AESN – Networks of Inquiry and Indigenous Education

Regional Meetings Update (lots of resources!)

noii — Tue, 15 Nov 2016 21:55:00 +0000

The Networks have been busy over the last week with regional meetings happening all over the world (yes, world!), including Nanaimo, Smithers, the Lower Mainland and Australia (yes, Australia!). We have a lot to share from the discussions and networking over the last week.

Judy and Linda, and AESN Impact Study leader Debbie Leighton-Stephens were in Smithers with the North West Regional group for a day of professional learning and networking. Judy and Linda shared the brand-spanking-new Spiral Playbook, which they were asked to write by C21 Canada aimed at Canadian Superintendents. There are a bunch of resources that accompany the Playbook which we hope you will find useful, including the Spiral Playbook Quick Reference Guide. Debbie shared more about the AESN Impact Study, and specifically how schools involved with the study are focusing their inquiry work around transitions for learners. You will hear more about how this work is going at the NOII Symposium in May.

The central Vancouver Island Network meeting was held in conjunction with the regional Canadian Assessment for Learning Network (CAfLN) event – two great events in one! The CAfLN conference is in Nova Scotia this year in early May.

The Extended Lower Mainland group meet in Burnaby, with Network Leaders Brooke Moore (Delta) and Lynne Tomlinson (West Vancouver) focusing a part of the discussion around assessment and sharing a bunch of ready-to-use tools and resources. Check out the Embedded Critique and Feedback Rubric (developed from Ron Berger’s Leaders of Their Own Learning), this Science 10 Lab Rubric developed by Michelle Wood, and this visual rubric developed by Kelly Skehill. We also thought this Grade 1 Term Overview by Annieville Elementary is a really helpful way to communicate student learning and focus for the term. (See what you miss when you don’t attend meetings??!! – I missed attending this one and was so disappointed!). The next Extending Lower Mainland meeting will be on Jan. 23^rd (lock it in!).

Last but not least, NOII Australia kicked off their first meeting as an official region of the Network – go team! We’re thrilled to learn with and from this great group lead by Network Leaders Natalie Mansour and David Sim. Make sure you plan to attend the NOII Symposium on May 12 – 13 in Richmond in order to meet and network with some members of this Australian team.

If you held a meeting that we’ve missed (or you have one upcoming) please let us know by dropping us a line along with a few details (and even better, some resources) to noii.aesn@gmail.com.

Thanks to everyone involved – especially those hosting meetings, sharing during discussions and attending for the first time – for all your great work in supporting inquiry, teamwork and curiosity. And please keep in mind that submission of your school inquiry focus is due by November 25th. See more about how to do that here.

Case Studies and More from SD 68 Nanaimo Ladysmith

noii — Sat, 25 Jun 2016 18:19:00 +0000

As another busy school year comes to a close, the year-end case studies are starting to trickle in and we are so inspired by the stories of learning, collaboration and inquiry that schools and districts are sharing. This time of year is one of both celebration and reflection. And it is so encouraging, as we read through your stories, to be reminded of how fortunate we are here in BC to have engaged, passionate, authentic educators leading our world-class education system. Together, we are making change for ALL of our learners!

We will soon share all of the case studies on our website (and a reminder to submit these to Donna by June 30^th). But to give you a small taste of the caliber of work happening around the province, take a look at the learning around Innovation and Inquiry that took place in SD 68 Nanaimo Ladysmith over the past year.

Thanks to Linda Baldwin – SD 68’s District Innovation and Inquiry Coordinator (how cool is that title!) – for collating the stories shared at the district’s Celebration on May 31^st and putting together this slideshow capturing the school inquiries that were shared at the Celebration. Fairview Community School chose to create video case studies this year (also cool!).

Linda also shared learning from the first year of the district’s Innovation and Inquiry Lead Teacher Initiative, which she coordinated on behalf of the district. This team of lead teachers engaged in a system level inquiry, coming together several times over the course of the school year, and working specifically at building capacity with collaborative inquiry as a professional learning strategy and supporting instructional leadership at the school level. This slideshow shares contributions from the Innovation and Inquiry Lead Teachers, with each providing one slide that was representative of one highlight (project, inquiry, collaboration) of their work from the school year. This truly is an innovation approach and model for building leadership and capacity. Do you think it could work in your school district? Something to consider for next year!

More stories to come soon. Enjoy the last week of school everyone!

Our reason for living

noii — Wed, 25 May 2016 17:24:00 +0000

What a wonderful couple of weeks it has been for the Networks. There have been a number of regional celebrations over the last few days – from the Lower Mainland to Prince Rupert – school teams are sharing their inquiry learning and celebrating the purpose, passion and persistence that kept us afloat and paddling forward together over the last few months.

We’re still brimming with energy from the success of the 2016 NOII Symposium. We are extremely grateful to those who contributed their time to the event through presentations, leading flash chats, volunteering, and being fully engaged in lively discussions over the course of 3 days, beginning with Dr. Helen Timperley’s pre-Symposium event, continuing with engaging speakers, igniters and school presentations, and then culminating with Ted Cadwallader’s metaphor of the wayfinders – as we work together to ensure that every child in BC crosses the stage with dignity, purpose and options.

Several presentations and highlights from the Symposium have now been posted on our website here. We’ll also have video coming soon, thanks to our student videographer volunteers from North Vancouver School District. Some shared comments are also captured below and through #noii2016.

Thanks to speaker Kaleb Child with SD 85 Vancouver Island North for sharing so many new words and ideas with us through his presentation at the Symposium. We’re struck by the concept of Tlayu’la gaxans gwi’gwala’yu – “our reason for living” and collectively making the change for our children. This is indeed the most important journey we can embark on together, and we are so honoured to have the opportunity to share together in the passion, purpose and persistence needed to continue paddling and wayfinding together.

FNESC/FNSA Summer Institute on First Peoples Curriculum, Aug 22-25 2016

noii — Mon, 02 May 2016 16:55:00 +0000

Registration is now open for the Summer Institute for Teachers on First Peoples Curriculum, August 22-25, at the Coast Plaza Hotel Vancouver offered by FNESC and the FNSA with support from the Vancouver Foundation.

Comprised of 4 day-long sessions, selected individually (new this year), the sessions will introduce resources that focus on themes, issues and topics of importance to First Peoples learning and informed by the First Peoples Principles of Learning. Each session will include print resources, activities and opportunities for professional dialogue and networking.

These sessions sell out very quickly! Please register early.

SESSIONS 2016

Monday, August 22

Integrating First Peoples Content and Principles of Learning in Classrooms

This session is designed to help educators effectively integrate First Peoples content and the First Peoples Principles of Learning into classrooms. Participants will examine the updated FNESC/FNSA Authentic First Peoples Resources for Use in Classrooms Resource Guide along with other FNESC/FNSA teacher resources and will leave the workshop with materials and strategies to help them share their learning with others in their schools or districts.

Tuesday, August 23

Residential Schools and Reconciliation Teacher Resource Guide – ELEMENTARY

This session is designed to help support elementary educators to teach about residential schools in well-informed, respectful and appropriate ways. Participants will explore the FNESC/FNSA Residential Schools and Reconciliation Teacher Resource Guide for Grade 5, which introduces students to the historical context of residential schools and the principles of reconciliation. These materials engage students with age-appropriate literature, archival documents, and video resources.

Wednesday, August 24

Residential Schools and Reconciliation Teacher Resource Guide – SECONDARY

This session is designed to help support secondary school educators teach about residential schools in a well-informed, respectful and appropriate way. Participants will be exploring the FNESC/FNSA Residential Schools and Reconciliation Teacher Resource Guides for grades 10 and 11/12, which introduce students to the historical context of residential schools and the principles of reconciliation by engaging them with a variety of archival documents, video resources, and activities.

Thursday, August 25

Science First Peoples Grades 5-9 First Peoples (Draft)

This session is designed to introduce educators to a draft copy of the new FNESC/FNSA Science First Peoples Teacher Resource Guides for grades 5-9, a resource designed to help educators incorporate First Peoples perspectives and content into science classes in authentic and respectful ways. Participants will have the opportunity to provide feedback to guide further development of the resource.

To register and for complete details, please click here.

UBC 100: Indigenous Education Alumni Speaker Panel

noii — Tue, 01 Mar 2016 23:39:00 +0000

For anyone who will be in the Vancouver area on March 10^th, check out the UBC 100: Indigenous Education Alumni Speaker Panel event taking place at the UBC Vancouver First Nations Longhouse.

In 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) released its report and Calls to Action. The purpose of this event, featuring 3 of our outstanding UBC Faculty of Education’s 100 Alumni, is to share insights, create dialogue, and develop individual and cooperative actions to accelerate the success of Indigenous education, with an emphasis on the past, present, and future role of the UBC Faculty of Education This is a free event but registration is required.

See their flyer for more details.

Inquiry Proposal Submissions – Due Nov 27th

noii — Sun, 01 Nov 2015 20:52:00 +0000

It has been exciting to hear about the Network meetings taking place across the province over the last few weeks. As just one example, Prince Rupert had a packed house on Oct 20^th (they ran out of chairs!) to discuss plans for the coming year, spend time reviewing new research and resources, and collectively deepening their understanding around what it going on for their learners. Neat to see these planning notes and picture from their meeting.

Please share with schools that the 2015 – 2016 NOII/AESN Inquiry Proposal template is now available on our website. We have tried to streamline the submission process this year and you will see that reflected in the guidelines and the template. School teams use this template to submit their inquiry focus at the beginning of the school year, and then submit case studies at the end of the year to document their experience. It may also be helpful to review the Spiral of Inquiry, as well as the 4 Key Questions That Matter. Proposals are due November 27^th. We very much look forward to receiving your submissions and encourage you to contact us is you have any questions.

Case Studies and Videos

noii — Wed, 21 Oct 2015 13:31:00 +0000

We are so excited the share the 2014 – 2015 NOII and AESN Case Studies, all now posted on our website. Case studies are rich sources of data, capturing both the process of inquiry with regard to a school’s particular focus for improvement, as well as the learning and observations obtained throughout the journey.

Take a few minutes to check out a few and see how schools and districts focused on improving teaching and learning for all students. We’re always amazed at the caliber of professional learning being engaged through the Spiral of Inquiry, but this past year is particularly impressive given 2014/2015 started off with job action in BC. When you see what was done, how much was accomplished, and particularly the commitment from teams to further their learning into the future, I think you’ll agree that we have some of the best educators in the world working right here in BC!

We’ve also noted previously that with help from Network leader Angela Stott, we’ve captured ideas around inquiry through short videos filmed at the last Network Symposium. These videos are organized by themes, such as Impact on Aboriginal Education (see below), Authentic Use of the Spiral and Building Curiosity. All videos are posted here.

Welcome back! New resources, programs and upcoming events for 2015 – 2016

noii — Mon, 14 Sep 2015 19:26:00 +0000

Welcome back to school, everyone. We’re excited about all of the possibility that this new school year offers!

A lot of professional learning took place this past summer – while everyone had a bit of time to engage with deep questions around collaboration, inquiry and learning.

For instance, Judy and Linda hosted a 2-day Inquiry and Innovation Summer Institute at UBC at the start of July. Over 50 educators from across BC worked through the Spiral of Inquiry and the OECD Principles of Learning, considering how to use these frameworks to address big questions and make meaning change in their educational contexts. Check out some thoughts from that event here.

At Vancouver Island University over the last few weeks, Linda and Judy also welcomed their fifth cohort of Centre for Innovation and Excellence in Learning (CIEL) participants – a group of 26 outstanding educators from Qatar to Haida Gwaii embracing new learning.

And now, Judy and Linda are in the midst of preparing for a new post masters level leadership program aimed at system level leaders – this means anyone from teachers to superintendent who is focused on transforming the system for learners. It is an exciting opportunity and a great way to strengthen networking across roles and across the province. Applications are now open for this UBC Transformative Educational Leadership Program.

As you start to think about your inquiry work this year, here are a few resources and upcoming events to consider as you plan your learning and teaching:

FNESC / FNSA Launch New Resources on Residential Schools

Developed in response to the call by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada for age-appropriate education materials about Indian Residential Schools, these Teacher Resource Guides provide activities and supports for dealing sensitively with the topic of residential schools. Please take a look and make sure to share with your colleagues.

Resource Guide on Aboriginal Worldviews and Perspectives in the Classroom

Inspired by Scott Benwell and Kaleb Child from School District 85 (Vancouver Island North), this project is a call to action for educators and leadership to create and enhance learning environments to serve each learner, family and community. Aboriginal voice is dominant in this resource guide and reflects the opinions of community members.

NOII/AESN Extended Lower Mainland Fall Meeting

Tuesday, October 20th, 2015 – Richmond (near the airport)

4:00 – 6:00 pm

Sea Island School, 1891 Wellington Crescent, Richmond

Note: the school driveway and parking lot are accessed via Templeton Street

(Templeton Street can be accessed via either Miller Road or Grant McConachie Way (the road that takes you to the airport).

Save the Date! – 2016 Network Symposium

May 13 – 14, 2016

Richmond, BC

The 2016 Symposium will again include international speakers and partners, as well as showcase work from school teams, with lots of networking and interactive time. Stay tuned for registration details.

Please visit our website for other important dates/meetings, as well as easy to access resources.

We’re once again grateful and impressed at the caliber of work that network school teams are leading. Case studies that were submitted over the summer are almost ready to put up on the website. We’ll post a link here when these are accessible. We are also preparing templates for submitting your 2015 – 2016 Inquiry Questions – more to come!

We’re grateful to both the Ministry of Education and the Irving K Barber Learning Centre at UBC for their continued funding for continued funding to support the AESN. Book sales from Spirals of Inquiry also continue to support the exceptional work of network schools.

Looking forward to another great year of learning, teaching and inquiring together!

Celebrating AESN Learning in Prince Rupert

noii — Sun, 21 Jun 2015 19:03:00 +0000

We couldn’t pass up the opportunity to share these pictures from the AESN Celebration of Learning that was held in Prince Rupert recently, particularly with today being National Aboriginal Day. Judy and Linda were honoured to be a part of the event, particularly hearing from students and educators, and sharing in learning with the student drummers. Thanks so much to the Northwest BC Network team for organizing this event.

Network schools all over BC are integrating First Nation ways of knowing and being into all aspects of the curriculum. Learn how this is happening, and what schools are learning, by reviewing the AESN case studies. Contact information is included with the case studies, so others can connect directly with schools to hear stories and collaborate on learning.

A great day of learning at the AESN celebration in Prince Rupert. Thanks to northwest team and SD 52 drummers pic.twitter.com/wUGeYzX2lo

— JUDY HALBERT (@JLHALBERT) June 2, 2015

How Springwood Middle Incorporated the First Peoples Principles of Learning

noii — Wed, 01 Apr 2015 15:49:00 +0000

A key aspect of the Network has always been the sharing of learning and experiences of Network schools. Network members embrace talking about how their work is going at various points during the school year, as well as through the submission of yearly case studies. This sharing is vitally important. Not only does it reinforce a culture of collaboration, but it allows for collective troubleshooting, support and refinement of practices.

We know that many schools are working on integrating the First Peoples Principles of Learning (FPPL) into all aspects of teaching, so we wanted to share how Springwood Middle School (now reconfigured as Springwood Elementary) in SD #69 Qualicum, integrated the FPPL school-wide last year, as well as embraced a truth and reconciliation approach to teaching about residential schools. They started with a specific, straightforward inquiry focus:

“How can we create an integrated, welcoming and all-inclusive community for our learners that values First Nations teachings within the diversity?”

Springwood Middle incorporated the FPPL posters and BC Map of First People into all classrooms and linked the resources to lessons throughout the fall. With Truth and Reconciliation events taking place across BC, and with many of the school district’s community members involved in events, students showed a general curiosity toward what they were witnessing. As Springwood’s case study notes, students “wanted to understand what was happening and why.” Students had “many questions about the residential school system for First Peoples along with more general inquiries that fell into three categories: heritage, culture and traditions, and land connections.”

As a result, the inquiry team responded to this curiosity by first presenting a series of lessons about residential schools and then inviting residential school survivors to share their stories with students. This was to align with one of the First Peoples Principles of Learning, which states: “learning ultimately supports the well-being of the self, the family, the community, the land, the spirits, and the ancestors.”

In order to address the need to be “all inclusive,” as outlined in their inquiry, staff members were careful to use a common language – for all students and adults – when engaging with the material. Students also tracked their learning progress using a simple scale: Emerging Awareness, Acquiring Awareness, and Deep Awareness. Regular check-ins with students allowed for learning to be structured and well designed to meet their evolving needs.

A really interesting professional learning that emerged was around how this inquiry approach was also helping prepare the middle school learners for coming transitions: “we learned that preparing children well by answering their questions about important social and cultural experiences is a profoundly effective way to prepare them for transitions, building confidence and sustaining curiosity.” What a wonderful bit of learning to discover.

To read more about this inquiry, you can access Springwood Middle’s case study.