Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Case Studies and Videos

We are so excited the share the 2014 – 2015 NOII and AESN Case Studies, all now posted on our website.  Case studies are rich sources of data, capturing both the process of inquiry with regard to a school’s particular focus for improvement, as well as the learning and observations obtained throughout the journey.  


Take a few minutes to check out a few and see how schools and districts focused on improving teaching and learning for all students. We’re always amazed at the caliber of professional learning being engaged through the Spiral of Inquiry, but this past year is particularly impressive given 2014/2015 started off with job action in BC. When you see what was done, how much was accomplished, and particularly the commitment from teams to further their learning into the future, I think you’ll agree that we have some of the best educators in the world working right here in BC!

We’ve also noted previously that with help from Network leader Angela Stott, we’ve captured ideas around inquiry through short videos filmed at the last Network Symposium.  These videos are organized by themes, such as Impact on Aboriginal Education (see below), Authentic Use of the Spiral and Building Curiosity. All videos are posted here.

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Fall 2015 Network Newsletter

Please check out the Fall 2015 Network Newsletter and share it with your colleagues. There is a lot to share, including information about 2014/2015 recognition grants and how to be involved in the Network this year.  You’ll also read more about a new Impact Study that will look specifically at the AESN and the focus on transitions to secondary schools.

We are always looking for ideas and stories for our website and blog. Please stay connected and share your stories with us. Email Sarah at noii.aesn@gmail.com.

Saturday, October 3, 2015

Network Leaders Meeting - October 2nd

It was an amazing day of learning and collaboration yesterday at the Fall Network Leaders Meeting. What a treat to have the meeting hosted at ArtStarts in downtown Vancouver – a beautiful location and space to boost curiosity and creative thinking! It was a packed house with over 40 educators volunteering their time to come together, share resources and strategies, and work together on our shared vision of:

EVERY learner walking the stage with dignity, purpose and options.
ALL learners leaving more curious than when they arrived.
Aboriginal education is for everyone.

We talked about some exciting upcoming projects for this year (more to come there…) and reviewed some of the case studies that were submitted through the summer (soon to be posted on the website). JoAnne Chrona also shared the new FNESC resources, including the Indian Residential Schools and Reconciliation Resources just launched in August. The resources are free to download and provide age-appropriate educational materials about Indian Residential Schools (see video below) The secondary level resource guide also serves as a good refresher/introduction for educators who may be teaching this material for the first time. JoAnne noted that FNESC also offers workshops but that these fill up really quickly – check their website regularly for newly scheduled events.   

A few other events/resources shared at the meeting:
  • Forms for submitting your school’s inquiry focus for 2015 – 2016 will be available very soon. We’re streamlining the forms this year to make submitting easier.  
  • The Lead the Change Series articles from the American Educational Research Association Education Change Special Interest Group (see the column on right side of page). Watch for Helen Timperley’s article in October. These are great resources for staff/Network meetings.
  • Neat info about Learning Maps out of New Zealand
  • The Ministry of Education’s new Resource Guide on Aboriginal Worldviews and Perspectives in the Classroom
  • A formative assessment learning event happening in Nanaimo on October 26th (more info here)
  • DASH BC will be launching Healthy Schools Week starting October 5th, with school grant opportunities being announced on October 6th. 
Thanks to everyone who attended yesterday (we missed the mid-Island group who were fogged in!). Looking forward to another great school year of learning, inquiry and collaboration!