A Celebration of Learning

One of the schools I work at recently decided to try a new way of recognising student achievement. We are having an ongoing discussion about how to recognise achievement, when that might happen during the school year, and what that might look like as we move forward in the school year. While the discussion was initiated by me, the teaching staff are definitely willing to give something new a try. I think we all agree that Honour Roll assemblies and medals for Principal's List, while motivating for some students and celebrated by parents, are not recognising the bulk of the students at our school.

Through my blog reading and following Twitter, I am aware of many discussions about this topic, and decided I would do my best to bring this to our staff team. I am also hoping that the discussions amongst staff will spread to other stakeholders in our community: students, families and extended community members.

Our first step this year was to have a Celebration of Learning assembly. Each teacher agreed to choose one month in the school year to bring something that students are learning to our monthly assemblies.  The intent is that students, whether it is two partners or an entire class, will share something with the school. I made sure to let staff know that the parameters are wide open, as long as it is tied to something the students are learning in class. I was both please and surprised by the results of the first assembly.

Our oldest students were the first to present at the October assembly. Students came forward to recite poems on a Halloween theme, many of them by Edgar Allen Poe. I was pleased by the courage many students showed, reading or reciting aloud in front of their peers, parents, grandparents and a school trustee. One thought I had afterwards was that while everyone had a chance to present, the length of time it took to for all students to share their poem definitely watered down the power of the moment. Another surprise for me was the video their teacher chose to show as a wrap-up -- a short animated clip that I did not have the opportunity to preview (note to self: preview all presentations in the future!). Many students enjoyed the clip, but the content was not appropriate for all ages, in my opinion.

A happy surprise was that another teacher made a last minute decision to put a video together of a project her class had just finished. Candid interviews on the topic of bullying, along with the "why's" and "how's" of dealing with the issue were spliced together. The culmination of the short presentation was a song, sung by the entire class, decked out in pink shirts. I did have the opportunity to preview this film, and it was a wonderful wrap-up to our first Celebration of Learning.

While our journey is just beginning, I feel like we have taken an important first step. I was able to share the rationale for beginning this process with some parents. Some of our teachers were able to see an excellent example by a passionate teacher of just the sort of initiative I was hoping for. I feel like it primed the pump for future conversations during the rest of the school year.

Learning in Depth

Learning in Depth

In a recent post on cultureofyes, Chris Kennedy wrote about Kieran Egan's new book, Learning in Depth. The idea of studying an assigned topic throughout a child's elementary and secondary education is an appealing one for me. It is particularly resonant with me because it sounds like it has some similarities to aspects of a Montessori education (both my children attend our local Montessori program). In addition, I constantly hear teachers talk about the difficulties of addressing the minutae of hundreds of government mandated learning outcomes. So, what purpose does learning something in depth serve? Or in Egan's words, “what is the point of teaching a curriculum crammed with the wonders of human discoveries and inventions when we see most students come out of our schooling system recalling little of this knowledge and with virtually no sense of its wonder?”

In answer, here are 7 of the reasons he gives in support of what deep knowledge does for the mind:

1. Having expertise in a topic and learning how knowledge works helps a student learn about how knowledge works in all areas.

2. Learning, for its own sake, is pleasurable.

3. Learning in depth stimulates the imagination; we cannot be imaginative about what we do not know.

4. Project based learning engages a student in a purposeful social activity, enriching their experience and understanding of moral and deomocratic life.

5. Deep learning gives one a greater insight into themselves, and concommitant wisdom.

6. Learning in depth gives one a sense of how little they actually know, and “humility before the world of knowledge.”

7. There is value to including strategies from both oral and literate cultures in our “cognitive tool kits.”

Learning is certainly a pleasurable pursuit for me: K-12 education; several university degrees; career as an educator; re-learning again through my own children's education. Furthermore, I am fired up by the exchanges I read on Twitter, my favourite blogs, and carry with me to work each day. The process of engaging in a Professional Learning Network (PLN) has revived my desire to engage with my colleagues and to broaden my horizons. Now, I am being prodded in a new direction, and challenged to “go deep with one thing”. (Thanks cultureofyes Chris!)

An Introduction

I've been inspired by reading several blogs recently. They have caused me to want to work a little harder at personal and professional improvement. To that end, I am going to work at posting here as often as possible, and share some of my process

Here is a graphic of some key words that have meaning for me:

I recently developed a 100 Day Plan (With thanks to the Mission School District, and the folks that put me onto this idea at the UBC Short Course, July 2010). I have continued to use it as a guiding document that helps keep me on track at school:

100 Day Leadership Plan

Principals’ leadership behaviours during the first 100 days of their tenure are critical to their success in moving the student learning agenda forward (Allison, 2008). Using what research tells us works in school leadership (Marzano, 2005), describe below three non-negotiable leadership strategies that you’ll employ during the first 100 days of the current school year to focus for your work with staff on the school growth plan. Examples of these strategies include daily classroom walkthroughs, double blocking for literacy, scheduled time for teacher collaboration, learning focussed staff meetings, etc.

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