Coming Together as a Professional Learning Community at AKA, Hyderabad

The Aga Khan Academy, Hyderabad hosted a PYP Network Job-Alike session on September 19, 2015. The session was a huge success, with twenty-two teachers from seven different PYP schools collaborating to discuss ‘Science in the PYP’.

The teachers have fun exploring inquiry through The Foam ActivityThe event started by looking at features of a scientific inquiry and how almost any learning activity can be made more engaging by turning it into an experiment with the use of variables. The teachers also participated in a hands-on scientific inquiry: The Foam Activity. Teachers were given dish washing soap, bowls, whisks, plates and rulers. In groups, they were asked to whisk the soap with water and create mountains of foam on plates. The variable was the number of strokes with which foam was created and three trials were taken each time. They tabulated all the data and made graphical representations for the same. The underlying concept was surface tension, and the experiment successfully demonstrated how scientific phenomena can be explored in stimulating ways.

Exploring Science in the PYP at the Job-AlikeThere were many other engagements, such as ‘More True Than False’, which was based on misconceptions about science in the PYP. They also brainstormed each Transdisciplinary Theme in order to understand vertical and horizontal alignment of the Aga Khan Academy Strands in the Programme of Inquiry. Many teachers also shared ideas to incorporate science skills and related concepts in assessments and how we can bring about science-based rigor in the curriculum without doing stand-alone science. The session ended with a book reading to show that many scientific concepts can be taught through picture books.

In an endeavour to make the sharing of best practices more sustainable, the teachers are also using collaborative tools such as GoogleDocs, which can be simultaneously accessed and edited by all participants. They also provided feedback using the ‘I used to think.. Now I think..’ model, relating that they thoroughly enjoyed the day and are now looking forward to more sessions like this.

The Academy would like to thank all the teachers who eagerly participated in the Job-Alike session. It was a very good example of PYP teachers modeling the IB Learner Profile by being open-minded, knowledgeable and inquirers.

Sreelatha Kumar

Junior School Principal