I. General Information
School Name: George M. Murray Elementary
School District: SD#74 Gold Trail
Inquiry Team Members: Jen Eddie – jeddie@sd74.bc.ca
Inquiry Team Contact Email: jeddie@sd74.bc.ca
II. Inquiry Project Information
Type of Inquiry: SRL Case Study
Grade Levels Addressed Through Inquiry: Intermediate (4-7)
Curricular Areas Addressed: Applied Design, skills & Technology, Language Arts – Writing, Mathematics / Numeracy, Science
Focus Addressed: Core competencies (for example, critical thinking, communication, problem solving), Differentiated instruction, Experiential learning, Growth mindset, Land, Nature or Place-based learning, Self-regulation, Social and emotional learning
In one sentence, what was your focus for the year? Helping my students see themselves as learners by strengthening their ability to regulate themselves.
III. Spirals of Inquiry Details
Scanning: I talked to my students a lot in circle and asked them questions about their learning in previous years. Noise was a really distracting element for them and collaboration was not something they felt comfortable with (based on discussions in circle). They identified that worksheets and free time made up a lot of their learning in previous years.
I identified that there wasn’t a lot of circling back when things fell apart for my learners. Conflict resolution and giving time and support to heal mistakes was an area I wanted to help grow.
Many of my students had been on one field trip in the entire year last year, and they badly wanted to be outside. I hoped to show them that rigorous learning could happen in a group without arguing all the time.
Focus: I selected this area because I wanted them to be excited about learning and each other. I could see they needed supports to get to a place where they could collaborate and see learning as fun.
Hunch: I thought that worksheets as a primary mode of delivering education were shutting down many of the learners in my class. I wanted to get them talking together so we could all learn together.
New Professional Learning: I used the circle as a structure for debriefing when things fell apart. I kept coming back to the circle process and having vulnerable discussions with my class. I provided ‘carrots’ for the students which helped them want to be in my classroom more than anywhere else. I differentiated my instruction where I needed to so that everyone had an access point. I specifically used the resource “Notice and Note” for reading, “Using Micro-Mentor Texts” for writing, and “Good Inside” for restorative language and processes.
Taking Action: Circles was very helpful as a structure for when we needed to debrief as a group. I used it every day at the start of the day as a check-in, and when needed as a debrief/brainstorm tool. Circles were done outside 98% of the time.
I developed a restorative practice sheet based on the work on Dr. Becky Kennedy. Students had to complete it orally or in written form in order to show readiness to return after a mistake was made.
I taught the ‘signposts’ to students in anchor lesson format using visual and written exemplars in the first term. We then did a whole class novel where they had to record their conversation weekly in reading groups. I offered feedback on the recordings. I provided scaffolding in the way of ‘scribble notes’ to help those with memory stretches to recall the sequence of the story.
In math, I blended the ‘Thinking Classrooms’ model of collaborative math with a more traditional approach on a weekly basis.
We did a lot of outdoor learning and mountain biking.
Checking: Due to the consistent return to the circle, students realized that they would have to work together and that I had high expectations for them. The exhibition of learning was well attended and students were very proud of the kites they built in our collaborative project involving physics, ADST, and ELA.
When asking how the year went, I felt like the students were proud of their learning. They could tell me what they learned and many of the answers were varied. I liked that what they were proud of was varied – it told me that I had enough variety.
Reflections/Advice: I would like to riff on the trails learning we did last year and design a project around developing a bike trail.