Learning Services – NVSD44

At Carisbrooke School, Kindergarten students in Mrs. McNaughton’s class are learning how to use iPads as powerful tools for interactive tabletop activities.  Students are partnered up to explore letters and sounds with the Starfall app.

The iPADS, which  are becoming part of the daily Kindergarten routine, are helping students to learn keypad manipulation (a technique they have named ‘tickling’), animated sharing and turn taking.

Just a few blocks away, in Mme Lechleiter’s grade one French Immersion classroom, students are also learning how to use iPads.  The children are using the iPad camera and the White Board app to create their own visual reinforcement for learning and practising key phrases and grammatical structures in French.  These students have also created their own French picture books using iBook author.  These original stories are enhanced with beautiful artwork and narrated with the children’s own voices!

To learn more about Mme Lechleiter’s action research using the iPads in her primary French Immersion classroom, check out her Journey with an iPad blog!  The blog also includes some great lists of appropriate iPad apps and ideas for primary literacy instruction powered by technology!

 I recently read the book, “Finnish Lessons – What can the world learn from educational change in Finland? By Pasi Sahlberg (Foreword by Andy Hargreaves).   Here are some observations and ideas to ponder.

Comparing Finland to Canada

1. Less is More:  Finnish Teachers spend less time teaching than Canadian counterparts. Approximately 4 lessons per day (about 4 hours of teaching), which provides more time for Professional Development, collaboration, assessment and personalization of instruction

2.  Finnish Teachers have more control in developing and implementing curriculum.

3.  Less standardized testing seems to promote increased levels of creativity, innovation and critical thinking

Core Beliefs: Teachers and Schools

1.  Collaboration vs Competition – Teachers, schools and communities are encouraged to network, work together and to collaborate. There are “friendly rivalries” that exist between communities, but in general, the prevailing culture values “equity of opportunity & access”.

2.  Teachers are encouraged to be leaders and take responsibility for the whole child.

3. Bureaucracy of decision-making is simplified. Risk-taking is encouraged and mistakes are expected as a vehicle for learning.

Students Learn Differently: Individualized Learning and Assessment

1. Students are provided with increasing levels of choice in their learning as they progress.

2. Students are able to cobble together their own learning paths from a menu of modular-designed courses. This also allows for students to progress at their own pace (some requiring additional time, others not as much).

3. Students can choose between two primary “streams” of education once their primary years are completed; however, they still have opportunities to move between the “streams” should their goals change

The Education System

Finland’s current education system benefits from a long cultural and political history that promotes equity for all, pragmatism, trust in public institutions and a general belief that “everyone” needs to be included.

Educational policy is interwoven with other public policies – i.e. welfare, paid for university, pre-school, etc. They have geared their society to support families and individuals to “be all that they can be” in order to better support a knowledge-based work force which in turn helps to support the social safety net for all.

 The Philosophy: Moving to the Future

1. Development of a personal road map for learning. It is important for each young person to acquire certain basic knowledge, such as reading, writing, and using mathematics. In the future, it will be important that students have alternative ways to learn these basic things. Children will learn more and more of what we used to learning school out of school, through media, the Internet, and from difference social networks to which they belong. This will lead to a situation in which an increasing number of students will find teaching in school irrelevant because they have already learned what is meaningful for them elsewhere.

2. Less classroom-based teaching. Rather than continue thinking of future schooling in terms of subjects and time allocations to them, the time is right now to make a bold move and rethink the organization of time in schools.

3. Development of interpersonal skills and problem solving. In the future people will spend more time on and give more personal attention to media and communication technologies than they do today. It means two things from the educational point of view. First, people in general will spend less time together in a concrete social setting. Social interaction will be based on using social networking and other future tools that rely on digital technological solutions. Second, people will learn more about the world and other people through media and communication technologies. Schools need to rethink what their core task in educating people will be. What most people in the future will need that they are not likely to learn anywhere else is real problem-solving in cooperation with other people. This will become one of the basic functions of future schools: to teach cooperation and problem solving in small groups of diverse people.

4. Engagement and creativity as pointers of success. People will learn more of what they need through digital tools and media, and therefore it will become increasingly difficult to know what role schools have played in students’ learning (or not learning if you wish) of intended things. First, engaging all students in learning in school will be more important than ever. Second, students’ ability to create something valuable and new in school will be more important than ever – not just for some students, but for most of them. In other words, a successful school is able to take each individual – both students and teachers – further in their development than they could have gone by themselves.

Global Trends vs. The Finnish Way

Teaching core subjects                  Broad and creative learning

Standardization                                Personalization

Test-based accountability              Professional responsibility

Market-based management          Educational leadership

Data and control                              Collaboration and trust

The Canadian and Finnish cultures are very different but they do share at least one educational belief: For students to be successful we need to work collaboratively and always in the best interest of the child.  I encourage you to take the time to read this fascinating expose of the Finnish educational system.  Mb

Larry Rosenstock, CEO and Founding Principal of High Tech High in California, gave two keynote presentations today at Sutherland and Windsor Secondary.  Educators from North Vancouver and other school districts in the lower mainland joined students, parents and trustees in listening to Larry’s inspiring stories of innovation and creativity in his network of eleven K-12 public charter schools.

Larry’s message focused on many key elements of educational reform that are consistent with personalizing learning for all students, including: creativity, innovation, curricular integration, real world applications of learning, collaboration among students and educators, and continuous learning for students and adults.

Check out this You Tube video to learn more about Larry Rosenstock and High Tech High.

On Monday, December 12, Kindergarten teachers from across the district attended a workshop to learn more about incorporating water exploration and other “invitations to learn through play” into their classroom programs.

Teachers were amazed by the many beautiful arrangements that had been assembled by Gretchen Tolfo, the school district’s Early Learning Facilitator.  Water play, both indoor and outdoor, is a great activity for young children because it’s always available, open-ended, and provides opportunities for extended learning.

When children play with water, they are learning the basics of logical and mathematical thinking, scientific reasoning, and cognitive problem solving. When children engage in water play, they develop fine motor skills by manipulating small objects and toys, measuring, pouring, and sorting.   They also begin to develop basic scientific understanding by determining which objects sink and which float.

The workshop also featured other possibilities for play exploration using simple objects to develop children’s ability to estimate, count, sort, and match.

BC’s Early Learning Framework and the Full Day Kindergarten Guide both highlight the importance of play-based learning:

Play lays a foundation for future success in writing, reading and developing abstract scientific and mathematical concepts

Teachers Kammi Clark and Alexis Fletcher are personalizing learning for their students through a unique co-teaching pilot project.  Two classes of grade 6 and 7 students are learning together in a large classroom setting equipped with a SmartBoard and tables and chairs for greater flexibility in collaborative group work.

The SmartBoard is proving to be an engaging tool for whole class instruction in this class of 60 students.  On the day we visited, the Westview students were exploring the similarities and differences between fiction and non-fiction text, using an interactive Venn diagram to deepen their understanding of the concepts.  The teachers are really excited about the seamless integration of the SmartBoard technology, which not only helps with classroom management (sounds to signal classroom transitions, a program to select student volunteers), but also provides opportunities for enhanced student engagement with new topics.  “The SmartBoard helps us open the door to the world outside the classroom.”

Kammi and Alexis are strong believers in the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and Differentiated Instruction. At the beginning of the year, the Westview students in this class were asked to complete Learning Style Inventories to determine their learning preferences (e.g. visual, kinaesthetic, auditory).  These learner profiles have allowed Kammi and Alexis to get to know their students better, and provide more opportunities for students to be successful through collaborative group tasks matched to their preferred learning style.

“The students have learned a lot about themselves as learners and we hope they will carry this on to future learning environments.”

In Mrs. MacKay’s grade 4/5 class at Canyon Heights Elementary students are using lap tops and iPads to empower their learning in many areas, including: English language arts, math, science and social studies.  Students work both independently and in small groups, using websites and interactive apps on the iPads to research and discover First Nations cultures, and to deepen their understanding of visual concepts in geometry like reflections, rotations, and translations.

The BC Education Plan encourages the “smart use of technology in schools”, providing students with opportunities to develop “the competencies needed to use current and emerging technologies effectively, both in school and in life.”

In an interview with the Digital Media Academy students earlier this fall, Mrs. MacKay spoke enthusiastically about the integration of these new technological tools into her classroom, noting in particular the potential for technology to enhance overall learner engagement, increase collaboration, and provide a wide range of accommodations for students with different learning styles and needs.

Do you know the fundamental difference between ionic and covalent compounds, or the mechanics of covalent bonding?  If you are scratching your head right now, then perhaps Chemistry 11 was not as memorable as it will be for the students in Scott Bennett’s class at Handsworth Secondary.

Engaging students in learning new concepts is a challenge faced by many classroom teachers, particularly when learning is abstract or theoretical.  While instruction powered by technology can help students understand new ideas and make real-world connections, low-tech lessons that engage students’ imaginations through story telling techniques can be equally effective in deepening students’ understanding of new knowledge and complex topics in the curriculum.  Our Personalized Learning video team recently captured one of Scott’s lessons, where simple props and a compelling story were the only tools required to actively engage students in understanding why atoms ‘choose’ to form compounds.

Later, Scott took his class outside in the sunshine, where his compelling story-telling style helped students really understand the mechanics of covalent bonding.

Even the film crew from the Digital Media Academy was engaged in this science lesson.  As our cameraman remarked, “Wow, that was an amazing lesson!  I finally understand this stuff!”

When a table was set at Norgate StrongStart with all sorts of natural materials and stethoscopes, children started to feel, shake,  and bang the materials together and onto the table. Some of the older children wanted to listen to them using the stethoscopes. After checking the natural materials and discussing different feelings, the StrongStart children decided to go outside.

The children insisted on bringing the stethoscopes with them to listen to the natural materials outside.  They took their time to listen to trees, leaves and rocks very carefully and quietly. They all agreed that they could hear the bugs on the trees.

Mandana Hezar, StrongStart Facilitator at Norgate reminds us that nature-based activities like this one help children develop key competencies outlined in the Ministry of Education Early Learning Framework, including:

• a sense of well-being and belonging
• exploration and creativity
• language and literacy

“This activity provided a rich sensory experience for children.  It was very interesting to observe how children engaged with the natural materials in different ways inside and outside. They are developing a sense of wonder for natural environments, and learning to explore the world with all their senses.”

The new BC Education Plan highlights the importance of key competencies like critical thinking, inquiry and problem solving, as well as the valuable role that parents play in supporting their child’s learning.  These foundational concepts of Personalized Learning for the 21^st Century are all evident in Maya Zwart’s grade 4/5 French Immersion class at Cleveland Elementary.  Argyle’s Digital Media Academy students paid a visit to Mme Zwart’s class last month to film a segment for our upcoming district video.

In order to make learning about “le corps humain” (the human body) relevant and engaging for students, Mme Zwart designed a lesson where students were able to work collaboratively, examining real chicken bones and learning first hand about tendons, cartilage and muscles.  Students in the class really enjoyed this hands-on activity and appreciated the extra help they received from their parents!

Enhancing collaboration among all students, parents, and educators to create relevant learning opportunities is a core objective in the North Vancouver School District’s 10 Year Strategic Plan.

Enhancing collaborative and cohesive learning environments is a key objective of North Vancouver School District’s Strategic Plan, and an important element of Personalized Learning for the 21st century.  Educators in this province and around the globe recognize the important role that Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) plays in the healthy development of children.  Our school district’s Learning Services team helps support educators in successfully implementing a variety of SEL programs, through training in Tribes®, cooperative learning, and pro social behaviour programs.

Roots of Empathy is a classroom program, created by Canadian Mary Gordon, that promotes the development of children’s social/emotional competence and empathy for others.  Through interaction with a neighbourhood infant and parent(s), students in the Roots of Empathy program learn about human needs, emotions and importance of caring for others.

District Roots of Empathy trainer Glenys Lawson was recently featured in our Personalized Learning district video when she introduced intermediate students at Boundary Elementary to baby Cohen and his parents.

Research conducted on the Roots of Empathy program confirms the success of the program across North America in decreasing aggression and increasing pro social behaviour in children, including: sharing, helping and understanding.