School Name: A.J. Elliott Elementary

School District: SD#85 Vancouver Island North

Inquiry Team Members: Melody Watson: mwatson@sd85.bc.ca, MJ Krkosek: mkrkosek@sd85.bc.ca, Serena Lansdowne: slansdowne@sd85.bc.ca, Anca Frase: afraser@sd85.bc.ca, Kathy Hamilton: khamilton@sd85.bc.ca

Inquiry Team Contact Email: mwatson@sd85.bc.ca

II. Inquiry Project Information

Type of Inquiry: NOIIE Case Study

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

Curricular Areas Addressed: Applied Design, skills & Technology, Career Education

Focus Addressed: 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? Our focus for the year was to expand hands-on, ADST-based learning opportunities across the curriculum to increase student engagement, resilience, and problem-solving through authentic “learning by doing.”

III. Spirals of Inquiry Details

Scanning: Our scanning process drew on the Student Engagement Survey, student interviews, classroom observations, and self-reflections. The two key questions (“What are you learning?” and “Why is it important?”) guided our discussions with students. We also incorporated the OECD Principles of Learning and the First Peoples Principles of Learning by centering student voice, connecting learning to place, and emphasizing social and emotional dimensions of learning.

Survey and interview results indicated that students are most engaged when learning is active and hands-on. They listed Genius Hour, Makerspace, carpentry, cooking, sewing, and outdoor education as highlights. While 97% reported interest in at least one learning area, engagement was inconsistent for students experiencing stress or mental health challenges. Our Growing Innovation Grant further highlighted the value of consistent Makerspace use in building persistence, problem-solving, and collaboration across the school.

Focus: We focused on expanding the integration of ADST across the curriculum to increase student engagement, resilience, and problem-solving. By embedding hands-on, “learning by doing” opportunities such as Makerspace, STEAM challenges, and Genius Hour, we hoped to strengthen not only academic learning but also social-emotional well-being.

Hunch: We believed that decreased access to collaborative, hands-on learning during the pandemic negatively affected engagement and mental health. Our hunch was that intentional integration of ADST opportunities, particularly through a school Makerspace, would increase resilience, persistence, and joy in learning.

New Professional Learning: Explored best practices for creating and sustaining a school Makerspace.

Learned from the UBC Growing Innovation Grant cohort and from other schools implementing similar inquiries.

Invited community members with specific expertise (e.g., sewing) to enrich student experiences.

Shared ADST strategies in monthly staff meetings, fostering collaboration.

Continued to gather resources and tools, while aligning practices with the First Peoples Principles of Learning.

Through the grant, we also reflected on how making directly supports both academic and social-emotional growth, leading us to be more intentional in designing learning opportunities.

Taking Action: Expanded project-based and place-based learning, including outdoor and garden projects.

Implemented Genius Hour every second month.

Continued development of the Makerspace, including extracurricular use (Maker Club).

Embedded the Try–Learn–Fail cycle and growth mindset strategies into classroom culture.

Offered STEAM challenges, carpentry, textiles, cooking, and coding.

Partnered with community members to share traditional and modern skills.

Used staff collaboration time to share resources and plan ADST integration.

Checking: Evidence included student engagement surveys, interviews, and reflections, as well as anecdotal classroom observations.

Student Engagement Survey: 88% reported being interested in at least one learning area, 88% felt supported by peers, and 88% felt comfortable asking adults for help.

Observations: Students persisted through challenges, returned eagerly to multi-week projects, and used growth mindset language.

Student reflections/interviews: Students described learning new tools, problem-solving frustrations, mentoring others, and feeling proud of their creations.

Staff feedback: Teachers noted deeper integration of hands-on learning across subjects and greater collaboration among colleagues.

While we saw strong gains in student engagement and resilience, some mental health challenges remain, reminding us that engagement is one piece of a larger well-being picture.

Reflections/Advice: We learned that student engagement thrives when learning is active, collaborative, and tied to real-world contexts. Makerspace work, supported by the Growing Innovation Grant, accelerated our progress in embedding ADST across the curriculum and cultivating a MakerMindset in our students.

Next steps include:

Expanding the Makerspace as a central hub for creativity, SEL, and innovation.

Deepening community partnerships to connect students with local expertise.

Strengthening our use of First Peoples Principles of Learning through place-based projects and cultural knowledge.

Building on Genius Hour and Maker Club to ensure sustained opportunities for student-directed learning.

Advice to other schools: Start small but be consistent. Makerspace and ADST work is not just about tools and technology, it is about fostering resilience, collaboration, and joy in learning. By embedding growth mindset language and providing opportunities for authentic making, schools can transform engagement and culture.

School Name: Sea View Elementary School

School District: SD#85 Vancouver Island North

Inquiry Team Members: Jackie Peterson: jpeterson@sd85.bc.ca
Classroom Teachers: E.N & M.M
Educational Assistants: C.K, D.L

Inquiry Team Contact Email: jpeterson@sd85.bc.ca

II. Inquiry Project Information

Type of Inquiry: NOIIE Case Study

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

Curricular Areas Addressed: Mathematics / Numeracy

Focus Addressed: Numeracy

In one sentence, what was your focus for the year? How will using the Singapore Math framework, along with regular opportunities to engage in collaborative and creative mathematical thinking, alter learner’s mathematical mindset?

III. Spirals of Inquiry Details

Scanning: In the Spring of 2024, a learner survey was conducted asking about their learning and experiences at school. Two key questions asked were: “How many adults care about you at school?” (choices – I don’t think any of them care; 1 or 2 adults at school care about me; 3 adults care about me; more than 3 adults care about me at school) and “I am confident in my abilities to solve mathematical problems.” (choices – never; almost never; sometimes; most of the times; always). This school survey informed us that 29% of learners felt that less than 3 adults at school care, 3% felt that 3 adults at school care about them, and 68% of the learners felt that more than 3 adults at school care. The survey results also informed us that 61.5% of learners do not feel confident in their ability to solve mathematical problems, having answered either never or almost never.

Following this, a private interview was held with 2 learners, one in grade 4 and 1 in grade 5. Both of these learners were asked: “Can you name TWO adults in this school who believe you will be a success in life? How do they show you that they believe in you?” and “Where are you going with your mathematics learning? What are you learning? What are the big ideas you are exploring? Why is this important?” While both learners were able to name two adults in the school who believe in them and could articulate how they know these people care (i.e. “— tells me they are proud of me.” “—- helps me when I am stuck.”), neither learner could explain what they were learning in mathematics or why it was important for them to learn (i.e., “I’m no good at math. Why do we even have to learn it?” “I’m ok at math… we learn it because the teacher says we have to.”).

According to the Spring 2024 DMA, 34.5% of learners in grades 2 to 7 were not yet proficient in mathematics. Less than half of the learners in grade 4 and 7 were on-track according to the numeracy FAS data. Learners regularly exhibited a negative mathematical mindset, having made comments like “it’s too hard,” “I can’t do it,” and “I’m not good at math.” In classrooms we were seeing learners lacking the necessary mathematical vocabulary and understanding to be successful. When asked to show their understanding (or to solve a problem in multiple ways), our learners struggled. We were also seeing a lack of understanding of the importance of mathematics or where/how it is used beyond the walls of a classroom.

Focus: Although we had a good number of the learner population testing at the proficient level on the Spring 2024 DMA (48.3% Proficient; 17.2% Extending), very few saw themselves as being “good” math learners. We examined which areas of mathematics learners struggled with on the DMA and found an even spread of challenges across all strands. When learners were asked to show their mathematical thinking or to identify where they see mathematics in life, they struggled. With 61.5% of learners having reported a lack of confidence in their ability to solve mathematical problems, this was a clear area of need at Sea View.

We found that all classes needed to work on building up learners’ mathematical vocabulary so they could understand what is being asked of them. Learners also needed to be shown concrete examples of where they can find/see mathematics in the world around them and how it is used. As a school, we needed to build in opportunities for learners to do collaborative and creative mathematical thinking. In making these changes, we were hoping to see an increase in learner mathematical confidence, as well as improving learners’ mathematical growth mindsets.

Hunch: Staff felt that many things could have been contributing to learners having negative mathematical mindsets and lower achievement. One assumption was that learners lacked the mathematical vocabulary to allow them to fully understand what was being asked of them. Another assumption was that a lack of teacher resources and confidence with the available resources was impacting the opportunities our learners were getting. A third assumption was that learners were not getting enough opportunities to do collaborative and creative mathematical thinking activities to cement their classroom learning.

After conducting some research into different math programs, Sea View teachers wondered whether the Nelson My Math Path program (K-7) would be a better platform for our learners. Teachers liked that this program is based around the BC curriculum and focuses on skills, concepts, and processes, and is inline with the Singapore Math Framework. With Nelson claiming this program emphasizes the need for learners to develop positive attitudes towards math, Sea View teachers wondered if it would help our learners shift their mindsets.

New Professional Learning: Sea View staff engaged in learning the fundamentals of the Singapore Framework, focusing on its structured approach to guiding students from concrete experiences to pictorial representations and ultimately to abstract thinking. Professional resources and training opportunities were shared with staff in the school’s Week at a Glance. During staff meetings staff were able to share their experiences and any professional learning they undertook in regard to our school’s inquiry. One staff member explored FNESC’s Math First Peoples (2020) teacher resource guide and incorporated some of these activities into their classroom.

The school purchased some professional resources for staff. This included Rethinking Disability and Mathematics by Rachel Lambert and Mathematical Mindsets by Jo Boaler. One staff member also completed Mathematical Mindsets and How to Learn Math for Teachers taught by Jo Boaler through Stanford Online. These two courses are highly recommended by the staff member as they felt the courses enhanced their ability to help students develop their mathematical mindsets.

Taking Action: Staff ensured there were purposeful opportunities for students to engage in collaborative and creative mathematical thinking activities on a regular basis. This was done both in the classroom through problem solving and group activities, as well as devoting one of our Friday School Activities. In the classrooms, games (dice and card) and logic problems were used to engage students. During the Friday School activities devoted to mathematics, activities from YouCubed were used to engage multi-aged groups in mathematical problem solving.

The school purchased and implemented Nelson’s My Math Path across all grades. Teachers would introduce topics to the class with hands-on experiences then moved on to diagrams or pictures, before moving on to solving problems abstractly (i.e., worksheets). While teachers found this program to require a higher level of reading than many of our students have, we liked that it provides clear examples, builds upon previous learning, and provides real world problems.

Classes engaged in daily math talks to build mathematical vocabulary. These math talks also engaged students in talking about the methods they used to solve problems. Staff reinforced that mistakes help us grow synapses and that they provide us with the opportunity to learn.

Another strategy the school implemented was to engage families in mathematics through Family Math Kits. The school assembled Math kits to engage families in math in fun ways. The Family Math Kits included the following items: 5 dice, a deck of cards, a game (i.e., Uno99, Farkle, Chess), Yahtzee score cards, math-themed card games, and math-themed dice games. Family Math Kits were sent home prior to Family Day with hopes that it would encourage families to engage in math together in fun ways.

Picture Descriptions: Algebraic Pattern Fish – Using the Math First Peoples Teacher Resource Guide’s activity 2 of the Weaving Mini-unit, our grade 5 learners explored visual patterns in weaving. Whole School Triangles – During one of our Friday School Activities, learners were put in multi-grade groups of 3 or 4. Each group was given 8 long sticks and asked to arrange them in such a way that they could form the most triangles. Once the group was happy with the amount of triangles they could form, they were to draw their arrangement.

Checking: Based on the year-end learner survey, 55.5% of students reported feeling confident in their ability to solve mathematical problems most of the time to all the time. Only 7.4% of learners reported a lack of confidence, down from 61.5%. 70.4% of students reported that they felt their math skills have improved this school year. On the year-end staff survey, all staff reported seeing an improvement in learner confidence.

In classroom observation, it was noted that students demonstrated a positive shift in their mathematical mindsets and were more willing to try new problems independently or with a peer before seeking adult assistance.

When we reviewed our progress in late May, we found that 22.7% of our learners are extending in mathematics according to DMA results, up from 17.2% in the Spring of 2024. We also saw a decrease in the number of students who fell in the emergent category, going from 13.8% down to 9.1%.

Staff are pleased with the positive changes we have witnessed in our learners’ mathematical mindsets and performance and will be continuing some of the strategies implemented during the 2024-2025 school year.

Reflections/Advice: A lot of learning was gained through this inquiry, the greatest being that regardless of the program your school uses, developing learner’s mathematical mindset is key. Learners need to know that mistakes are part of learning and should be welcomed not discouraged. Everyone on the staff was new to Math talks and realized the importance in the development of both mathematical vocabulary and reason skills, and in helping students to engage with math on a deeper level. As a result of the strategies implemented, the staff have decided to continue math talks, using the Singapore Math framework (concrete-pictorial-abstract), and devoting one Friday School Activity to mathematics.

If other schools are looking at increasing learner math performance and/or attitudes towards math, we recommend they focus on developing learners’ mathematical growth mindsets. Engage students in math talks and provide opportunities for collaborative (and multi-aged) problem solving activities.

School Name: A.J. Elliott Elementary

School District: SD#85 Vancouver Island North

Inquiry Team Members: Melody Watson: mwatson@sd85.bc.ca, Serena Lansdowne: slansdowne@sd85.bc.ca, Marie Josee Krkosek; mkrkosek@sd85.bc.ca, Anca Fraser: afraser@sd85.bc.ca

Inquiry Team Contact Email: mwatson@sd85.bc.ca

II. Inquiry Project Information

Type of Inquiry: NOIIE Case Study

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

Curricular Areas Addressed: Applied Design, skills & Technology, Career Education

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

In one sentence, what was your focus for the year? Our goal was to enhance student engagement through the Applied Design, Skills, and Technologies Curriculum.

III. Spirals of Inquiry Details

Scanning: Through our Student Engagement Survey, interviews, the 4 Key Questions, and educator observations we found that:
– 70% of students like to take part/join in activities all the time and 30% like to sometimes
– 43% of the students like to stay on task until they get everything done, 53% sometimes like to, and 4% don’t like to
– 93% of students were interested in at least one thing they were learning at school
– Some activities students listed that they enjoy doing or would like to do included: math, reading, writing, science, French, Indigenous studies, art (painting, sketching, sculpting), drama, dance, physical education, sewing, cooking, carpentry, coding, robotics, STEAM challenge, outdoor ed
– Some students are struggling with mental health and we are noticing less engagement
– Students seem most engaged when learning by doing and many said they wanted to do more hands-on learning next year
– We are looking at all student achievement data (district and school assessments)

Focus: We wanted to incorporate more ADST curriculum into our learning across the curriculum to increase student engagement. Also, when students are engaged in hands-on learning they develop crucial SEL skills. ADST topics included, but were not limited to:
– Coding and robotics
– Project-based learning
– Place-based learning (school garden, outdoor learning spaces, forest, trails, beaches, etc.)
– Learning from local First Peoples
– STEAM challenges
– Creation of a maker space
– Carpentry
– Sewing
– Cooking
– Genius Hour (once per term in year 1)

Hunch:
The COVID-19 pandemic had significant impacts on students including:
– less hands-on learning
– less collaborative learning (e.g., students sitting at individual desks, less partner/group work, social distancing, etc.)
– increased mental health concerns

The idea to incorporate more “learning by doing” through ADST was born as a hunch to improve student engagement. We also hope that improving engagement will help with some of the mental health issues that have been increasing (anxiety, stress, depression, regulation, etc.).

New Professional Learning:
– Learning about setting up a Maker Space (contact Jeff Willson)
– Reaching out to community for volunteers who can share their skills with students
– Reaching out to other schools
– Working with district Elders and Role Models
– Collecting resources
– Topic at each monthly staff meeting

Taking Action:
– Staff reached out to the community in September (took an inventory of skill sets available to us within the school and community). Unfortunately, we did not have members of the community volunteer to participate. We will try to directly contact/shoulder tap next year.
– Staff gathered resources to add to our collection and reviewed those we already had. Throughout the year we added to these resources as we introduced new topics/activities/skills to the students. One highlight was adding a 3D printer and pens at the end of the year.
– Schedules were organized to allow for time when students could pursue their interests. Genius Hour was hugely successful. We started with once each term and will be increasing the number of Genius Hours we have next year. We had 5 Genius Hours this year and they were hugely successful and well received by students.
– We began building our maker space. This space was used during class time, at lunch hour drop-in time, and in an after school Maker Club once a week. The maker space is a favourite space for most students and Maker Club is attended by more than half of students in grades 2-7.
– Staff shared and collaborated regularly (monthly staff meeting topic, daily interactions, etc.)

Checking: We feel that we need more time to go deeper into this inquiry and deepen both student and staff learning. This was a big learning year for all of us and we know there is much more work to be done. Data collected from our end-of-year Engagement Survey showed:
• 57% of students like to take part/join in class activities all the time and 40% like to sometimes
• 30% of the students like to stay on task until they get everything done and 65% sometimes like to
• 74% of students were interested in at least one thing they were learning at school, and 26% said this was the case sometimes
• Some activities students listed that they enjoy doing or would like to do include:
o Genius Hour (held 5 times in the 2023/2024 school year)
o Science Fair
o Missoula Children’s Theatre
o Field Trips (Mount Cain, skating, swimming, gymnastics, bowling)
o Maker space
o Maker Club
o Math, reading, writing, science, French
o Indigenous studies
o Art (painting, sketching, sculpting), drama, dance
o Physical education
o Sewing, cooking, carpentry
o Coding, robotics
o STEAM challenges
o Outdoor ed
o After-School Program
• Some students are struggling with mental health and we are noticing less engagement
• Students seem most engaged when learning by doing and many said they wanted to do more hands-on learning next year
• We are looking at all student achievement data

We want to continue incorporating more ADST curriculum into our learning across the curriculum to increase student engagement. We also want to find ways to give students more ownership over this learning and ways to reflect on their engagement throughout the year.

Reflections/Advice: It has reinforced for us how important “learning by doing” is. Our students continue to comment on wanting more time in the maker space and more Genius Hours. Both of these things will continue in the new school year. We surveyed and interviewed the students throughout the year and used this information in deciding activities for Genius Hours and topics/materials/supplies for the maker space.

School Name: A.J. Elliott Elementary

School District: SD#85 Vancouver Island North

Inquiry Team Members: Melody Watson: mwatson@sd85.bc.ca, Serena Lansdowne: slansdowne@sd85.bc.ca, Marie Josee Krkosek; mkrkosek@sd85.bc.ca, Anca Fraser: afraser@sd85.bc.ca

Inquiry Team Contact Email: mwatson@sd85.bc.ca

II. Inquiry Project Information

Type of Inquiry: NOIIE Case Study

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

Curricular Areas Addressed: Applied Design, skills & Technology

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

In one sentence, what was your focus for the year? Our goal was to enhance student engagement through the Applied Design, Skills, and Technologies Curriculum.

III. Spirals of Inquiry Details

Scanning: Through our Student Engagement Survey, interviews, the 4 Key Questions, and educator observations we found that:

• 70% of students like to take part/join in activities all the time and 30% like to sometimes
• 43% of the students like to stay on task until they get everything done, 53% like to sometimes, and 4% don’t like to
• 93% of students were interested in at least one thing they were learning at school
• Some activities students listed that they enjoy doing, or would like to do, included: math, reading, writing, science, French, Indigenous studies, art (painting, sketching, sculpting), drama, dance, physical education, sewing, cooking, carpentry, coding, robotics, STEAM challenge, outdoor ed.
• Some students are struggling with mental health and we are noticing less engagement
• Students seem most engaged when learning by doing and many said they wanted to do more hands-on learning next year
• We are looking at all student achievement data (see data section of School Plan)

Focus: We wanted to incorporate more ADST curriculum into our learning across the curriculum to increase student engagement. Also, when students are engaged in hands-on learning, they develop crucial SEL skills. ADST topics included, but were not limited to:

• Coding and robotics
• Project-based learning
• Place-based learning (school garden, outdoor learning spaces, forest, trails, beaches, etc.)
• Learning from local First Peoples
• STEAM challenges
• Creation of a maker space
• Carpentry
• Sewing
• Cooking
• Genius Hour (once per term in year 1)

Hunch: The COVID-19 pandemic had significant impacts on students including:

• less hands-on learning
• less collaborative learning (e.g., students sitting at individual desks, less partner/group
  work, social distancing, etc.)
• increased mental health concerns

The idea to incorporate more “learning by doing” through ADST was born as a hunch to improve student engagement. We also hope that improving engagement will help with some of the mental health issues that have been increasing (anxiety, stress, depression, regulation, etc.).

New Professional Learning:

• Learning about setting up a Maker Space (contact Jeff Willson)
• Reaching out to community for volunteers who can share their skills with students
• Reaching out to other schools
• Working with district Elders and Role Models
• Collecting resources
• Topic at each monthly staff meeting

Taking Action:

• Staff reached out to the community in September (took an inventory of skill sets available to us within the school and community).
• Staff gathered resources to add to our collection and reviewed those we already had. Throughout the year we added to these resources as we introduced new topics/activities/skills to the students.
• Schedules were organized to allow for time when students could pursue their interests. Genius Hour was hugely successful. We started with once each term and will be increasing the number of Genius Hours we have next year.
• We began building our Maker Space. This space was used during class time, at lunch hour drop-in time, and in an after school Maker Club once a week.
• Staff shared and collaborated regularly (monthly staff meeting topic, daily interactions, etc.)
• ADST was frequently included in our after school programming 4 times each week (e.g. carpentry, cooking, etc.)

Checking: We feel that we need more time to go deeper into this inquiry and deepen both student and staff learning. This was a big learning year for all of us and we know there is much more work to be done.

Data collected from our Engagement Survey showed:
• 73% of students like to take part/join in activities all the time and 23% like to sometimes
• 47% of the students like to stay on task until they get everything done and 53% like to sometimes
• 97% of students were interested in at least one thing they were learning at school
• Some activities students listed that they enjoy doing or would like to do include:

• Genius Hour (held 3 times in the 2022/2023 school year)
• Science Fair
• Missoula Children’s Theatre
• Field Trips (Mount Cain, skating, swimming, gymnastics, bowling)
• Makerspace
• Math, reading, writing, science, French
• First Nations studies
• Art (painting, sketching, sculpting), drama, dance
• Physical education
• Sewing, cooking, carpentry
• Coding, robotics
• STEAM challenges
• Outdoor Education
• After-School Program

Reflections/Advice: It has been reinforced for us how important “learning by doing” is. Our students are more engaged and seem happier and more excited about learning. Most students commented on wanting more time in the makerspace and more Genius Hours. Both of these things will be happening in the new school year. We have surveyed and interviewed the students throughout the year and have used this information in deciding activities for Genius Hours and topics/materials/supplies etc. for the makerspace.

School Name: A.J. Elliott Elementary

School District: SD#85 Vancouver Island North

Inquiry Team Members: Melody Watson: mwatson@sd85.bc.ca, Serena Lansdowne: slansdowne@sd85.bc.ca, Frank Purdon: fpurdon@sd85.bc.ca, Anca Fraser: afraser@sd85.bc.ca, Kathy Hamilton: khamilton@sd85.bc.ca

Inquiry Team Contact Name/Email: Melody Watson/mwatson@sd85.bc.ca

II. Inquiry Project Information

Type of Inquiry: NOIIE

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

Curricular Areas Addressed:

• Mathematics / Numeracy

Focus Addressed:

• Indigenous 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
• Formative assessment
• Growth mindset
• Indigenous pedagogy
• Land, Nature or Place-based learning

In one sentence, what was your focus for the year? The continuation of cyclical math teaching with a focus on incorporating more place-based learning and culture into our learning.

III. Spirals of Inquiry Details

Scanning: We have been focusing on math as a school for several years. There is a real math culture in our school. Students have developed strong number sense and problem solving skills. Last year we changed our focus to incorporate more place-based learning and culture into our math classes and wanted to continue this work this year. The pandemic years have been challenging and focussing on connectedness and a sense of place was more important than ever. We use the four key questions throughout the year as students reflect on their learning, monitor their progress, and set goals.

Focus: Infusing First Peoples’ culture in an authentic way, into math in particular, is a learning process for all of us. In year one of this focus we got a good start, but felt another year would help us to deepen our learning. We hoped that our learners would make deeper connections between First Peoples’ worldview and perspectives, and mathematical concepts. We wanted to engage our students in further learning experiences connected to place, story, and culture. We hoped that this would deepen their understanding of the math concepts as well their understanding, appreciation, and respect for other cultures and ways of knowing. We also hoped, that with health guidelines loosening over the year, that we would be able to connect with elders and role models again.

Hunch:

• We find it more challenging to incorporate First Peoples’ culture into math than the other subject areas
• The new curriculum, and our District and personal philosophies, recognize the importance of integrating First Peoples’ culture into all aspects of the curriculum
• We have a fairly high percentage of self-declaring Aboriginal students, but we lack local resources and Elders to draw on for support

New Professional Learning:

• We connected with Elders and Role Models for several activities this year. This was incredibly valuable learning for students and staff.
  • Trip to Alert Bay Big House and U’mista Cultural Centre visit for math inquiry work
  • Trip to Alert Bay for Kwak̓wala on awi’nagwis
  • Trip to Village Island with Elders and Role Models
  • Zoom with Elders
  • Began school regalia project with an Elder in Residence (this work will continue next year)
• We continued our work with Cynthia Nicol.
• We shared our inquiry work at a District Professional Development Day, as part of a NOIIE Learning Burst, at the Indigenous Math Symposium, and as part of the ICCME (Indigenous Community-Culture-Math Education) Mentoring project through UBC.
• We also shared with each other at monthly staff meetings. This was a time to share the learning we had done in the previous month, as well as discuss new ideas/learning.

Photo (above): School trip to ‘Mimkwa̱mlis (Village Island) with Elder Ada Vera,
and Role Models Andrea Cranmer, Ernest Alfred, William Wasden, and Arthur Dick Junior.

Photo (above): Visit to the Big House in Alert Bay (SD85)
to learn from Elder Ada Vera and Role Model Andrea Cranmer.

Taking Action: We began the year planning together. Our work would focus on cedar again revisiting some topics like patterns in nature and weaving, but expanding on those ideas and going deeper. We also decided to focus our learning on Big Houses in third term. We shared what we were doing in each of our classrooms as part of our monthly staff meetings, and added what we had done to our online documents (the hope is that these documents will become a resource that can be shared).

Checking: Staff self-assess using the Indigenous Understanding Learning Progression Rubric at the beginning and the end of the year as a self-reflection/assessment (original rubric created by SD68). We feel we are continuing to grow in our knowledge, but that there is still more work to be done. Our students are more aware of culture being infused into math class, and can describe and reflect on the things they have learned. This has been reflected in their self-assessments and learning surveys.

Reflections/Advice: Being able to connect with Role Models and Elders again was wonderful, as was getting the students out onto the land for learning. Planning as a whole school and sharing both formally at monthly staff meetings and informally throughout the week kept us accountable and gave us inspiration to try new things.

School District: SD#85 Vancouver Island North

Inquiry Team Members: Serena Lansdowne: slansdown@sd85.bc.ca, Lynn Walker: lynn.walker@sd85.bc.ca, Anca Fraser: afraser@sd85.bc.ca, Kathy Hamilton: khamilton@sd85.bc.ca

Inquiry Team Contact Email: mwatson@sd85.bc.ca

Type of Inquiry: NOIIE

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

Curricular Area(s): Mathematics / Numeracy

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

In one sentence, what was your focus for the year? Continuing to teach math cyclically focusing on depth of knowledge and understanding while incorporating more place-based learning and culture into math.

Scanning: With a focus on math for several years, our students have built strong number sense and problem solving skills. This year we wanted to incorporate more place-based learning and culture into math. We wanted the learning to be focused on connectedness and a sense of place, with our learners at the centre. We use the four key questions throughout the year as students reflect on their learning, monitor their progress, and set goals.

Focus: This is a learning process for staff as well. Infusing First Peoples’ culture in an authentic way, into math in particular, has been an area we have needed to grow in. We hoped that our learners would make connections between First Peoples’ worldview and perspectives, and mathematical concepts. We wanted to engage our students in learning experiences connected to place, story, and culture. We hoped that this would deepen their understanding of the math concepts as well their understanding, appreciation, and respect for other cultures and ways of knowing.

Hunch:
– We find it more challenging to incorporate First Peoples’ culture into math than the other subject areas
– The new curriculum, and our District and personal philosophies, recognize the importance of integrating First Peoples’ culture into all aspects of the curriculum
– We have a fairly high percentage of self-declaring aboriginal students, but we lack local resources and elders to draw on for support

New Professional Learning:
– Seek out and collect culturally appropriate ways to incorporate First Peoples’ culture into math, as well as other place-based opportunities for teaching math and the exploration of other cultures (we are building our collection of ideas in a Google Slide)
– Connect with other educators – Melody shared our inquiry at the 2021 Indigenous Math Symposium in an ignite session
– Continue work with Cynthia Nicol that began in the 2019/2020 school year – Cynthia was an amazing support and resource. We will continue to work with her again next school year.

Taking Action: We focused our inquiry around cedar as a whole school. We brainstormed ideas as a staff and with support from Cynthia Nicol. Topics for our work included: patterns in nature, forest math walks, formline design in nature, non-standard measurement, cedar weaving (paper and with cedar strips), and bentwood boxes. We shared what we were doing in each of our classrooms as part of our monthly staff meetings, and added what we had done to our online documents. We also shared our learning at the 2021 Indigenous Math Symposium.

Checking: Staff self-assess using the Indigenous Understanding Learning Progression Rubric at the beginning and the end of the year as a self-reflection/assessment (original rubric created by SD68). We feel we are growing in our knowledge, but that there is still more work to be done. Our students are more aware of culture being infused into math class and can describe and reflect on the things they have learned. This has been reflected in their self-assessments.

Reflections/Advice: We plan to continue with this focus for another year. We also hope to incorporate more support for families (family math leaning sessions and a family math night) once COVID guidelines allow it. We will continue our work with Cynthia Nicol and the Indigenous Math Network. We also hope to work more with Elders from our district once they are able to return to in-person visits to schools. We would love to connect with other schools working on similar projects and share our learning with each other.

School District: SD#85 Vancouver Island North

Inquiry Team Members: Melody Watson: mwatson@sd85.bc.ca, Serena Lansdowne: slansdowne@sd85.bc.ca, Lynn Walker: lynn.walker@sd85.bc.ca, Anca Fraser: afraser@sd85.bc.ca, Kathy Hamilton: khamilton@sd85.bc.ca

Inquiry Team Contact Email: mwatson@sd85.bc.ca

Type of Inquiry: NOIIE

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

Curricular Area(s): Mathematics / Numeracy

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

In one sentence, what was your focus for the year? On continuing to teach math cyclically, focusing on depth of knowledge and understanding, while incorporating more place-based learning and culture into math, transitioning from grade 7 to high school, and supporting families.

Scanning: As this project has been a continuation of work that has been taking place and growing over several years, we began by looking at our successes and challenges alongside our data and observations.

Successes:
• Students like math
• Students have good number sense
• Students do well on math assessments
• We work as a team to support all students and really know our learners
• Families are keen and interested to learn math strategies and support their children

Challenges:
• Exposure to different experiences/cultures
• Awareness of the world views/perspectives
• Transitioning to the high school (changes in the way math is taught, as well as going from a very small school to a much larger one and the challenges that come along with that)
• Infusing First Peoples’ culture in math, in particular, has been challenging
• Supporting families with strategies that they aren’t familiar with so that they can support their children at home

Achievement Evidence and Data
• We use: the DMA, our own Supplementary Math assessment (basic facts, How Many Ways, and Problem Posing), an Attitude/Confidence survey we developed, and the FSA as data. We also use the four questions specifically for math learning.
• We also use: DreamBox (K-3) and Mathletics (grades 4-7) online math programs that give teachers assessment data, minute-by-minute formative assessment, three-way conferences, and documentation on learning through portfolio assessment

The four key questions guide our work as professionals and also guide our students’ learning. Throughout the year we all ask ourselves these questions and adjust as we go. Although we have a plan/proposal that we start out with, we know that it is a living document meant to guide us, and that flexibility is key (especially this year with COVID-19). The seven OECD principles of learning and First Peoples Principles of Learning, guide all of our work.

Focus: We chose to continue our math inquiry because we felt that there was still more valuable work and learning to be done. Our learning had deepened each year, branching out to meet the needs we identify through our scanning. Below are the four areas we wanted to focus on this year within our inquiry:

Incorporating more place-based learning and culture into math
• Incorporating First Peoples’ worldview and perspectives to make connections to mathematical concepts
• Engaging in problem solving experiences that are connected to place, story, cultural practices, and perspectives relative to Local First Peoples communities, the local community, and other cultures
*We also got the opportunity to work with Cynthia Nicol, as an Indigenous math inquiry

Transitioning from grade 7 to high school (cont’d)
• We wanted to continue to find ways to work with the teachers at the high school, to make the transition between grade 7 and 8 smoother and help our students to be confident and successful math students at the high school.

Supporting families (cont’d)
• Based on the success of the family math session we held last year, we wanted to have more sessions for parents and their children to share/teach parents the strategies their children are using at school. These are hands-on sessions for parents and their children with families taking away strategies and games they can use at home.

Mindset (cont’d)
• Continuing to develop mathematical growth mindsets — Students, staff and families need to see themselves as mathematicians. They need to believe that they can be successful and that they are “math people”.

Hunch:
– We had struggled to fill our FNEA position for several years
– We find it more challenging to incorporate First Peoples’ culture into math than the other subject areas
– The new curriculum, and our District and personal philosophies, recognize the importance of integrating First Peoples’ culture into all aspects of the curriculum
– We have a fairly high percentage of self-declaring Aboriginal students, but we lack local resources and elders to draw on for support
– Some students from our small school find the transition to high school in Port McNeill challenging
– Specific teaching around mindsets continue to be needed for students, staff, and families to see themselves as mathematicians and believe they can be successful (this will transfer into all areas, not just math)
– Many parents have expressed a desire to learn more about the way their children are learning math, so that they can better support them.

New Professional Learning: We connected with elders in Alert Bay, our colleagues throughout our District, our District Principal of Aboriginal Programs, U’Mista Cultural Centre, Dr. Cynthia Nicol, and the district coordinator for mathematics K-12 in SD37. We gathered ideas and resources to support the incorporation of First Peoples’ culture into math, as well as other place-based opportunities for teaching math and the exploration of other cultures as well. We created shared documents for initial brainstorming and then gathered our ideas, lessons, and artifacts of learning in Google Slides as our work progressed.

Taking Action: For our work around incorporating more place-based learning and culture into math, we decided to focus our learning around themes to provide us with some structure. Our first term theme was berries. We planned together as a school, brainstorming ideas, sharing resources, and creating learning opportunities. The students learned about different berries, traditional harvesting and uses of berries, seasonal rounds, and some Kwak’wala that supported this work. They studied berries, harvested berries, preserved berries, cooked with berries, and used berries for crafts. The students estimated, counted, measured, compared, and ordered.

In the second term, we began our second theme — cedar. This theme would continue for the remainder of the year due to its breadth. Again, we began our work brainstorming together as a staff, but this time Dr. Cynthia Nicol joined us (through Zoom). We brainstormed topics within this theme to guide our work and came up with:

– Introduction: The land and the trees themselves
– Patterns and Shapes (including pattens within the trees, shapes in the forest and weaving)
*This is as far as we got before spring break

We also hosted another very successful Family Math night. A family math session was also planned and had to be postponed due to snow which closed schools for multiple days, including the day of the session. The session was rescheduled, but could not take place due to COVID-19.

Checking: We were very satisfied with the start we made on this new area of our inquiry this year. After the first theme, the students completed self-reflections and they too, enjoyed this learning and found it meaningful. The staff gained more confidence in incorporating more place-based learning and culture into math.

Reflections/Advice: Planning together as a staff helped to make incorporating more place-based learning and culture into math less intimidating. Many heads are definitely better than one. Sharing at each staff meeting also helped to keep us all accountable for trying new lessons and staying focused. This sharing was also an inspiration for each other, often sparking new ideas. Cynthia Nicol was also an amazing resource. We hope that we can continue our work with her next year.

School District: SD#85 Vancouver Island North

Inquiry Team Members:Melody Watson: mwatson@sd85.bc.ca, Serena Lansdowne: slansdowne@sd85.bc.ca, Lynn Walker: lynn.walker@sd85.bc.ca, Nicole Forshaw: nforshaw@sd85.bc.ca, Anca Fraser: afraser@sd85.bc.ca, Rachel Lloyd: rlloyd@sd85.bc.ca

Inquiry Team Contact Email: mwatson@sd85.bc.ca

Type of Inquiry: NOIIE

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

Curricular Area(s): Mathematics / Numeracy

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

In one sentence, what was your focus for the year? How will a cyclical based math approach, focusing on “Big Ideas”, in addition to the focus on developing a growth mindset and supporting families, have an impact on student achievement in numeracy as measured by the BC Performance Standards, District Math Assessment, and school-wide assessments?

Scanning: The OECD principles of learning and the First Peoples Principles of Learning guide our work. For example, this inquiry recognizes that learners need to be at the centre of our work and recognizes that we all learn differently and so the way we teach math must meet each learner where they are and help them to move forward along a continuum. Our inquiry also speaks to the holistic , reflexive, reflective, experiential, and relational nature of learning. We also ask our learners the 4 Key Questions (specifically with a math focus for this inquiry) throughout the year.

In scanning, we have noticed that our learners:
· have strong computation skills and that computation has meaning
· are taking more risks when solving problems (can get started and try something, adjust methods, seek help when needed, etc.)
· are thinking more flexibly (multiple strategies, seeing numbers more flexibly)
· are improving in their ability to be reflective and set, monitor, and adjust their goals
· need to continue to develop mathematical growth mindsets (celebrate mistakes, take risks, equate effort with results, believe in themselves/see themselves as mathematicians)
· benefit from having concepts taught cyclically all year long, going deeper as concepts are revisited regularly (students have more opportunities to master concepts and build upon their understanding)
· are making their learning more visible through portfolio assessment
· may need more support when transitioning to the high school
· may have parents who lack confidence in supporting their children with math strategies

Focus: We felt that we need to continue to focus on the following:
· Continuing to develop mathematical growth mindsets-Students need to see themselves as mathematicians. They need to believe that they can be successful and that they are “math people”.
· Further developing and expanding the use of digital portfolio assessment as a way for students to make their learning visible, reflect on their learning, and improve their goal setting (making goals, monitoring progress, adjusting goals, etc.), and communicate with their parents and teachers about their learning.
· Continuing our work on group work (roles and responsibilities)

In addition, we felt that we need to focus on the following:
· Supporting each other as a staff in developing our skills in cyclical teaching through sharing, observations, mentoring etc.
· We wanted to have a family math session in the fall for parents and their children to share/teach parents the strategies their children are using at school. This would be a hands-on session for parents and their children with families taking away strategies and games they can use at home. Further sessions would follow based on interest.
· We wanted to find a way to work with the teachers at the high school to make the transition between grade 7 and 8 smoother and help our students to be confident and successful math students at the high school.

Hunch: · Using the 4 Key Questions more regularly with our students, framed specifically around mathematics will help our students to become more reflective and responsible for their learning
· We spent several sessions as a school developing group work roles and expectations last school year. We will use this year to provide students with as many opportunities as possible to put this work into action (e.g. teaching, assigning, and rotating roles and teaching students to be responsible for each other’s learning-seeing math as a collaborative and shared pursuit, not an individual and competitive one)
· Specific teaching around mindsets continues to be needed for students to see themselves as mathematicians and believe they can be successful (this will transfer into all areas, not just math). This teaching also needs to be shared with parents.
· Many parents have expressed a desire to learn more about the way their children are learning math so that they can better support them.
· We have differing levels of experience teaching math with a cyclical approach and will work more collaboratively next year to support one another.

New Professional Learning: · As a staff, we continued our study of Mathematical Mindsets. Each staff meeting we focused on a chapter and continued discussions between meetings.
· Staff members shared learning from the online course, How to Learn Math for Teachers from Stanford University
· We used, How to Learn Math for Students (a free course also through Stanford) as a resource with our students.
· We continued our work and discussions around formative assessment
· We continued to align our work with the new curriculum
· We continued to develop our frameworks for cyclical teaching and shared our learning with each other
· We collaborated with other elementary schools through Changing Results for Young Mathematicians and at Non-Instructional days, and reached out to the high school

Taking Action: · Staff participated in a study of, Mathematical Mindsets and shared mindset concepts with students and families in weekly newsletters home, at math sessions, in our three-way conferences, and in conversations
· Staff used technology to further student use of digital portfolio assessment (FreshGrade)
· Staff used group work to support student learning (teaching, assigning, and rotating roles that the students developed collaboratively last year)
· We aligned our work with the new curriculum
· We used our school-wide supplementary assessment in the fall and spring. It was done at the same time as the DMA and included problem posing, how many ways, and basic facts
· Support Staff were a part of the professional learning (big ideas, math strategies, formative assessment, etc.) and reflected that in their support to students
· We used formative assessment consistently and effectively to improve student learning
· We engaged in discussions on the use of Formative Assessment and the BC Performance standards in an ongoing way
· All staff communicated about the work they were doing towards the goals of this inquiry on a regular basis, formally and informally
· Staff worked collaboratively using the three tiers of RTI to support high levels of learning for all students
· We hosted a session to support families with math strategies (parents and their children all came to the school for an evening of hands-on learning of the math strategies we use at school)

Checking: We continue to be very satisfied with the continued growth our students show in math. Our students achieve highly, but we also realize that there is always room for further growth.

Student achievement evidence and baseline data was collected from a variety of sources including: DMA grade 2-7, A.J. Elliott Supplementary Math Assessment (Basic Facts, How Many Ways, Problem Posing) grades 1-7, A.J. Elliott Math Confidence Survey K-7, FSA grades 4 and 7, DreamBox (K-3) and Mathletics (grades 3-7) , online math programs that also give teachers assessment data, Minute-by-minute formative assessment, Three-way conferences, use of the Four Key Questions with a Math Focus, and documentation of learning through portfolio assessment.

Reflections/Advice: In our Inquiry work next year we plan to:

Incorporate more place-based learning and culture into math
· Incorporating First Peoples’ worldview and perspectives to make connections to mathematical concepts
· Engaging in problem-solving experiences that are connected to place, story, cultural practices, and perspectives relative to Local First Peoples communities, the local community, and other cultures

Support transitioning from grade 7 to high school (cont’d)
· We would like to continue to find ways to work with the teachers at the high school to make the transition between grade 7 and 8 smoother and help our students to be confident and successful math students at the high school.

Support families (cont’d)
· Based on the success of the family math session we held last year, we would like to have more sessions for parents and their children to share/teach parents the strategies their children are using at school. These are hands-on sessions for parents and their children with families taking away strategies and games they can use at home.

Develop Mindset (cont’d)
· Continue to develop mathematical growth mindsets-Students, staff and families need to see themselves as mathematicians. They need to believe that they can be successful and that they are “math people”.

Our advice would be to rely heavily on formative assessment and teach each child what they need in that moment to move forward along a continuum. Teaching math cyclically and not in units has made one of the biggest differences for our students. Concepts are visited over and over again throughout the year allowing students to master concepts and learn deeply. This is where we would recommend others start.

School District: SD#85 Vancouver Island North

Inquiry Team Members:Leah Hubbard: lhubbard@sd85.bc.ca, Melanie Demoe: mdemoe@sd85.bc.ca, Teniel Hunt: thunt@sd85.bc.ca, Scott Orjala: sorjala@sd85.bc.ca, Sheila McGrath: smcgrath@sd85.bc.ca

Inquiry Team Contact Email: smcgrath@sd85.bc.ca

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

Grade Levels: Secondary (8-12)

Curricular Area(s): Science, Other: Core Competencies

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? In what ways will deliberate and planned activities in the classroom, on the land, and in community shape students’ sense of identity and influence their metacognition of transferable skills and strengths?

Scanning: The focus in the previous year was learning on the land with planned activities in the classroom, on the land and in the community, that would influence students’ metacognition of their transferable skills and strengths. Our focus on land literacy not only connected students with traditional land based activities, it has also provided a foundation for students to develop a connection to core competencies that will be used in transitions for success beyond school.  Bringing together students, teachers, Elders and community, these learning experiences have helped build a foundation for learners to develop transferrable skills for success in all contexts. We will build on reflection activities of our students, to prepare them for completing their capstone project for graduation.
These activities are designed to engage our learners with the goal of improving our attendance and graduation rates from the previous year.

Focus: Based on the student interview responses and our previous year’s work we have identified the following areas of focus:
1. We are a safe and caring school and many students comment on the sense of belonging they feel while attending Eke Me-Xi. We have many alumni who stop by to visit and tell us that they miss being at our school. Next year, we will build on this context by encouraging our learners to follow the traditional value of Maya’xala (respect).
2. Teacher Collaboration and Cross-Curricular Planning to plan and create additional learning opportunities on the land – Wilderness Wednesdays is one idea. This planning time is essential because it will allow teachers to cooperatively examine content, identify and align learning intentions and co-construct criteria and assessment tools.
3. We piloted several Student Learning Plans (SLPs) this year. We found that completing the SLP with the Child and Youth Care Worker or Principal elicited important information to jumpstart the student’s relationship with the school. We have narrowed our templates to one SLP format that we will be implementing next year.

Hunch: High participation by students in field trips and during traditional food harvesting activities are seen as positive indicators that this is the direction to move towards. Attendance and engagement in activities are high during field trips and community learning experiences. We are going to build on our land activities by adding in weekly opportunities for students to reflect on their learning. Students will build a portfolio during the year that they can use to guide them in reporting on their core competencies and eventually their capstone graduation project.

New Professional Learning: Staff are developing skills in the following areas:

1. How to differentiate instruction to engage students in multi-level classrooms. (Mini-workshops)
2. A deeper knowledge of reflection and its impact on learning. Teachers will introduce the skill through direct instruction, develop the skill by practicing skill application during the teaching of other things (with coaching), provide opportunities for fluent use of the skill (without coaching or minimal support) and extended applications of the skills.
3. Co-curricular planning for activities on the land that explicitly link to curriculum outcomes.
4. Preparing and including Elders in learning activities, both on the land and in the classroom, that integrate traditional ecological knowledge.

Taking Action: • We realized that learning activities on the land need to be closely tied to cross-curricular learning outcomes.

Next year, weekly learning activities on the land will be linked to classroom activities where tier one support occurs in-class and tier two support in small groups and tier 3 support with 1:1 support.

• Teachers will continue to look for opportunities for learning to occur on the land. This may include but is not limited to; trips to the homeland, student film projects, Elder participation in and out of the classroom, and increasing the use of Kwak’wala language phrases by staff.

• Teachers will guide students in linking reflection portfolio and reporting on their core competencies.

Checking: • Interviews with individual students let us know that students can answer the four questions!
The results we are looking for are:
Student attendance records indicate less absences.
• Involving Elders in learning activities builds community.
• Student reflections document student growth and success.
• Students complete core competency assessment based on their reflection portfolio.
• Students complete self-assessment portion of their SLP and see connection to graduation.

Reflections/Advice: Our key learning is that we need to continue with the land learning and have strong connections to curricular and core competencies. Next year we plan on weekly school-wide blocks where learning occurs on the land.

Eke Me-Xi Learning Centre of School District #85 is a choice school that builds relationships around the belief of maya’xa̱la with many opportunities that enrich our school; specifically with teachings grounded to the values, ceremonies and history of the Kwakwaka’wakw. Throughout this academic year Eke Me-Xi has continued with our annual and seasonal activities for staff and students to learn from Kwakwaka’wakw traditions such as; Kwamya’sapa, cultivation of foods from clams to seaweed and the gathering of cedar. Each year we broaden our learning of local history from place names, uses of the resources, Kwakʼwala words/phrases and this year Kwak’wala language classes, students learned close to 600 Kwak’wala words in the junior class and 800 Kwak’wala words in the senior class. We had several Field Trips to Blunden Harbour where students were able to learn from Elders and experience the Kwak’wala language on location.
We have incorporated informally and formally the traditional learning that goes with harvesting, processing and preserving natural resources. Examples of this year’s learnings include: continuation of Cedar gathering and preparing for weaving, tactile work with aprons, shawls, sashes to dress our students and guests as we prepare to host our very own ḵ̕wa̱myasap̓a. This academic year we have continued on with the core values, beliefs, history of the Kwakwaka’wakw that will help entrench our students with indigenous sensitivity and awareness, in conjunction with the Enhancement Agreement and implementation of the Aboriginal Worldviews and Perspectives. We had a focus on increasing the visibility of Kwak’wala at school and integration of Kwak’wala and traditional knowledge across the curriculum. We provided t-shirts for each student/staff member with Key Kwak’wala phrases. We hosted Elders lunches where students and Elders played games in Kwak’wala. This was made possible through shared supports from the school and the Mt. Waddington “Literacy Now” Strategy
We are grateful to share that since 2013 Eke Me-Xi has benefited from the continued support and assistance of the “Our World, Our Language” Film crew where students produced videos that promoted Kwak’wala language with phrases, origin stories, culture, and artists. Over the course of the years films created by our Students have been featured at film festivals and have won awards.

School District: SD#85 Vancouver Island North

Inquiry Team Members:Melody Watson: mwatson@sd85.bc.ca, Serena Lansdowne: slansdowne@sd85.bc.ca, Lynn Walker: lynn.walker@sd85.bc.ca, Nicole Forshaw: nforshaw@sd85.bc.ca, Anca Fraser: afraser@sd85.bc.ca, Richelle Beatty: rbeatty@sd85.bc.ca, Shirley Madson: smadson@sd85.bc.ca

Inquiry Team Contact Email: mwatson@sd85.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): Mathematics / Numeracy

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

In one sentence, what was your focus for the year? How will a cyclical based math approach, focusing on “Big Ideas”, in addition to the focus on developing a growth mindset have an impact on student achievement in numeracy as measured by the BC Performance Standards, District Math Assessment, and school-wide assessments?

Scanning: The OECD principles of learning and the First Peoples Principles of Learning guide our work. For example, this inquiry recognizes that learners need to be at the centre of our work and recognizes that we all learn differently and so the way we teach math must meet each learner where they are and help them to move forward along a continuum. Our inquiry also speaks to the holistic , reflexive, reflective, experiential, and relational nature of learning.

In scanning, we have noticed that our learners:
• have strong computation skills and that computation has meaning
• are taking more risks when solving problems
• are thinking more flexibly (multiple strategies, seeing numbers more flexibly)
• are improving in their ability to be reflective and set, monitor, and adjust their goals
• need to continue to develop mathematical growth mindsets
• benefit from having concepts taught cyclically all year long, going deeper as concepts are revisited regularly
• are making their learning more visible through portfolio assessment

Focus: We felt that we need to focus on the following:
• Continuing to develop mathematical growth mindsets-Students need to see themselves as mathematicians. They need to believe that they can be successful and that they are “math people”. Research tells us that, “the difference between successful and unsuccessful students is less about the content they learn and more about their mindsets.” (Boaler, J. Mathematical Mindsets, p. 55)
• Further developing the use of digital portfolio assessment as a way for students to make their learning visible, reflect on their learning, and improve their goal setting (making goals, monitoring progress, adjusting goals, etc.), and communicate with their parents and teachers about their learning.
• Expanding and improving our use of complex instruction: multidimensionality, roles, assigning competence, and shared student responsibility.
• We wanted to have another Family Math Night in the fall and share information with parents around growth mindset, cyclical teaching, math strategies, etc. (This year’s Family Math Night was a huge success, but many parents missed the informational aspect we had built into the one the previous year)

Hunch: • The purchase of iPads at the end of this year will better enable our students to use portfolio assessment as a tool to improve their learning
• Using the 4 Key Questions more regularly with our students, framed specifically around mathematics will help our students to become more reflective and responsible for their learning
• Our students do group work, but many times the same students take the same roles. Group work could be much more effective if we followed the suggestions in Mathematical Mindsets (e.g. teaching, assigning, and rotating roles and teaching students to be responsible for each other’s learning-seeing math as a collaborative and shared pursuit not an individual and competitive one)
• Specific teaching around mindsets is needing for students see themselves as mathematicians and believe they can be successful (this will transfer into all areas, not just math)

New Professional Learning: • As a staff we began a study of Mathematical Mindsets and will continue this work next year. Each staff meeting we will focus on a chapter and continue discussions between meetings.
• One staff member enrolled in the online course, How to Learn Math for Teachers from Stanford University and shared this learning
• We used, How to Learn Math for Students (a free course also through Stanford) as a resource with our students. It combines information on the brain and learning with new evidence on the best ways to approach and learn math effectively.
• We continued our work around formative assessment
• We continued to align our work with the new curriculum
• We continued to develop our frameworks for cyclical teaching
• We would like to further collaborate with other elementary schools as well as the high school

Taking Action: • Staff participated in a study of, Mathematical Mindsets during monthly staff meetings
• Staff used the newly purchased technology to further student use of digital portfolio assessment
• Staff used complex instruction in math as well as other areas of the curriculum (in particular the work around effective group work)
• Principal/Teachers aligned work with the new curriculum
• Principal/teachers used the school-wide supplementary assessment in the fall and spring.
• Support Staff were part of the professional learning (big ideas, math strategies, formative assessment, etc.)
• Formative assessment was used consistently and effectively to improve student learning
• Principal engaged in discussions with all staff members on the use of Formative Assessment and the BC Performance standards in an ongoing way
• All staff were prepared to communicate about the work they are doing towards the goals of this inquiry
• Principal/Teachers/LART/Support Staff worked collaboratively and used the three tiers of RTI to support high levels of learning for all students

Checking: We are very satisfied with the continued growth our students show in math. Our students achieve highly, but we also realize that there is always room for further growth.

Student achievement evidence and baseline data was collected from a variety of sources including: DMA grade 2-7, A.J. Elliott Supplementary Math Assessment (Basic Facts, How Many Ways, Problem Posing) grades 1-7, A.J. Elliott Math Confidence Survey K-7, FSA grades 4 and 7, DreamBox (K-3) and Mathletics (grades 4-7) , online math programs that also give teachers assessment data, Minute-by-minute formative assessment, Three-way conferences, use of the Four Key Questions with a Math Focus, and documentation of learning through portfolio assessment.

Reflections/Advice: We feel that we need to continue to focus on the following:
• Continuing to develop mathematical growth mindsets-Students need to see themselves as mathematicians. They need to believe that they can be successful and that they are “math people”.
• Further developing and expanding the use of digital portfolio assessment as a way for students to make their learning visible, reflect on their learning, and improve their goal setting (making goals, monitoring progress, adjusting goals, etc.), and communicate with their parents and teachers about their learning.
• Continuing our work on group work (roles and responsibilities)

In addition we feel that we need to focus on the following:
• Supporting each other as a staff in developing our skills in cyclical teaching through sharing, observations, mentoring etc.
• We would like to have a family math session in the fall for parents and their children to share/teach parents the strategies their children are using at school. This would be a hands-on session for parents and their children with families taking away strategies and games they can use at home. Further sessions will follow based on interest.
• We would like to find a way to work with the teachers at the high school to make the transition between grade 7 and 8 smoother and help our students to be confident and successful math students at the high school.

Teaching cyclically, in particular, has been a real game changer for our students. No longer is math taught in units, with students forgetting what they have learned, or having to move on before fully understanding a concept. Instead, concepts are visited over and over again throughout the year allowing students to master concepts and learn deeply. This is where we would recommend others start.