Our book study group for PYP teachers has been in action for one year already. During that time, PYP teachers from all over the world have been reading, learning and chatting together. It has been a wonderful collaboration and highly beneficial. I am the proud facilitator of the group and I would love to see it go from strength to strength as we enter our second year. We welcome new members to the Facebook group and encourage you to keep an eye on the #pypbookstudy hashtag on Twitter. This hashtag truly exemplifies what George Couros states in his book, The Innovator’s Mindset:
“A hashtag is not just about communication, but developing community.”
George Couros
We have been using the hashtag for live Twitter chats on a bi-weekly basis. Click here to see the chat history and upcoming schedule. As fantastic as these have been, it has been impossible to schedule them at a time that suits everybody. The community is large and international, meaning that many PYP teachers were excluded due to their time zone and other commitments.
Slow chats
Thanks to Gregory Gilmore’s blog post, we may have found a solution. In order to combat the same problem, the ISTE chats have rejected the traditional one-hour chats and replaced them with slow chats. The same approach could work for us so we will trial it for the next book.
Just like previous Twitter chats, the moderator (me, in the case of #pypbookstudy) will post questions starting with Q1., Q2., etc. Community members respond to questions using A1., A2., etc. As always, you are encouraged to respond to one another as well. Rather than post all questions within one hour, I will now post one question per day Monday to Friday during alternate weeks (one week on, one week off). This will slow the pace, allow more flexibility and provide everybody with twenty-four hours to discuss each question before the next one is posted. Even after that day, previous questions can be discussed. Just make the answer number clear in your responses (A1., etc.). As well as being able to include everybody, the slow chat format should also allow for deeper thinking and more in-depth discussion.
Questions will also be posted on the Facebook group for those who are not on Twitter.
Dive into Inquiry: Amplify Learning and Empower Student Voice
The next book, Dive into Inquiry (by Trevor MacKenzie), will be divided into two slow chats (with one week off in between).
Chapters 1 – 6: Monday 4th September – Friday 8th September
Chapters 7 – 13: Monday 18th September – Friday 22nd September
This book is available to order/download from Amazon. Click the following links to be directed:
Book polls
Any group member can suggest a book for the next study when the poll options open. The group members then vote for their preference and we go with the majority. The poll for the next book (after Dive) will open on Facebook in the next few days, so keep an eye out for it. For your reference, the books and chat schedules are all listed on my #pypbookstudy page.
If you have any other suggestions on how we can improve the book study group, please share. We very much look forward to learning and collaborating with you as we grow our already strong community.
I’ve heard a lot about this book, and it’s on my list for teachers who want to begin Genius Hour-type learning. I love that you’re doing a book study!
Hi Joy,
Everyone is welcome to join #pypbookstudy chats. It doesn’t matter if you don’t teach PYP because few questions will be PYP specific. You’re welcome! I’ll let you know my thoughts either way. I have also heard lots of good things. Anyway, before that, I’m reading the Genius Hour Guidebook. You have been quoted several times already.
Best,
Adam
Would love to be a part….
Hi Akin,
We would love for you to join us. Have you joined the Facebook group? There’s still plenty of time to order the next book, even if it takes a long time to deliver internationally. It is also available on Kindle from the US store.
Best,
Adam