How do teachers feels about MYP? I am so sick of all the dumb projects, lack of report cards, and silly criterian. I think the vast majority of my students and their parents would be much happier with A- F report cards.
Once again, its administrators over thinking this thing we call teaching!
My next school WILL NOT be an MYP school!!
Thanks for reading my rant, I feel better already!!
MYP/sucks!
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lifeisnotsobad
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Perhaps you might want to look at how your school is delivering the MYP rather than rant at the programme itself. Criteria are all about providing the students with the information required to be succesful at the start of the task rather than simply telling them where they went wrong at the end. Sounds like good teaching practice to me. I think you will find a huge amount of educational research will support this. A-F or 1-7? It doesn't really matter as long as you are helping students to succeed rather than looking for them to fail.
My school does not lack report cards and at no point within the MYP is there a directive that these should not be used to provide feedback to parents and students. My next school - and more importantly, the school that I put my own children in WILL ONLY be an MYP school! There I feel better too...
My school does not lack report cards and at no point within the MYP is there a directive that these should not be used to provide feedback to parents and students. My next school - and more importantly, the school that I put my own children in WILL ONLY be an MYP school! There I feel better too...
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lifeisnotsobad
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I am not sure that I want to go where you are...based on your account. Seriously though - the MYP IS a good programme. If anything, its biggest failing is that it has put a lot of responsibilty for school based development in the hands of school administrators...who quite simply are not cut out to develop anything quite so important. The IB is beginning to realise this and so they are having to become more prescriptive. This in turn has its own disadvantages - but given the poor administration in many schools it is a necessity.
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samuraiwriter
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Right there with you Mike. Only I am dealing with the PYP.
So happy to report that next year I will not be! Maybe I will try it again somewhere else one day... but here in Turkish Ministry schools, no way hombre.
It has been a long two years... happy it is over and I survived without serious physical injury.
So happy to report that next year I will not be! Maybe I will try it again somewhere else one day... but here in Turkish Ministry schools, no way hombre.
It has been a long two years... happy it is over and I survived without serious physical injury.
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samuraiwriter
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- Joined: Wed Apr 25, 2007 5:34 am
It’s so contrived.
Every project is huge and its gotta change the world!
The criteria, kids are always moving up. That’s nuts my kids go up and down as all students do. They have good days and bad days, just like you and me.
It’s always changing; teaching should be fun and exciting, not boring meetings! In every faculty meeting here that’s ALL we talk about. MYP grading.
Hey I like this dialogue better than reading about that school in Kuwait!!
Every project is huge and its gotta change the world!
The criteria, kids are always moving up. That’s nuts my kids go up and down as all students do. They have good days and bad days, just like you and me.
It’s always changing; teaching should be fun and exciting, not boring meetings! In every faculty meeting here that’s ALL we talk about. MYP grading.
Hey I like this dialogue better than reading about that school in Kuwait!!
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lifeisnotsobad
- Posts: 133
- Joined: Tue May 13, 2008 3:37 pm
"You just can't be a pimp and a prostitute too."...ah, clearly that would be a problem with the programme then?
Mike - of course kids have off days, as you and I do, but if they are learning there should be an upward trend as skills and knowledge become established. That is why I don't believe averaging out grades is a good way to judge student performance. It means that assessing in the early stages of acquiring new skills is a disadvantage to the students as it will bring down their grade. Fear of being assessed is surely not likely to lead to a 'fun and exciting' classroom. There is enough evidence coming from the UK at the moment on the negative impact of assessment when it is feared by students and teachers. However, when a student knows that being asssessed will give them a guide on how to get better grades next time it can have a pretty powerful impact on what is happening in your classroom.
By the way, it is a myth that the MYP is project based. The only stipulation from the IB is that work should be assessed using the subject criteria and that the curriculum should be designed to allow each subject's objectives to be achieved.
Mike - of course kids have off days, as you and I do, but if they are learning there should be an upward trend as skills and knowledge become established. That is why I don't believe averaging out grades is a good way to judge student performance. It means that assessing in the early stages of acquiring new skills is a disadvantage to the students as it will bring down their grade. Fear of being assessed is surely not likely to lead to a 'fun and exciting' classroom. There is enough evidence coming from the UK at the moment on the negative impact of assessment when it is feared by students and teachers. However, when a student knows that being asssessed will give them a guide on how to get better grades next time it can have a pretty powerful impact on what is happening in your classroom.
By the way, it is a myth that the MYP is project based. The only stipulation from the IB is that work should be assessed using the subject criteria and that the curriculum should be designed to allow each subject's objectives to be achieved.
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samuraiwriter
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- Joined: Wed Apr 25, 2007 5:34 am
Yes, my "school" has tremendous problems with their IB framework. In Turkey there are National standards, than each school has it's own standards (in some cases), than the IBO has it's suggestions. On top of that there is always the dialog about which language the instruction should be in. With EFLers that is a HUGE question. My current place of employment is attempting to serve all of their masters equally at the same time. It is comical to watch at times. When the PYP/IB folks come we all have to make it look like it is all we teach. When the Minisrty of Education comes we have to pretend there isn't so much of the PYP/IB happening, rather strict Turkish National Curriculum. Comedy.
As I see it this type of "assessment fear" for the good of the children, their parents, the local or international reputation of the school is totally out of line with the rest of higher education as a whole. My degrees have all been acquired through assessment, for example I would not be a certified teacher had I not passed a series of standardized tests. I would not have been accepted to a good university without good scores on my SAT/ACT etc... And when I finally go and get that Graduate degree I'll need to take and pass the GRE standardized test.
I love assessment. Aside from all the above it is a great diagnostic tool. I can know very quicky if my class grasped a concept or not. If they all bomb that means I bombed as a teacher. If they all pass than I am comfortable and can move on. The healthy mix usually occurs and than enables me to single out certain students to give them a bit extra to help get over the "hump."
You have to fail sometimes in life to gain perspective on what is important and where a persons strengths and weaknesses lie. My two cents.
21 days until the end of PYP!
As I see it this type of "assessment fear" for the good of the children, their parents, the local or international reputation of the school is totally out of line with the rest of higher education as a whole. My degrees have all been acquired through assessment, for example I would not be a certified teacher had I not passed a series of standardized tests. I would not have been accepted to a good university without good scores on my SAT/ACT etc... And when I finally go and get that Graduate degree I'll need to take and pass the GRE standardized test.
I love assessment. Aside from all the above it is a great diagnostic tool. I can know very quicky if my class grasped a concept or not. If they all bomb that means I bombed as a teacher. If they all pass than I am comfortable and can move on. The healthy mix usually occurs and than enables me to single out certain students to give them a bit extra to help get over the "hump."
You have to fail sometimes in life to gain perspective on what is important and where a persons strengths and weaknesses lie. My two cents.
21 days until the end of PYP!
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lifeisnotsobad
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- Joined: Tue May 13, 2008 3:37 pm
Samuraiwriter - I think (unless of course you were a child prodigy) that you would have been considerably older and more mature at the time of university and teacher certification. This maturity allows you to see your continued education as a means to an end. Our 11 & 12 years olds might not share that wisdom (or practicality). This is why I do think the progression from MYP to Diploma is a good one. The final exams are intense and have to be well prepared for. However, even at Diploma level assessment is still against set criteria and not against standardised 'norms' - through which you are compared with other people, as opposed to simply showing what you can actually do. The vast majority of the students that I teach do leave to go to university, are well prepared for exams, and have come through the PYP and MYP programmes.
I guess for me I would rather have the teachers and admin. at every school be in charge of what and how it is taught. To me this is the beauty of the US system. (Or it used to be before Bush and no child left behind)
Criteria, assessment, blah, blah, blah.
School should be FUN! Learning cool stuff, growing up, getting organized, and becoming responsible. Why over prescribe with all these tags and jargons??
Criteria, assessment, blah, blah, blah.
School should be FUN! Learning cool stuff, growing up, getting organized, and becoming responsible. Why over prescribe with all these tags and jargons??
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lifeisnotsobad
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- Joined: Tue May 13, 2008 3:37 pm
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samuraiwriter
- Posts: 37
- Joined: Wed Apr 25, 2007 5:34 am
I agree with both of you to a point.
Having learners learn how to test, accept failure and success at the MYP level seems important. I have to think that the anxiety levels could be higher than if the child was assessed throughout school-dom. Also, please remember that assessment is helpful to teachers in terms of planning, special needs, etc... Keep in mind all of these assessment needn't count a ton towards their average. I am not a "two tests a quarter" teacher.
Mike, of course teaching should be fun. But having benchmarks and standards which are assessed in one way or another does not make it drag to teach, teach. Our schools (US) got pretty bad due to a larger number of teachers/administrators with no accountability and high irreponsibility.
But I agree, some of the "puttin' on a show!" that comes with PYP/MYP can be a bit nauseating. Just hasn't been my cup of teaching.
Having learners learn how to test, accept failure and success at the MYP level seems important. I have to think that the anxiety levels could be higher than if the child was assessed throughout school-dom. Also, please remember that assessment is helpful to teachers in terms of planning, special needs, etc... Keep in mind all of these assessment needn't count a ton towards their average. I am not a "two tests a quarter" teacher.
Mike, of course teaching should be fun. But having benchmarks and standards which are assessed in one way or another does not make it drag to teach, teach. Our schools (US) got pretty bad due to a larger number of teachers/administrators with no accountability and high irreponsibility.
But I agree, some of the "puttin' on a show!" that comes with PYP/MYP can be a bit nauseating. Just hasn't been my cup of teaching.
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lifeisnotsobad
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- Joined: Tue May 13, 2008 3:37 pm
If there are problems with a school this will come through in the administration of the programme that you teach - whatever that programme is.
I hope that both you and Mike at some point in your careers have a better experience with the PYP/MYP/School (delete as approriate) in the future. I have now worked in two very good MYP schools and have seen that it can be empowering to students and staff alike.
I hope that both you and Mike at some point in your careers have a better experience with the PYP/MYP/School (delete as approriate) in the future. I have now worked in two very good MYP schools and have seen that it can be empowering to students and staff alike.