ATT Goal Setting

How to use this resource

Are you a leader looking to support your team with goal setting?

Are you a teacher looking to grow your practice?

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Awesome! You are in the right place.

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The IB Approaches to Teaching (ATT) provide an overview of 5 teaching best practices for educators. We’ve created this goal setting guide to support teachers identify an area of growth, set intentional goals connected to the IB standards and practices, and reflect on their learning throughout the year.

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We’ve also provided helpful tips for leaders so that they can be effective partners in every educator’s learning journey.

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What’s inside…

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ATT Overview

A one page description of each Approach to Teaching outlined by the IB as well as common goal areas to inspire teachers

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Four step goal setting guide

We outline a year-long goal setting process that is simple to follow and use. For each step, we include a fillable template as well as an example of a completed goal plan.

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Observation guidance for leaders

We provide some do’s and don'ts as well as a sample coaching conversation for leaders to use and practice with.

Approaches to teaching 1:

Teachers use inquiry, action and reflection to develop natural

curiosity in students. (0403-01)

• Open vs. guided inquiry
• Inquiry-based strategies for teaching and learning
1. provocations
2. activating and accessing prior knowledge
3. student questions/ownership
4. organizing finding out
5. action and inquiry
6. conceptual understandings
7. ATL/learner profile

• I use inquiry-based teaching strategies and learning engagements.
• I provide opportunities for my students to actively engage in interactive and exploratory learning environments and/or play
• I encourage student choice in appropriate places in the curriculum.
• I facilitate student exploration of their personal interests and ideas.

• Play and learner-centered environments
• Increasing choice and voice

Approaches to teaching 2: �Teachers focus on conceptual understanding to support students in �developing their ideas. (0403-02)

• Using thinking routines
• Planning conceptually (transdisciplinary planning)
• Supporting students in writing central ideas
• Forming conceptual questions

• I demonstrate strategies focused on conceptual understanding.
• I plan and facilitate learning experiences through which students can develop their own conceptual understandings.
• In my classroom, students take opportunities to explore and develop their own conceptual understandings in appropriate places in the curriculum.

Approaches to teaching 3: �Teachers use local and global contexts to �establish the relevance of the curriculum. (0403-03)

• SDGs
• Identifying and taking action on local and global problems
• Student action
• Community involvement and engagement
• Learning transfer

• I ensure that there are clear examples of connections to local and global contexts in the curriculum.
• I encourage students to transfer their conceptual understandings to unfamiliar contexts.

Approaches to teaching 4: �Teachers promote effective relationships and purposeful collaboration �to create a positive and dynamic learning community. (0403-04)

• The learner profile and ATL
• Student wellness (meditation, mindfulness, mindset)
• Authentic goal setting and reflection strategies
• Evidencing learning and empowering students
• Collaboration skills
• Self reflection (areas of strength and growth)
• Classroom cultures of vulnerability and support
• Flexible grouping strategies

• I collaborate to ensure a holistic and coherent learning experience for students
• Students in my classroom collaborate with teachers and peers to plan, demonstrate, and assess their own learning.
• I provide opportunities for students to collaborate based on their strengths and abilities.
• PYP: I use flexible grouping of students to maximize learning, ensure student well-being, and provide a variety of opportunities for collaboration.

Approaches to teaching 5: �Teachers remove barriers to learning to enable every student to develop, �pursue and achieve challenging personal learning goals. (0403-05)

• Differentiation (content, product, process)
• Supporting ELL in the classroom
• Cultural appreciation, diversity, and inclusion
• Activating prior knowledge
• Understanding/updating school policies
• Developing student language profiles
• Technology tools for differentiation

• I consider learner variability when planning students’ personal learning goals.
• I integrate prior knowledge into the curriculum to aid and extend learning for all students.
• I use IB-mandated policies to support students.
• I support language development with consideration for the language profiles of students.
• I use multiple technologies to aid and extend learning and teaching.

1. Choosing your goal (before meeting with your PYPC)

Read through all 5 approaches to teaching and choose 1 to work on this year:

Reflect

What am I already doing in my classroom connected to this practice?

What questions do I have about growing this skill?

• Highlight the practices you feel confident with
• Underline the practices you feel less confident with or want to grow

1. Choosing your goal (before meeting with your PYPC)

Read through all 5 Approaches to Teaching and choose 1 to work on this year:

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Approaches to teaching 1: Teachers use inquiry, action and reflection to develop natural curiosity in students. (0403-01)

• I use inquiry-based teaching strategies and learning engagements
• I provide opportunities for my students to actively engage in interactive and exploratory learning environments and/or play
• I encourage student choice in appropriate places in the curriculum
• I facilitate student exploration of their personal interests and ideas

• highlight the practices you feel confident with
• underline the practices you feel less confident with or want to grow

I've felt really familiar with the inquiry cycle in my classroom. I feel really confident with a more structured or teacher-led inquiry. I've worked a lot on doing more provocations for my unit and eliciting student questions. I think I struggle most with what's next - how do I really use those questions to drive interest and choice?

What am I already doing in my classroom connected to this practice?

• How can I better integrate student interests and questions into the inquiry?
• How do I balance being planned with being responsive?
• What does choice look like in the grade 3 classroom?
• What does play and exploratory learning look like in the grade 3 classroom?
• What are appropriate places for choice?
• How do I manage multiple inquiries?

What questions do I have about growing this skill?

Reflect

Sample

2. Making a plan (after meeting with your PYPC)

How will I find out more about this?

What would success look like for me?

2. Making a plan (after your PYPC meeting)

I will read the Toddle resource Structuring a Guided Inquiry and try the strategies they share in my next unit.

I think success would look like students in my class each pursuing their own interest connected to the inquiry. There would be excitement at the start of each new unit, because students would know their voice will be heard and they will have time to learn about things they really care about.

While I would have a big picture of success criteria for the unit, there would be room for responsive teacher and flexibility to follow student interests and questions.

I would have intentional opportunities for choice throughout the day.

I will check out Student Voice: Turn Up the Volume K-8 Activity Book from our teacher resource library and try some of the strategies.

I will observe in Julie's classroom and ask her questions about integrating student questions.

How will I find out more about this?

What would success look like for me?

Sample

3. Checking in (before each observation)

I've learned about…

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Things I'd like you to look for in my observation…

Observation date:

Reflections and next steps:

2. Checking in (before each observation)

I've learned about…

I learned about different ways to structure an inquiry: all together, modeled, and networked. I realized I always did the all together model, and I am trying to practice the more open inquiries in unit 3!

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Things I'd like you to look for in my observation…

We have just finished our initial provocations and questions for unit 3. The lesson you will see is my first attempt at modeling a concept and then inviting students to inquire (using teacher curated resources). Would love a second set of hands to manage the inquiry and your feedback on how it went!

Wow! That was a little bit of a mess. I think I could do a better job at providing a thinking organizer for students. Even though I modeled the process, students still seemed confused about what to do when they were in their own groups/ need to work on essential agreements for group work/sharing.�That being said, they were super excited to be working in groups connected to their burning questions! I was proud to have 4 different groups working on connected but unique topics.

Next Steps:

• mini lesson on essential agreements for group work
• create student thinking organizer templates
• create resource bins with physical materials as well as digital
• Have Ms. K work with the Egypt group- they were having a hard time! I could also differentiate the resources to include more videos/audio rather than all reading, so they are able to gain deeper information. I might also include some mother tongue French resources for Ella.

Observation date:

Reflections and next steps:

Sample

4. End of year reflection

What has been your biggest challenge this year?

What has been your biggest ‘aha!’ this year?

Use this 1- hour guided reflection to start or end your school year with purpose and intention!

4. End of year reflection

Use this 1- hour guided reflection to start or end your school year with purpose and intention!

What has been your biggest challenge this year?

What has been your biggest "aha!" this year?

I've realized that I can still have structure AND choice.

I think the biggest challenge has been organizing resources. It can be difficult to manage research for 4 or 5 different groups. That being said, I think it was SO impactful. I was so much more in sync with my learners and could aid with conceptual understandings (as my own understandings grew!)

I'm also still struggling with bringing choice into other subjects (especially stand alone units and math in general). Would love to chat with other teachers about what this looks like in their class!

I am the lead researcher. My curiosity and finding out helps me to support learners in their process!

Choice doesn't have to mean a free for all- there are small shifts I can make in my language and routines to empower student agency.

Sample

Where can I go?

IB workshops

The IB offers a range of valuable workshops for educators. Looking through the catalogue is a great first step in planning professional development.

Amazing authors

There are SO many amazing education books out there. Here are 4 of our favorite foundational reads for inquiry educators:

Toddle Learn

We have a whole world of content to help you learn and grow. Our new comprehensive inquiry and assessment guides can be an amazing first step in your research.

Your guide to inquiry in the PYP

Observation guidance for leaders

Observation guidance for leaders

Observations are a vulnerable time for teachers. Feeling judged or criticized can feel incredibly challenging. It is essential to create a culture of trust, learning, and growth.

Always come back to a shared discussion of the teachers' goals:

• What are you hoping to grow in?
• Where are you now?
• What might help you go further?

• Ask for insight before the observation and find a focus area
• Ask guiding questions- let the teacher share and discuss their observations
• Share praise and recognition of growth
• Be honest and specific about areas for growth and next steps

Dos:

• Give feedback on areas outside of focus
• Dominate the conversation
• Give disingenuous or unspecific praise
• Shy away from helpful, critical feedback

Donts:

What it might sound like

Before the observation:

PYPC: Hey Linda, how's it going with your goal for this year?

Linda: Awesome! I just read this book about prompting questions and there are a few strategies I want to try out.

PYPC: That sounds cool. I'd love to stop by your classroom sometime in the next couple of weeks to see you in action. Can you let me know when you will be trying it out?

Linda: Actually, this Tuesday afternoon I'm planning to try out a provocation table to tap into prior knowledge and interests.

PYPC: I am free then! Is there anything specific I can be looking for when I pop in?

Linda: Hmm. I'm not sure, it will be the first time trying it out. I'd just love a second set of eyes to�see how it goes!

What it might sound like

Post observation:

PYPC: That was so much fun! Thanks again for inviting me. I'm so curious to hear - how did you feel it went?

Linda: I don't know, it felt super messy

PYPC: Let's start with what went well. Thinking back on your goal of increasing student choice and buy in, what was successful?

Linda: I definitely feel like there was buy in. This unit has been really tricky for my class this year. They just don't feel super connected to the topic. When I designed the table, I tried to add in things I knew about my students to help them see their personal connections to the concepts: the past, capturing evidence, and documenting our lives. The kids lit up when they saw my collection of airplane ticket stubs! So much time was spent talking about where we all have traveled in the past. I think it helped them realize that the past doesn't need to mean like 100 years ago.

Continued

What it might sound like

PYPC: I totally agree. I loved how responsive you were to their interests about travel. You could tell you were having fun alongside them recalling your memories- they really saw the relevance of studying and recording the past. ��You mentioned feeling like things were a bit messy. What didn't work so well, you think?

Linda: I feel like we kind've got stuck on the one object. Even though some kids were really into it, I wonder if a few were just following along with the others rather than exploring their own unique questions.

PYPC: That's an interesting observation. What might you do to support your quieter learners in this type of learning engagement?

Linda: I wonder if I could try it again as a chalk talk. That way everyone has a chance to think (and record their thinking before we get caught up as a group.

PYPC: That's a great next step to try! In general, I think you tapped into something really powerful there: How might students individually document their prior knowledge and interests? This might be great question to take forward into your research!

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