1a) To inquire into the following: transdisciplinary theme An inquiry into the nature of the self; beliefs and values; personal, physical, mental, social and spiritual health; human relationships including families, friends, communities and cultures; rights and responsibilities; what it means to be human.
central idea Systems that define beliefs and values offer explanations about the world around us and what it means to be human. Class/grade: 4 Age group: 9-10 School: School code: Title: Belief Systems Teacher(s): Alfonso Date: Proposed duration: 6 weeks number of hours over number of weeks
1b) Summative assessment task(s): What are the possible ways of assessing students understanding of the central idea? What evidence, including student-initiated actions, will we look for? Students formulate questions that will inquire into a persons beliefs. Conduct interviews with a person whose beliefs are different from their own. Find out what actions reflect those beliefs. Record findings in a written report showing the links between their interviewees beliefs and their actions. Students present their explanation in a medium of their choice
Goal: Show the connection of beliefs and values to actions of people in a society. Role: A writer/ Reporter / Presenter Audience: school community Scenario: You have just moved in a diverse community where home owners practice different beliefs. You want to share the amazing feature of this community in your school. Product: brochure about the beliefs and values observed in that community.
2. What do we want to learn? What are the key concepts (form, function, causation, change, connection, perspective, responsibility, reflection) to be emphasized within this inquiry? Key concepts: form, perspective, reflection Related concepts: diversity, perception, commitment What lines of inquiry will define the scope of the inquiry into the central idea? Similarities and differences between belief systems (secular and faith-based) How beliefs and values contribute to the formation and actions of communities The impact of spiritual traditions on society What teacher questions/provocations will drive these inquiries? What are your beliefs? What is a belief system? What are the different belief systems, their similarities and differences? What is the relationship of beliefs and values? How do beliefs and values contribute to the formation and action of communities? What are the impacts of spiritual traditions on society?
How do people act in the society due to the traditions that they have?
International Baccalaureate Organization 2011 Planning the inquiry 3. How might we know what we have learned? This column should be used in conjunction with How best might we learn? What are the possible ways of assessing students prior knowledge and skills? What evidence will we look for? Pre-Unit Assessment 1. Using a concentric circle: What are the top 4 beliefs and values that you know and practice? How does it affect yourself, your family and the society/world? 2. Dissecting the central idea The students will dissect the central idea with the following prompts: what do you know about beliefs? how is it connected to the behavior? how does it impact the society? With the choice of using the following: concept map illustrations other graphic organizer What are the possible ways of assessing student learning in the context of the lines of inquiry? What evidence will we look for? (Use attachment B: Assessment Opportunities chart) 4. How best might we learn? What are the learning experiences suggested by the teacher and/or students to encourage the students to engage with the inquiries and address the driving questions? (Use attachment C: Learning Engagements Chart) What opportunities will occur for transdisciplinary skills development and for the development of the attributes of the learner profile? Thinking- Students will develop thinking skills as they acquire data, sort, analyze and evaluate gathered data, and also as they consider and evaluate dif f erent points of views of dif ferent people. Comprehension- understanding inf ormation f ound f rom dif f erent sources Dialectical Thought- thinking about two or more dif f erent points of view at the same time; understanding the points of view; realize that other people can also take ones own point of view. Social- Students will develop social skills as they get to respect other peoples belief s and behaviors. Respecting others- listening sensitively to others; making decisions based on f airness and equality; recognizing others belief s, view points, religions and ideas may dif f erent f orm ones own; stating ones opinion without hurting others. Resolving conflict- listening caref ully to others; compromising; accepting responsibility appropriately; being f air. Communication- Students will develop their communication skills as they listen, gather perspectives and present their f indings. Listening- listening to others Speaking- speaking clearly and expressing ideas clearly and logically; stating opinions Reading- reading a variety of resources f or inf ormation, comprehending what has been read, making inf erences and drawing conclusions Writing- recording inf ormation, taking notes, keeping a journal or record Self -Management- Students will develop self -management skills as they plan and go through their research and as they work with their group mates. Organization- planning and carrying out their research ef f ectively Time-Management- using time ef f ectively and appropriately Informed choices- selecting an appropriate course of action or behavior based on various perspectives Research- Students will develop research skills as they f ormulate questions, plan their research, conduct surveys and interviews, record and organize data and as they present their data.
5. What resources need to be gathered? What people, places, audio-visual materials, related literature, music, art, computer software, etc, will be available? People: Father Leo (Catholic Episcopal) and religious leaders Teacher Dad(Joel Banal) Glori Po Books: Different information and story books on beliefs, Chinese Cinderella Articles: Articles on different beliefs Places: Buddhist Temple (MLA), Manila Cathedral, San Agustin Church, Iglesia Ni Cristo Museum Others: SECULARISM belief systems your belief system bizarre belief systems religious/belief system_PHIL dev belief sys science and BS creating perfect BS finding rituals what is ritual belief systems in asia how rituals compare belief systems in the world http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/global-filipi no/worl d/05/18/12/mob-hurls-urine-indonesian-christians http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/re/re.htm
How will the classroom environment, local environment, and/or the community be used to facilitate the inquiry? The classroom will have a discovery area with artifacts, books and articles related to the unit. The work of the students will be displayed as their guide.
International Baccalaureate Organization 2011
Reflecting on the inquiry 6. To what extent did we achieve our purpose? Assess the outcome of the inquiry by providing evidence of students understanding of the central idea. The ref lections of all teachers involved in the planning and teaching of the inquiry should be included. a. Relevant The most relevant experience was the chance for the students to immerse and experience various activities regarding to a particular belief. Likewise they were able to identify and interact with a religions beliefs and values and how it could be compared and contrasted to their own shared religion (Catholicism). b. Significant Students realized that the values of the community is shaped by the beliefs and practices of each member of the community. They came to realize that people/we could co-exist even with different beliefs. Lastly, each belief focused on the need to consistently work for the betterment of man and the world. c. Engaging Students enjoyed and were totally engaged in interviewing different people about their beliefs. They came up with relevant questions and were able to share new perspectives that they have found out to other people specifically to their parents. They still continued researching independently even if the unit has already ended. d. Challenging The challenges faced in the unit was the need to find credible and ki d friendly resources for the students to read on. Secondly, the first line of Inquiry (secular and non-secular systems) proved challenging because of the need to make secular beliefs understandable and uncomplicated for the students. e. Resources The primary and the secondary resources that we have this unit made the inquiry experience very rich. The most essential learning took place when we visited different worship places and interviewed different people of different beliefs. Students became aware that all the beliefs systems have commonality despite their differences.
How you could improve on the assessment task(s) so that you would have a more accurate picture of each students understanding of the central idea .The assessment tasks that were designed were very suited because it measures the understanding of the students of the central idea. They are student- f riendly tasks since the scenarios that were presented were f amiliar which made them get connected with it personally. Other f orms of assessment f ocused on the students making their own generalizations and understandings based on what they have learnt and picked up. These tasks theref ore enabled the teachers to gauge how much they have learnt f rom the Unit.
What was the evidence that connections were made between the central idea and the transdisciplinary theme?The students recognized the role of belief s and values in f orming the actions of the community and the world. They were able to realize that our relationship with other shouldnt be af f ected by what we believe in.
7. To what extent did we include the elements of the PYP? What were the learning experiences that enabled students to: develop an understanding of the concepts identif ied in What do we want to learn? Form: The students were able to recognize the different forms of belief systems and their tenets Perspective The students were able to study and interview people from different faiths learn about their essential beliefs and how their beliefs are not so different. Reflection The students were able to know that despite different beliefs the common goal for all the beliefs is to have world peace and unity. demonstrate the learning and application of particular transdisciplinary skills? Thinking - the students were able to initiate produce their own questions for interviewing. Likewise they were able to make connections that would improve their understanding. Social- the students were able to interact with different people during their interviews. They treated these people with respect and acted with proper decorum in sacred/religious places. Communication - the students were able to practice their listening and interviewing skills. They showed how to ask questions properly and when to ask appropriate or timely questions. Self-Management- students were able to practice safety and have proper behaviour during the field trip. They were also behaved properly when interviewing resource speakers. Research- the students were able to research from various resources to find out about their expert topics on the faith-based beliefs
develop particular attributes of the learner prof ile and/or attitudes? In each case, explain your selection. Open Minded - the students developed being open minded by respecting other religious practices. Knowledgeable - students were knowledgeable about the different beliefs and practices. They were able to distinguish one from the other. Caring - students developed being caring by respecting others beliefs even though its totally different from what they are practicing. International Baccalaureate Organization 2011 Reflecting on the inquiry 8. What student-initiated inquiries arose from the learning? Record a range of student-initiated inquiries and student questions and highlight any that were incorporated into the teaching and learning. What are the different beliefs and practices of the different religions? At this point teachers should go back to box 2 What do we want to learn? and highlight the teacher questions/provocations that were most effective in driving the inquiries. What student-initiated actions arose from the learning? Record student-initiated actions taken by individuals or groups showing their ability to reflect, to choose and to act. The students were able to form questions that were worth inquiring on. These questions were based on their shared experiences in reading various topics about their expert topic. Secondly, the students interviewed people from various faiths about their own beliefs and values during the field trip. Lastly, they were able to create various charts that would compare and contrast one religion with another and also one belief system (secular) with another (non-secular). With regards to their assessment, the students were able to create masks that would illustrate their knowledge and understanding of different beliefs and how it is applicable in their own lives. Hence they were able to create new ideas that would further help them contextualize and concretize the unit of how beliefs help in the formation of values in a community. For the final assessment, the students were tasked to create a brochure or newsletter about a community wherein its, who have different beliefs, can still live together, In this activity, we were able to observe that the students were able to apply the various teachings of the different religions in order to place it in the right context. The students were also able to make connections of how the different beliefs and values can contribute to the formation and development of a community.
9. Teacher notes We should focus more on other religions beside the mainstream ones Have a clear cut understanding on the differences between beliefs and values
International Baccalaureate Organization 2011
Attachment... A. Key Learning Outcomes Key Understanding What do we want students to understand by the end of the unit? Our character reflects our beliefs. Peoples choices decisions and actions reflect their beliefs. Peoples personal beliefs are influenced by religions and spiritual traditions and vice versa. Our beliefs determines what we think we are capable of, or not capable of. We create our own belief system based on the conclusions we draw from the experiences we have and the results we produce. Knowledge outcomes and Skills outcomes What do we want students to be able to know by the end of the unit? What do we want students to be able to do by the end of the unit? LOI #1 Similarities and differences between belief systems (secular and faith-based) Explain the concept of belief Differentiate personal beliefs and belief systems Differentiate beliefs and values Differentiate different belief systems
LOI #2 How beliefs and values contribute to the formation and actions of communities Explain connection of beliefs and values Identify the influences of beliefs systems to the society Show different perspectives on the influence of beliefs on peoples behavior Show self-awareness on how their beliefs influence their values and own behavior LOI #3 The impact of spiritual traditions on society Explain the different impacts of the religious and spiritual traditions to the society Explain the different issues that religious and spiritual traditions bring about Show and evaluate different perspectives on how the different the religious and spiritual traditions impact the society Reflect on how their religious and spiritual beliefs affect them as a person
B. Assessment Opportunities Line of Inquiry What will be assessed? How will evidence be collected? What type of assessment will be used? Similarities and differences between belief systems (secular and faith-based)
Our character reflects our beliefs. There are similarities and differences between the belief systems
Knowledge Product Observations Rubric Anecdotes How beliefs and values contribute to the formation and actions of communities Peoples choices decisions and actions reflect their beliefs. Our beliefs determines what we think we are capable of, or not capable of.
Knowledge Product Observations Rubric Anecdotes The impact of spiritual traditions on society Peoples personal beliefs are influenced by religions and spiritual traditions and vice versa. We create our own belief system based on the conclusions we draw from the experiences we have and the results we produce.
Knowledge Product Observations Rubric Anecdotes
C. Learning Engagements Tuning in and preparation to find out: What variety of activities will be used to: engage all students in the topic? hook? assess prior knowledge? ref ine f urther planning? lead into the f inding out experiences? Engagement and gathering prior knowledge, pre-assessment, questions f or inquiry, goal setting. Sometimes students will require some immersion in the topic if little is known/ experienced. Tuning in 1: Inner- outer self Students show what they believe in personally, though symbols. They will explain this art work through a piece of writing about themselves.
Tuning in 2: Family interview: What do we believe in as a family? Present data in a form of poem.
PART 2: Students gather as many beliefs and practices that people around the school community do through interview. They will then present their findings through an illustration that would show/represent the common beliefs of the school community.
Tuning in 3: Artifact that shows their belief as a person or family. Share to the class.
Tuning in 4: Picture analysis: Present pictures of different beliefs related to world religions.
Preparing to Find Out: Reading of articles about faith based beliefs.
Finding Out Data collection Experiences to assist students to gather new inf ormation about the topic Experiences and texts that add to the knowledge base. Emphasis on gathering f irst-hand data in a range of ways (usually shared experiences) Teachers & Students Questions Teacher and student questions that help drive the inquiry Focus questions to f or inquiry Sorting Out Gauging, organizing or presenting new inf ormation Activities to assist students to process and work with the inf ormation and ideas they have gathered about the topic (including exploring values) Organizing, analyzing and communicating the inf ormation gathered using a range of vehicles (e.g through Math, Arts, English, Drama, Music or IT) Reading faith-based books, articles
Shared inquiry: Catholicism
Researching about faith-based ( expert groups) beliefs using the web
Math integration: comparing all the belief systems
Field trip to: Buddhist Temple Iglesia ni Cristo
Resource speakers Episcopal Church: Joel Banal Protestantism: Glorilee Po Islam: Salem Guimba Folsom Church: Pastor Tito
Picture analysis: impact of spiritual traditions to society What are your beliefs?
How do you show your beliefs?
What are the practices that goes with your beliefs?
What is the impact of your beliefs to your values?
Mask Painting: Students will paint mask to show their understanding on the impact of beliefs and values to the formation and actions of communities.
Comparison of Secular and Non-Secular Belief Systems
Going Further Activities to challenge and extend Raising new questions, extending experiences, challenging assumptions. May be individually negotiated. The class was not able to do the going further due to time constraints. Drawing conclusions Raising new questions, extending experiences, challenging assumptions. May be individually negotiated. Students draw conclusions of what they have learnt. This is an important time to evaluate the success of the unit and the needs and achievements of individuals. This is where students put it all together. They understood that they may have different beliefs but they can still work together to have what we all aim for, peace and unity. Reflecting and Taking Action To ref lect on what has been learnt and process of learning. It is important that students be given opportunities to act upon what they have learnt. Actions are things that students can themselves and f rom which they can see results. Action that resulted out of this unit may not be too obvious since it is seen in the change of perspective/ thinking and behavior. After the inquiry, students are now more open about the different beliefs and practices of the people around them.