Update from Network Leader Meeting

Earlier this month we held a Network Leaders meeting in Vancouver, with over 40 educators from across the province gathered to deepen our conversations about inquiry and planning our Network activities for this school year.

As a Network, we discussed how we might put more formal coaching practices into place this year, with Leaders taking on coaching roles within and across districts. Lynne Tomlinson shared this helpful document outlining an approach to coaching calls that Leaders can use with Network school teams. We think you will find her 5-4-3-2-1 framework provides a very accessible approach to coaching calls. We also had one of our colleagues – Rosie Palmer – from the Whole Education Network (WEN) in the UK share how they have been structuring support for their schools engaging in the Spirals of Inquiry through coaching. Rosie kindly shared her presentation with us, which outlines their approach. She also provided some good insight and tips, including sending out a simple agenda ahead of the call in order to allow everyone to think about the discussion ahead of time. Both of these resources will be helpful as you plan your coaching practices this year.  Rosie noted that one of the most common coaching questions they engage is “what are the learners telling you?”

We also heard from our Network colleagues in Australia – David Sim and Natalie Mansour. They joined us via videoconference to share how their Network activities are shaping up this year. Earlier in their school year, they hosted an inquiry “master class” led by Judy and Linda, supporting educators to get started get started with the Spirals and plan their inquiries. They have several Network events planned throughout the year, including a full day of pro-d around the Spirals of Inquiry as well as videoconferences showing good practice in action. They will also be hosting first Australia Network Symposium in July 2017 – very exciting!! We’ll share more details soon.

A few articles and books were mentioned as reading for professional learning over the coming weeks. Learn more about the Expeditionary Learning Model by reading this article. Expeditionary Learning is built on ten design principles that reflect the educational values and beliefs of Kurt Hahn, founder of Outward Bound. Also, explore Gregory Cajete’s Rekindling the Teachings of the Seventh Fire – a good book club selection for school teams.

Please also remember to save the date for our BC Network Symposium on May 12 – 13, 2016 in Richmond. We anticipate a full house again this year, so ensure you register early. We’ll let you know when registration opens early in 2017.

Welcome back! Videos, resources and programs for 2016 - 2017

Welcome back to school, everyone. We’re excited about all of the possibility that this new school year offers and hope you are too!

While it may seem like a long way off (and it kind of is…), we are planning ahead for the Network Symposium in May 2017.  Save May 12 – 13, 2017 in your calendar for what is already shaping up to be a great event. Take a look at this awesome video, filmed and produced by 3 videography students from the Argyle Secondary School from the 2016 Network Symposium. Not only does it give you a sense of what happens at a typical Symposium, but it also provides some great thinking from our Network both in BC and around the globe.

Two key resources to revisit early in the school year, in addition to the full text for the Spirals of Inquiry, include the Guide to the Phases of the Spiral of Inquiry and the Four Key Questions that Matter. These serve as good tools for one of your first staff meetings.  You may also want to check out the Resources section of our website. Here, you’ll find links to texts, articles, and other tools to support inquiry and deep thinking over the school year. For instance, many school teams have found the Aboriginal Understandings Learning Progression Rubric – developed by Laura Tait – to be an invaluable tool in their teaching and learning practice.

Stay tuned for more developments as we add an international section to the website, including case studies from around the globe with others involved with the Spirals of Inquiry. Both the Whole Education Network in the UK and groups of schools in Australia are intimately involved in Network activities. 

There is still time to apply for the 2^nd cohort of the UBC Transformative Educational Leadership Program (TELP) which begins in October. This post-graduate program, led by Judy and Linda, was a huge success in its first year and aims to bring together individuals from across the K – 12 system interested in transforming themselves and their communities by exploring and engaging in dialogue and debate about major challenges and opportunities facing school districts. But don’t delay if you want to be involved this year – applications are due on September 11^th.

For those schools and teams specifically addressing school health, check out this new  physical activity documentary featuring Josh Ogilvie – a CIEL and VIU graduate from Burnaby School District, as well as Dr. John Ratey from Harvard. Deep thinking to start off the school year!

We’re once again grateful and impressed at the caliber of work that network school teams are leading. Case studies that were submitted over the summer are almost ready to put up on the website. We’ll post a link here when these are accessible.  We are also preparing templates for submitting your 2016 - 2017 Inquiry Focus - more to come!

We’re grateful to the Ministry of Education, the Irving K Barber Learning Centre at UBC and the Annual Foundation for their funding and support of the Networks. Book sales from Spirals of Inquiry also continue to support the exceptional work of network schools. 

Looking forward to another great year of learning, teaching and inquiring together!

Network Meetings Across BC

Network schools across BC have submitted their NOII and AESN inquiry focuses and are now in the thick of working through the Spiral – implementing actions based on their scanning and hunches, and working toward deeply improving their practice and student learning. It’s a journey not to be rushed if we really want to continue to make a difference in our classrooms and schools.

In total we have 175 schools across BC and the Yukon participating in either NOII or AESN this year as well as close to 60 schools in the Healthy Schools Network. Wow! The opportunity to learn from and with each other is a key part of the Network, so it really is amazing to see the ways in which many schools are building on practices they have learned from others.

One way we do this is through regional meetings to share stories, troubleshoot, brainstorm and work together across similar contexts. Meetings provide a boost of energy at a busy time of year when we all could use a bit of extra motivation. We know from experience in BC and beyond that getting together regularly in face-to-face meetings deepens and strengthens the connections and accelerates the pace of new learning.

Thanks to Heidi Wood and the Surrey team for hosting this year’s Lower Mainland regional meeting on January 28^th.  Schools shared resources, discussed progress and were able to hear a bit about all the international work the Network has on the go – including cohorts of schools piloting work with the Spirals in the UK. 

The North West Region held their meeting on Feb 5^th at the Skeena Valley Golf Course. A large group came together from across the region – 37 educators from Nisga’a, Prince Rupert, Hazelton, Kitimat, Terrace and Thornhill were able to make the trek (with Smithers having to miss the event due to inclement weather and bad driving conditions). Thanks to Network Leader Kathy Eades for sharing this synopsis with us: 

We had a nice mix of experienced “Network” members, first year folks, and those who wanted to hear more about how this all works. Jody Tetreau and Jenelle VanTunen from Hazelton Secondary shared their student inquiry work, linking this with the re-freshed curriculum. Jody then shared a model she designed connected the work she does with Big Ideas and Inquiry. Christine Goncalves and Julia Nieckarz guided the group through the Core Competencies, Inquiry Based Model Stages, The Nature of Learning – Using Research to Inspire Practice from the Centre of Educational Research and Innovation, 2 Models of School Wide Inquiry and Grade Level Sharing. There were rich opportunities for new learning, and deep conversations with folks within our region.

We really appreciate hearing about what other regions are up to and how they are structuring their face-to-face time. Please consider putting some brief notes in an email to me us at noii.aesn@gmail.com so that we can share your good work. 

Extended Lower Mainland Meeting

The extended Lower Mainland Networks of Inquiry and Innovation and Aboriginal Enhancement Schools Network schools will be meeting later this week.  Please see the time/location details below.  Please feel free to bring friends or colleagues from other schools – everyone is welcome! So we know how many people to expect, please RSVP to Donna Weaving at dweaving@dccnet.com.

If you are in another region of the province and wondering when/where local schools in your area may be getting together, please contact us.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 28, 2016 – SURREY

4:00 - 6:00 pm

District Education Centre (DEC) - Room 2020

14033 92 Avenue, Surrey

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 26^th (more info here)
• DASH BC will be launching Healthy Schools Week starting October 5^th, with school grant opportunities being announced on October 6^th. 

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!

Assessment for Learning Event in Nanaimo - October 26th

The NOII and Canadian Assessment for Learning Network (CAfLN) have teamed up to offer the Assessment For Learning Drive-In for mid-Vancouver Island educators and network teams. This will be an opportunity to network with colleagues around AFL and inquiry.

 

Here are the details:

Assessment for Learning Drive-In

Monday, October 26, 2015
4:00pm – 6:00pm

Dover Bay Secondary – Library

6135 McGirr Road

Nanaimo, BC

To RSVP, email Tanya Gunn: tgunn@sd69.bc.ca. 

Stay tuned for more learning opportunities in your area.