I. General Information
School Name: William Konkin Elementary School
School District: SD#91 Nechako Lakes
Inquiry Team Members: Vaishali Arora varora@sd91.bc.ca
Shawnese Trottier strottier@sd91.bc.ca
Inquiry Team Contact Email: varora91@sd91.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: Language Arts – Literacy, Language Arts – Oral Language, Language Arts – Reading, Language Arts – Writing, Mathematics / Numeracy
Focus Addressed: Literacy, Numeracy, Core competencies (for example, thinking, communication, personal and social)
In one sentence, what was your focus for the year? Exploring how hands-on learning, math games and songs, stories and thinking tasks (NRICH Cambridge) influence math motivation and mathematical thinking for learners. Implementing a structured literacy approach with emphasis on kinesthetic, visual, auditory and tactile learning to bridge learning gaps in phonemes and high frequency words.
III. Spirals of Inquiry Details
Scanning: The scanning started a few years ago when it was spotted that there were huge learning gaps in numeracy, as well as literacy, at our elementary school. At WKE, we wanted to ensure that our educational practices are aligned with contemporary research on learning, such as adapting learning environments to suit individual learner needs identified through assessment and data in Literacy Blitz, as well as using tested mathematical NRICH low-threshold high-ceiling thinking tasks in collaborative environments to improve math motivation and building a growth mindset.
Focus: We aimed to improve learners’ confidence, competence and enthusiasm in mathematics and literacy activities at WKE.
Hunch: We have learners with diverse backgrounds and needs, and we could see that absenteeism and Covid-19 widened the already existing gaps in learning.
New Professional Learning:
- Engaged in professional learning on Structured Literacy
- Implemented Structured Literacy strategies that involved multiple intelligence strategies: visual, auditory, kinesthetic and tactile
- Engaged in NRICH webinars before each live problem is posted, as well as explored the NRICH Cambridge Problem solving schools initiative
Taking Action: Used a ‘blitz’ approach to target students from multiple grades and classrooms with gaps in literacy skills. Involved many adults to run learning stations.
- Grade 2-3 Blitz 2 x 45 minutes/week
- Grade 4-7 Blitz 2 x 45 minutes/week
Vertical wipe board collaboration, hands-on tasks, working in school groups and pairs on Math Thinking tasks and participating in NRICH Cambridge Live problems can really boost children’s math motivation and learning.
NRICH Making Sticks Problem
NRICH Making Sticks Solution
Checking: Hands-on learning and collaborative thinking tasks encouraged deeper engagement in learning and problem-solving in math. Learners took pride in sharing their mathematical thinking and being recognized through NRICH Cambridge acknowledgements and publications. The Literacy Blitz followed a data-based approach in fall and spring to see the progress in learning.
Reflections/Advice: Students demonstrated increased confidence, competence and enthusiasm in numeracy and literacy as a result of Literacy Blitz and collaborative math NRICH Cambridge live problems participation with the motivation of getting chosen math solutions published. Since NRICH Cambridge tasks are low threshold high ceiling tasks, every learner can engage in them and feel successful.
While Structured Literacy practices are very effective, the ‘blitz’ environment does not always work for neurodivergent learners.