REFLECTION As a learning community, Wenona has long embraced critical thinking, resourcefulness, risk-taking and reflection. By applying to become a PYP school, Wenona will join an influential, international teaching community that shares up-to-date, evidence-based teaching practices and offers staff high level training. This will help to further drive our students love of learning and enhance their motivation to succeed.
would not have been out of place on the world stage at a Global Sustainability Summit. It was hugely encouraging to see the PYP approach in action, with students engaging critically with the media. Observing them reflecting deeply on social, political and environmental issues and holding important, but respectful conversations in the classroom was equally inspiring.
My six-week PYP journey across North America was truly life changing. It not only reinvigorated my passion and enthusiasm for my job, but it also confirmed to me that PYP is best practice teaching. Initially, it was hard to process all the information and ideas that I’d taken away from my Fellowship, particularly as the schools I’d visited in North America were considerably more advanced in their PYP journey than Wenona. But as the second semester got underway, I hit my stride, applying my learning to develop a new PYP unit with the support of my colleagues and the Year 5 students.
The insight and ideas I gained from visiting leading PYP schools have proved invaluable in planning the scope and sequencing of different inquiry units, and in helping to develop lessons and resources to share across the Junior School. It has been a privilege to share information with my peers, working across different year groups and stages to support the Junior School staff as they implement PYP in their classrooms. Moving forward, I hope the international network of IB educators I met on my Fellowship will support our teachers and students to collaborate on global projects that extend teaching and learning in new and innovative ways.
One of the key takeaways of my trip was to avoid ‘over planning’, but instead allow natural connections to unfold within the learning experience. This helped to increase student agency and engagement immeasurably. For example, our unit ‘How the World Works’ was set against the backdrop of Australia’s worst ever season of bushfires. As we followed this story in the media each day, the students became increasingly passionate about climate change and its effects on the Australian landscape. They began to make authentic real-world connections to their learning, asking intelligent questions that
The implementation of PYP has made it an exciting time to be a teacher at Wenona. Given that the IB program is still in its infancy in Australia, there’s an opportunity for the Junior School to stand in the vanguard of teaching and learning here, playing an active role in the future development of the education landscape both in Australia and around the world. My Fellowship confirmed to me that our students will be the ultimate beneficiaries of the PYP program, providing them with a fresh and challenging education that will equip them for the world of tomorrow.
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