I. General Information
School Name: Babine Elementary Secondary School
School District: SD#91 Nechako Lakes
Inquiry Team Members:
Jesse Kennedy Burgoyne – jkennedy-burgoyne@sd91.bc.ca
Cheryl Peterson – cpeterson@sd91.bc.ca
Deb Koehn – dkoehn@sd91.bc.ca
Inquiry Team Contact Email: jkennedyburgoyne@sd91.bc.ca
II. Inquiry Project Information
Type of Inquiry: Numeracy & Literacy Project
Grade Levels Addressed Through Inquiry: Primary (K-3), Intermediate (4-7), Secondary (8-12)
Curricular Areas Addressed: Applied Design, skills & Technology, Language Arts – Literacy, Language Arts – Oral Language, Language Arts – Reading, Language Arts – Writing, Mathematics / Numeracy
Focus Addressed: Core competencies (for example, critical thinking, communication, problem solving), Differentiated instruction, Experiential learning, Formative assessment, Inquiry-based learning, Land, Nature or Place-based learning, Self-regulation, Social and emotional learning
In one sentence, what was your focus for the year? We focused on developing engaging, hands-on and experiential learning opportunities that were designed to create connections to literacy and numeracy learning and relationships for the students to both school and community.
III. Spirals of Inquiry Details
Scanning: 100 percent of the students felt that they could identify adults in the school that cared for them – initiated conversations with them and asked about well-being and topics of personal interest throughout the school year. Most students felt safe most of the time, with 75% stating a sense of belonging. Our scanning demonstrated that students wanted a voice in learning experiences offered, but still struggled to differentiate between school appropriate and possible offerings and home offerings. Both student and adult learners noticed that there needed to be a stronger effort to incorporate manipulatives in math in all grades, K – 12. The adult learners continued to focus on building Indigenous community within the school building frequently – hoping to build a co-relationship that would transfer from an attitude of building use to building residency. Educators were determined to ensure scanning took place around academic growth, as well as social emotional growth. They used assessment for learning strategies and worked with district staff to develop differentiated learning strategies to address needed skill development.
Focus: We were hoping to see a bigger personal investment from individual students and family members. As well, staff was hoping that with specific interventions they would see students’ sense of self as a learner develop and increase overall well-being.
Hunch: This is the second year of this inquiry journey. Educators are working to “un-do” past practices of one size fits all learning. The adult learners are working to undo years of established expectations by the community and the students. Workbooks, such as Jump Math, and hours of unsupervised computer access was the norm in this school. Over the past two years, there is solid evidence that students’ relationships with each other are healthier and more rewarding. Students have grown to trust and respect the educators. Now both groups of learners are focused on developing the academic, social and personal skills and strategies that will foster success after graduation.
New Professional Learning: Staff at BESS relied heavily on networks and district support staff. The principal completed his MEd at VIU, and was able to incorporate his learning into developing a strong sense of community within the school and surrounding communities and a strong focus on students. There is a strong sense of purpose. As well, participation in NOIIE and other networks has helped to keep adult participants focused. The Core Competencies have been a focus point as students are understanding what it means to be a learner.
Taking Action: We have leaned heavily into individualizing student’s learning paths. This has allowed us to keep the focus on where the student is at, rather than where we want the student to be. We improved our assessment for learning strategies to create the skill sets adults needed. We have taken our students outside the school building to learn as much as possible – focusing on play-based learning and relationship building first. We have gamified our learning experiences and provided student generated learning experiences. Passion projects have helped students develop basic skills. We have brought our community together to engage our families – reading day, community celebrations, etc.
Checking: It is never enough, but we are starting to see a noticeable difference in our students. One student has moved from passive aggressive behaviours to being a strong cultural leader and expresses their wish to be a future knowledge keeper. Another student is constantly stepping forward, brave enough to lead the drumming and singing of the school song by themself. Another student has gained 20+ levels in their reading ability – and sees themself as a learner. One student leaned into their culture and was brave enough to announce the entry of every adult at a school celebration. These actions, by individual students in this remote and rural school, demonstrate enormous personal growth and a step into the school community.
Reflections/Advice: These are difficult times for small rural and remote schools in British Columbia, but we think we are making a difference. We plan on becoming an experiential-based school where students can weave foundational skills into project-based learning. Educators need to have a deep understanding of curriculum, in order to make such a huge, essential step forward. All classes will use hands-on teaching methods while building foundational skills, such as adding and subtracting. Educators will work together to ensure that learning is cross-curricular and cohesive throughout the school building. We will go out and learn from the land.