NUACHTÁN MIDDLE SCHOOL | June 2021

ACADEMY

María del Pilar Mones Urtuzuástegui

Conceptual understanding

As part of the International Baccalaureate (IB) community, we work at the school in accordance with its principles, where the foundation of education is centered on the development of conceptual understanding. This goes beyond the transmission of knowledge or memorizing information, it is the construction of meaning and the development of conceptual understanding that are based on the acquisition of knowledge and the development of skills and attitudes in context.

Concept is a word that comes from the Latin conceptum as well as the verb concipere which means to conceive, to capture. According to this, the translation of the concept is «take a thing and keep it inside»; As mentioned before, it would be to take something from the outside to generate another thought inside, in relation to the ideas obtained from previous learning or experience to retain them inside the mind and form new concepts.

Concept is an idea or abstraction of the mind with which something is represented. Interpreting the perception that is made of reality to understand it. The mind retains or stores the information it receives, processes, and makes sense of it by elaborating the concepts.

‘A concept is an important idea, a principle or an enduring notion whose importance transcends its origins, disciplines, or time frames’. (Wiggins y McTighe, 1998)

Teachers focus their planning development on inquiry, conceptual understanding, and global contexts for learning. Working with concepts invites students to inquiry, and as they develop and deepen their understanding, it helps them innovate, address challenges, and solve problems, as well as providing a solid foundation for future learning.

Conceptual learning focuses on powerful organizing ideas that are relevant within and across disciplinary areas. The concepts transcend national and cultural boundaries. They help integrate learning, contribute to the coherence of the curriculum, deepen disciplinary understanding, develop the ability to address complex ideas, and allow the transfer of learning to new contexts. Students in the Middle Years Programme (MYP) work with key concepts and related concepts by developing that conceptual understanding.

The MYP works with a curricular framework focused on concepts, learning and teaching start from the exploration of broad and conceptual ideas, these ideas are developed from the planners of each unit and are defined in relation to the key and related concepts expressed in the inquiry statement. Teachers use the contents of their subjects to support the development of deep conceptual understandings that exist in real contexts. The key concept that fits the contents of the period or the units and in turn one or two related concepts are chosen to explore in more depth or detail. These concepts allow them to develop a clear and concise statement of inquiry, which allows them to explore contexts in more depth and abstraction throughout the unit or program. Through the inquiry statement, teachers describe the conceptual understanding of the unit and the context through which that idea is to be explored. It is important that this statement can be transferable with other units or with other subjects.

https://resources.ibo.org/data/m_0_mypxx_guu_1405_5_s.pdf

https://psikipedia.com/libro/educacion/2375-comprension-conceptual

MIDDLE YEARS PROGRAMME (MYP)

Alicia Silva

Our 10th graders present their perspectives and learnings to us during the Personal Project. We are delighted to hear that another generation is about to complete its Middle Years Programme.

Andrés Angulo

‘One of my biggest challenges during the Personal Project was presenting in public, but I enjoyed learning about music and finally learning the benefits of playing a musical instrument such as: improves cognitive abilities to process information, which increases volume and activity of the corpus callosum (bridge between the two hemispheres of the brain where information is transmitted) and many other benefits. I learned to systematically evaluate fonts with the OPVL’.

Product: Online conference regarding music and the impact on the brain

Dariana Robles

‘I loved working on my product, and it was easy compared to writing the reflection criteria which cost me more. I believe that through this Project I develop my skills of reflection and inquiry’.

Product: Book about the impact of social networks on adolescents’ self-esteem and how it affects their self-concept

Arturo Aguilar

‘My learnings about Research Methods, goal systematization. They allowed me to be an informed and educated student, inquirer, and thinker. Coming to enjoy my inquiry process for the elaboration of my essay a lot ‘.

Product: Essay in which a brief historical chronology is narrated in which historical themes are related to the corresponding anthropology.

Rogerio Silva

‘Due to the type of product that I developed, it was very difficult for me to be in a team and deal with my colleagues since I depended on the progress of others to advance myself. But writing a song, putting it to music, recording, editing it, and the research carried out was something that I enjoyed in my Project. I feel like I improved my stress and pressure management, as well as my leadership to guide my bandmates’.

Product: create a song that expresses your point of view of confinement.

PSYCHOPEDAGOGY

Paola Llop

How and why learn to say «no»

Hello Celta community, today we are going to talk about an interesting topic that many of us have gone through. Have you agreed to do something when you really didn’t want to? knowing how to say “no” becomes an adventure of emotions and the occasional “white lie”.

People usually commit to carry out an action, simply because we do not know how to say “no”. Relax because you are not the only person who has this difficulty. I will share with you tips that are important to consider the next time you are faced with a similar situation.

The first aspect to consider is that each new choice comes with an opportunity cost, that is, the loss of ability to invest in other options. As an example, when I made the decision to sit down and write these words, I gave up the opportunity to exercise, go for a walk, read, sleep, etc. Every choice we make comes with a cost of time and energy. Therefore, consider what you might stop doing if you agree to someone else’s demand.

People often have difficulty saying no because of multiple reasons, including socialization, «you can’t say no to people», «you shouldn’t be selfish», expectations from friends and family, fear of missing something, and commitments (having to keep up with various roles, such as work and childcare). Sometimes we need to say no to other people, but sometimes we need to be able to say no to ourselves first.

Remember that a good boundary is knowing that we cannot control someone’s reaction to something, the only control we have is to carefully evaluate a no and do it in a respectful way. Allowing other people to experience and process their feelings without it being your responsibility is a key aspect when thinking about saying no to something.

Here I share a series of questions to evaluate opportunity costs. These questions are: Do I have the time, energy, and money for this right now? Do I want to do this? Will this add value to my life? Is this aligned with my values? Am I saying yes, just because I’m afraid to say no?

It is important to question and understand why it is so hard for us to say no, is it fear? What are you afraid of? etc. It can be helpful to remember opportunity costs and that saying no to things that don’t align with our goals and values ​​can help make time for the things we value and therefore can contribute to a happier life and satisfactory.

Bibliography

Guha A. (2021). “How and why yo say no”. Recuperado el 10 de mayo 2021 desde:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/prisons-and-pathos/202105/how-and-why-say-no

STUDENT LIFE

Carlos Zermeño

PROCASTINATION: Time management?

We currently associate the term PROCASTINATION to lazy people. And we couldn’t be more wrong.

To procrastinate means to postpone for tomorrow, although it is more than voluntarily postponing responsibilities. If we stop for a moment to think about the activities that we constantly put off for later, perhaps we will be able to recognize that they are those that generate disgust, anxiety, insecurity or any other negative emotion.

And «it does not make sense to do something that you think will have negative consequences» (Fuschia Sirois). It is for this reason that we put off again and again tasks that erode our emotional state. Although it is not a justification for leaving our work undone, it is a starting point to analyze what is the reason that specific activities generate negative emotions in oneself.

It seems that obligations are responsible for my negative moods, what if these responsibilities cannot be avoided? What if the person responsible for how I feel are not my obligations, or my boss, or partner, … but myself?

Tim Pychyl says that «procrastination is a problem about regulating emotions, not a time management problem.» No matter how many tools and time management apps you use, the responsibilities won’t go anywhere, and neither will the discomfort you find in them.

What is the solution? The latest research suggests that we pay attention to our emotions and the way we manage them.

If you are interested in learning how to make the report that you must deliver tomorrow, instead of scrolling through your social networks and taking care of all your non-priority pending over and over again, we suggest the following:

• Recognize, what? and when?
• Understand why we do it.
• Forgive ourselves, avoid focusing on blame, and focus on solutions.
• Improve our self-esteem and self-concept.
• Divide complex tasks into simpler ones.
• Take time to organize, and identify what is urgent, what is important, and what can wait for later.
• Practice, make a list of what you put off and as a challenge to tackle it every day.

Reference:

Vidal, Julia. (2018). La Procrastinación o el obstáculo que te impide alcanzar tus metas. 23/02/21, de Área Humana Sitio web:

https://www.areahumana.es/procrastinacion-como-vencerla/

Lieberman, Charlotte. (2019). Procrastinar no es un asunto de holgazanería, sino de manejo de las emociones. 21/02/21, de New York Times Sitio web:

Navarro, Javier. (2017). Procrastinación. 20/02/21, de Definición ABC Sitio web:

https://www.definicionabc.com/social/procrastinacion.php

Piers Steel, How to Stop Putting Things Off and Start Getting Stuff Done.

EDITORIAL

• Mónica Antuna (Middle School Principal) | monica.antuna@celta.edu.mx

• Ma. Del Pilar Mones (Academic Coordinator) | mariadelpilar@celta.edu.mx

• Alicia Silva (MYP Coordinator) | alicia.silva@celta.edu.mx

• Paola Llop (Department of Psychopedagogy) | paola.llop@celta.edu.mx

• Carlos Zermeño (Student Activities Coordinator) | carlos.zermeno@celta.edu.mx