Shared Google Doc for 1-1 Correspondences

Attribution:  p212121.com

I have started my 3rd year of teaching the IB Theory of Knowledge critical thinking class.  During my first year, I muddled my way through it with little to no support.  I was just as much a student as I was a teacher and facilitator.  The first year was a great learning experience.  The second year started and I felt a lot more comfortable with the flow of the class and I saw improvement in scores.

As I have now made a segue to coordinating the IB program at my school, I still teach TOK (so happy about that!).  In this new role, I support teachers and help grow the program.  Whether it is in my own classroom and with peers, I have found that whatever you expect from them.... you must model and do yourself.

I have read many articles about the DuFour model of 4 essential questions:

What do you want students to learn?
How will you know they learned it?
What will you do when they have learned it?
What will you do when they have not learned it?

I started putting together a plan for TOK and answer the DuFour Essential 4.  I am hoping that by sharing my plan with the other IB teachers in my school, that they will develop a plan for supporting both our students who are not "getting it" and those who need to move ahead.

I am using the rubrics for their external and internal assessments to answer question 1.
For question 2-4, one of my new strategies is the use of a shared Google Doc with each student. I have starred them for easy revisiting as I receives lots of shared documents.  Here is where I have an opportunity to evaluate criteria A-D:

Can a student infer knowledge issues and connect it to a WOK and/or AOK?
Can the student support knowledge issues with a variety of sources?
Does the student explore their personal perspective as a knower and reflect on it?
Does the student identify and explore counterclaims?
Does it make sense? clarity? organization? sources cited?

The reflection is initially for shorter bursts (2 paragraphs) as we graduate to longer pieces of writing.  The benefit to the shared Google Doc is the use of the comment feature.  This gives me the opportunity to ask questions, redirect their thinking, play "devil's advocate", and have them further explore and clarify ideas.

I can also embed an exemplar on our class blog by making a copy of it and removing the student's name.  I provided a sample reflection on Spencer Wells visit to our school and the implications of his work as it relates to perceptions of race and ethnicity.