*This week's photos showcase a Kindergarten IT/computing lesson, a Grade 3 mathematics lesson (see below for more information), a slide from a Grade 5 student's presentation at our most recent Friday Afternoon Assembly and the RHS School Gardening Award Level 5 badge that was awarded to ISA as a result of the work done by the Elementary School Veg Growers Club.
From Patterns to Transfer: What We Notice When We Look Closely at Learning
During a recent visit to a Grade 3 mathematics lesson, I was struck not by how quickly students arrived at answers, but by how richly they engaged with the thinking along the way. The lesson centred on a growing pattern made from tiles. Students were invited to notice how the pattern changed (and stayed the same) from one term to the next, to hypothesise a rule that might explain that growth, and to test their ideas by building, drawing, diagramming, or explaining their reasoning to others.
This type of task is often described as having a “low floor, high ceiling” (an idea championed by educators such as Jo Boaler, Marilyn Burns, and Dan Meyer). The low floor ensured that every child could enter the learning: some focused on physically building each term and carefully observing what they noticed. Students demonstrated agency in choosing how they worked and shared, whether that was through pictures, words, numbers, tables, or oral explanations. The high ceiling challenged learners who were ready to predict future terms, reason about the pattern in general terms, or articulate an abstract rule using mathematical language.
What made the lesson particularly powerful was not just the mathematics, but what it revealed about how learning deepens. There was no single correct way to describe how the pattern grew. Students were encouraged to explain their thinking, listen to others, compare ideas, and revise their understanding. In doing so, they demonstrated key IB Approaches to Learning: communication, critical and creative thinking, and social skills grounded in respect and collaboration. They also lived out the IB Learner Profile, acting as thinkers, communicators, and open-minded learners who understood that multiple perspectives can coexist and strengthen collective understanding. This kind of sharing is essential to building a classroom culture of belonging, discovery, and wonder.
This lesson also connects to an idea I wrote about this time last year: transfer. Drawing on my long-standing relationship with the game of basketball, I shared the belief that real learning only becomes visible when skills and understanding can be transferred beyond rehearsed situations. A player who excels only in drills but cannot adapt in a game has not yet developed true skill. In the same way, a student who can complete a worksheet successfully has not necessarily developed the type of deep understanding we are aiming to develop.
Educator and author Grant Wiggins described transfer as the true aim of education: “The point of school is not to get good at school, but to effectively parlay what we learned in school in other learning and in life.” The Grade 3 mathematics task exemplified this idea beautifully. Students were not asked to repeat a procedure they had practised before. Instead, they were challenged to apply prior knowledge, test ideas in unfamiliar ways, and make sense of a problem that could not be solved by following a single set of steps.
This is why, at ISA, we place such value on tasks that stretch thinking and invite uncertainty. Moments when a child pauses, revises an idea, or struggles to explain their reasoning are not signs of failure; they are often indicators that genuine learning is taking place. Transfer requires learners to grapple, to connect ideas, and to apply understanding in new contexts, and this kind of work is rarely neat or immediate.
As we approach the upcoming progress reports, this philosophy will be reflected in the narrative comments written by teachers. Rather than focusing solely on what children can recall or reproduce, these comments aim to describe how students are thinking, how they approach challenges, how they apply their learning in new situations, and how they grow as learners over time. You may read about a child’s willingness to test ideas, their ability to explain thinking, their openness to others’ perspectives, or their developing confidence in transferring skills across contexts.
These narratives are intended to provide a window into the learning process, not just the learning outcome. They reflect our shared belief that education is not about memorising "stuff" for short-term success, but about developing understanding that transfers with children from one task to the next, from one subject to another, and ultimately beyond the classroom.
End of Quarter 2; Progress Reports
Today is the final day of Quarter 2 in the Elementary School. Our teachers are putting the finishing touches on the Quarter 2 Progress Reports. These will be available next Friday (January 23) and will be accessible through PowerSchool. The Quarter 2 progress reports are narrative reports, giving you detailed information about your child’s progress across the range of subjects.
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