IB Learner Discussion

1. Daniel and Anna
PROMOTING ACTIVE STUDENT
LEARNING

2. Students are able to bring forth and follow their own interest in the subject
matter.
Homework: Have each student ask one or two adults
(house/church/coach/neighbor) why they think robots could help or hurt our
future as humans and why?
INQUIRERS

3. Setting high expectations and rewarding excellence as well as effort is
important. Students are often proud to share random facts as well as
knowledge from topics of current affairs. Teachers should nurture this
eagerness. There are a variety of newspaper publications written for students
discussing international current affairs. These can be incorporated into
English class.
Students could also interview their parents or grandparents and inquiry about
how our daily lives have changed through things becoming more automated
(i.e. escalators, self check-out at shops, etc.).
KNOWLEDGEABLE

4. Teachers should not provide students with ready made answers. Sometimes
this is difficult as a teacher, Rather let the students find it out by themselves.
Then provide feedback. I do this a lot with my non-native English speaking
students, who often want a comfortable, rapid answer to a translation problem
that they have. Through forcing them to look up the word in the dictionary
they need to think a little (often they know the word). I noticed that their
dictionary skills also improved.
Another option would be for students to keep a diary for a week. This diary
should feature events that took place as well as how they feel and how their
day would have been different if robots would be present in our daily lives.
THINKERS

5. I am a strong believer in asking students to hold presentations to the class.
Thus, this one is an easy one for me. Presentations require so many skills
(passion for a subject, persistency to research and make something
presentable, knowledge and ability to summarise, presentation skills, time
management - just to name a few...).
Propose a group discussion then have each student write on the board one
plus or one negative on their views about robots teaching students versus
humans teaching.
COMMUNICATORS

6. Again, this is a topic where the whole school should pull together. However,
within the classroom there are many situations where students can show how
principled they are. Teachers should set up essential agreements together with the
students. These should be signed by all class members and hung up in the
classroom. Principled behavior can be recognized during Homeroom, assemblies
etc.
Having gained some insight into the students' views towards this unit, a class
debate involving two groups - one arguing why a world with robots brings society
benefits, and one counter-arguing this position - could take place. Some of the
debate preparation could be allocated as homework. In my experience students
enjoy these debates and it always makes for an interesting lesson to observe how
some students get so involved - in some cases even continuing the debate during
break time. A conclusion based on the debate session could provide food for
thought for the next homework assignment.
PRINCIPLED

7. This can be lived within the classroom and the school. However, teachers can
influence this through the texts they choose, the stories they share and the
tasks they set.
Show a short video clip of the newest winners of a robotics competition for
middle or high schools students. One that shows the robot and its capabilities
to spark interest in unit subject.
OPEN-MINDED

8. Apart from fostering a caring environment in the classroom as well as in the
school, the teacher can steer the development of this trait through things like
group work, collaboration etc.
Start with handing out 30 cards (one for each student). I like using a set from
a paring game, that way the students have to get up and find the card that
matches theirs. It helps them to work with a new partner each time. Then,
with their new partner, brainstorm things they know and would like to learn
about robots. After a given amount of time they are to join up with another
pair. Have them discuss their answers and as a whole group write down X
number of each.
CARING

9. The teacher should ask rather than tell (I liked this one, Anna). Thus the
students' independence will be promoted, requiring them to be greater risk-
takers as opposed to each step being explained and checked by the teacher
(spoon-feeding). Yes, sometimes they will get it wrong...
I would also start with something along the lines of a unit discussion and
provide students with a couple of options as to how they would like to be
assessed. In terms of the introduction, the unit discussion could also involve a
creative assignment linked to art, where the students are able to portray their
views of a robot world by creating wall murals.
RISK-TAKERS

10. I see this as one where the school shares a large responsibility. It is important
for students to have a balanced curriculum in order to experience success as
well as areas to further develop. Within each subject however, teachers can
vary their programme in order to demand a variety of different skills. For
example, vocabulary can be represented in many different ways (definitions,
example sentences, illustrations, cartoon strips etc.)
Students can prepare a presentation including pros and cons on how robots
are influencing today’s society.
BALANCED

11. A culture of evaluating their own work as well as the work of their peers will
help them to take advice on board and act upon it. Self-evaluation should be
carried out for most assessments.
Unit discussion (I think you mentioned this is a previous discussion): Give
three choices to students on how they would like to be formally assessed at
the end of unit. Examples: PowerPoint presentation, research paper, 3D
diagram, etc. The subject difficulty would depend on grade.
REFLECTIVE