Library to Learning Commons

Library to Learning Commons

As many of you now know, we have been awarded a $35 000.00 grant from Education Matters to help redesign our learning commons into a space where students can access resources, investigate, explore and create.  On the afternoon of January 20, our staff came together to begin the work ahead.  We looked at the principles of a learning commons to ensure we had a common understanding through the work of David V. Loertscher (https://crcpd.ab.ca/uploads/userfiles/0a5c758365f7.pdf)

Some of the key components of a learning commons were discussed:

·      A collaborative physical and virtual environment that invites and ignites participatory learning

·      A responsive dynamic that is invested in school-wide improvement through an evidence-based process of design, modify, rethink, redesign, and rework.

·      Professionals who can successfully lead out front, or lead from the middle, or push from behind are great candidates to head a learning commons.

Another important part of our resign was the consulting of students.  Our Library Assistant had a conversation with every classroom and their feedback for our learning commons included:

·      Student centred furniture (special chairs, soft furniture, whiteboard tables etc)

·      Specified atmosphere (color preferences, soft music, lighting, living wall etc)

·      Specialized technology (ipads, headphones, computers, speakers, cameras etc)

·      Purposeful spaces (reading, puppets, stage, makerspace, art etc.)

·      Book collections (graphic novels, signage, history, organized in genres etc.)

As we move forward, we are excited to share this journey of transformation.  Our funds must be spent by August 2017 so I will be sharing our work and progress around the redesign.

Sincerely,

Ms. Paull

Inquiry Learning

Inquiry Learning

Colonel J Fred Scott School has a long history of promoting inquiry as a means of instruction.  What exactly does this mean? Area III has been working with the Galileo Network for many years now in order to hone the practices in schools to include rich and meaningful tasks that embed assessment and involve collaboration.  At Colonel J Fred Scott we use the Teaching Effectiveness Framework to guide the development of tasks. After an extensive examination of research literature, several principles emerge, and are summarized in this document, demonstrating effective teaching and learning:

1.     Effective teaching practice begins with the thoughtful and intentional design of learning that engages students intellectually and academically. 

·      Teachers have chosen a guiding and broad question with which to navigate through the program of studies.  This question is timeless and is big enough to enter into many different curriculum areas.

2.     The work that students are asked to undertake is worthy of their time and attention, is personally relevant, and deeply connected to the world in which they live.

·      The tasks that are designed around questions or big ideas are very much connected to what is happening in the world today.  An example of this is our work around the Haiti destruction (Grade 1-2) or the work which explored Mars settlement (5-6) which is currently begin examined. 

3.     Assessment practices are clearly focused on improving student learning and guiding teaching decisions and actions.

·      There are many ways our teachers make assessment a tool for improving understanding (formative assessment).  Giving immediate, verbal feedback is one of the most important ways students can improve their understanding of concepts.  Also, teachers often co-create target rubrics and criteria so students have a clear ideas of what is expected in order to achieve at certain levels. 

4.     Teachers foster a variety of interdependent relationships in classrooms that promote learning and create a strong culture around learning.

·      Collaboration and dialogue is vital in the inquiry process.  When students talk about their emerging notions, make predictions and conjectures and challenge ideas they think deeper than going over surface concepts by copying out someone else’s ideas or having something told to them.  Establishing a culture of collaboration begins in September and sets the tone for an inquiry environment. 

5.     Teachers improve their practice in the company of peers.

·      Teachers no longer work in the isolation of their classrooms.  Just like students require meaningful collaboration to grow in their learning, so do educators.  When we put six minds together in developing a task or learning experience we are multiplying ideas, challenging each other in our decisions and holding one another accountable for the highest standard in a child’s education. 

Inquiry is not in the absence of direct teaching when needed.  Often inquiry work is interspersed with mini lessons that fill gaps, demonstrate concepts or lead students in a task where the learning is then infused back into the larger inquiry.  Jean Piaget states that, “The principal goal of education should be creating men and women who are capable of doing new things not simply repeating what other generations have done.”  Through inquiry learning, students experience the program of studies through real world experiences, they explore possibilities and create solutions.

Ms. Paull

For more information on the Teaching Effectiveness Framework visit:

http://www.galileo.org/cea-2009-wdydist-teaching.pdf

Grade 3-4 Environment Club

Environment Club: Student Involvement at CJFS

Over the past few months, Mrs. Downing and I started to work with our Environment Club consisting of 24, 3-4 students.  The students were excited to learn more about our work this year both making our school and safe and caring place, and leading the work in connecting our students to outdoor learning spaces in meaningful ways.  Here are some of the things we discussed and worked on:

·      Our student group, along with the Environmental Literacy Committee, will be spending $1000.00 of the $15, 000.00 grant on “maker” supplies that can be used for creative play outside.  We have decided to purchase wooden blocks as they can be used both indoors and outdoors and are durable for all sorts of play and creation.  Students gave their input as to which blocks would spark the most creativity and be the most fun to interact and build with.  We will proceed with the order and students from the environment club will take turns moving the bins of blocks outside at morning and lunch recess time.  I will update you when we receive them and share some pictures!

·      Back in October I applied for a $1000.00 Conoco Phillips Environmental Grant to spend on our outdoor learning space at the front of the school.  We have just learned that we were successful in securing the grant! Our Environment Club students investigated purchasing real tools used by botanists for our students as they examine and learning in our natural spaces.  We have been working with a member of  “Nature Calgary” where we have been consulting with one of the volunteers to come up with further ideas to enhance our outdoor learning space.  They were most helpful in helping us determine how we might spend some of our money on tools.  In particular, our students decided they would like the following:

o   Real equipment that scientist might use

§  Binoculars

§  Magnifying glasses

§  Bug boxes

·      We went outside on a nature hunt and found many signs of fall, animals and plants.  A few weeks we took some amazing photographs of our nature finds after Ms. Downing gave us a lesson on still life photography.  We will be sharing these photos in the school hall soon.  Keep an eye on the frames down the main hall!

We are excited about the work of the Environment Club and I will share more as the year progresses!

Sincerely,

Ms. Paull