Archive

• Engaging Adolescent Learners: One School’s Journey

  November 3, 2011 7:20 PM Comments Off on Engaging Adolescent Learners: One School’s Journey

  Join us in following the journey of one school as they describe their experiences with What did you do in school today?

• Equity of Output Must Become the Next ‘21st Century’ Objective

  October 26, 2011 12:44 PM Comments Off on Equity of Output Must Become the Next ‘21st Century’ Objective

  In my first year as CEO of the CEA, I’ve had the pleasure of sharing our vision and mission with so many educators across Canada. I’ve realized that the courage it takes to provoke a shift among deeply entrenched mindsets of traditional teaching and learning is long overdue. We can all agree that we want all our young people to be ‘21^st Century’ problem solvers, critical and creative thinkers, collaborators, and great communicators, but our vision for how we get there ranges from a little tinkering to a massive makeover, and most innovators face roadblocks when they push the envelope for the latter.  This is why it’s time to move beyond 21^st Century rhetoric and build strategies that will nurture innovation and not deter it. CEA is working hard to convince you that this transformation needs to happen.

  At the 2011 CEA Council Meeting, 21st Century Learning: From Rhetoric to Reality, participants will have the opportunity to hear from three speakers who have a first-hand knowledge and experience with innovative pedagogy internationally, in a Canadian school, and in a Canadian classroom.  Following presentations, speakers will explore the barriers they face in moving their innovative thinking towards more systemic transformation.  

  This Council meeting is not about simply assembling experts in the field of education and from the private sector together to look at what innovative practices can be.  It’s about developing a deeper sense of commitment amongst the participants to finally move the discussions and debates to more pragmatic realities.  Pilot projects in education have been the easiest means to demonstrate that innovation and transformation of education can occur, but rarely have these projects become systemic.  

  For decades, education has placed a considerable amount of resources and energy into establishing equity, especially at the student entry points.  However, education stops the application of this fundamental principle and an increasing number of children leave education, either disillusioned or seriously questioning the pertinence of what they have learned.  Equity of Output, ensuring that all children achieve their potential, must become the next ‘21st Century’ objective. Ensuring Equity of Output obliges all education stakeholders to focus on the establishment of new learning/teaching environments that meet the needs of all children and not only a minority of them.

  This Council meeting will bring this principle to the forefront and provide a critical platform for exchange and debate on how to truly meet the needs of ALL children.

• The EdCamp Movement

  October 21, 2011 9:25 AM Comments Off on The EdCamp Movement

  I returned from the very first EdCamp Toronto event last Saturday afternoon somewhat weary, more than a little excited and a whole lot intrigued!

  Months of planning, combined with an early alarm on the day of the event accounted for the weariness. The positive energy and feedback that organizers received before, during and after the day inspired the excitement.

  [ibimage==3842==Original_size==none==self==null]

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• An assessment shift in practice

  October 11, 2011 12:59 AM Comments Off on An assessment shift in practice

  When Allison Penner (from Urban Academy in New Westminster, BC) made it down to the staff room after ushering out the last of her Grade 4 and 5 students, she was flushed and carrying an armload of paper. She looked at me, eyebrows raised.

  “Let’s get started!” I said.

  We started by spreading her students’ assignment logs on the table and sorting them into groups according to similar “Areas of Focus”: conventions, introductions and detailed ideas.

  Next we discussed how she could best teach them how to fill out specific and detailed plans for improvement for each of those areas. The idea is that each student chooses an aspect of writing he or she wants to improve and then articulates a plan for achieving that improvement. The next time the student writes, he or she enacts the plan and, with each effort, improves the quality of his or her writing.

  Before arriving at this point, Allison had made a decision to shift her teaching so that assessment would drive her students’ learning. This mindset led her to use a series of lessons to guide her students in writing a class Writing Rubric.

  “They actually did really well coming up with clear criteria,” Allison reflects. By allowing students to articulate the criteria she and they would use to give feedback on their writing, Allison began shifting ownership of the learning onto her students.

  “Okay, wait,” Allison said, her cheeks flushing a little. “So this means that I’m not going to be doing formal lessons all the time.

  “Right. I mean, sometimes you might – when everyone needs to know something. But when everyone needs to know or work on something different – like with writing – then they’ll all be doing their own thing. You’ll be working with them one-on-one and in smaller groups.” This is the definition of differentiated learning.

  During our entire meeting, Allison smiled. Despite already being a good teacher, she challenged herself to be better than she was the day before. Allison personifies the growth mindset; in using assessment the way she plans to, she will inspire the growth mindset in her students as well.

  With plans to keep in touch, Allison and I parted ways. She reminded me of how exciting the classroom can be (I’m 6 months into my maternity leave). Her enthusiasm and bravery at trying something new made me eager to try some of the things I’ve been learning about these past months (I often joke about my maternity leave being something akin to a sabbatical). But most of all, I felt a deep sense of shared satisfaction: her students successfully created clear criteria to drive their learning; they were a day or two away from using that criteria to plan for their own individual improvement; and they were a short time away from feeling that sense of achievement that comes with accomplishing something they set out to learn. And Allison gets to see that happen.

• Cdn EdWire – Should poor students receive financial incentives?

  October 9, 2011 6:56 PM Comments Off on Cdn EdWire – Should poor students receive financial incentives?

  School board to mull rewards for at-risk students – Toronto Star

  Experts support rewards for at-risk students – Toronto Star

  
  

  Photo by John Steven Fernandez http://www/flickr.com/photos/stevenfernandez/2370347860

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• How is a School System Like a Modern Automobile?

  October 6, 2011 10:12 AM Comments Off on How is a School System Like a Modern Automobile?

  I had a fascinating conversation today with my mechanic. I had brought my 2005 Toyota in for a 70 point inspection in order to help me decide whether I should hang on to it for a few more years, or whether it might be better to dump it and take advantage of the peace-of-mind offered by driving a newer model.

  Tom was in a talking mood and I took advantage of his enthusiasm and knowledge. As a result, I came away with a deeper appreciation of the technology that drives the modern automobile. In particular, our conversation focused on the complex set of computer modules that are used to control almost every aspect of functionality. We spoke of body control modules, ECM’s, oxygen sensors, emission and fuel controls. For me, the discussion really became interesting when Tom explained how each of the system controls “talk” to each other, adjusting functionality and performance based on the information received from other components. I came away thinking of my car as this perfectly synchronized ecosystem, complete with a finely-tuned feedback loop designed to respond to a series of quality controls and performance indicators.

  If something happens in one control system, a component somewhere else will either respond or refuse to respond. This, in turn, may trigger a response from another module which will either adjust its performance or begin a series of pre-determined tests. The final result of this process may result in the activation of an indicator light on my dashboard which, when investigated, will provide a full report on what has gone on as well as a code that can be used to find a plan of action to correct the problem.

  Now, it just so happens that, while waiting for Tom to complete the inspection, I was reading our Ministry of Education’s School Effectiveness Framework (really, I was!), a support document that identifies evidence-based indicators of successful practice in a number of components of effective schools. The SEF document encourages educators at all levels of the system to use these indicators as a way of building coherence and aligning practices across an entire school.

  Ontario’s SEF outlines six components ranging from assessment practices, leadership at various levels of the system, quality of classroom instruction, programs, and partnerships between school, parents and community. A great deal has been written on this site and elsewhere about each of these components, but the SEF does a nice job of bringing them together into a unified whole. But the SEF goes further by offering a series of indicators and observable points of evidence that make quality within each of the components visible and, as a result, actionable.

  This is a process that is to be carried out with integrity and transparency for the purpose of promoting reflection, collaborative inquiry and ultimately improved student learning.

  —Mary Jean Gallagher and Raymond Théberge(Introduction to the Ontario School Effectiveness Framework, 2010)

  Just like my automobile, I came away from reading our SEF with a sense that our school systems are another type of ecosystem, made up of component parts that, when they are running smoothly and effectively, are a thing of beauty.

  The School Effectiveness Framework that is now part of the drive toward quality and accountability in Ontario presents a vision for integrated, evidence-based planning and practice. It has something to say to folks working at every level of the system.

  In the long term, the SEF has the potential to drive the transformation agenda for years to come. In the short term, it forces us to look beyond the political darlings that currently drive our planning agendae—large-scale assessment scores and graduation rates— and focuses our vision on the actual components that ground these narrow indicators.

  Beyond that, however, the School Effectiveness Framework invites us to look at how each of the components within our modern education system is interconnected and interdependent. It’s a complex way of thinking, to be sure. At the same time, by placing our role in the system within the larger context of a tool like the SEF, our school systems become a thing of immense beauty—a marvellous type of ecosystem!

  Over the next few weeks, I would like to take a closer look at Ontario’s School Effectiveness Framework, exploring each of the component parts in a little more detail. But I would also love to hear about your experience in working with this type of process in your own district, in your own province. Have you been exposed to a similar tool for effectiveness planning? Are you involved in similar conversations at the school, district or community level?

• The Space for Imagination in Our Schools

  October 1, 2011 9:06 PM Comments Off on The Space for Imagination in Our Schools

  It’s one thing to agree that more imagination is needed in our 21st century schools. It’s another thing to actually step aside and make room for that imagination to live and grow. Creating a model of school that will encourage, honour and nurture imagination on the part of both students and teachers will take vision and it will take courage.

  It will take a vision that values dreaming about the future just as much as learning about the past. It will take a vision that understands that creativity and innovation are not cheerleaders chanting from the sidelines for some pre-established truth, but important catalysts on our journey to explore and discover what can be known about the world. And it will take a vision that is grounded in the belief that schools can and should be places of deep engagement and engaging depth!

  One practical way to begin to make this type of vision a reality is to establish imaginative spaces within our schools, both physically and conceptually.

  A complaint that I’ve heard from a number of my colleagues, especially the ones that have recently moved into new school buildings, is that classroom space is getting smaller and less functional. Many comment that the physicality of their classroom is preventing them from developing the type of program that they dream about running. Alternative groupings, teacher-student conference areas and claiming spaces for physical movement and artistic exploration is all very challenging.

  Imaginative work is both inspired and supported by physical environment, and if teachers and students don’t have access to spaces that invite a certain degree of “spreading out” then it is unlikely that creativity is going to take flight!

  Beyond physical environment, conceptual/temporal (!) space is also important for imaginative work to be taken seriously. Currently, I would suspect that most school days are subject to a set of fairly rigid timetables, with very little space for thinking beyond the borders established by traditional curriculum.

  But, what would happen if we were to set aside an extended portion of each day to step outside the traditional curriculum boundaries and the accompanying instructional strategies and allow for some imaginative freedom? This could involve work in the Arts, design projects, work outside of the school building, or outside the school firewalls! What would happen if, each and every day, students and teachers and members of the larger community had the opportunity to collaborate on ideas that mattered to them and had that work matter to others.

  We can talk about imagination and creativity all we want, but the reality of the schools that I know these days leads me to believe that things are becoming more and more defined for us on every level: curriculum expectations, teaching strategies, timetable allotments and our ability to bring a sense of individuality to our work as teachers.

  Imagination, by its very nature, defies boundaries and borders, and until we decide to give teachers and students the ability to re-imagine what time and space could look like in our schools, then there’s not a great deal of chance that transformation will occur.

  But, I believe we can do it. I believe that there are enough educators and parents who have a different sort of vision of what this space called school could look and feel like. I believe that there is a growing energy and sense of courage building around the need to make room for imagination in our schools and in our communities.

  Schools are currently locked into a way of thinking that claims that if our work as teachers is well-planned, well-defined and well-executed, then students will be more successful. The spirit of imagination challenges that notion.

  Consider what might have happened if Martin Luther King had stood up and declared, “I have a plan.” Do you think he would have been able to inspire an entire nation into action. Instead, his words were, “I have a dream”. And dreaming, my friends, is what imagination is all about!

  So, let’s continue to dream about the education that we want for our children, and let’s continue to push for more dreaming and imagination in the work that we do in this place and space called school!

• The Pedagogy of the Margins

  September 23, 2011 6:35 PM Comments Off on The Pedagogy of the Margins

  On a recent trip to Chicago, I toured an old church built in the late 1800s. At the front of the church, an ancient Bible lay open. The pages of the Bible were decorated with intricate pictures and calligraphy. Looking at it, I marvelled at the detailed work, the perfection and visual beauty of the pages that lay before me. According to theological historians, the first copies of the Bible were created by monks who would spend up to five years transcribing older copies. These monks worked in seclusion, developing ornate and detailed calligraphic fonts and artwork to decorate their transcription of the text. A lesser known detail surrounding this work is the human weariness the monks experienced in transcribing the biblical texts. Apparently when they grew weary of rewriting the Bible, they used the margins of the pages to express themselves. The monks were known to write complaints about their tired hands, compose poetry to the monastery cat, release “less-than-holy” thoughts, and poke fun at themselves and their worlds. Through the margins, the monks expressed themselves and their personhood. The margins offered a space where the “hidden” voices of these monks could come to fullness.

  Educational researchers Denzin and Lincoln suggest that over the last decades, education and educational research has moved from embracing a dominant narrative to a broader acceptance of a variety of narratives – narratives that are drawn from what was once considered the “margins” (the immigrant experience, Aboriginal voices, queer and “othered” stories, to name a few).[1] This shift, they say, is consistent with society’s (and education’s) evolution from post-modernism to post-experimentalism.

  According to Denzin and Lincoln, the task of post-experimentalism is to imagine appropriate pedagogies that will allow us to embrace and work with the rich variety of narratives in the post-modern world. However, the difficulty within an educational context becomes readily apparent. How do these narratives become authentic voices within education? How do educators develop pedagogies to support non-dominant narratives? How does education move from centred and traditional pedagogies to decentred ones? A variety of educators offer suggestions to move education forward on this journey.

  In their Handbook of Public Pedagogy, Educators Sandin, Schultz, and Burdick explore the idea of public pedagogy and its influence on our educational life.[2] Public pedagogy, they say, acknowledges that much of how we are educated occurs outside of our traditional educational institutions (within the margins). They suggest that the hierarchy of traditional education – housed in standards, traditionalism, and academic rhetoric – should be countered by the more progressive nuances of public pedagogy, which offers opportunities for personal and public transformation, democracy, and social justice less readily available through traditional pedagogies.

  A variety of authors featured in the Handbook allude to the powerful discourses evident within the margins of society. Williams discuses the idea that hip-hop’s “nonsensical” form of entertainment, which glorifies violence, consumerism, and hyper-masculinity, offers counterhegemonic voices, autobiographical memory, and a variety of youth narratives. Sandlin and Milam suggest that “culture-jamming” (the act of resisting and recreating commercial culture in an act of reform) is a form of political theatre and discourse for society. MacGillivray and Curwen discuss the idea that tagging (or graffiti art) is a social practice with its own literacy. Springgay and Freedman discuss the relationship between artistic space and the ability to live fully in everyday life. Intrinsic to the work of these educators is the idea that non-traditional and non-centred pedagogies can provide important insights into how we can embrace narratives from the margins.

  On the same trip to Chicago I visited the inner-city community where I began my teaching career. I wandered under the El Train tracks and examined the colourful and graphic graffiti that covered the dark under-sides of the concrete bridges. I explored the industrial area by my old home where depictions of urban life covered factory walls and abandoned storage containers. I wandered through the community, imagining the lives of the “taggers” (graffiti artists) who crafted this graffiti and our human need for voice and place. Many schools move by bells and schedules, curriculum documents, and standardized assessments. Many schools operate within the centred and traditional pedagogies. Movement within the margins is reserved for social justice clubs or for the occasional teacher who adopts alternative strategies.

  As our society evolves, I wonder who we would attract to school and what colourful and graphic voices (both teacher and student!) would emerge if we were to decentre our educational methodologies and let the margins become centre.

  ---

  [1] N. Denzin and Y. Linoln, eds., The Landscape of Qualitative Research: Theories and Issues. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2003).

  [2] J. Sandlin, B. Schultz, and J. Burdick, eds., Handbook of Public Pedagogy: Education and Learning Beyond Schooling (New York, NY: Routledge, 2009).

• Curriculum Integration: One School District’s Journey

  6:31 PM Comments Off on Curriculum Integration: One School District’s Journey

  How can teachers improve student achievement and also teach the skills necessary to prepare students for a complex, global world?

  In 2008, the Bluewater District School Board educators began to ask this question. The catalysts were a data analysis of provincial large-scale assessments given in Grades 3 and 6, and board-mandated common assessments in math and literacy across all grades. Bluewater educators strongly believed their students needed higher-order skills to succeed in a global world, but could they improve student achievement in math and literacy at the same time? They decided that integrated curriculum might allow them to pursue both goals.

  Bluewater, located in Southwestern Ontario, is comprised of two JK-12 schools, 40 elementary schools, and 11 secondary schools. Many schools are in rural areas with small student populations.

  The focus of Ontario’s educational reform is literacy and numeracy, and there is a move to teach literacy in all subject areas. Teachers are also to include character education and environmental awareness in instructional planning. Curriculum guidelines direct teachers to teach cross-disciplinary core concepts – Big Ideas such as change, systems, and interdependence – and higher-order thinking skills such as research, communication, design, problem solving, and critical literacy.

  Sowing the Seeds

  The Bluewater interdisciplinary journey began with a group of 45 intermediate teachers from 15 schools who met with a small team of system-level staff facilitators for three planning days. This same group continued planning throughout the 2008-2009 school year. Other interdisciplinary planning sessions also took place with all JK to Grade 6 teachers, all JK-8 administrators, and the administrators and all teachers from two high schools.  

  The teachers worked in teams to collaboratively design interdisciplinary units. The process involved backward design and synthesized Drake’s work on interdisciplinary planning and Cooper’s work on assessment.[1]

  Figure 1 shows the steps of the process. [INSERT FIGURE 1 NEAR HERE]

  • Curriculum Scan and Cluster: Teachers select (highlight and literally use scissors to cut up) the standards (expectations in Ontario) from the relevant curriculum documents and cluster standards into cross-disciplinary concepts (e.g., the environment, power, sustainability, etc.).
  • Curriculum Dissection: The groups choose one cluster of standards. Each standard is dissected according to the Know (what do students need to know?), Do (what do students need to do?) and Be (what values are being taught?).
  • Enduring Understanding/Big Question/Unit Questions: The big question is answered throughout the unit. The enduring understanding is the essence – what teachers want students to be able to articulate at the end of the unit. Examples include: “Tomorrow is influenced by decisions made today” and “We can make a difference.”   
  •  Culminating Task: A meaningful culminating task is created with accompanying assessment tools aligned with standards from relevant disciplines. In this task, the students demonstrate the Know, Do, and Be.
  • Daily Learning Opportunities and Assessment Tools: Meaningful daily instructional activities accompanied by embedded assessments lead to the enduring understanding and the culminating task. Assessment for learning is stressed. This process insures accountability.

  Implementation in the Classroom

  A Kindergarten class took part in an environmental unit that included standards from language, math, science, and the arts. The students conducted a study of the recyclable and compostable garbage in their school. The unit centered on the Big Ideas of environmental stewardship and conservation and the higher-order skills of inquiry, problem solving, and communication. The students created environmental posters to convince the staff and student body to recycle and compost the garbage at the school.

  In one Grade 6/7 class, students debated the impacts of early settlement on Canada. The students created flip perspective books depicting the different points of view of the First Nations peoples and the early European settlers. The students included their own points of view and made suggestions for the future. The unit integrated language, geography, history, science, and arts standards. The Big Ideas were interrelationships, diversity, and conflict resolution, and the higher-order skills included inquiry, critical thinking, and communication.

  A Grade 4 unit integrated language, math, science, and arts standards. The students investigated alternative forms of energy and created an environmental conservation magazine that was presented at a whole school environmental summit involving students, parents, and the greater community. The unit centered on the Big Ideas of energy and sustainability. The higher-order skills were inquiry, design, problem solving, presentation, and communication.

  Teacher and Administrator Perceptions

  A Brock University team of researchers explored teacher and administrator perceptions of the impact of interdisciplinary approaches on classroom practice. Qualitative interviews were completed with 26 educators across 16 schools. The following themes emerged.

  Student engagement

  Increased student engagement emerged as the strongest theme. One teacher commented: “Kids have fun, lots of laughter, lots of learning.” Another: “Student excitement with this new approach is great. It’s different for them, and it’s almost like a breath of fresh air rather than the old conventional textbooks.” For another: “Engagement is huge.”

  Student excitement with this new approach is great. It’s different for them, and it’s almost like a breath of fresh air rather than the old conventional textbooks.

  Administrators remarked on both student and teacher engagement. From one:

  Teachers get so excited when they make connections that it is infectious, and so there is real positive energy…Kids are excited…Kids love to go to school and they go home and talk about what they discussed in the classroom. I know learning is taking place because there are no kids in the office.

  Relevant meaningful curriculum

  Many teachers noted that student engagement was connected to relevant learning.  “It’s neat how everything fits together. Students are connecting with themselves and their world.” And, “My students were engaged in the unit and were not asking ‘Why are we learning this?’ Rather, they were becoming global thinkers who wanted to know and do more.” One teacher said, “My students frequently challenge me with new ideas that they are interested in, and I’m encouraged to incorporate their interests with the concepts that I want them to learn.”

  Relevance was also tied to the depth of learning. “I believe my interdisciplinary classroom has allowed my students to deepen their level of insight and increase their depth of thinking. They have become engaged and articulate learners who are not afraid to voice their opinions utilizing a variety of mediums.” And: “Reflections and culminating tasks at the end of each unit demonstrated clearly that the students had internalized the knowledge and skills.”

  Reaching all students

  Historically, the interdisciplinary approach has often been reserved for gifted students. While one teacher mentioned that interdisciplinary approaches seemed to best benefit the high achieving students, others found that this approach benefited all students, including the most challenged learners. Many teachers found students were submitting exemplary work that exceeded their expectations. One administrator told of three learners with special needs who were typically disengaged in a regular classroom. During the unit, these students participated in a heated debate about animal rights. As well, they created a PSA announcement that was uploaded to YouTube to share with families. One student remarked, “Wow, I really am smart.”

  Literacy infused across the curriculum

  In an interdisciplinary approach, literacy is taught through other subjects. One teacher said, “In a year, I’ve seen a big change in literacy. The biggest change is going from teaching one block of literacy to seeing literacy throughout our program.” Others reinforced the same idea: “My language program isn’t English anymore. It is not all about reading the novel and doing a report on it,” and “Literacy is amazing. We built a strong language program around our history and geography units, using different writing tasks.” An administrator summed it up this way: “Literacy tasks are more relevant and there is a deeper understanding in an interdisciplinary unit. Literacy is the basis of what everyone does.”

  Numeracy

  The teachers found the integration of numeracy expectations into an interdisciplinary unit more difficult than the integration of literacy. Those who successfully integrated math connected it to the real world. “This year we are doing real world math. The students really, really like it.” A colleague agreed: “We focus on problem solving. Real-life connections are huge.”  

  Those who successfully integrated math connected it to the real world. “This year we are doing real world math. The students really, really like it.”

  Assessment

  Many teachers found that assessment became more efficient. They were able to assess more than one discipline at a time by creating assessment tools that incorporated standards from different subject areas. The ability to differentiate was enhanced. “I can diversify my assessment tools and tasks to suit student needs.” From administrators: “Now, there are so many ways for kids to demonstrate their learning, such as through drama and technology,” and “Integrated curriculum has reinforced my belief about what good assessment practices are…I realize that the principles of backwards design in assessment and evaluation worked with integrated curriculum.”

  Some teachers found it challenging to report integrated results on a discipline-based report card.

  Planning            

  Interdisciplinary planning helped educators stay focused. One teacher noted, “I can honestly say that my thinking about planning has completely changed. No longer am I wondering ‘What will I teach next?’ or ‘How can I fit this in?’ I have a much clearer sense of where my students are and where they need to go next in order to meet the expectations both of the curriculum and myself.” For another: “This style of teaching is a way of keeping me on track. It has helped me to stay focused, yet allows me to include my ‘great’ ideas or kids’ interests along the way.”

  Time lost, time gained

  There was some disagreement about the time required to plan high calibre interdisciplinary lessons. Although time was a concern for many, others perceived that they actually did less planning on a day-to-day basis. One said, “I feel that my day-to-day planning runs smoothly, as we spend long chunks of time on tasks rather than jumping from area to area or subject to subject.”

  Collaborative professional learning

  Teachers appreciated the formal planning sessions, which provided an opportunity to collaborate and revitalized teacher practice. “Teacher talk brings enthusiasm.” And, “Once you have been teaching for a while, when times are bleak, this opportunity rejuvenates teachers.”

  Next steps

  Today, the Bluewater District School Board continues on its interdisciplinary journey. Evidence-based practice and professional learning are ongoing. The board continues to synthesize interdisciplinary philosophy with accountability measures and Ministry initiatives to teach students the knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary to be active and caring citizens in a global world.

  EN BREF – La réforme de l’éducation en Ontario met l’accent sur la littératie et la numératie; l’enseignement de la littératie dans toutes les matières est préconisé. La planification péda­gogique du personnel enseignant doit aussi intégrer le développement du caractère et la sensibilisation environnementale. Les programmes-cadres prescrivent l’enseignement de concepts interdisciplinaires fondamentaux – les grandes idées comme le changement, les systèmes et l’interdépendance – ainsi que de compétences de raisonnement d’ordre supérieur comme la recherche, la communication, la conception, la résolution de problème et la littératie critique. Dans le Sud-Ouest de l’Ontario, le conseil scolaire Bluewater a adopté une approche interdisciplinaire pour satisfaire à ces exigences. Il en est résulté une plus grande participa­tion des élèves, un curriculum qu’ils trouvent pertinent dans leur vie et la capacité de rejoindre les élèves de tous les niveaux de rendement scolaire. Des séances structurées de planifica­tion ont permis au personnel enseignant de collaborer et de revitaliser leur travail.

  ---

  [1] D. Cooper, Talk About Assessment High School Strategies and Tools (Toronto ON: Nelson Education, 2010); S. M. Drake, Creating Standards-Based Integrated Curriculum (Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, 2007).

• Hard Truths for Educators

  5:30 PM Comments Off on Hard Truths for Educators

  A review of Tuned Out – Engaging 21st Century Learners by Karen Hume, Pearson Canada, 2010. ISBN-10: 0138020132

  The phrase “21st Century Learning” has become commonplace. True to its title, Karen Hume’s new book Tuned Out: Engaging the 21s^t Century Learner promises to be a valuable resource for educators looking to engage students in the art of learning for the 21st century.

  Before Hume defines what it means for students to be engaged learners, she addresses different views on engagement. Staffrooms around the country have probably hosted this discussion many times. Some believe that “students have changed, but not for the better.” Others believe that “students have changed, but their teachers have not” (p. 3). Hume acknowledges truths in both of these perspectives and uses them to formulate her own definition of student engagement: “the relationship that students have to someone or something” (p. 5).

  According to Hume, there are five aspects of schooling in which educators can engage learners: “Competence, Creativity, Community, Context, and Challenge” (p. xi). She outlines and discusses each of these in its own chapter, containing a description of the main theme, case studies, sample lessons, and strategies that educators and leaders can employ. These five content chapters are bookended on the front end by a chapter that discusses the concept of engagement and on the back end by one that offers practical tips for achieving engagement in schools.

  My mental model of what it means to be “tuned out” led me to believe that this book would focus on supporting learners in becoming less engaged in technology and more engaged in learning. Indeed, Hume addresses the role that technology plays in disengaging students from their learning, but she will not let educators blame technology for that disengagement.  Nor does she suggest that we need to use technology to engage students. In fact, she is firm: “I do not believe that more technology in our schools…is the magic bullet that will solve the problem of our disengaged students” (p. 160). As educators, we are responsible for supporting learners in acquiring the skills it takes to be engaged citizens.  Hume is clear in her stand that using websites, blogs, or other technologies in classrooms is not going to do that; creating engaging learning opportunities for students, such as inquiry projects, or collaborative learning opportunities, will.  

  Hume does not shy away from hard truths. While she maintains, throughout the book, her belief that “teaching is the most important profession in the world and its practitioners are among the most dedicated, thoughtful, and caring people on the planet” (p. 207), she doesn’t sugarcoat anything for educators: “If your students are disengaged you need to change what you are doing” (p. 208). This simple statement is not as easy at is sounds; reflecting on changing one’s practice is hard! Fortunately, Hume makes this task less daunting by providing readers with simple and specific strategies for a number of different situations.  For example, if students are not working as a cohesive group or team, she suggests adding in a challenge element (a la Survivor) or shortening the time allocated to complete the activity.

  Hume does a skillful job of synthesizing a variety of research data from well-known researchers and authors, and creating an easy-to-read, engaging and inspiring book for educators. I particularly enjoyed the sidebar references, quotes, comics, and diagrams, and the number of references to authors whose work I have already read and enjoyed. I am a fan of anyone who can refer to both Marzano and the Heath brothers in the same book!

  While I would absolutely recommend this book to my colleagues, I did find myself frequently annoyed while reading it. Hume does almost too good a job of coupling the traditional method of educational reading with current trends in online media. Tuned Out is not only a book; it is also a website, blog, and extension of today’s social media. I don’t know about the majority of those who partake in educational reading, but I know that when I sit down to read a book, I am not sitting in front of a computer. While I was always engaged and interested in the content in the book, I was often irritated at the staggering number of references to the website for details, further examples, or information.  

  Technology nitpicking aside, Tuned Out is a gem for teachers and educational leaders. Its balance of hard truths, respected research, interesting stories, and online components (for those readers who aren’t as picky as I am when it comes to transitioning between a book and the computer) make it a valuable resource for educators looking for specific strategies for moving forward into 21st century learning.

• Intellectual Engagement: A Search for Practical Meaning

  4:41 PM Comments Off on Intellectual Engagement: A Search for Practical Meaning

  An essay based on “The Having of Wonderful Ideas” and Other Essays on Teaching and Learning by Eleanor Duckworth (Third Edition, Teachers College Press, 2006); An Ethic of Excellence: Building a Culture of Craftsmanship with Students by Ron Berger (Heinemann, 2003); and A New Culture of Learning: Cultivating the Imagination for a World of Constant Change, by Douglas Thomas and John Seely Brown (2011).

  We offer a thematic discussion of three books whose authors wrote from different perspectives in different time periods yet share the view that students’ sense of personal agency is fundamental to their intellectual engagement and deep understanding. The learner’s imagination leads to powerful questions that grow when exposed to processes of productive inquiry and social interaction. These inquiries and social interactions are guided in a learning environment by images of high quality performance and the constraints of the classroom. Our interest lies in understanding how these factors can stimulate intellectual engagement and support the intellectual development of all students in school. 

  Imagine a school…, a dramatic anthology developed and performed by students under the auspices of the Canadian Education Association (CEA), generated useful questions for educators concerned about the school experience of adolescent learners.[1] Are the stories told by 27 teenagers from three provinces common among students across the country? And what would we do if we knew?

  A careful consideration of the research literature on student engagement led to the development of survey measures of intellectual engagement, a key concept that quickly became a powerful generator of a new dialogue among educators.[2] Intellectual engagement is defined as “personal psychological and cognitive investment in learning.” In reviewing the survey’s results with teachers and principals, we discovered – perhaps not surprisingly – that the significance of a relationship between intellectual engagement and learning lies deep within their tacit knowledge. 

  What did surprise many educators were the survey findings that intellectual engagement in core areas of language, mathematics, and science is experienced by too few students overall and that its level drops precipitously from 82 percent in Grade 5 to 42 percent in Grade 10, where it levels off until students complete their schooling.[3] What is less clear to many is what we can do about the findings.

  In discussing these books, we assume that the importance of intellectual engagement is found in its relationship to intellectual development. Intellectual development results in the capacity to figure things out, a capacity that is essential to a life of meaningful learning or – as Thomas and Brown describe it – “‘arc of life’ learning” (p. 18).

  We share with Duckworth, her views on desirable outcomes of education: “We want students’ understanding to be deep, confident, and complex, and their means of expression to be varied and nuanced…[and we want them to] develop a sense of community responsibility, democratic commitment, social justice” (p. xi). Her book explores the variety of ways in which students come to understand important concepts and the significance of their own ideas to development of deep understanding. She writes with engaging clarity. “Knowing the right answer is overrated. It is a virtue – there is no debate about that – but in conventional views of intelligence it tends to be given far to much weight.” Thomas and Brown go further in suggesting the need to reverse our focus from right answers to the quality of questions that arise from students’ inquiries. 

  Ron Berger (a veteran elementary teacher who worked with Harvard’s Project Zero) also challenges conventional views of intelligence by describing the learning contexts in which students exceed their own expectations for performance. He calls for classrooms and schools committed to building cultures on an “ethic of excellence”. Educational reformers have long espoused the significance of adults’ high expectations for student achievement. Berger argues powerfully that students’ own expectations of capability are raised (or presumably lowered) by the quality of work that they do. He illustrates his ideas with descriptions of outstanding student work that one might be tempted to dismiss as that of the “gifted” rather than the “average” student, save for the sheer volume of such occurrences. Berger draws on his carpentry interests for his analogy of student craftsmanship as “work that is strong and accurate and beautiful.” As one of his students describing her classroom experience said, “This school has ruined me for life…I’m never satisfied with anything until it’s nearly perfect. I have to be proud of it” (p. 8).

  Thomas and Brown identify a new culture of learning as the phenomenon of learning taking place everywhere except in the majority of schools where the “stable infrastructure of the twentieth century” has not given way to the “fluid infrastructure” of the twenty-first century. These authors avoid the irritating cliché of 21st century skills, and they do not extol the virtues of technology as an enabler of learning. Rather they describe as indispensible to learning two elements that comprise a new culture of learning: the massive information network and a “bounded and structured environment” defined by purpose or task at hand. Together these two elements provide an environment that allows for “unlimited agency to build and experiment with things within those boundaries” (p. 19).

  Thomas and Brown draw on cultivation as their metaphor for learning; the resources of environment and biology are consolidated, bounded, and structured within a field or garden. They describe exploration and imagination as primary means through which human beings come to make sense of their world. Imagination, curiosity, and play are the roots of intellectual development and the dispositions that enable students to navigate today’s ever-changing, complex world.

  Just like the students who created Imagine a school…, the authors of these three books tell compelling stories to clarify and generalize their educational ideas – ideas that are not necessarily new but that do reframe questions about the role of schooling in the development of students’ minds. Their questions are topical and urgent for any of us seeking to deal with measurements that indicate, once again, that adolescent learners are far too often bored, although skilled at doing only what needs to be done to “get the marks.” These books are refreshing in their expansive and optimistic assumptions about students and teachers, their know-how about unleashing human potential in schools, and their experience that excellent work is the essential goal for all students.

  Some of the schools participating in CEA’s initiative, What did you do in school today?, acted on similar assumptions by engaging students in co-designing their learning and assessment experiences, and exploring and shifting teachers’ own practices – often with the assistance of Sharon Friesen’s Teaching Effectiveness: A Framework and Rubric.[4] “We saw students shine,” was among the observations of teachers whose year-long investigation into raising intellectual engagement culminated in a thematic inquiry titled, The Power of Food, in which students examined the role and relationship of food to health, culture, and social justice. A parent wrote, “Typically I have to pry to find out how his day was, but since The Power of Food he is the one initiating the discussion. I have heard ‘Did you know…’ so many times over the last week.”

  Imagine not needing to ask our kids, “What did you do in school today?”

  EN BREF – Trois auteurs, selon des perspectives et dans des périodes différentes, partagent le même avis : l’appropriation du pouvoir d’action personnelle des élèves est essentielle à leur engagement intellectuel et à une compréhension en profondeur. L’imagination des jeunes suscite de puissantes questions, dont la portée s’élargit grâce à des processus de questionnement productif et d’interaction sociale et à l’encadrement donné par des images de performance de qualité. Ces livres se distinguent par leurs propos enthousiastes et optimistes sur les élèves et le personnel enseignant, par leur savoir-faire en matière de déclenchement du potentiel humain dans les écoles et par leur témoignage qu’un excellent travail constitue le but essentiel de tous les élèves.

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  [1] Imagine a school… Canadian Education Association, available on DVD, info@cea-ace.ca

  [2] J. D. Willms, S. Friesen and P. Milton, What did you do in school today? Transforming Classrooms through Social, Academic, and Intellectual Engagement (First National Report) (Toronto: Canadian Education Association, 2009). Available at www.cea-ace.ca/programs-initiatives/wdydist

  [3] What did you do in school today? Infographic (Canadian Education Association, 2011). www.cea-ace.ca/publication/what-did-you-do-school-today-infographic

  [4] S. Friesen, Teaching Effectiveness, A Framework and Rubric (Canadian Education Association) at www.cea-ace.ca/publication/what-did-you-do-school-today-teaching-effectiveness-framework-and-rubric

• Reflecting the Present: Anticipating the Future

  4:34 PM Comments Off on Reflecting the Present: Anticipating the Future

  The Canadian Education Association, originally called the Dominion Educational Association, was established 120 years ago and held its first annual meeting in Montreal in July 1892, at a time when free and compulsory public education was just gaining a foothold in Canada.

  The pivotal role of public education has always been to reflect the values of the present while anticipating the needs of the future. If it fails to do the former, it loses the support of the public it serves; if it fails to do the latter, it deprives the next generation of the skills and wisdom required to adapt creatively to a changing world. The trick, of course, is to get the balance right. This is most difficult during times of rapid change – times like the present, and times like the end of the nineteenth century.

  It’s impossible to place a clear frame around the “industrial age”, but it is possible to argue that the CEA made its appearance on the Canadian educational stage at a time when the pressures of industrialization as a social force were first making themselves felt throughout Europe and increasingly in North America.

  The challenge to both reflect the present and anticipate the future was resulting in the need to educate young people en masse with two principal goals: to create an educated citizenry capable of participating in the young democracy and to provide the labour needed to fuel an economy that was already beginning to shift from a traditional agrarian to an industrial urban base.

  To that end, the founders of CEA emphasized the importance of well-educated teachers, a curriculum designed to provide students with a solid background in basic skills and Canadian history without duplication or overlap of curriculum from year to year, the need to encourage a sense of national unity and nationhood, and the need to enforce the new regulations requiring young people to attend school until the age of 15.

  The early communications from CEA reflect these concerns. They also reflect the values of the time, with echoes of the stern Protestantism that gave birth to Canada’s first public education systems. A report to that first annual meeting from the association’s Resolutions Committee reflects an unflinching – today, we would say draconian – commitment to compulsory education as well as an acknowledgment of its fragility.

  Your committee is greatly impressed with the prevalence of truancy and the irregular attendance of children under 15 years of age at the schools established by the Provinces for their especial benefit. In order to overcome this evil and justify the establishment of a free system of education, it is the opinion of the Committee that the laws with regard to truancy and compulsory attendance of school should be more exacting…Your committee would also recommend that where it appears that absence from school is continuous and voluntary, Industrial schools should be established for the reclamation of the incorrigible and for the punishment of juvenile offenders, in the manner of the Industrial School established at Mimico, near the city of Toronto. [Italics added.]

  A bit of research shows that the Victoria Industrial School for Boys opened in Mimico in 1887, a juvenile reformatory for boys ten through 14 that “emphasized child rescue, reform through character development, moral and academic education, and vocational training.” The schedule and curriculum seem harsh by today’s standards ­– even by the standards of 1934, when the school was closed “amid sensational public accusations that [it] was a ‘barbarous and antiquated’ institution.”[1]

  The CEA’s resolution committee of 1891 obviously saw it differently, perhaps influenced by this excerpt from Superintendent Hendrie’s first annual report on the school:

  It seemed a curious undertaking to erect a school for these waifs without bar or cell or hardly a whip…This school differs from a reformatory in that it is in no sense a prison, and the boys are not sent down as criminals, neither are they turned loose upon the world at the expiration of a fixed term, but are apprenticed to some trusty farmer or mechanic… Poor ‘bags of bones’, found in a deplorable state, have acquired the home feeling and habits of industry and obedience in the kindly atmosphere of the School.[2]

  This 19th century attitude toward and “solution” to the problems of truancy may tempt us to judge the actions of the past by standards of the present. Certainly they do not reflect the values of educators in 2011, when free and compulsory public education is an undisputed social value, and educators would be loathe to use words like “incorrigible” and “evil” to describe students or their behaviour. But it may not be too big a stretch to see the CEA’s current initiatives to measure and improve student engagement as arising from concerns similar to the organizational founders’ concerns with truancy.

  Like them, we are facing a dramatic shift in the demands of the economy, requiring a new level of student commitment to learning for a future that is unfolding in ways we cannot fully anticipate. Like them, we see the next generation entering a period of profound social and political change – in this case on a global scale. The problems of “truancy” occupy the minds of today’s educators less than concerns about lack of engagement – a kind of social and intellectual truancy that threatens the future of our young people much as failure to obtain the basics of elementary education threatened the future of Canada’s youth in 1891.

  While we do not sentence the disengaged to reformatories, we do sentence them to lives divorced from the opportunity for full participation in the social and economic fabric of the nation. The need for full engagement in the learning process, rather than institutional structures, is the imperative that drives public education in the 21st century.

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  [1] http://correctionsontario.tripod.com/Mimico%20History/History%20of%20Mimico%20CC.htm

  [2] Ibid.

• Teaching in the Land of Happiness: The Canada-Bhutan Connection

  4:26 PM Comments Off on Teaching in the Land of Happiness: The Canada-Bhutan Connection

  Every morning, Kendra wakes at dawn to the sound the Kulong Cho River rushing through the valley. She has mastered the art of tying her Kira and dresses quickly in the early morning light. As the sun rises, she finishes correcting the student papers she set aside the night before. At eight o’clock she begins the walk to school, meeting many students along the way, all of whom bow and shout “Good Morning, Madam!” before running away in giggles.

  The day begins slowly as students busy themselves doing mandatory Socially Useful and Productive Work. Eventually, Kendra and her students make their way to morning assembly, which opens with a group prayer for wisdom and one minute of meditation, and ends with announcements and the singing of the national anthem. The students’ voices echo through the assembly hall. The school day has begun.

  Kendra’s classes go by quickly; two Grade 5 Math classes, one Grade 7 English class, and a section of Values Education. She doesn’t have many resources to teach math so she uses rocks for division and pasta noodles for geometry. Her students don’t mind. Seventh period comes and goes, but the day is not over. Today is Math Club day and there are 40 eager Grade 5 students waiting to learn about negative numbers, fractions, decimals, and ratios. Eventually, Kendra walks home in the twilight, tired and happy.

  Kendra is one of an adventurous and dedicated group of Canadian teachers working in Bhutan, one of the most isolated countries in the world. She is part of an effort to combat a growing teacher shortage and support an education system that is undergoing transformative change.

  Known to the western world as “the land of happiness” or “the last Shangri-la,” Bhutan is a magical and mysterious place where Buddhist values prevail and the majestic peaks of the Himalayan Mountains are part of every landscape. Sandwiched between two giants, China and India, it is also a country that works diligently to promote Bhutanese culture and preserve ancient traditions, while seeking prosperity and peace for its citizens.

  Education is believed to be vital to this mission, as it is to the thoughtful development of the country. Today, Bhutan remains the youngest democracy in the world, having adopted a constitutional monarchy in 2008. It is the country’s commitment to the continual improvement of education that, in 2010, resulted in the placement of six Canadian teachers in rural villages throughout Bhutan. In 2011, this number more than doubled, with 13 Canadian teachers and eight native-English speaking teachers of other nationalities teaching in remote public schools across the country.

  This is not the first time Canadians have had a hand in supporting education in Bhutan. The legacy of Canadian involvement dates back to 1963, when Father William Mackey, a Canadian Jesuit, entered Bhutan for the first time and established Bhutan’s first high school in the remote reaches of the country’s Eastern region. Over the next 26 years, Mackey worked tirelessly to develop secular education in the country. Between 1985 and 1991, over 40 Canadian teachers were sent to schools in Bhutan through World University Service (WUSC). Author Jamie Zeppa documented her time as a WUSC volunteer in Bhutan in her best-selling novel, Beyond the Earth and the Sky: A Journey into Bhutan.

  Today, much of Canada’s involvement in providing educators to Bhutan is carried on through the work of The Bhutan Canada Foundation (BCF), a Canadian charity working in partnership with the Ministry of Education in Bhutan to encourage the growth of Bhutan’s system of universal education. Teaching in Bhutan is unique among international assignments because the language of instruction is English, with the national language, Dzongkha, used to teach only a handful of subjects.

  In April, a colleague and I had the opportunity to travel to Bhutan to see these teachers in action. For two weeks we snaked our way across the country by auto, teetering on the edge of sheer drops and dodging the ever-present threat of rock slides, as we climbed Bhutan’s highest mountain passes and visited some of the country’s most remote communities. We saw schools perched on rocky ridges, in tiny villages, attended by boarding students from all over the country who have left the family home in pursuit of education.

  This dedication to education is immediately apparent in even the most isolated communities. In many schools it is not uncommon for children to walk an hour or more each way to and from school. Ian, an Australian national who teaches English to students in Grades 4, 5, and 8 at Rangjung Lower Secondary School, told us of one boy who walks seven kilometers each way every day, up and down a steep mountain path. “The students’ dedication is just amazing,” he said.

  Classrooms overflow with eager students; however, in many cases, the teacher supply is simply not enough to meet demand. According to the Ministry of Education in Bhutan, the country currently faces a shortage of nearly 1,000 teachers, primarily in rural areas. Teachers placed in Bhutan through BCF are part of a solution to address this shortage, with teachers now in eighteen different communities across the country.

  For these teachers, all of whom work for a local salary and live in basic conditions, the initial incentive to teach in Bhutan varies. For some, teaching in Bhutan was an opportunity to discover an ancient culture, while for others it was a chance to share professional knowledge with a developing education system. Regardless of what gave these teachers the initial push to journey to Bhutan, their motivation to stay comes directly from the students.

  “I love teaching here because the students are so wonderful. They want to learn, they are funny, and they are very respectful,” said Julia, a Special Education teacher in Mongar.

  Indeed, the culture of respect in Bhutan can come as a bit of a shock to teachers when they arrive. When Nick – now in his second year at Jigme Sherubling Higher Secondary School in Khaling – first began teaching in Bhutan, the deferential nature of his students surprised him. An early classroom experience, documented on Nick’s personal blog, serves as an illustration.

   “My first exposure to the Bhutanese educational culture came the second I stepped through the classroom door. There was a shuffle of chairs against the wooden floor, every student popped out of their seat, and at the top of their lungs and in perfect unison they all yelled, “Good morning, sir!”

  Perhaps, the feature of Bhutanese education that Canadian teachers find most unique is the effort to integrate the development concept of Gross National Happiness into both curriculum and school culture.

  But perhaps, the feature of Bhutanese education that Canadian teachers find most unique is the effort to integrate the development concept of Gross National Happiness into both curriculum and school culture.

  In recent years the concept of Gross National Happiness (GNH) has garnered global attention as an alternative to the standard practice of measuring the quality of a country through Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In contrast to GDP, which uses the market value of goods and services produced within a country to indicate quality of life in that country, GNH proposes a more holistic approach to measuring the quality of life of a country’s citizens. GNH is supported by four pillars: sustainable development, promotion and preservation of culture, conservation of environment, and good governance, with education seen as the glue that holds the enterprise together. As a result, the integration of GNH principles into learning environments has become a key objective of the Ministry of Education and school administrators, as they work to create GNH learning environments for all Bhutanese children by 2012.

  At the Educating for Gross National Happiness international workshop held in Thimphu in December of 2009, Prime Minister Lyonchhen Jigmi Yoser Thinley shared his vision of GNH education, the aspiration of which is “to see young people graduate from our educational system with a deeply felt care for nature and for each other, steeped in their culture, seeing reality clearly, living in harmony with the natural world and with their neighbors, and acting wisely for the benefit of all beings.” During the conference, international educators were charged with making GNH in education a reality by identifying practical steps to infuse the concept into daily school life. Today, more than two years after the workshop was held, Canadian teachers in Bhutan are seeing the results of the early stages of GNH education.

  “We have weekly themes integrated with GNH philosophy, on which students prepare speeches daily. For example, the GNH values of cooperation, fairness, and sharing,” said Shauna, a teacher at Bartsham Middle Secondary School.

  Other teachers see GNH in action in their schools through daily school-wide meditation, GNH infused curriculum and lesson plans, bulletin boards and posters promoting GNH values, and monthly GNH faculty meetings.

  Shauna’s husband, Julian, teaches at Bartsham Primary, a school recognized as a leader in GNH implementation and environmental conservation. In 2010, students at Bartsham Primary organized a community-wide cleaning campaign that earned 45,000 Nu ($1,000) through the sale of metal scraps. The school then used this money to replace old blackboards with a more environmentally-friendly green board alternative. Bartsham Primary currently runs a number of GNH based environmental initiatives, including a tree planting program, a clean water campaign, and a school beautification project. The idea, says Bartsham Primary School principal Pema Norbu, is that “creating lovely places for our children to study will go a long way towards achieving and imparting the values and the main principles of Gross National Happiness.”

  While GNH learning environments are sure to encourage vibrant and active learning, the truth is that amongst Bhutanese students, education is already highly prized.

  On our last day in Bhutan we accompanied Maureen, a veteran teacher from British Columbia whose husband, John, teaches high school in the same community, to one of her classes at Wamrong Lower Secondary School. Within minutes of our arrival a group of 30 curious students had us surrounded, asking question after question.  As the period came to an end we asked the departing students, most of whom come from local farming families, if they liked school. Many nodded timidly until finally one brave student spoke up and said, “Education is like gold, Madam.”

  Although they are teaching a world away from Canada, in a country where the way of life could not be more different, these Canadian teachers feel right at home. Shauna and Julian have embraced Bhutan’s incredible outdoors by trekking the countryside in their free time, Kendra has learned how to make traditional Bhutanese dishes, and John and Maureen have learned to speak the local dialect of their community.

  Of course they are making sacrifices to teach in Bhutan – giving up a year’s salary, living far away from family and friends, enduring bucket baths, electricity shortages, and a limited variety of food. However, the reward of teaching in a developing education system, where new ideas, strategies, and approaches are welcomed and the impact of a foreign teacher is evident throughout an entire community, far outweighs the challenges.

   “It was possibly the most satisfying teaching experience in my whole career. I was able to use my skills and experience, and could see the positive results of my work,” said Ann, a retired teacher and BCF alumnus who taught in Mongar.

  Now that she has returned home, Ann says that, in the end, she learned much more from Bhutan and its people than she taught.

  “I feel that I came away from Bhutan a much richer person. The students, my colleagues, and my neighbours taught me a great deal about Bhutanese culture. More importantly, immersion in that culture also taught me a lot about myself. Bhutanese people are the warmest, kindest, most generous people I have met anywhere in the world. They will always be in my heart.”

  EN BREF – Les écoles du Bhoutan débordent d’élèves enthousiastes, mais elles manquent souvent de personnel enseignant. The Bhutan Canada Foundation (BCF) est un organisme de bienfaisance canadien qui collabore avec le ministère de l’Éducation du Bhutan, envoyant des enseignantes et des enseignants canadiens dans les régions éloignées, où ils gagnent un salaire local et vivent dans des conditions de base. L’aspect de l’éducation bhoutanaise que les enseignantes et enseignants canadiens trouvent la plus unique est l’intégration du concept du bonheur national brut (BNB) au curriculum et dans la culture scolaire. L’objectif, c’est que les jeunes obtiennent leurs diplômes du système d’éducation en ayant acquis un souci profond de la nature, un grand respect des autres, une sensibilisation à leur culture, une vision claire de la réalité, en vivant en harmonie avec le monde naturel et avec leurs voisins et voisines, en agis­sant avec sagesse au profit de tous les êtres. Ce concept est inculqué dans les classes au moyen de thèmes hebdomadaires intégrés à la philosophie du BNB, de méditation à l’échelle de l’école, de même que d’un curriculum et de leçons infusés du BNB.

• It’s Not Time For Imagination?

  September 14, 2011 4:05 PM Comments Off on It’s Not Time For Imagination?

  “But daddy, it’s not time for imagination!” My four year old son, Luke, was doing his best to rescue a toy that his two year old brother, Liam, had been playing with. The problem was that, according to Luke, his brother was not using the toy for its intended purpose and should, therefore, be required to give it up. I had tried to explain to Luke that Liam was using his imagination and had come up with a different way of playing. Needless to say, my reasoning didn’t wash—at least not with Luke.

  In a recently posted CEA video, John Ralston Saul has some rather poignant things to say about what we sacrifice when our school systems are focused on efficiency, managerialism and content over form. And while authentic intelligence is held up by Ralston Saul as being one of the victims of the rather utilitarian model of education that has been taken shape around us, I would argue that imagination has suffered as well.

  And, you know, it makes total sense.

  Think back to the opening conversations that you’ve had in your schools and district offices this year. Have they been more focused on strategies for increasing test scores, or on ways of creating engaging and exciting learning environments for students? Have they been more concerned with mitigating risk through policy statements and rules, or with ways of encouraging entrepreneurship and intellectual risk-taking? Have they been more centered on assessment and evaluation, or on fostering real and powerful learning in our students and teachers?

  More and more the priorities and values that are promoted in our public schools push to the side the types of energy and thinking that are going to make real differences in the ability of public education to prepare students for dynamic citizenship in the 21^st century. More and more, we’re saying to our students and our teachers, “It’s not time for imagination.”

  Imagination and creativity cannot simply be inserted into our school systems as a “value-added” feature. It’s not about developing a curriculum that teaches imagination, and its certainly not about creating a box on the report card that accounts for imaginative thinking.

  No, imagination must become part of the culture of the way we look at schools and the work of education in Canada. It needs to be infused into the discourse used by policy-makers, administrators, teachers and students. Public will and resolve can open up the space for a shift in the types of conversations that are considered valuable in our 21^st century schools. Imagination can help us to keep those spaces open!

  Have you encountered a shift towards thinking of schools from a more imaginative perspective? In what areas of school practice do you see room for the infusion of imaginative thinking? What could imaginative thinking look like in your school context?

• Motivation and Autonomy

  September 13, 2011 2:14 PM Comments Off on Motivation and Autonomy

  “A man stands in front of a tank in China.” Families stand in the streets for days in Egypt. And, on a different scale, children everywhere contemplate running away from home when denied a later bedtime / another cookie / a sought-after toy. In Drive Daniel Pink makes the case that the longing – and sometimes fight – for autonomy is part of what makes us human. He defines autonomy as the desire to have control over a task, our time, our technique and our environment (including deciding who is on our team).

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• Can You Imagine?

  September 7, 2011 5:01 PM Comments Off on Can You Imagine?

  One of the comments that often appeared on my early school report cards, one that was then emphasized during parent-teacher interviews, had to do with my habit of getting lost in daydreams. Apparently, it was not uncommon for me to zone out during regularly scheduled classroom lessons, returning to “reality” only after being admonished by my teacher for not paying attention.

  

  Photo by: mollyollyoxenfree http://www.flickr.com/photos/mollydon/5358808933/

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• What Will You Open First At The Beginning of the School Year?

  September 2, 2011 12:31 PM Comments Off on What Will You Open First At The Beginning of the School Year?

  Canadian thought leader, Rodd Lucier, asked me the following question last week, and it has had me thinking ever since:

  “What is the first thing that will be opened on the first day of school: the textbook or the stories?”

  I remember clearly preparing for the first day of school at the beginning of my career. In those days, I would spend most of August in my classroom (much to the chagrin of our caretaking staff), preparing bulletin boards, photocopying worksheets and activities, designing curriculum tasks and devising complex incentive schemes. On the very last day of summer vacation, I would spend my time arranging desks in neat arrays, making sure that pencils were sharpened and that notebooks, textbooks and name tags were on every desk. I wanted to guarantee that when students walked in on the first day of school  they knew that I had been diligently working on their behalf and that I was, indeed, ready to go.

  I recall those First Days of School being characterized by a great deal of talking and a great deal of listening. Looking back, however, I know that I was the one who did most of the talking, and the students did most of the listening: listening to who I was and what my expectations were; listening to me outline the rules and procedures for the year. I thought that was the way to do it. I thought that was the way to establish control, rapport and student buy-in. I thought!

  Fast forward twenty five years and my current method of preparation for that first day of school:

  Bulletin boards are started but not complete. A large, blank piece of butcher paper runs along one entire wall of the classroom. Tables and desks are pushed to the side and the chairs form a large circle with several pieces of wood resembling a campfire as the centerpiece. A guitar leans up against one wall. I am ready to go.

  It took me too many years to realize that I had been starting off on the wrong foot! The structures and infrastructures of school, while important, are not central to what my work is all about. Textbooks, bulletin boards, notebooks and all of the other scholastic trappings that my students and I are used to hiding behind are not what are essential to the ecology of my classroom.

  For me, the core of teaching and learning has become the story: my story, my students’ story, story of our community and, indeed, our world. And if it’s true that our stories lie at the core of who we are as individuals, then why not recognize that in the way I begin my school year.

  Our stories connect us to one another; our stories set us apart and allow us to express our uniqueness. Our stories allow us to relive both the highs and lows of life. Our stories allow us to express our hopes, dreams and our fears.

  To take the time to open up our stories is to lay the foundation for empathic relationship which, I believe, is the cornerstone of any safe and nurturing environment.

  So, the bulletin boards I begin are now designed to leave room for my students’ own creativity and insight. The butcher paper that runs along my classroom wall acts as a living, breathing record of what we learn and are thinking about on a daily basis. The tables and desks are sidelined in order to encourage openness and vulnerability. And the campfire? Well, that’s my new metaphor for teaching and learning, for it’s around the campfire that the art of living is played out: in story, in song, and in dance.

  The textbooks—well, they still have a place in my teaching, but they won’t be seen for a while. If you walk into my classroom on the first day of school these days, the first things that you’ll see us open up are our stories.

  So, come in, grab a chair around the campfire and get ready to learn!

  Note: For a powerful example of how another teacher has adopted this approach on an ongoing basis, take a look at Children Full of Life a Passionate Eye documentary released several years ago. 

• John Ralston Saul: Where is the Standardized Testing Trend Taking Us?

  August 31, 2011 5:44 PM Comments Off on John Ralston Saul: Where is the Standardized Testing Trend Taking Us?

  Author and essayist John Ralston Saul shares his thoughts about the ever-increasing focus on testing in K-12 education.

• Assessment As Learning: It’s time. Seriously.

  August 23, 2011 2:03 PM Comments Off on Assessment As Learning: It’s time. Seriously.

  “I’m just so afraid to take that leap,” a veteran English teacher said, to the understanding nods of others in the room.

  It is a sunny Saturday and the classroom where I am presenting to a group of educators pursuing their Masters looks out onto the shining waters of False Creek. The leap the English teacher refers to is the leap I took about 5 years ago when I stopped giving my students marks and started giving them feedback instead. I have paused in my Prezi after the bit about my assessment practices so we can discuss the ideas I have just shared. I understand her fear. So do others in the group, as evidenced by the wringing of hands and pursed lips.

  Many teachers still fear challenging the status quo when it comes to assessment. Sometimes a school’s leadership lacks the strength to speak against the traditional system of ranking that we now know does nothing for learning. Sometimes a community of powerful parents clings vociferously to this ranking system simply because it is familiar – after all, that’s how it was when they went to school. But here’s the rub: since they went to school, the world – the context in which we work and play – has changed in drastic and meaningful ways.

  In the past couple of decades, brain research and education research has transformed our understanding of learning. If we want to offer the opportunity for success to everyone then all learners must be offered the benefits of a learning system not the damage of a ranking system. A learning system will ensure that all learners “cross the stage with dignity and options.” Our future deserves that reality, and so do the students in our classrooms right now.

  Educators using assessment for learning are changing the status quo and anytime we change the status quo we face conflict. Conflict can be frightening but it doesn’t have to be paralyzing, especially with so much evidence to support us.

  All of this is on the tip of my tongue as I turn to the teacher who spoke of her fear, but before I respond another teacher pipes in: “Why not compromise and use rubrics but keep numbers? I mean, we can always go halfway, right? Just give those intimidating parents what they want, but use feedback too. We don’t have to do the whole thing right off. Why not ease people into it?”

  Here’s the thing. The research has been firm on the damage that marks-based systems do to learning. Once we know this, it is our moral imperative to do better. Assessment for and as learning is better.

  The English teacher who spoke of her fear at shifting her assessment practice stands in the same place as many others all over the country, but the gap over which she must leap is getting smaller. More research, more practitioners’ experience, more success and more understanding make that gap smaller every day. I understand that the gap exists. But it is time to jump.

  Here is an article published by Education Canada that discusses how I first jumped. Dan Meyers, an educator in California, has a presentation about how he jumped. If you’re ready to talk the logistics of your jump, please comment below! Ready… set …

• Canadian EdWire – Our Public Schools: Consumer-driven?

  August 19, 2011 7:13 PM Comments Off on Canadian EdWire – Our Public Schools: Consumer-driven?

  Skateboard school or single-sex? Niche schools take off – Globe and Mail

  Fight brews over petition to move prestigious education program – Toronto Star

  OTHER EDUCATION NEWS

  B.C.’s schools to cut optional exams, no longer required for university – Vancouver Sun
  Scholarships will now be based on marks in five mandatory tests

  Getting ‘YouTubed’ big issue facing teachers, professors – Toronto Star

  From ‘sexting’ to truancy: A world of woes for school principals – Toronto Star

  Dropout chiefs imperil a generation of kids – Globe and Mail

  What news am I missing? Can you recommend some education blogs for me to follow? Please tweet me at @max_cooke, e-mail me at mcooke@cea-ace.ca or better yet, use the comment box below to suggest additional articles happening in your region so that others can check it out. 

  INTERNATIONAL 

  The Missing Link in School Reform – Stanford Social Innovation Review

  The Global Search for Education: More Focus on Change – Huff Post

  EDUCATION BLOG HIGHLIGHTS

  Further to my earlier blog recap of the UnPlug’d Canadian Education Summit, reflections of this groundbreaking event continue to pour in from the organizers and participants.  

  UnPlug’d 11 wasn’t perfect, it was real – Learning Together (Ben Hazzard)

  The Process is the Product – The Clever Sheep (Rodd Lucier) 

  Why Relationships Matter – The Unplug’d Model – Pipedreams (Zoe Brannigan-Pipe)

  Unplug’d 2011: The Change We Need – EnVisioned (Lorna Constantini)

  Unpacking from UnPlug’d11 – Mrs. D’s Flight Plan (Headther Durnin)

  Filling Your Apple Basket — The Continuous Learner (Joe Evans) 

  What I should have shared at #unplugd11….. – Teaching and Learning Together (Kelly Powers)

  Not that kind of story – Barker Blog (Danika Barker)

  Unplug’d 11 – Ramblings (Jaclyn Calder)

  Unpacking, reminiscing, and wondering… Alana Learns about Educational – (Alana Callan) 

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