I. General Information
School Name: Nechako Valley Secondary School
School District: SD#91 Nechako Lakes
Inquiry Team Members: Dane Phiipenko – dphilipenko@sd91.bc.ca
Travis Himmelright – thimmelright@sd91.bc.ca
Marilou Nightingale – mnightingale@sd91.bc.ca
Deb Koehn – dkoehn@sd91.bc.ca
Inquiry Team Contact Email: dkoehn@sd91.bc.ca
II. Inquiry Project Information
Type of Inquiry: SRL Case Study
Grade Levels Addressed Through Inquiry: Secondary (8-12)
Curricular Areas Addressed: Applied Design, skills & Technology, Language Arts – Oral Language, Language Arts – Writing, Social Studies, Other: Place-based Learning
Focus Addressed: Indigenous understandings (for example, Traditional Knowledge, oral history, reconciliation), Core competencies (for example, critical thinking, communication, problem solving), Land, Nature or Place-based learning, Self-regulation
In one sentence, what was your focus for the year? This year we focused on developing self-regulation skills through a variety of learning experiences: inquiry projects, place-based learning, developing cultural understandings – educators developed their focus of SRL by building on students’ strengths, interests and desire through co-creation of learning and leaning into high expectations of self as educator learner, as well as from student learners.
III. Spirals of Inquiry Details
Scanning: Students were minimally meeting standards when completing tasks even though they had strong connections to the educators leading the learning. Classroom teachers were noticing minimal effort and interest. Developing classroom norms helped establish protocols for communication in the classrooms, but did little to spark interest in deep learning. Conversations between these middle years educators helped develop an understanding of pre-established expectations held by students as they transitioned from grade 7 to grade 8, and helped the educators understand the ways that students were approaching both learning and their identity as grade 8 students – learned attitudes and perceived norms of behaviour were interfering. In the middle school program, the social nature of learning is emphasized and opportunities are offered daily to interact with peers. As well, the educators were focused on the First Peoples Principle – Learning requires exploration of one’s identity. Students developed an understanding of what they were learning, and ways self and peer assessment of learning helped them develop as learners.
Focus: The skills of self-regulated learning are necessary throughout our lives. The students entering into the grade 8 middle school were working hard, not to learn, but to develop social capacity. We hoped that students would develop a sincere interest in self as learner, self as leader, and self as a positive member of the classroom and greater school community. We believed that once students acknowledged their own successes as learners, they would invest more in themselves. We hoped that grade 8 students would find joy in learning, a sense of ownership over their destinations, and a pathway to future goals and careers.
Hunch: A narrative seems to exist in the general student community, one that implies that transitioning into the grade 7 and grade 8 middle schools program means a different set of values and beliefs are held. It is true that there is a strong emphasis on social emotional well-being in the program, and often that is misinterpreted by students as permission – to express themselves with little or no self-regulation. The goal of the program is just the opposite, to teach strong social-emotional and self-regulatory learning skills that will serve our students throughout life. Educators felt they needed to find a way to honour the social-emotional wellness pieces of the middle school program, while developing rigorous academic expectations. Educators were searching for ways to ensure students were invested in their learning.
New Professional Learning: We used Kath Murdoch’s books on inquiry learning, The Spiral Notebook for Student Changemakers, and adapted activities from both to create a framework for inquiry units. This framework was easily adapted for various subject areas. We have been fortunate to be supported within the Self-Regulated Learners network by fellow inquirers and UBC Researcher, Kimberley McNeil.
Taking Action: When students moved into learning about local history and connecting events to family members and community members known by the students, true interest and effort was sparked. Carefully developing protocols and strategies (with students) as they entered the inquiry process gave students the chance to not only demonstrate learning, but also management of time, development of priorities, and ownership over their learning. From that breakthrough, educators were able to use student voice and agency to ensure more interest and commitment. Moving the students into outdoor learning in the Spring through co-learning and designing an outdoor learning trail with elementary students further offered leadership opportunities and purposeful learning.
Checking: Students responded well to the challenge of developing a personal interest inquiry. They developed time management skills, gave meaningful feedback to self and each other and engaged in frequent check-ins with the classroom teacher on how the learning was going and next steps. Huge growth in ownership of learning was observed. Parents and community members attended the celebration of learning and students demonstrate obvious pride in their achievements. This led to increased participation in other learning activities. Students began participating with more enthusiasm and were finding meaning and purpose in their learning opportunities. Ability to participate in discussions around learning and the strategies and skills needed to learn were noticeable.
Reflections/Advice: We plan on beginning our year with a focus on high level expectations, and renewed commitment from adult learners to ensure that expectations are understood, modelled by the adults and are embedded in each activity. As well, we will continue to take learning deeper – introducing inquiry based learning earlier in the year and continuing in the Fall with outdoor learning through trail building and being aware of the gifts of the place in which we live and learn. We hope to start the year off with a community building overnight trip that will also embed Indigenous ways of knowing and learning from the land.