School District: SD#52 Prince Rupert

Inquiry Team Members:Aja Lihou <Aja.Lihou@sd52.bc.ca>; Carla Rourke <Carla.Rourke@sd52.bc.ca>; Cindy Mah <Cindy.Mah@sd52.bc.ca>; James Zlatanov <James.Zlatanov@sd52.bc.ca>; Kathy Offutt <Kathy.Offutt@sd52.bc.ca>; Lonni Bryant <Lonni.Bryant@sd52.bc.ca>; Roberta Edzerza <Roberta.Edzerza@sd52.bc.ca>; Sandy Beckwith <Sandy.Beckwith@sd52.bc.ca>; Sandy Pond <Sandy.Pond@sd52.bc.ca>; Sonny Henry <Sonny.Henry@sd52.bc.ca>

Inquiry Team Contact Email: sandra.pond@sd52.bc.ca

Type of Inquiry: AESN Transitions (focus on Indigenous learner transitions)

Grade Levels: Secondary (8-12)

Curricular Area(s): Not applicable

Focus Addressed: Aboriginal understandings (for example, Traditional Knowledge, oral history, reconciliation), Community-based learning, Core competencies (for example, critical thinking, communication, problem solving), Experiential learning, First Peoples Principles of Learning, Flexible learning, Growth mindset, Indigenous pedagogy, Land, Nature or Place-based learning, Social and emotional learning, Transitions

In one sentence, what was your focus for the year? The focus for the year was to check in with our students regarding the impact of our first annual Transitions Learning Luulgit (Feast) and to use the information to prepare for this year’s Luulgit.

Scanning: Our scanning process was a continuation of last year, when we administered a survey to all students. The survey featured a modified version of the 4 questions. Once we had our data we realized that our most vulnerable transition was between grade eight and grade nine, which in our case is the transition between the Middle School and the Secondary School. Knowing this information about our learners, the grade eight to nine transition became our focus area. We used the First People’s Principles of learning as well as local protocol to organize a Transitions Learning Luulgit (Feast) to individually recognize and connect the grade eight cohort that was transitioning to the Secondary School during this year. This years scanning specifically focused on receiving feedback on the Luulgit’s (Feast) impact on students’ connection and sense of belonging to our school.

Focus: We focused on grade eight to nine transitions because the data we gathered through our survey, based on the four questions, revealed to us that our grade nine students’ responses displayed the most value . We were hoping that when students enter our school in grade nine they would, first of all know that they are welcome and valued, they are in a school that respects the protocols of the territory and recognizes the people and traditions, and that they are in an inclusive environment where diversity is celebrated.

Hunch: Our hunch was that in order for students to acquire a sense of belonging at our school they should not only be recognized as individuals but their family, community and culture should be reflected in the school.

New Professional Learning: For our professional learning we read through and discussed the BC Ministry of Education’s Aboriginal Worldviews and Perspectives in the Classroom document, our school district’s Aboriginal Education Council’s Partnership Agreement as well as consulting with Local Ts’msyen Elders, knowledge holders and fluent Sm’algyax speakers.

Taking Action: This being the third year of our transitions study, we checked into the success of our action item, The Transitions Learning Luulgit (Feast), and planned our adjustments and for the second Luulgit (Feast). We also discussed future plans to involve the local Middle School in the planning and executing of the Luulgit (Feast). Furthermore, plans for a school and community smokehouse were discussed and plans were made to go ahead with the project.

Checking: While all feedback from students was positive some responses stated that they agreed with the value of the Luulgit (Feast) but did not think that it made a significant impact to them individually. Our next step for the inquiry is to continue checking by administering the four questions on an annual basis to see if we can notice any significant changes in the grade nine data.

Reflections/Advice: Through this process our inquiry team learned that the inquiry process made all of us, as well as many of the school staff productively vulnerable. In this case productively vulnerable means that most of those who participated in the inquiry became comfortable with being uncomfortable. Our team, staff and students became learners during the entire process and we became comfortable opening ourselves to have our assumptions challenged by listening to our students, to the Elders and the knowledge keepers.

School District: SD#69 Qualicum

Inquiry Team Members:Rudy Terpstra rterpstr@sd69.bc.ca; Heather Deering hdeering@sd69.bc.ca; Jane Reynolds jreynolds@sd69.bc.ca; Olivia Hill ohill@sd69.bc.ca; Loanna Clint lclint@sd69.bc.ca

Inquiry Team Contact Email: rterpstr@sd69.bc.ca

Type of Inquiry: AESN Transitions (focus on Indigenous learner transitions)

Grade Levels: Secondary (8-12)

Curricular Area(s): Language Arts – Literacy, Language Arts – Oral Language, Language Arts – Reading, Language Arts – Writing, Social Studies

Focus Addressed: Aboriginal understandings (for example, Traditional Knowledge, oral history, reconciliation), Differentiated instruction, Flexible learning, Inclusion and inclusive insructional strategies, Indigenous pedagogy, Social and emotional learning, Transitions

In one sentence, what was your focus for the year? This year we continues to increase the school population’s awareness of Indigenous knowledge and ways of being through school-wide mini lessons, an increase in Indigenous physical, cultural and curricular representation.

Scanning: As a team, as a result of conversations with Indigenous students last year, we asked how can we further create Indigenous awareness within our school community. We focused on the reflective and responsive nature of learning, we had conversations with local knowledge keepers and we were thoughtful about the process of creating and delivering both mini-lessons and curricular lessons. The OECD principles of learning that were a focus were stretching all students through school wide mini-lessons and curricular lessons and building horizontal connections.

Focus: This was the third year that we have been focusing on this question. While the broader goal was increasing awareness for all students; we wanted our Indigenous learners to feel an increased sense of belonging which would result in an increase in transition through grade 10 and on to graduation.

Hunch: We were concerned that many staff members were ascribing to the “perfect stranger” ideology – essentializing, stereotyping, and romanticizing Indigenous history and culture. We know that when teachers have an “I know nothing and it doesn’t have to do with me” attitude, students begin to devalue the importance of Indigenous education. Our mini-lessons were designed with the idea of challenging this perspective and educating our greater school community.

Much more learning is needed around Indigenous culture, history and contemporary contributions. People are very cautious and don’t feel comfortable teaching the subject. By developing the mini lessons, we are educating our entire community, and modelling for our staff; hopefully increasing their confidence with this area.

New Professional Learning: Collaboration as a team: Mini-lessons were designed to inform and educate both staff and students. These lessons were created collaboratively with a focus on effective strategy and ease of implementation. Lessons were designed to be participatory, with minimal direct instruction. This helped engage our learners, and reduce both prep and anxiety for teachers.

FNESC: Heather Deering has become a leader with FNESC through her work piloting English First Peoples 10 and teaching BC First Peoples 12. This has included creating learning maps with Shelly Moore, Joe Chrona and others to assess the new EFP courses. Heather’s learning and sharing across the province and at Ballenas have been an invaluable contribution to the inquiry project.

Taking Action: By far the the highlight of the year was the paddle installation ceremony at the end of the year where the welcoming and leaving paddles were revealed to the whole school community at our celebrate Ballenas year-end celebration. The artist, elder, Indigenous team and Indigenous community all participated. As well, all students had a mini-lesson on the symbolism and meaning of the paddles. They now greet everyone at the main entrance and look beautiful.

Remembrance Day highlighted Indigenous service in the wars.

We spent a large amount of money to purchase authentic Indigenous resources to support the new curriculum. For the 2018/2019 school year 5 of 8 ELA classes will take English First Peoples 10 and the other 3 classes will have significant Indigenous content as a result of these resources.

The timeline of Indigenous history is complete, but we are still waiting on maintenance to install the wood along the hallway for the timeline.

Checking: This year we surveyed our Indigenous students to find out how they thought our actions were impacting them. We asked the following:
1. Have these had an affect on how you feel about Ballenas?
2. BC First Nations Studies, English, and Social Studies among other courses at Ballenas have increased the amount of Indigenous content into the courses. Have you noticed this and how did you feel about this?
3. Ballenas has made all students of Ballenas aware of Indigenous culture by having mini-lessons in LINK (stereotypes and Halloween, recognizing that we are on the shared territory of the Qualicum and Nanoose First Nations. . . . ), highlighting Indigenous contributions to the World Wars at Remembrance Day, and the Paddle Ceremony coming this year. How do these school-wide activities make you feel about your school?
4. What can we do more of? What can we do less of? What next?

While many of our Indigenous students do not belong to our local Indigenous Nations, most responded either very effective or effective to each of the questions. Further, we received positive feedback on our initiative and this caused us to reflect on how to make the paddle installation ceremony more significant.

Reflections/Advice: We need to encourage student voice next year to ensure cultural responsiveness and continue to be in conversation with our local knowledge keepers (cultivate positive cultural identity).

Advice- be persistent and find ways to collaboratively plan methods and strategies to increase Indigenous consciousness for your community of learners. / Recognize deficit thinking in your school and develop a plan to change or challenge this misconception.

Continue to develop lessons and confidence in teachers to teach and learn. Support them with rich, varied and authentic Indigenous resources. Allow time for teacher collaboration and learning.

Next. We are also focusing on incorporating the FPPL into our Core Competencies and reflecting on how we are using the FPPL in our classrooms. We continue our journey and focus for a fourth year.

School Name: Bert Bowes Middle School, Dr. Kearney Middle School, North Peace Secondary School, North Peace Secondary School – Energetic Learning Campus

School District: SD#60 Peace River North

Inquiry Team Members:Melanie Carew, Brittany Puttick, Sage Birley, Ashley Beerling, Carleen Andrews, Pat Jansen, Jarrod Bell, Charmaine Chretien

Inquiry Team Contact Email: cchretien@prn.bc.ca

Type of Inquiry: AESN Transitions (focus on Indigenous learner transitions)

Grade Levels: Secondary (8-12)

Curricular Area(s): Other: All, including Core Competencies/depending on student schedules

Focus Addressed: Transitions, Other: Part of this transition involves some aspects of all of the above

In one sentence, what was your focus for the year? For learners to use the Four Questions to self-reflect and move forward with their learning journey.

Scanning: We used the 4 Questions to build self-advocacy and to encourage resilience within our students. Our goal was to engrain the 4 Questions in the students by revisiting it throughout the year, which would allow them look to the questions as a way to empower their learning and social emotional growth and regulation. We learned that the questions had to be explicit and meaningful to the students and by revisiting it throughout the year, it became part of the students’ school mindset. By using the OECD principles of learning, students are able to reflect and discover what their talents and abilities are from a strengths-based perspective rather than a deficit model.

Focus: We wanted students to be able to self-reflect and gain tools in increasing engagement and success in school. By focusing on academic and self-regulation/self-care skills, students can take what they learn and use it throughout their school career and beyond. If they are stronger with the social-emotional aspects of themselves, their overall school experience is more meaningful and positive.

Hunch: Prior to this inquiry, we were not explicitly teaching students how to self-reflect and think critically about their learning and what was happening around them. We wanted them to understand that they are ultimately in control of their learning and give them the tools to be able to reflect on their education (academics), self-advocacy, and self-care, and take those things with them beyond graduation. Secondary school is not an event, its another step in their learning journey; it builds on developing their options beyond Grade 12 (workforce, trades, college/university).

New Professional Learning: We shared knowledge between our schools to develop strategies to introduce to our students. Engagement in the Network meetings has continued to be helpful in finding times to meet as a group to review actions. The Learning Journey, “Make it Happen Checklist” for our students was implemented throughout the year. Learning from the Elders elective course, leadership activities, circle talks, New Student Success Quest – goal setting, Big Buddy/Little Buddy program, Nenan Dane zaa, Friendship Centre – urban support, Child and Youth Mental and Health Addictions, Women in Trades Conference, Elder teachings focusing on being a strong Indigenous man, Cultural Aboriginal Student Support Worker-learning conversations about community and culture.

Taking Action: We used a lot of different strategies in our new professional development. Some strategies were more successful than others. There was a high turnover in staff in our Aboriginal Program this year. Some of the students were impacted by the changes. Many students have adults that they trust closely with their needs at school, and when those staff members leave, these students feel at a loss socially and emotionally, which in turn affects their school experience. For example, at one school, an ASSW left the school, leaving a lot of students and staff learning to build new relationships and connections to help students. Middle School Transition Coaches have found that visiting their former students shortly after they begin Grade 10 helps them build connections with their new transition coaches and school communities. Providing a place for students to come in the school and feel safe allows students to know how to access their support people in the school.

Checking: We had a successful start to using the 4 Questions in students’ learning, however it is only the beginning of the process and we need to try to use them more with our students for a longer period of time. Part of the project this year was to establish a baseline based on their self-reflective piece of the questions. As the school year progressed, their was more depth and authenticity to students’ answers to the 4 Questions. This resulted from a deeper self-reflection, but also, from a stronger relationship with school staff.

Reflections/Advice: We found that making more connections with future transition staff throughout the year was most beneficial. We want to continue implementing the 4 Questions in student self-reflections as part of the Aboriginal Coaching Program. The best advice we could give to other schools is to have a relationship with the other schools with a goal of making the transition as seamless as possible. We want students to feel that regardless of the school that they attend, the tools that they have and the staff are there to help support me with my journey.
The Aboriginal Transition Program 2018-2019 continues in our district. We will have a planning meeting early in the school year, as we have once again added new staff to our team.

School District: SD#68 Nanaimo-Ladysmith

Inquiry Team Members:Darcy Hoff: darcy.hoff@sd68.bc.ca

Inquiry Team Contact Email: darcy.hoff@sd68.bc.ca

Type of Inquiry: NOII (focus on core competencies, OECD learning principles, etc.)

Grade Levels: Secondary (8-12)

Curricular Area(s): Not applicable

Focus Addressed: Growth mindset, Self-regulation, Social and emotional learning

In one sentence, what was your focus for the year? We are hoping that through the Circle of Courage we can help students become more resilient.

Scanning: In scanning we noticed that students were showing poor resiliency. They would have a tough time dealing with struggling academically and/or socially. It seemed as though they were falling in the trap of failing without trying being emotionally easier than trying something and failing. For some it was getting to the point that they would not even “get back up again” when someone was trying to pick them up.

Focus: Through the teaching of independence, mastery, belonging, and generosity, we believe that students will see greater value in themselves and become more resilient. It is our hope that when faced with an obstacle, the students will become willing to make multiple attempts at breaking through it.

Hunch: School could have been playing a part through creating learned helplessness over the years. It is also possible that we were not giving students enough opportunity and/or scaffolded opportunities to allow them to practice independence and generosity.

New Professional Learning: As a group, our team read the book “Reclaiming Youth at Risk.” We then came together and shared the parts that we thought were particularly insightful, changed our thinking, or created more questions for us. Within the book was a model for the Circle of Courage. This is the model we used to train staff and use in classes and and at assemblies.

Taking Action: Two of our team members led a half day of pro-D to share with other teachers and build capacity within our staff. Templates were created and shared out. Following the Pro-D session, teachers shared the Circle of Courage with their classes and explained how it would play a role in their classrooms. We also hold weekly assemblies, and at these assemblies students were nominated and recognized for displaying mastery, independence, belonging, and generosity. The use of the vocabulary is important in each classroom to help ensure uptake. A “pay-it-forward” wall was created to help students find more ways to display generosity.

Checking: We started by explaining all of the aspects of the Circle of Courage; however, we put a primary focus for the first few months on belonging. We then finished the year focusing on generosity. We found that to grow, the idea needed to be brought up intentionally very often. To take hold, the words and ideas need repeated over and over. We also found that just giving a student opportunity to belong or be generous is not enough. The process needs to be scaffolded. The process also needs to be subtle as well as in-your-face. We believe that by the end of our process we were seeing some changes; however, we also realized that resiliency is a long slow build for most.

Reflections/Advice: We learned that it’s going to take more time, and more direct efforts. We have planned for next year to continue with our classroom lessons. Next year, we will also be breaking the Circle up into its 4 pieces and using each school term as a focus time for each one of the quadrants. Our advice for others would be to read the book, and then begin creating opportunities for students to see themselves successfully meeting aspects of each quadrant.

School District: SD#71 Comox Valley

Inquiry Team Members:Heidi Jungwirth: heidi.jungwirth@sd71.bc.ca

Inquiry Team Contact Email: Heidi.Jungwirth@sd71.bc.ca

Type of Inquiry: NOII (focus on core competencies, OECD learning principles, etc.)

Grade Levels: Intermediate (4-7)

Curricular Area(s): Other: core competencies (the personal, social, and emotional ones)

Focus Addressed: Community-based learning

In one sentence, what was your focus for the year? Learning courage through establishing relationships, and bringing into the classroom, members from L’arche Comox Valley

Scanning:
Question 1: What happens to a child when they develop a meaningful relationship with a vulnerable person? In this case, the vulnerable person is a developmentally delayed adult. Does this relationship become mutually beneficial? (to both child and adult?) Do “normal” children have something to learn from a developmentally delayed adult? How will knowing that this adult cares about them affect their own capacity to care about others?
Question 2: For the many of the students in my class, the question that seems more relevant would be: are you able to learn? Can you set aside the many challenges and anxieties that you face each day, and take advantage of the learning opportunities offered to you?
Question 3: For vulnerable children, this question often takes the forefront – well ahead of any academic or vocational competency – but the questions are more accurately ” how are you doing? Are you able to set aside your challenges and vulnerabilities and be open to learning?”
Question 4: With vulnerable learners, the progress can seem to take forever! So much of the learning needs to be spiralled back on and repeated, with the hope that there will be some retention. Often, we move forward and bring the past learning with us. The intention is to repeat and move forward at the same time.

Focus: What I wanted to do with this inquiry is to have the students learn about courage by forming a relationship with someone who would traditionally be thought of as a vulnerable person. The reason for doing this was to give my students (who are themselves considered vulnerable learners) an opportunity to see weakness as a strength. It is my hypothesis that when weakness is considered a strength, that this is a powerful mindset which leads to empowerment. In a way it is similar to “don’t be afraid to fail” but when a weakness (with the students, I use the word “challenge” instead of weakness) is at a personal level, it is a much stronger connection to self-esteem. One way of thinking about this is taking the concept of “growth mindset” to a deeper level.

Hunch: It is my hunch that the students will develop a strong, caring relationship with our visitor from L’arche. It is also my hunch that the students will feel understood by her. I expect that my students will recognize her vulnerability, and in wanting to help her feel capable and welcome, they will rise to attempt things and develop positive behaviour habits that they might otherwise not.

New Professional Learning: I spent the whole year researching and writing about the concept of empathy. Interestingly enough, the term empathy only came about in the last century, and began as a way to describe the relationship that someone has to a piece of artwork.

Parallel to my professional learning, I could see my students developing their skills of empathy towards our visitor from L’arche, AND, (my emphasis) increasingly, towards each other. This development of empathy was particularly apparent in a few students. (some of the students were ones that were particularly vulnerable themselves)

Taking Action: Parallel to the experience of having a vulnerable adult come into my class, I had weekly lessons on important aspects of the core competencies. Personally, I think that the term “core competencies” is challenging, because the skills that I was working on were skills of the heart. The term core competencies is a sterile one, and not helpful when talking about skills of the heart, such as empathy. In order to make the educational experience more authentic, I used the term “courage”. So…we spent the year learning about how to be courageous.
On Monday, we had a class meeting, where a specific skill was taught and explored. The students wrote/drew a reflective piece about that particular skill, and then some sort of aesthetic activity was undertaken to support the learning of that skill. There are 35 different skills that were taught, so it is not practical for me to write them all down here. I have developed this curriculum to the point where I am able to share it with others who may be interested.

Checking: The result of this inquiry has been nothing short of magical. The relationship that the students developed with our visitor from L’arche were deep and caring. The students increased in empathy both towards our L’arche visitor, and also towards each other. The most striking growth was seen in 5 of my students who were considered some of the most vulnerable (which also means behaviourally challenged) children in my class. The students did weekly writing in their courage journals, and from their writings, I could see an increase in their ability to reflect on their behaviour and actions. At the end of the year, each student in my class wrote a short piece about how they became more courageous this year. The responses were beautiful.

Reflections/Advice: What I learned from this inquiry is that one must approach the core competencies from the heart. When you try to teach the core competencies from a sterile perspective, the learning might happen to some extent, but it is not as rich or a life-changing.

As a result of this inquiry (although I must also add that I have been exploring the topic of courage for a number of years, so I didn’t develop everything this year) I have decided to expand my vulnerability in this area and teach the curriculum while at the same time blogging about it. I have no idea how this will go, but I do hope that by blogging, I will connect with other people who are interested in the topics of teaching courage and empowerment.

As for advice to give other schools interested in this project, the first thing I would say is that I hope you would like to join me on my journey next year by reading and contributing to my blog. The second piece of advice that I would like to give (which probably should be the first piece of advice) would be to recognize that when you are teaching about courage (or, if you like, core competencies) in order for meaningful learning to take place, the person who has to be the most courageous is the teacher. It is only when you let your heart be seen, that the students will reciprocate and let their hearts be seen.

School District: SD#22 Vernon

Inquiry Team Members:Paul Boyd: pboyd@sd22.bc.ca, Yvonne Fiala: yfiala@sd22.bc.ca, Bernedette Louis: blouis@sd22.bc.ca, Lori Phillip: lphillip@sd22.bc.ca

Inquiry Team Contact Email: pboyd@sd22.bc.ca

Type of Inquiry: AESN Transitions (focus on Indigenous learner transitions)

Grade Levels: Secondary (8-12)

Curricular Area(s): Applied Design, skills & Technology, Arts Education, Career Education, Language Arts – Literacy, Language Arts – Oral Language, Language Arts – Reading, Language Arts – Writing, Mathematics / Numeracy, Physical & Health Education, Science, Social Studies

Focus Addressed: Aboriginal understandings (for example, Traditional Knowledge, oral history, reconciliation), Community-based learning, Differentiated instruction, Experiential learning, First Peoples Principles of Learning, Flexible learning, Inclusion and inclusive instructional strategies, Indigenous pedagogy, Inquiry-based learning, Land, Nature or Place-based learning, Self-regulation, Social and emotional learning, Transitions

In one sentence, what was your focus for the year? The creation of a multi grade First Nations Academy for First Nations students only, allowing a safe environment for students to explore and understand their own history.

Scanning: The creation of the First Nations Academy this year was the direct result of the relationships we have been building with students for the last several years. When we began the study our first hunch was that students need to feel connected and cared for and that they need to have their basic needs met before they are able to learn. I don’t think any of us were surprised that this hunch was true, but the power and depth of what may seem slightly trivial was very powerful. From the beginning students talked about the needs of their classmates, not just First Nations students and the various issues that get in the way of learning: no food, “couch surfing,” having to work, addictions to name a few. When asking students if they could name 2 more adults at Seaton that believed in them, there was never any hesitation. It was always interesting to ask that question and the responses were quick, genuine and often high lighted relationships that we never would have guessed. The importance and power of taking the time to listen to students and to demonstrate to them that they have been heard is so very crucial. As we have been moving towards integrating First Nations content into our courses there has been a level of discomfort from many of our First Nations students – when First Nations issues are discussed in a class they often feel put on the spot as their non-First Nations classmates and teachers can look to them expecting them to have some answer or input. Many First Nations students do not know that much about their own history, but are eager to learn. What is the next step was rather obvious for us when a group of First Nations students came and requested the creation of an Academy that would allow them to explore their own history and culture. No hunch, just do it!

Focus: Simply because the kids asked. The power of that request coming from students who were no empowered enough to advocate for their own learning. wow.
We hoped that some of those students that had been less engaged in regular classes would open up more and engage in the learning process with more vigor. That students in the academy would learn about their history, culture and language and become more confident in who they are.

Hunch: Discussing First Nations issues in a classroom is always tricky with First Nations students in the class. If I make eye contact will they feel singled out? If I don’t will they be ignored? Have the First Nations students in my class been impacted directly by whatever issue it is we are discussing – am I opening a wound? These are the thoughts of a teacher that has the best of intentions and can still get it wrong. Non-First Nations students may not have the best filters and just blurt out whatever thoughts they are having – not even directed at a particular student, but incredibly insensitive to other students in the room. It cannot be comfortable for First Nations students when situations like this arise. It doesn’t matter how skillfully a teacher deals with the situation, the uncomfortable feeling is still going to remain.

New Professional Learning: The professional learning really focused on getting to know the kids, and sharing that knowledge, when appropriate with colleagues. Explaining why a student has difficulty focusing in a specific class goes a long way to building understanding, compassion and flexibility.
The resources were people – including a Aboriginal Support Worker as part of our weekly School Base Team meetings were students are having difficulties are discussed.

Taking Action: Unfortunately, the Academy was only run the first semester, students that were in the academy have returned to regular classes with mixed results, for a few attendance and their marks have slipped significantly. We are hoping to expand the academy next year as well as add specific math support.
We have put in a proposal advocating for the creation of a First Nations Counselor that would work with all the schools and help First Nations students pull together information and funding for post-secondary studies.

Checking: It is hard not to get frustrated when focusing on specific results. We tracked attendance and grades before, during and after students were in the academy and clearly the best results were when the students were in the Academy. The frustration is expanding this into a year long program and convincing others of the value and necessity! We have not formally asked the four questions of the students again, but spending time with them, talking to them when they are hanging out in the welcome room, the overall growth is very clear, as is the depth of their contentedness.

Reflections/Advice: Taking the time to truly listen, to show that you have heard and taking action to support students desires is very powerful. Even if they First Nations Academy had not worked out so well, the greater learning of self-advocacy would still have been tremendous.

Being ready to learn – making sure students are as at ease as possible. We have to remember that for many school is far down the list of important things they have to deal with on a specific day. Don’t demand the history project when the student slept on someone’s couch and had no breakfast that morning.

The power of feeling connected cannot be emphasized enough. Most of our students are connected in multiple ways, band, choir, drama, sports teams, leadership, etc.

School District: SD#60 Peace River North

Inquiry Team Members:Elaine McEachern, Rebecca Elias-Bertrim, Lynne Cote-Aubin, Laurie Petrucci

Inquiry Team Contact Email: emceachern@prn.bc.ca

Type of Inquiry: NOII (focus on core competencies, OECD learning principles, etc.)

Grade Levels: Primary (K-3)

Curricular Area(s): Applied Design, skills & Technology, Language Arts – Literacy, Mathematics / Numeracy

Focus Addressed: Differentiated instruction, Flexible learning, Inclusion and inclusive instructional strategies, Universal design for learning

In one sentence, what was your focus for the year? Does technology (particularly IXL Math and Early Literacy) enhance the teacher’s ability to offer differentiated instruction?

Scanning: At the beginning of the year, we scanned our classroom and recognized a diverse skill set in the classroom that ranged from Pre K academic skills to above grade skills. As well, 1 student required significant intensive behaviour support (she’s out of the class for most of the day), 2 required moderate/intense behaviour support and 1 had a diagnosed Learning Disability. 6 students were of First Nations ancestry. 2 of our most needy learners had First Nations backgrounds.

We used OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperative and Development) Principles of Learning by
– Making instructional, developmentally appropriate math and literacy centres, via IXL on iPad.
– Making learning social by hosting small group targeted instruction in addition to whole class instruction.
– Recognizing individual differences (as mentioned above)
– Stretch all learners using a platform that allowed us to easily offer numeracy and literacy at developmentally appropriate levels.
– Use assessment for learning (IXL has clear & student centred assessment so students can see exactly how they are doing after each question)
– Build horizontal connections – by bringing Laurie Petrucci and her tech in; by connecting a classroom teacher with a platform I typically use with only my most needy students.

Focus: We hoped technology would allow us to target our “outside pins” (See Shelley Moore) and give all students instruction at their developmental level. We hoped IXL would allow EAs, Classroom Teachers and LATs to offer a common approach for extra cycles of instruction. I hoped the IXL platform would help me compliment teacher instruction, as it allows both of us to see “trouble spots”, progress and improvement.

Hunch: Our Grade 2-3 class has levels of ability that range from pre K through grade 4, with everything in between. The diversity of the cohort makes teaching a math lesson hard. What instructional tool would reach all the learners? We had a hunch that IXL math was a platform that would easily allow the teacher to group kids by ability and offer them “guided numeracy” in much the same way we offer guided literacy. Students would learn at their instructional level in small group or centre activities.

New Professional Learning: I got coaching from the District Numeracy coach in SNAP Math daily math sheets, which may be a better fit than the IXL platform, but we didn’t have time to implement this. The classroom teacher learned to use IXL English and IXL math apps.
I didn’t arrange for collaboration or coaching… it was just too busy this year with the audit, class comp, teaching my own classes and so on.

Taking Action: We took action by offering guided literacy, whole class math and “IXL Centres” on the 6 iPads that Laurie Petrucci loaned us.
We noticed that 6 iPads for whole class numeracy isn’t enough and quickly resorted to offering an IXL Centre during literacy centres.
We used the 4 questions in the spring to help us assess the effectiveness of the intervention and plan our next steps. We noticed that our learner experiences weren’t as effective as we’d hoped, because there just wasn’t enough tech to go around and running a math centre wasn’t easy – logging little kids on often sucked up valuable instructional time.
As well, this writer (the Learning Support Teacher) wasn’t present for the interventions because of audits, classroom composition changes & massive amounts of paperwork.

Checking: With the audit, changes in classroom composition and so on, I ended up doing a lot of paperwork and I just wasn’t physically in the classroom to help students or teachers very much this year.
This intervention was better suited to literacy than math, as literacy centres are easier to run with a 6 pack of iPads; math centres weren’t as useful. The whole class needed iPads to make the numeracy part effective.
Ultimately, the iPads and the apps were “better than nothing” but the teacher ended up teaching her math lessons as usual (number of the day, fact fluency, etc).
We found parents enjoyed using it for supporting learning at home.
As an LAT, I found it useful to connect with the data online, since I was unable to connect with the kids in person as much as I’d have liked. I still enjoy being able to “pull numeracy data” on the kids I’m supporting & seeing exactly what they’re working on while they’re doing it. That part, I love.
Neither of us were satisfied with the “whole class” outcomes of the intervention. The changes over time could have just as easily been attributed to regular classroom instruction. Implementing the iPads with this young cohort was too time consuming.
Having said that, specific students (our most needy) benefitted from this tailored approach to their instruction. It’s a very “user friendly” platform for support staff & parents. This is a good compliment to regular classroom interventions
OR
We think, with dozens of iPads, it may have been an effective whole class intervention.

I think the most telling part of the responses to our 4 questions was this: Only one student listed me as a person who believed they’d be a success in life. Heartbreaking. The students all made gains in their learning, but as the classroom teacher put it, “[iPads and IXL] were better than nothing.” Ouch. Usually I’m listed by all learners as a person who believes in their success.

Reflections/Advice: There is no substitute for person to person service in the classroom. Relationships, not just technology, are critically important to a students’ sense of success. As well, the support relationship between LAT and CT wasn’t as effective as it might have been, were I in the classroom more.
Next year, I’m not going to be a Learning Assistance Teacher. Don’t get me wrong, I have other reasons for leaving the Support Teacher role… but this year (a lot of work with very little emotional connection to my staff and students) made it really easy to walk away from the job. To work this hard and at the end not even be thought of as a person who believes in you? What am I doing this for?
My advice to other schools is this: If you are thinking of how to spend your resource money, ensure a balance between resource (tech) money and resource teacher money. Tech is no substitute for a real, live person with mad skills.
Lastly, when staffing, ensure your Learning Support Teacher is the person who supports teachers and students. A Resource Teacher or admin would be better suited to doing the paperwork associated with audits and class composition dynamics. I have the skill set to do all of the above, but didn’t do a good job of supporting my people while I was ensuring the audit paperwork and class comp was perfect.

School District: SD#91 Nechako Lakes

Inquiry Team Members:narnold@sd91.bc.ca, mboniface@sd91.bc.ca, btoll@sd91.bc.ca

Inquiry Team Contact Email: narnold@sd91.bc.ca

Type of Inquiry: AESN (focus on Indigenous learners or Indigenous understandings)

Grade Levels: Primary (K-3), Intermediate (4-7), Secondary (8-12)

Curricular Area(s): Language Arts – Literacy, Language Arts – Oral Language, Language Arts – Reading, Language Arts – Writing, Matahematics / Numeracy, Science

Focus Addressed: Aboriginal understandings (for example, Traditional Knowledge, oral history, reconciliation), Community-based learning, Core competencies (for example, critical thinking, communication, problem solving), Experiential learning, First Peoples Principles of Learning, Indigenous pedagogy, Land, Nature or Place-based learning

In one sentence, what was your focus for the year? Throughout the year, in collaboration with teachers, the focus is to offer cultural learning opportunities (field trips and virtual classes) that connect students to First Peoples Principles of Learning and promote the development of positive personal and cultural identity as a core competency.

Scanning: Over the course of the past couple of years, we had observed greater participation by students and parents in the cultural opportunities that we have offered. Families were appearing to be increasingly engaged and open to new learning. However, we observed that we didn’t have enough information about how the learning opportunities are impacting the learners and their families. This year, we collaboratively worked together to help learners reflect on their learning before and after field trips and learning opportunities. We collected the information from parents and students as part of our scanning to determine if students were making connections. We also used the reflections from students and parents to guide improvements and changes for future field trips and learning activities. A goal of the cultural learning activities that were offered was to promote positive personal and cultural identity as a core competency. Many of our learning activities and guest presenters touched on personal and cultural identity; additionally, our Strong Nations virtual classes were designed to support reading and literacy while also promoting positive cultural identity. We were mindful about the topic of spiritual teachings and protocols; we will informed families and staff prior to hosting an activity to allow them to decide whether to participate. We hosted a trip to Mission BC to tour St. Mary’s Residential School this year; we provided resources to parents and students to prepare them in advance for the subject matter, understanding that participants may have varying knowledge and varying personal connection to the history and topics related to residential schools.

Focus: We selected this area because we believe that all learners benefit from a greater awareness and understanding of Aboriginal Worldview as well a strong sense of identity.
This year, we were hoping for increased participation from students in our field trips and online learning activities (such as our Strong Nations reading virtual classes). We were also hoping to observe deeper reflection on how learners made connections through their experiences as participants. We purposefully prepared pre- and post-activities to help learners make connections and communicate their experiences to us.

Hunch: Prior to this year, we had not offered learners any type of self-reflection for learning opportunity. This year, we changed our practice to embed these reflections in the activities we offered. We also provided pre-learning activities to make field trips more meaningful and more educational.

There is a provincial focus on First Peoples Principles of Learning in the New Curriculum and our hunch was that some educators in our school were unsure of how to approach embedding principles, protocols and resources. We offered learning opportunities for staff this year and supported staff to share their learning amongst staff. We collaboratively with teachers built an online Aboriginal Resource library for our school comprised of locally-developed resources as well as published resources. We continue to maintain this library and provide in-service with teachers on how to use the resources available to them.

New Professional Learning: Professional learning this year included: teacher teams attending the FNESC conference, the Indspire conference, invited local First Nations authors, artists, community members to share teachings with staff, students, and parents, worked with our district Vice Principal of Aboriginal Education in lesson-planning, field trip planning and identifying resources. Through field trips, we engaged in experiential and land-based learning along with students. We discovered new resources through the field trips we organized this year. In building our Aboriginal Resource Library, we invited staff to collaboratively share and discuss resources. Staff presented at staff meetings on their professional learning.

We carved time out for staff to share their learning and collaborate. We offered two half-day professional development days with staff, during which we explored First Peoples Principles of learning and the implications for those principles in distributed learning.

Taking Action: 1. Pro-d: we invited local First Nations community members to share with staff. We organized time to explore FP Principles of Learning and we made the results of our discussion available to all teachers as a resource. We revisited topics at Staff Meetings and school-based pro-d throughout the year.
2. We attempted to start every meeting (PAC Meetings, Staff Meetings, etc) with an acknowledgement of territory.
3. Conferences: we sent teams to FNESC and Indspire conferences and brought participants together to share their learning and their resources. We asked those staff members to present to all staff.
4. Resource Library: we created a library in Moodle and invited staff to share resources. As we developed new resources with local First Nations community members, we added those resources to the library. On each resource, we tagged the permissions for that resource as well as the corresponding grade-levels and the curricular areas.
5. Reading program: we sent out a collection of Strong Nations Readers to students with lessons to go with each book. Every week, we offered a virtual class online where we read a different Strong Nations book and taught the “CAFE daily five” (reading strategies for students and parents that focus on comprehension, accuracy, fluency, expression). We taught a new strategy every week.
6. Field trips: we organized cultural field trips in different areas of the province and invited local families. As an online, school, our learners live throughout the province. We also tried to livestream some of our events. We tried this year to incorporate a pre-lesson and a post-reflection activity to promote deeper reflection on learning from our students and collect data.

Checking: We saw an improved engagement in student and parent reflection, and we hope to further improve engagement by allowing more time and providing more resources in advance of our field trips and events. We will consider the types of questions that we are asking.

We advertised our reading program this year (it is optional) which improved participation. We sent out reminders to families the day or two before the virtual classes which made a difference. This year, we picked a different strategy from the CAFE daily five and we explicitly taught each strategy (this pre-teaching improved learner’s understanding of literacy strategies and this was measurable through student’s responses to questions, and their improved ability to read the pages of the book using the strategy).

The resource library was a very good start to helping staff access resources and promote professional learning about Aboriginal Worldview and FP Principles of Learning. We think it is just the beginning and look forward to more collaborative learning next year. We saw gains when staff had designated time to collaborate and to revisit topics. We believe that we need to continue to build on the library and support staff in using the available resources.

Reflections/Advice: We learned that key component of success are organization and time. If we want deeper learning, we have to have time for it and a good plan. We plan to be even more organized next year especially with our field trips. We hope to include more pre-lessons and time for students to explore resources that relate to the upcoming trip. We are exploring the idea of inviting all staff to join us in an inquiry project focused on learning about First People Principles for the purpose of “learning first”. We have a hunch that as educators, we must first educate ourselves and build our knowledge in relation to Aboriginal Worldview. We think that this approach to professional learning aligns with the principle that learning takes patience and time. We are also interested in how we can conduct our professional learning by learning on the land. For field trips next year, our goal is to ensure that all trips involve learning on the land.

School District: SD#36 Surrey

Inquiry Team Members:Shelley Stark; stark_s@surreyschools.ca
Nancy Chalmers; chalmers_n@surreyschools.ca
Patricia Watson; watson_p@surreyschools.ca
Seline Harradine; harradine_s@surreyschools.ca
Tamara Fransen; fransen_t@surreyschools.ca
Christina Chen; chen_c@surreyschools.ca
Kim Bearisto; bearisto_k@surreyschools.ca
Ginette Demaere; demaere_g@surreyschools.ca
Adele Northrup; northrup@surreyschools.ca
Kim Sturn; sturn_k@surreyschools.ca

Inquiry Team Contact Email: wood_h@surreyschools.ca

Type of Inquiry: AESN (focus on Indigenous learners or Indigenous understandings)

Grade Levels: Primary (K-3), Intermediate (4-7)

Curricular Area(s): Applied Design, skills & Technology, Language Arts – Oral Language, Language Arts – Writing, Science, Social Studies

Focus Addressed: Aboriginal understandings (for example, Traditional Knowledge, oral history, reconciliation), Experiential learning, Land, Nature or Place-based learning

In one sentence, what was your focus for the year? 1. Create a plan for an outdoor learning space and garden, with a community library (book-share). 2. Integrate Aboriginal teachings into daily activities to develop awareness, respect, and understanding for the people and culture. 3. Host a school-wide Aboriginal Day in June to celebrate Aboriginal culture 4. Promote and develop a feeling of cultural pride and confidence in our Aboriginal students

Scanning: We observed that our learners were lacking confidence in themselves and having difficulty connecting with other students. They were frequently having social challenges with peers and behaviour problems with teachers. They were not wanting to self-identify as Aboriginal.
We chose to change the perception and awareness of the entire community of learners, to one of understanding, acceptance, and appreciation.

Focus: We chose to change the attitudes of the entire community of learners so that we could collectively recognize and celebrate the Aboriginal culture, creating a positive value in a closer connection while erasing any stigma.
We also chose to share cultural beliefs, quotes, and messages regularly so as to make it part of the expectations and existing culture in our school.

Hunch: Students were not wanting to self-identify as Aboriginal and lacking a cultural pride and confidence.
-Teachers being concerned about their own lack of expertise or understanding of the culture, and wanting to teach it with honor and respect. What is acceptable and what isn’t? A general lack of confidence about how to integrate cultural information while still learning about it yourself.

New Professional Learning: Went to workshops offered by the District
-Used literature provided from Strong Nations Publisher
-Internet research
-Lots of talk and sharing with colleagues

Taking Action: Posters and written statements on the walls of our classrooms and hallways.
-Aboriginal principals, quotes, and messages announced over the PA system regularly.
-Participation of our Aboriginal students in the “Warriors 89” program.
-Committee meetings to create a common vision for an outdoor garden and learning space.
-Creation of an Aboriginal Day in June to celebrate the culture.
-Making regular personal connections to our Aboriginal children to ensure they feel welcome, safe, and important in our school.
-Incorporate and integrate Aboriginal beliefs and teachings into daily lessons and activities.
Recognizing the Aboriginal territories that we live and work on.

Checking: We are on a journey of change as a school team. We have made changes in attitudes, perception, participation, acceptance, and acceptance. It may be difficult to recognize the changes as they happen slowly over time, but we recognize it as a process. Every initiative makes a difference in some small way, which will empower our students to lead the way eventually.

Reflections/Advice: We have researched outdoor learning spaces and spoken to other schools about their experiences, to design a space that fits our needs, goals, and budget. Coming to a common vision took time, much conversation, and patience in a large group, but was well worth the experience.
-We have established a relationship with teachers at our local high school to help our students design and build the structures chosen. There is support and a depth of knowledge and experience available within our family of schools, and people are enthusiastic to offer their expertise.
-We are in the process of getting district approval for our outdoor learning space so building can begin.
-Participation in district programs with other Aboriginal students such as “Warriors 89,” and recognition and celebration of the culture builds a sense of pride and confidence in our students that lasts beyond the duration of the program.

School District: SD#36 Surrey

Inquiry Team Members:Robert Taddei; taddei_r@surreyschools.ca
Leanne MacDonald; macdonald_l@surreyschools.ca
Roxanne Pope; pope_r@surreyschools.ca
Vasilios Koutsonikas; koutsonikas_v@surreyschools.ca
Kavita Sharma; sharma_k@surreyschools.ca

Inquiry Team Contact Email: wood_h@surreyschools.ca

Type of Inquiry: AESN Transitions (focus on Indigenous learner transitions)

Grade Levels: Secondary (8-12)

Curricular Area(s): Not applicable

Focus Addressed: Community-based learning, Core competencies (for example, critical thinking, communication, problem solving), Growth mindset, Transitions

In one sentence, what was your focus for the year? To continue engaging in meaningful transitions with our Gr 7-8 students.

Scanning: Last year, we used teacher and student surveys to consider the impact of our inquiry initiatives. Most grade 8 students were able to describe Aboriginal Worldviews and Perspectives are relevant to all learners. Some teachers felt that they were more likely to engage collaboratively in Aboriginal education as a result of this inquiry, feeling slightly less like Aboriginal staff are operating in silos. Some are now looking for ways to share and enhance locally developed curriculum in order to more deeply value First Peoples’ approaches to learning and content into their curriculum.

Focus: Through our collaborative actions, we acknowledge our shared responsibility to Aboriginal learners by working together in ways that reinforce our relationships and connectedness through the grade 7-8 transition experience.

Hunch: If we provide opportunities for students and teachers to co-create transitions experience, it will reinforce connectedness to each other and to our school.

New Professional Learning: Use the Aboriginal Worldviews and Perspectives: Moving Forward as a framework for exploring First Peoples Principles. Engage in professional reflection, discussion and goal setting around BCTF Aboriginal Education: Beyond Words: “Self-Assessment Guide for Teachers”. Include voices of local First Peoples (students, parents, families, elders, etc), and other Indigenous voices and allies.

Taking Action: Our admin is using the equity audit framework to reflect on our ways forward. This is part of a ministry initiative, but our school has begun this reflection process. Two years ago we had a series of professional development experiences in response to the calls to action. Over the course of our transitions inquiry we have developed a framework that includes collaboration Enhancement Staff with our Family of Schools (feeder schools). In addition to our school wide transitions framework, grade 7s with Indigenous ancestry were invited to a series of transitions visits throughout the school year. These visits focused on growing cultural understanding, building relationships across schools, and connecting students to caring adults and peers within our school. Our annual kayaking trip allows students to build relationships through the environment. This year, this trip also served as an opportunity to grow the professional relationships of our incoming Aboriginal Teacher Advocate. Finally, in anticipation of National Indigenous Day, we are hosting a Family Gathering Celebration. This event will serve as an opportunity to connect with families from across our Family of Schools to honour our future grads of 2023 as they transition into high school.

Checking: Connecting with Indigenous students earlier in the year, allowed those students to enter the schoolwide transitions experiences with a sense of belonging and ownership. Several students recognized staff and peers they had previously connected, demonstrating the connections to caring adults. Overall, through conversation with our incoming students, it is evident that they will enter high school with two caring adults who believe they will be successful. Importantly, teachers who participated in the transitions visits also identified that they had a greater sense of accountability for the learners with whom they had developed relationships. One teacher described how even if one student was not in her class, she would look out for him.

Reflections/Advice: With humility, we are looking at shifts to our transition experience that distribute capacity, so that enhancement is shared and engagement is broad. This presents challenges in clarifying vision and goals, authenticity and appropriation, and pride/self-purpose. At different times, this experience has been uneven for different team members. We need to engage others as essential to the transition experience so that they feel urgency. Over 50% of students with Aboriginal ancestry were failing 2 or more academic courses at the halfway mark for the last several years. Attention to curricular design and assessment practices as well as core competencies are essential to changing this experience. This goes well beyond ‘fixing the Aboriginal problem’ and involves systemic introspection. Through a strength based lens for our school planning process and our FLEX time, I am hopeful that educators help change this experience. Engagement in our transition enhancement will hopefully help initiate the urgency to be present, get to know who our students are and change ourselves.

At the end of this year, our primary Aboriginal Teacher Advocate (ATA) will be leaving the school, which presents an opportunity. The current Vice Principal liaison for the Aboriginal Department at Frank Hurt has significant experience and passion in facilitating grade 7 to 8 transitions. As Learner Support Department Head, our returning (ATA) is engaged in changing narratives around students, is active in school-based processes, and is respected among colleagues. The incoming ATA is our current Social Studies Department Head, holds high expectations for quality educational experiences, and is dedicated to social justice. Going forward, we are well positioned to not simply embed Aboriginal education in school wide processes, but centre our collaborative practices around what works for Indigenous learners.