

John Holt, an educationalist and psychologist says that great harm is done to children by adults who wish to ‘teach’ children. In the light of this statement, we would like to mention an anecdote. A well meaning person once remarked upon hearing that we worked in MGIS (the school where children play) , “Oh, that’s the school where they don’t teach!” We thought that was a fine compliment. At our school, we don’t teach; children learn.

We as adults have taken it as our moral responsibility to “teach” children. In the process, we have transformed the educational experience into a bitter pill to be swallowed, a pain to be endured. We went through this evil necessity and we survived, so why should not our children. Yes, we did survive the system and we succeeded despite it. But can the majority of us recall our educational experience as being a joyful, meaningful, authentic and non-threatening experience that put us in touch with our own potential?
In the present context, the role of the teacher has to change. The teacher is not the ‘know all’ information provider. Rather she or he is part of the group as the group embarks on a journey of discovery of knowledge and understanding. The group will therefore construct their own knowledge.

We have been thinking for a substitute word for ‘teacher’. The French word ‘animateur’ initially appealed to us as it means infusing life into a group (from Latin ‘animus’). In English however, the word could be confused with one who makes cartoon films. Thereafter we used the word activator, one who activates the group, proposes active learning, activities etc. Now we are using the word Initiator. Perhaps, one day we will find another word that expresses our role and what we do, better.

Just as the way children learn in diverse ways, children are assessed in different ways. If learning can be enjoyable, meaningful and authentic then why not evaluation? Formative evaluation is part of our learning process. There is continual feedback to the learner and initiator through the different modes. The sources of feedback are also diverse : the self, peers, other class groups, adults and parents.

Evaluation is based on the criteria laid down in the MYP. These criteria are clearly stated in the evaluation reports given at the end of the year. The IB does not award marks but states the levels of achievements according to the criteria. In the year 5 of the MYP, the personal project will form an important part of their assessment. As to the local board examinations, children will be prepared according to the textbooks and content. As our children would have understood concepts, they will not waste precious time in rote learning. Moreover, other strategies related to use of diverse memories such as mnemonic techniques, visual, auditory and kinesthetic memories, speed reading and writing, organisation of time etc will be sufficiently developed to enable children to perform to the best of their abilities.

At every stage in the learning process, children are encouraged to reflect on the manner in which they have learnt and also become conscious of their learning styles. This meta-cognition is also an important focus of the IB programme and ultimately in understanding themselves and becoming life-long learners.

Category: Thoughts on Education

• Add this post
• Del.icio.us -
• Digg