Director of Studies
Over the last several weeks I have been observing the Units of Inquiry (UOI) at all the different grade levels and the tremendous amount of work being put in by the students. Obviously there have been a lot of individual assignments and activities, but there have also been several projects where students have had to work collaboratively. A recent conversation with a parent has inspired me to write about “group work” because it is an essential, yet complex, aspect of student education and sometimes it can be misunderstood.
Group activities have always been an important part of the learning experience. Regardless of students being on-campus or online, they provide opportunities for students to develop individual skills like:
Collaborative work also builds skills necessary to be successful in the social dynamic of a group. Students are required to:
In addition to all the positive outcomes, group projects can also be a tremendous challenge. For students, the questions of fairness always enter the picture. Is there equality with the amount of work for each member of the group? What happens if someone does not fulfill their obligations? Is my individual grade affected because of someone else?
What’s interesting is that those are the exact questions teachers ask themselves when they are planning collaborative activities. In addition to organizing and facilitating the group dynamic, they are also responsible for creating a process that allows every student to provide evidence of understanding at certain points during the activity or project. These are called benchmarks or formative assessments, and provide teachers with valuable information to determine the individual contributions of the entire group.
Although there is always room for improvement, I have been quite impressed with the dedication of our teachers so far this year. Balancing individual achievement and effort is delicate and they have been doing an excellent job of collecting evidence to achieve overall goals of student collaboration.
Kindest regards,
Tim VanderpoolDirector of Studies
UOI English Teacher
Grade 5 Homeroom Teacher
EAL English Teacher
The last few weeks I have collaborated with Ms. Hanh to encourage the G5 students to implement the writing and speaking skills they learned in their language arts class in my EAL class. To that end I had the students take their cultural presentations about the ASEAN country that was assigned to them and helped them translate them into English. With the G4 students, we worked on writing science fiction stories using the storyboard as a base for planning.
Science Teacher
I was really surprised when I received this gift. Thank you, Xuka! Thank you, parents! Thank you, Mr. Phuong – ICT Teacher! https://drive.google.com/file/d/12THEPki7jI8tb88_VNz9CYDMlqnu4v6X/view In a KG Science class activity “Get Ready for a Storm,” students learnt about different types of storms and came up with ways to prepare well for storms.
I had a great time with Grade 1 students in online classes. For Math, students can add numbers within 10, compare numbers and explain mathematical models. For Science, students are able to understand animal habitats. They also know that plants are living organisms just like animals.
Student’s Product: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-kp2EftkYu0EbXtunxBBKPtar6h5SFO9/view
Grade 2 students learnt to classify groups of animals and the traits that define each group. They went outside and recorded their experience of observing the birds!
Grade 3 students learnt in the Science classes: Why and how plants disperse their seeds, what those seeds need in order to grow, and what the adult plants need in order to survive and thrive.
In this Unit, Grade 4 students observed the movement of water through the different stages of the water cycle and determined what drives the water cycle. Students could recognize the effects of humans on water and air. Students had wonderful group work and hands-on activities.
In this Unit, Grade 5 students learned about Diseases (viruses, colds, and flu) and health awareness issues such as: Students stay healthy and drug-free! Learn ways they can say no to illegal drugs. For the final project, Grade 5 students worked in groups and created a poster campaign, and made a presentation. Teamwork is an important skill in the 21st century. Although young kids face many challenges during teamwork, working in groups will strengthen students’ bonds, and they can show empathy and understand each other. Let kids do it and they can learn from their mistakes and grow!Group 3 project: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GOocuT3hcoQJ8Z667uf2o0H7765JgzFC/view?usp=sharing
Early Years Teacher
When children can not go to school, what will they do at home? Many parents may wonder about this question. Here, the students of Discoverers class will send lovely messages and pictures when they stay at home during the pandemic. Children are very excited to attend the school’s online activities.
KG Homeroom Teacher
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