Thinking Out Loud

We're back! The purpose of this podcast is to speak and think out loud about what is happening  @ISLuxembourg in a way that engages our community. It might also help us practice the thinking dispositions ‘out loud', together. Hopefully you'll find some time to listen.This week @jennifercypra and @CchsmitMike are the first guests for 2021-2022. It's all about the Lower School Makerspace!

Kate Van den Hoek, Devon Kirk and Karen Dolan join Bethanne Reynolds for a philosophical chat about whether we meet individual students as they are or we take all students and try to get them where they're going after they leave us.  

Please listen to a wonderful and reassuring conversation with Keryn Dowling , our principal, Jon Adams, assistant principal for teaching and learning/PYP Coordinator and Joey Kaufhold, our future assistant principal for early years/PYP Coordinator.  We used the What? So What? Now What? routine you can find on page 174 of The Power of Making Thinking Visible, to frame a conversation about the roll out of the IB Primary Years Programme in the Lower School at the International School of Luxembourg.

Bethanne, Emma, and Tanya did some of their own reflecting on the Swap for Snapshots week as this weeks podcast.It is basically a big thank you for thier colleagues  thoughtful participation. A Snapshot Observation is first and foremost an opportunity to reflect on teaching and learning practice.We  gained many insights from the follow-up discussion immediately after the snapshot observation. We found ourselves reflecting on our own practice and effectiveness in our own classrooms, we were definitely able to take away something to think about.

Bethanne (https://twitter.com/breynolds8)  has created a box. It is full of every thinking routine she could find, organized by the thinking “moves.” Although she created it with her own needs in mind, some people who work with her have found it useful, so she is willing to reproduce more of them for people who know they will use it. The hope is that it will be a resource that helps develop our collective use of thinking routines, thereby developing our school culture of thinking. In this week’s podcast, Devon and Bethanne give us an idea of what this box of routines is like, using the Parts, Purposes, Complexities routine.

For this week’s podcast, we used the What? So What? Now What? Thinking Routine again for Jon and the ATLs to reflect on how this weird, socially distant year has affected our ATL plans. The podcast starts in the middle of the conversation because Tanya paused the recording and didn’t notice until all of the good introductions and deep thoughts about our original plans had been discussed. (oops)We started with the what, taking the opportunity to reflect on how social distancing required that we all pivot and adapt. Some initiatives worked well, while others seemed to fall flat. When the podcast starts, we are in the middle of reflecting on the impact of using this podcast to elevate all of our voices. You’ll still be able to tune in for the so what and now what part, which is definitely worth your time.

In this week's episode @irene_tanya uses the What? So What? Now What? routine from page page 174 of The Power of Making Thinking Visible by Ron Ritchhart and Mark Church, to discuss the recent positive behaviour workshops at ISL with David Walker- Assistant Principal, Kereth Williams-counsellor, and Scott Repicky-counsellor.

This episode of Thinking Out Loud is hosted by Bethanne Reynolds with Gail Keech, Melissa Noble and Kayla Tibúrcio Carneiro as guests. They used the Compass Points routine from Making Thinking Visible to frame their conversation examining how far we have come with Virtual Learning.

This episode is our first with students! We have a group of 4th and 5th graders considering different viewpoints around the topic of Virtual Learning. @breynolds8 and @irene_tanya. We used the Circle of Viewpoints from page 171 of Making Thinking Visible by Ron Ritchhart, Mark Church and Karin Morrison.Don't miss this one!

This week's episode features Tracey Fish @TraceyFish19 and Helen Hagemann @hagemann_helen thinking out loud about the exciting new future ready library design in the works @isluxembourg.

This week we tried something a little different. Tanya Irene, Emma Chitters and Bethanne Reynolds all listened to this episode of the Happiness Lab with Dr Laurie Santos and invited our Lower School Counselor and Educational Psychologist, Kathleen Rennan to join us in Thinking Out Loud about how we might be deliberate about creating happiness this year in light of the COVID restrictions.

This week's episode features ISL's K1 Team using the What? So What? Now What? routine from The Power of Making Thinking Visible by Ron Ritchhart and Mark Church, to paint a picture of practice as they teach remotely.

It's report writing time and the COVID stress isn't letting up. In this week's episode ATL Emma Chitters uses the Leaderless Discussion Routine from The Power of Making Thinking Visible to help make everyone's coping mechanisms visible to inspire and help us to know we are not alone.

This week's episode is a continuation of our last conversation about multi-tiered support services in the upper primary at ISL. Bethanne Reynolds uses the SAIL routine from The Power of Making Thinking Visible by Ron Ritchhart and Mark Church, to unpack the gradual implementation of MTSS with Kim Hatton, Darann Smith and Corley Young. The continue the chat about the challenges faced and the growth made in support services.

In this week's podcast I talk with Early Years Support Teacher's Sarah May and Meredith Smith as well as EAL teacher Yvonne Vroklage. I used the thinking routine SAIL to examine how support services are evolving with the gradual implementation of MTSS and how it might harness the cultural forces. Sarah, Yvonne and Meredith share their roles and discuss their ideas for establishing a culture of equity and inclusion in the early Years. We explore how we can creatively redefine roles and responsibilities to benefit students. We chat about the challenges faced and the growth made in support services.

Teachers at ISL, Pierre Van Boxel @pvbstweets, Bethanne Reynolds @breynolds8 and Emma Chitters @ChittersEmma have a thoughtful discussion about mindfulness using the Beauty and Truth routine from The Power of Making Thinking Visible by Ron Ritchhart and Mark Church, and the painting Carp Banners in Kyoto by Louis Dumoulin 1888 to guide their discussion.This is a wonderful discussion about how important it is for teachers to step out of the storm and gain perspective in these stormy times.

In this episode, Jackie Rakochy, Kayla Tiburcio Carneiro and Jon Adams reflect on the rollout of Writer's Workshop at ISL. They clarify how this new initiative fits with the eight cultural forces. Kayla shared the translated resources from Yves Nadon which can be found here.

Bethanne Reynolds leads a thought provoking discussion around maintaining the power of the environment as a cultural force despite social distancing and mask wearing. Listen as Nele Renckens, Suzy Ramsden and Emmanuelle Meurier discuss. Please bear with us and listen for the thinking despite the crackle in our microphone ; } We are working on getting better equipment.

ISL Teachers Anna Scannell, Lauren Spector, and John Zorovich think out loud about their experiences, struggles, puzzles and insights around how snapshots are a powerful culture changer in a school. ESP+I

Grade 5 Teachers at ISL think out loud about how truly beneficial the Culture of Thinking Snapshot Observation routine is for teachers and schools. Making Meaning

Bethanne Reynolds, Emma Chitters and Tanya Irene (ATLS@ISL) have a great conversation with Keryn Dowling (ISL Principal) about collaboration. Main, Hidden, Side Thinking Routine