MYP Decoded

We wrap up our exploration into the lives of dedicated student-athletes by...

- Discovering what drives them;

- Seeing what the research into young elite athletes tells us;

- Investigating links between IB aspects such as ATL Skills and International Mindedness with the students' approaches to training and competing;

- Finding out what their training schedules look like;

- Hearing about inevitable sacrifices;

- Listening to advice for their peers;

- Getting a picture of what their goals look like for the next year, two, and more.

Articles/Books referenced:

https://www.fasttalklabs.com/byline/trevor-connor/#show

https://swimswam.com/elite-swimmers-are-getting-older-and-peaking-later-or-are-they/#:~:text=In%202001%2C%20the%20average%20age,swimmers%20by%20event%20in%202022.

https://beneast.com/2015/03/17/faster-by-michael-hutchinson/

Welcome back to the podcast! It's been a little while, but hopefully we're back on track and there are a few great episodes lined up for the next few months.

In this episode, as well as the next, I am speaking with six young people who are at the top of their game in their chosen sport(s). How do they juggle their commitments, knowing what riches (literally in some cases) reaching the ultimate goal may potentially bring? The MYP emphasizes the development of the learner profile traits, such as being balanced and reflective. How are these traits reflected in the daily lives of dedicated, focused, high-achieving student-athletes? We explore these and other questions over the next two episodes, whilst learning more about what makes these individuals 'tick' - as well as incorporating some research findings in Episode 16.

Enjoy!

The World Scholars Cup is a truly unique experience, and an incredible opportunity for the students who commit their time, energy and brainpower to developing and refining the multitude of skills required to be as successful as the students who represented Raha International School.

This episode explores the details of this opportunity from a variety of angles, and I was certainly a lot more educated about it by the time I finished this most enlightening conversation with six students and a parent (with a couple of anecdotes from the teacher-coordinator thrown in) - enjoy!

In this short episode, conversations with students and teachers both new to the MYP as well as 'experts', reveal an authentic appreciation for this wonderful program.

Sometimes it's worth pausing and reflecting on how well we do things, even though we never stop improving.

Enjoy!

After the fun and flavours of our incredibly popular and successful International Day, it was time to turn to the curriculum to dig a little deeper with our International Mindedness conversation.

Thank you to all the teachers who participated in mini interviews, mostly given little to no time to come up with something sensible to say!  You all passed with flying colours :)

Once again, reference was made to a research project by faculty from the University of Bath: https://researchportal.bath.ac.uk/en/publications/the-international-mindedness-journey-school-practices-for-develop

Our International Day was experienced in all its glory again, for the first time in three years.  This prompted some conversations about what it means to be internationally minded  - in general, as well as in our local context.

This episode included mini interviews with more than a dozen students, parents and teachers, the aim of which was to paint a picture of what an internationally minded community could potentially look like if all the right ingredients come together.

A massive thank you to Yuliia Korkishko for providing a soundbyte which ended up being just perfect for the intro to this episode!

Service as Action is a valuable component of the MYP.  However, sometimes it can seem daunting, especially to new students, or to those who struggle to settle on an idea!

In this episode, we hear the ideas of three Grade 11 students as they reflect on the successes and challenges during their Service as Action initiatives when they were in the Middle Years Programme. Also joining me was our Service as Action Coordinator of the past 7 years, Mr Steven Buchanan, with some valuable insights and suggestions.

For additional clarification on how Service as Action works, watch this video by a well-known MYP educator and Educational Consultant, Rafael Angel Mendoza: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lKu4mYoaKM or an overview for students by Diane Smith: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1uK2a5-kVA

In today’s episode I had the pleasure of chatting with some amazing young people (from Grade 10) to get their take on what the MYP has meant to them. Many take-aways for current and future MYP students, and Grade 5s who are almost ready to start their MYP journey!

Topics discussed:

- Comparisons between MYP and non-MYP experiences

- Analysing student survey data, looking at Global Contexts, ATL skills, Assessment

- Reflection on the Personal Project

- Experiences in the PYP and transitioning into the MYP

- Service as Action experiences

- Looking ahead to the Diploma Programme

In Episode 3 (recorded on 17th of June), which is the second half of a two-parter, I'm again joined by Aoife Abushaqra. Aoife is a leading MYP and DP English teacher and our school’s Theory of Knowledge (ToK) Coordinator. We’ll be continuing our discussion about metacognition and self-regulated learners. Among the topics addressed are epistemological links, standardised testing, different national approaches, a few misconceptions about metacognition, a brief look at some IB guiding documentation, and finally some examples to explain how and why the MYP and metacognition work so well together. The two articles referred to during this episode are: 1. Making the Abstract Explicit: The Role Of Metacognition In Teaching And Learning (August 2020) Policy Paper https://ibo.org/globalassets/publications/ib-research/policy/metacognition-policy-paper.pdf and 2. Metacognition and Self-Regulated Learning – Guidance Report (2018) Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) https://dera.ioe.ac.uk/31617/1/EEF_Metacognition_and_self-regulated_learning.pdf For a short but useful introduction to metacognition: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZrUWvfU6VU&t=62s