The Ken Spencer Award
2016 Winners
Seven Award Winning Programs Empower Students – and Teachers – to Rediscover the Joy of Learning
Educators who take risks each day to continually transform their learning environments are honoured with the Canadian Education Association’s 2015-2016 Ken Spencer Awards for Innovation in Teaching and Learning.
From coffeeshop Makerspaces, to team teaching and teacher co-learning, to mixed-age student mentoring, and arts- and exercise-based solutions that reduce student anxiety and heighten focus, these successful learning programs showcase a courage and willingness among educators to rethink traditional classroom practice that caters to the interests and needs of all students.
This year’s Ken Spencer Award-winning programs prepare students from Pre-K to Grade 12 for deep learning, address the well-being of both teachers and students, and inject passion, empathy and engagement into classrooms. Creating non-traditional spaces for students and teachers to interact has resulted in winning conditions for all.
“These award-winning programs are compelling examples of what it really takes to transform physical learning environments and offer such diverse and creative ways of thinking about heightening students’ engagement and emotional well-being,” says Ron Canuel, CEA President and CEO. “We are proud to recognize the drive and passion of these courageous educators to provoke systems change in their school districts – and beyond – which is what this award is all about.”
Ken Spencer Award recognition ceremonies are being planned in the school communities of the seven winners. This is the seventh year of this award, and CEA would like to thank all of the school and school district staff for their time and effort in the preparation of the application packages.
For a booklet showcasing the work of all 7 Ken Spencer Award winners: http://ow.ly/57El30cCxoW
FIRST PLACE – $7,000
HWDSB Enrichment & Innovation Centre
A hands-on learning space where students can feel at home
Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board
Hamilton, Ont.
The HWDSB Enrichment & Innovation Centre is a hands-on learning and inquiry Makerspace with a ‘coffeeshop’ atmosphere that serves over 400 gifted students per month from across the district. Each day starts with a cup of tea to set the tone for group conversations. Students are offered a variety of seating arrangements, from traditional desks to a kitchen table and comfy beanbag chairs. This relaxed learning community atmosphere has proven to be so vital for student success. The room design recognizes the need for quiet and individuality when learning and includes a cozy living room space with lamps, curtains, a carpet, a couch and books for “chilling” where even the most anxious learner can find a comfortable place to engage in inquiry.
SECOND PLACE – $3,000
The Happy Creek Learning Center
Redefining the optimal early learning environment
St. Gregory Catholic School – Evergreen Catholic Schools
Hinton, Alta.
St. Gregory Catholic School has transformed its Early Childhood/Kindergarten classroom environment into the Happy Creek Learning Center, which offers a play-based multi-age hands-on learning model driven by the students’ interests and passions. This new approach has increased student engagement and learning significantly. Involving parents in the planning of this facility by sharing a strong evidence base in support of focusing on their childrens’ social and emotional development has fostered an extended family atmosphere among students, teachers and the community.
HONOURABLE MENTION – $1,000
Cochrane Healing Arts Time (CHAT)
A safe place for students to refocus on learning
Cochrane High School – Rocky View Schools
Cochrane, Alta.
The Cochrane Healing Arts Time Program (CHAT) was developed in response to students who were at risk of disengaging from school due to the anxiety they experience from social and academic pressures. Facilitated by a certified art teacher, this creative arts program was designed to employ flexible instructional materials, techniques, and strategies to meet their students’ unique needs. The CHAT Room is a calm and welcoming space for students of mixed ages, skill sets and personal experiences to use healing arts as a tool to develop communications skills, self-esteem, confidence, creativity, advocacy, resilience, efficacy, and peer relationships.
HONOURABLE MENTION – $1,000
Pedalling to Fuel Learning
Classroom cycling puts students in a better frame of mind to learn
École élémentaire publique Jeanne-Sauvé – Conseil des écoles publiques de l’Est de l’Ontario (CÉPEO)
Orléans, Ont.
With learning difficulties attributed to physical inactivity and attention deficit on the rise, this project aims to literally get students from Kindergarten through Grade 6 ‘moving’ in classrooms. Since November 2012, the students from l’école élémentaire publique Jeanne-Sauvé have biked across Canada. The school bought 2 to 3 stationary bikes for each class. The students begin in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador and end their trip in Victoria, B.C. This represents a distance of 8,316 km and students have travelled a total of 29,670 km to date. Five other schools in the district have since purchased bikes to emulate this model in their classrooms.
HONOURABLE MENTION – $1,000
#elADSB – Algoma DSB eLearning
Teachers empowering deep learning
Algoma District School Board
Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.
This districtwide E-learning initiative is tackling the root causes of student disengagement by providing long-term support to a core group of 22 secondary school teachers from nine high schools and two alternative programs to take risks and transform their practice using online environments. Students who participate in this program choose what they study, which empowers them for deep learning through rich tasks and on-line collaboration.
HONOURABLE MENTION – $1,000
Carillon Community Mentoring
Mutually beneficial mixed-age learning
École Carillon – Commission Scolaire Marie-Victorin
Longueuil, QC
École Carillon is situated in a suburb of Montreal that includes a high proportion of disadvantaged students. At the beginning of each school year, groups consisting of Kindergarten and Grade 6 students are formed to participate in a variety of projects such as painting murals, assembling robots, and multicultural cooking, which all integrate science, language and math concepts. These meaningful, inclusive projects are directly related to students’ tastes, interests and talents and help keep young people in school for the long term, which is too often not the case in lower socio-economic neighbourhoods.
HONOURABLE MENTION – $1,000
« InnuRassemble »
A cross-cultural program that opens young minds to difference
École secondaire Serge-Bouchard – Commission scolaire de l’Estuaire
Baie-Comeau, QC
Polyvalente des Baies et Uashkaîkan
Pessamit Reserve, QC
InnuRassemble is an ambitious intercultural teaching and learning approach to promote dialogue between students from Manicouagan communities and those from the Pessamit Innu reserve 60 kilometres away, on the North Shore of the St. Lawrence River. Integrating the performing arts as well as all the subjects in the Quebec Education Program, this approach creates meaningful educational experiences for the students to help them develop strong, life-long skills. To experience a culture, one must spend time with different people, learn while doing things together, visit places and share experiences with mutual respect of each other’s richness. Students are taught through these meaningful bi-cultural learning opportunities, which is a wonderful way of opening the minds and eyes of our young people!
