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.

School District: SD#68 Nanaimo-Ladysmith

Inquiry Team Members:Chris Creighton: ccreighton@sd68.bc.ca
Kelly Inglis: kinglis@sd68.bc.ca
Julia Armstrong: julia.armstrong@sd68.bc.ca
Laurel Lovstad: llovstad@sd68.bc.ca
Olivia Densmore: olivia.densmore@sd68.bc.ca
Lisa Frey: lfrey@sd68.bc.ca

Inquiry Team Contact Email: ccreighton@sd68.bc.ca

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

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

Curricular Area(s): Language Arts – Literacy

Focus Addressed: Differentiated instruction, Formative assessment

In one sentence, what was your focus for the year? What will the impact of conferencing with students around reading/writing be on student outcomes and the teachers’ skills/knowledge of observing & noticing behaviours?

Scanning: In our school, we are learning to collect data for the purpose of using it to inform decision-making and guide planning / teaching in our classrooms. We are relatively new to the process of collecting data and want to use it in a variety of teaching areas including: the teaching of sight words, reading and in a social emotional / self-regulation capacity. Since we are relatively new to collecting data in this way, we think we can benefit from collaborating across teaching areas to share and develop infrastructures for data collection and analysis, with the universal goal of delivering content with increased relevance and improved quality of instruction for students.

Focus: As a group, we wanted to collect data to inform instruction, but also for the purposes of sharing assessment language with students so that they can be involved in their learning, goal-setting and self-assessment. Collaboratively, we will try new ways to collect data and reflect on the infrastructures that make data collection a streamlined and efficient process in the classroom. Furthermore, we will use this data to inform instruction and provide the language to support children in their own self-assessment of their learning.

Hunch: We expect that as we practice collecting data, we anticipate that:
• It will become a natural part of our daily teaching practice
• We will better be able to provide targeted feedback to support children in their learn
• We will become immersed in assessment language and will therefore feel more comfortable communicating / supporting student in their self-assessment of learning

New Professional Learning: By exploring data collection in a variety of teaching areas, we expect:
• To build confidence collecting individual student data for the purposes of analyzing trends and directing teaching.
• Collaborate and learn how data can be collected in multiple teaching areas
• Build sensitivity to noticing children’s strengths, for the purposes of informing instruction
• Become increasingly comfortable with assessment language, so we can better communicate and support children with self-assessment of learning

To learn more about writing, we used Ruth Culham’s 6+1 Traits to familiarize ourselves with the assessment language. For reading, we referred to Fountas and Pinnell’s Guide for Noticing Reading Behaviours… All within a differentiated, workshop framework, inspired by The Sisters’ Daily 5.

Taking Action: • Teachers will continue to prioritize the planning for opportunities to conference with students about reading & writing
• Teachers will continue to explore ways to document observations from 1 on 1 teacher-student reading & writing conferences as formative assessment
• Teachers will continue to keep records that inform:
o Student strengths
o Teacher feedback
o OCSL & summative reporting
• Teachers will continue to support children in book matching, based on student interests

Checking: We’re feeling that our understanding of conferencing is developing. We are becoming more comfortable with building infrastructure for a workshop model, which fosters the development of independence reading and writing. We’re becoming familiar with the Noticing Guide.

Reflections/Advice: It was first important for teachers to build an infrastructure where
• 1 on 1 (teacher-student) conferencing was possible
• Teachers tried / revised different recording systems to capture student conferences as data
• Teachers improved their sensitivity to noticing by:
o using the ‘Noticing Guide’
o learned about running records
• Learning more about student strengths allowed for:
o Focused explicit teaching
o Differentiation based on student interests
o Improved student engagement through book matching

School District: SD#68 Nanaimo-Ladysmith

Inquiry Team Members:Jennifer Robinson: jennifer.robinson@sd68.bc.ca
Jacqueline Dunn: jacqueline.dunn@sd68.bc.ca

Inquiry Team Contact Email: jennifer.robinson@sd68.bc.ca

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

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

Curricular Area(s): Career Education, Physical & Health Education

Focus Addressed: Core competencies (for example, critical thinking, communication, problem solving), Inclusion and inclusive instructional strategies, Self-regulation, Social and emotional learning

In one sentence, what was your focus for the year? Restorative Practices

Scanning: We decided on restorative practices as our focus, because we were noticing challenging student behavior and were looking at ways to provide opportunities for student learning and reflection to better develop more positive school relationships and problem solving skills.
The OECD principles of learning are integral to Restorative Practices in many respects. In this approach, students are at the centre. There is a recognition that learning is social as well as a recognition that students have individual differences. Finally, it acknowledges that emotions are integral to learning. In addition, the First Peoples Principles of Learning are also integral as it recognizes learning should support the well-being of the self, the family, and the community. These principles also focus on connectedness, and on reciprocal relationships. Finally, it suggests learning involves recognizing the consequences of one’s actions. These principles of learning are a vital component of this project.

Focus: Restorative Practices were chosen as our focus, as challenging behaviour was impacting student learning, both individually and collectively. We wanted to focus on an approach that helped students develop and maintain positive relationships among community members, that would allow them to better express their feelings, and develop their own solutions to problems that arise at school, and with peers. Restorative practice allows for opportunities for students to practice communication skills, as well as to develop personal and social responsibility.

Hunch: While staff supported the idea of involving students in solving problems, staff did not have a cohesive way of doing this. Various approaches were used, but it was difficult for students to understand that issues are learning experiences and that people grow from them. When a mistake was made by students, they thought they would ‘get in trouble’. Restorative practices allow students to take responsibility for their actions, and grow from them. Nor did previous approaches address underlying issues that were influencing student behaviour.

New Professional Learning: School staff (teachers and support staff) engaged throughout the year in professional learning. During regular PLCs, staff tackled questions of implementation of restorative practices on a school-wide level. These PLC sessions were very helpful to support colleagues as we adjusted the way we approached student behaviour. Three of our school based professional development days were devoted to learning about restorative practices and a guests speakers, through the John Howard Society and the International Institute of Restorative Practices, were brought in to help better understand how restorative practices could be used effectively in the classroom. As part of this learning, staff read two book to help with this. They were: The Restorative Practices Handbook and Restorative Circles in Schools. These experiences have contributed to school-wide momentum for using this approach.

Taking Action: Since North Oyster is a dual track school, activities were done in English and French. There were many activities, and these were done in a circle with the whole class. Some of the activities that were done in classrooms this year:
• Monday morning check-ins
o What is your challenge for the week? (learning)
o What is your favourite….? (community building)
o How are you feeling? And reflecting on emotions.
• Friday afternoon check-outs
o Did you succeed in meeting your challenge for this week?
• Compliment circles – students give compliments to others that have had a positive impact at school
• Curriculum based circles
o Share projects and give informal presentations
o Practice oral French to use new verb tenses
• Classroom organization
o Classroom expectations
o Field trip expectations
o Class meetings
• Games
o Improve games
o The sun shines on..
o Qui aime –
o Pass-pass passera

Classes engaged in problem solving circles as well. Depending on the nature of the problem, these circles could include just a few students or the whole class.
• Problem Solving
o Talking out events that were problematic
o Voicing frustrations around behavior
o Finding solutions to conflict

Checking: Since we have implemented the restorative model, students are being referred to the office with far less frequency. In September, our principal was often dealing with multiple behavioural incidents simultaneously, whereas now, much of the day goes by without any office referrals. Our hypothesis is that as teachers are using the restorative model in their classrooms, more issues are being dealt with within the class community, rather than having the child sent out due to their behaviour. We believe there are also fewer issues are occurring overall within the school as a result of these practices.

Therefore, we are satisfied that we have made a difference and we believe we will continue to see increasing improvements as we continue to embed the model more deeply into our practice.

Reflections/Advice: From this inquiry, we learned that restorative practices require time as they involve a shift in school culture. It is a different way to approach problems that arise with students, and requires better communication to understand issues from the students’ perspective, as well as any underlying issues. Because it is such a shift in school culture, there are ongoing plans on how to start the school year with a restorative approach and how to effectively communicate this to students, parents, and new staff so there is an understanding of this approach by the broader community. One of the strengths of our inquiry was that all staff were involved and willing to take on this new approach. Because it is such a shift in culture, our advice would be to have consensus from staff that this is an approach that they would like to try.

School District: SD#52 Prince Rupert

Inquiry Team Members:Danette Russell danette.russell@sd52.bc.ca
Debbie Carter debbie.carter@sd52.bc.ca
Debra Fabbi debra.fabbi@sd52.bc.ca
Mackenzie Hubbell mackenzie.hubbell@sd52.bc.ca

Inquiry Team Contact Email: danette.russell@sd52.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, Arts Education, Language Arts – Reading, Language Arts – Writing

Focus Addressed: Core competencies (for example, critical thinking, communication, problem solving), Differentiated instruction, Experiential learning, Flexible learning, STEM / STEAM

In one sentence, what was your focus for the year? The Kindergarten and Grade 4 class are looking to work together as buddies to focus on how they can build a greater sense of resiliency, empathy and school community through STEM activities.

Scanning: The students were initially very shy to participate in many of the school wide activities. By working on more social activities with their buddies overtime, we hoped it would build on their confidence and increase overall participation in activities both on their own and with their buddies. This involves not just teacher led activities, but also less-structured activities such as break times and after school events. In doing this, students have made numerous comments about seeing their buddies out in the community and tend to spend time with one another outside of the scheduled buddy time during the school day (recess and lunch on the playground).

Focus: We selected this area of focus because we have done buddy reading before, however this activity was somewhat limiting for our students. We wanted to be able to incorporate STEM activities, that would lead to more opportunity to explore and develop healthy social interactions. This was also an opportunity for the younger buddies to learn from the older buddies in terms of seeing other students making mistakes, understanding that mistakes are part of the learning process, and that school is a safe place to learn from them. The older students seem to be more empathetic towards their younger buddies, ensuring that they were active participants in the planned activities. Ex. Gingerbread traps- both buddies designed a plan and then were able to combine their plans, taking ideas from both partners to create one project.

Hunch: The previously mentioned, the experiences with buddy work involved the older students reading with the younger buddies. The older students enjoyed the leadership piece, however some students seemed bored after a period of time as this activity did not seem to cultivate as much social interaction as the STEM activities. The students seemed to get to know one another on a much more personal level. The STEM activities support the social -emotional learning piece, which lends itself to exploring leadership and problem solving skills through hands on learning. Students gain a better understanding of what meaningful contributions look like through their actions, and recognize they can have a positive impact on others.

New Professional Learning: We were able to explore parts of the new curriculum- communication, critical thinking and social responsibility, as well as using the ADST. We would consider using the “I statements” from the competency profiles as a student self assessment. We researched STEM activities and developed ideas, that would work well with both grades, examples of some activities included: hex bug mazes, boat making- sink or float, gingerbread traps, parachutes, skeleton piece scavenger hunt, buddy centers (watching them interact with each other, where there was not a planned outcome).

Taking Action: The team worked strategically to determine the placement of buddies (i.e. not to putting two shy students together or a shy student with a super strong personality).Another consideration was placing students with exceptionalities with another older buddy for extra support and modeling leadership. Thoughtful considerations were made about the types of activities that students would participate in such as high interest, engaging activities, open ended tasks geared to student interests/abilities and activities that could be differentiated.

Checking: Overall, the students were far more engaged and demonstrated growth and understanding with regards to their critical thinking abilities. The STEM activities worked better for the students who needed a lot more movement, as well as those students who struggled with social skills. Students who struggled making connections to their own age peers, really benefited from the leadership roles and buddy activities with students much younger, displaying empathy and compassion towards their buddies (something that may not have been as noticeable in their own classes with their same age peers).

We wonder about the creation of projects, the majority of the time the finished projects went to the younger students. We think that we would alternate which students would get the final product. Both groups of students would learn from this process (not always getting the project to take home). Learning about give and take was a huge part, everyone participated and contributed their ideas to the projects. The older buddies were not able to overshadow the younger buddies, and were encouraged to have the younger buddies share ideas so that everyone contributed equally.

Reflections/Advice: We would look to support and encourage the students to take on more of a leadership role and encourage a more self directed approach in the future.We would also look to use collaboration time, to map out activities and meet as a collective to reflect on the process more regularly.
Advice to offer other schools interested in a similar topic, would be to think carefully about your students participating, consider pairing compatibility, be willing to be flexible, not to overthink the STEM activities and allow students to have more of a voice in terms of activity choices.

School District: SD#75 Mission

Inquiry Team Members:Vivian Searwar: vivian.searwar@mpsd.ca
Joanne Davis: joanne.davis@mpsd.ca
Julie Brown: julie.brown@mpsd.ca

Inquiry Team Contact Email: vivian.searwar@mpsd.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, Arts Education, Language Arts – Literacy, Language Arts – Oral Language, Language Arts – Reading, Language Arts – Writing, Physical & Health Education, Social Studies

Focus Addressed: Aboriginal understandings (for example, Traditional Knowledge, oral history, reconciliation), Core competencies (for example, critical thinking, communication, problem solving), First Peoples Principles of Learning, Indigenous pedagogy

In one sentence, what was your focus for the year? Studying the evolution of reciprocity in our school community with the notion of hands back, hands forward

Scanning: During the scanning phase, we reflected about how we were enhancing our learning and our students’ learning through Indigenous worldviews, perspectives and ways of knowing. We looked at classroom based learning and school-wide learning and referred to the following First Peoples’ Principles of Learning which state that Learning involves generational roles and responsibilities and Learning involves patience and time. We used the student answers to the four questions to frame our thinking about how our students feel about sharing their learning, a form of reciprocity. We determined that most students still think in terms of individual learning, and on the feedback that they receive on their work. Our goal was to help them think about collective learning for the benefit of all. In addition to the four questions, we also asked them: How will you share your learning with others?

Focus: We feel that reciprocity is a core component of the First Peoples Principles of Learning as well as the Core Competencies. Our goal was to try and meld these two concepts together, based on the Two-Eyed Seeing approach from Mi’kmaw Elder Albert Marshall (learning to see from one eye with the strengths of Indigenous knowledges and ways of knowing, and from the other eye with the strengths of Western knowledges and ways of knowing … and learning to use both these eyes together, for the benefit of all). We were hoping that actions of reciprocity would permeate the lives within our school community and become natural and organic, rather than “forced”, or based on “giving to receive”.

Hunch: We realize that there are many good things our staff members are doing in individual classrooms (regarding Indigenous education), but that these good things are not always shared with others or celebrated school-wide. This year, we hoped to encourage and instill a learning by reciprocity (i.e. staff teaching students, staff teaching each other, children teaching children, children teaching staff, Elders teaching students, students teaching Elders) by offering various Indigenous-based learning opportunities as well as opportunities to share them with our school community. This year our hope was to delve further into this community aspect of learning.

New Professional Learning: We used the First Peoples Principles of Learning as a guide, as well as the book Learning, Knowing & Sharing. During our collaboration meetings, we discussed specific chapters of the book and how we could take one idea and use it as a springboard for connecting with Indigenous teachings in our class and school. We encouraged staff to collaborate when planning their class activities regarding Indigenous worldview. We used the notions of hands back, hands forward as well as the Two-Eyed Seeing approach (which we added later in the year).

Taking Action: Collaboration Book Club – Learning, Knowing and Sharing (among staff)
School-Wide Eagle Feather Program (based on the seven sacred teachings) – any school community member can offer a paper eagle feather to someone who has demonstrated one of the seven sacred teachings. We connected this to our Kindness Program, (based on the book, Have you Filled a Bucket today?) where students place a pompom in our classroom bucket when they see someone doing a good act toward/for others. Once the school bucket is filled, we have a school-side extra recess. This is an example of the Two-Eyed Seeing approach.
School-Wide Winter Wellness Walk & Spring Sprint – to encourage healthy living and exercise, as well as community spirit
Eagle Feather Carving – We invited a local carver to carve an eagle feather. He worked as an artist-in-residence for six carving sessions where all school community members had the change to connect with him. The carving is now displayed in our front foyer as a symbol of our commitment to reciprocity and the seven sacred teachings.
Elder Visits – One class had a series of visits from our local elders. We participated in storytelling and drum making and Elders, staff and students participated in the honouring ceremony (for the carver).
Collaboration Days among staff – to discuss ways of connecting Indigenous worldview with their daily classroom activities, as well as connecting the Core Competencies to Indigenous knowledges.
Expansion of Recycling Program – to encourage environmental stewardship.
Joyful Literacy – Big Buddy/Little Buddy pairing
Zones of Regulation – using in the context of the Eagle Feather and Kindness Program
Year-End Reciprocity Slideshow – we took photos throughout the year of reciprocity in action, and at our final assembly, we shared these photos in a presentation for our school community.

Checking: In general, staff noticed an increase in care and concern among students, in particular students helping others in need without having to be asked or prompted.
There is a great respect and feeling of reciprocity among the students and Elders involved in the Elder project (it is showcased in the next edition of The Canoe, a publication effort from Mission School District, Surrey School District and Coquitlam School District). The notion of hands back, hands forward really rang through with this project.
We also noticed an increase in staff members willing to help students out to solve problems, rather than sending the students to the office for punishment. Our Admin team has also taken a proactive, reciprocity based approach for students who are sent to the office for behavioural concerns. The hope is to inspire the good feeling of giving back. We kept track of the number of students sent to the office as well as the reason for the trip to the office. We will continue this practice into next year, so that we can continue to monitor it.
We were satisfied with our results, but are realistic in knowing that it is a work in progress.

Reflections/Advice: The answers to our learner’s questions were much more specific than previously. Students are more apt to articulate specific examples about their learning, and gave a plethora of ways to share this learning with others (conversation, technology etc).
We learned that reciprocity is fluid and goes across ages, abilities, family histories, family values and family heritage.
We plan on continuing with this theme in the future, perhaps by providing different ways to encouraging reciprocity in our school community and incorporate the Core Competencies on a larger scale. We also are hoping to get more staff members on board earlier in the school year, with a more focused approach at regular intervals, so that our work does not get sidelined when things start to get busy.
Advice we would give to others:
Enlist in the help of local Indigenous Elders, knowledge keepers and people resources in your district Aboriginal Department to offer their expertise and guidance.
Revisit your goals on a regular basis so that that the momentum does not dissipate. Having a brief discussion at a staff meeting would be helpful.
Offer gentle support and encouragement to staff who are unfamiliar or reluctant. This can be as simple as placing some information above the photocopier (for staff to peruse as they are waiting for their print jobs).

School District: SD#68 Nanaimo-Ladysmith

Inquiry Team Members:Jenessa Vanzandwyk: Jenessa.Vanzandwyk@sd68.bc.ca, Holly Shelton: holly.shelton@sd68.bc.ca, Christina Renneberg: christina.renneberg@sd68.bc.ca, Sofia LaBounty: sofia.labounty@sd68.bc.ca

Inquiry Team Contact Email: sofia.labounty@sd68.bc.ca

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

Grade Levels: Primary (K-3)

Curricular Area(s): Mathematics / Numeracy

Focus Addressed: Core competencies (for example, critical thinking, communication, problem solving), Differentiated instruction, Flexible learning, Formative assessment, Growth mindset

In one sentence, what was your focus for the year? Increasing student engagement and competence with numeracy.

Scanning: Our team used the four key questions to interview our students during our scanning process. We reviewed this process and discovered that students responded differently to classroom teachers versus support teacher. Also, the delivery style of the questions offered students a variety of prompting that may have skewed the answers. We agreed to adapt the 4 key questions so that students would be able to clearly understand what is being asked of them and also agreed that classroom teachers should be asking the students these questions as they have an established relationship with the student.
We mainly noticed a lack of confidence with our students in regards to numeracy which is why we felt that this collaboration was very necessary.
As we continue to work through this spiral for the coming school year, we will be looking more closely into the OECD principles and the First Peoples Principles of Learning in the next scanning phase.

Focus: Numeracy is being reviewed as a school and as we work through this inquiry as a whole group, we looked to target in similar grade groupings how teachers can collaboratively embed new instructional strategies and practices to enhance student engagement with numeracy. Our school wide goal is to increase student number sense and confidence when faced with new mathematical concepts.

Hunch: Our school is a focus school in our district as a result of the low socio-economic area it serves. We have very strong literacy focus for our students and we’ve become aware that students are not necessarily participating in mathematical learning on a daily basis. Teachers have recognized the need to review how mathematical concepts are scaffolded from year to year.

New Professional Learning: After attending the provincial conference in Oct. many teachers were inspired with Carole Fullerton’s resources and some teachers participated in an online course with Jo Boaler. Some books explored included: ‘Becoming the Math teacher you wish you’d had’ by Tracy Zager & ‘Number Sense Routines’ by Jessica Shumway

Taking Action: Teachers followed some Carole Fullerton resources
Thinking like a mathematician – math is more than a competency, thinking and developing number sense
Incorporate different teaching strategies – celebrate different thinking/making thinking visible

Checking: Teachers felt that students became more comfortable and capable during numeracy activities. The data showed progress within the K/1, 1 & 1/2 classrooms. Teachers are looking forward to continuing this work as the biggest benefit was the strong collaboration taking place between colleagues in grade like classrooms. c

Reflections/Advice: Reflection: Thinking like a mathematician – math is more than a competency, thinking and developing number sense
Incorporate different teaching strategies – celebrate different thinking/making thinking visible.
We feel that any inquiry process involves a long term commitment. It’s important to establish common practices that are supported by several teachers and to follow up on students as they progress through the grades to see how our inquiry has impacted students learning.