Tools to support school-wide inquiry

Network schools are now fully engaged in their school inquiries, collaborating across roles and schools to improve teaching and learning in their districts. Please take a few moments to scan through the list of topics for this school year so you can see the breadth of learning taking place across the province, as well as potentially connect with another school and/or district working on similar learning goals. There are three lists of inquiry topics to explore:

Aboriginal Enhancement Schools Network
Schools focused specifically on Indigenous ways of knowing and worldviews. For example, history/culture, residential schools, place-based learning, self-identity, etc.

AESN Impact Study
Secondary schools focused on student transitions for Aboriginal learners. These schools are also engaged in a research study looking at the impact of their inquiry work. 

Network of Inquiry and Innovation
Schools focused on a variety of topics linked to specific school needs. For example, self-regulated learning, the new curriculum, student engagement, math, co-teaching and collaboration, etc. 

We also want to share a great new resource from the New Zealand Ministry of Education focused on the Spiral of Inquiry. Their new website features resources to support all stages of the Spiral, including collaborative inquiry examples, videos, links to the work in BC, and more. Certainly worth checking out and sharing widely! You can find this and other materials linked on our Resources page on the website. 

Fall News (and how to submit your inquiry focus)

You know what’s exciting about this school year? Inquiry and team work seems to be a buzz all over the province! We’ve already heard from quite a few of you asking about how to submit your inquiry plans for this year – we love it when you are a step ahead of us!

So without further ado, here it is – the 2016– 2017 NOII/AESN Inquiry Proposal Template. This is up on our website too. Similar to last year, the process is streamlined. School teams use the template to submit their inquiry focus at the beginning of the year (due November 25th) and then submit case studies at the end of the year to document their experience and learning. Please share this template with your colleagues. It may also be helpful to review these helpful notes on the Spiral of Inquiry as well as the Four Key Questions for Scanning and Checking.

We also have lots of news to share – both from our recent Network Leader’s Meeting as well as all the interesting collaborations and events we have lined up for this year. If you haven’t already, please take a look at our Fall 2016 Network Newsletter for an update.

Finally, the 2015 – 2016 case studies are now posted on our website – see both NOII and AESN focused inquiries. For now, the case studies are listed in alpha order by school name, but we’re excited to let you know that we are in the process of planning for a new Network website! One of our ‘wish list’ items that we’ve heard from many of you is to have a searchable database for all the rich case studies documenting school learning. This will help to more easily and quickly see what other schools are working on and connect with school teams working on similar inquiries. We’ll work to incorporate that into our new site, but also welcome your feedback on other ways you’d like to use the site or access information. Please contact Sarah with your suggestions at noii.aesn@gmail.com.

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. 

Network school inquiries now up on website!

Network schools are now fully engaged in their NOII and AESN inquiries, collaborating across roles and schools to improve teaching and learning in their districts. Please take a few moments to scan through the list of topics and foci for this school year so you can see the breadth of learning taking place across the province, as well as potentially connect with another school and/or district working on similar learning goals. There are three lists of inquiry topics to explore:

Aboriginal Enhancement Schools Network
Those focused on specifically on First Peoples Principles of Learning and Aboriginal worldviews. For example, history/culture, residential schools, place-based learning, self-identity, etc.

Aboriginal Impact Study
Secondary schools focused on student transitions. These schools are also engaged in a research study looking at the impact of their inquiry work. 

Network of Inquiry and Innovation
Schools focused on a variety of topics linked to specific school needs. For example, self-regulated learning, the new curriculum, student engagement, math, co-teaching and collaboration, etc. 

To learn more about the process that schools engage in, check out the Spiral of Inquiry guide and the Four Key Questions That Matter.  

If you see another school that is working on a very similar focus, why not connect with them to share stories and strategies? If you are not sure about how to connect, please contact us for support. 

Inquiry – Making a Difference in SD #91 Nechako Lakes

Over the last few weeks we have been receiving inquiry plan submissions from schools across the province (see here for how to submit). There is very inspiring, collaborative professional learning happening all over BC -- we'll be sharing lots of school and district stories here in the coming months.  It was also a pleasure to read this blog post by SD #91 Nechako Lakes (written by SD 91 Director of Instruction, Manu Madhok) describing the inquiry focus areas for individual schools in their district. The article also outlines how the district structured a professional learning day for staff around concepts of both student-led and teacher-led inquiry. Thanks to Michelle Miller Gauthier, Network Leader and SD 91 Literacy Coordinator/Teacher, for sharing this helpful article.

Manu also highlights the video below, which was shared with educators during this day of learning last week. It’s a good reinforcement of how formative assessment practices can benefit our learners. Perhaps something to take a look at during your next staff collaboration time? 

Inquiry Proposal Submissions - Due Nov 27th

It has been exciting to hear about the Network meetings taking place across the province over the last few weeks. As just one example, Prince Rupert had a packed house on Oct 20^th (they ran out of chairs!) to discuss plans for the coming year, spend time reviewing new research and resources, and collectively deepening their understanding around what it going on for their learners. Neat to see these planning notes and picture from their meeting.

Please share with schools that the 2015 – 2016 NOII/AESN Inquiry Proposal template is now available on our website. We have tried to streamline the submission process this year and you will see that reflected in the guidelines and the template. School teams use this template to submit their inquiry focus at the beginning of the school year, and then submit case studies at the end of the year to document their experience. It may also be helpful to review the Spiral of Inquiry, as well as the 4 Key Questions That Matter. Proposals are due November 27^th. We very much look forward to receiving your submissions and encourage you to contact us is you have any questions.

Collaborative Inquiry

There are many educators with the Richmond School District that have been engaged with the Network and embracing the Spiral, and news ways of thinking and learning together. They recently held their Celebration of Learning, and Janice Novakowski (@jnovakowskisd38) has been wonderful in sharing ideas and pictures with us @noiiaesn (see below).

We know how crucial it is to create safe spaces to share what we are learning as educators and to tackle big questions together. So we’re very grateful that Hieu Pham-Fraser, Teacher Librarian at Archibald Blair Elementary, recently connected with us to share pictures from her inquiry project, as well as a fantastic video she has created around Collaborative Inquiry. The video describes collaborative inquiry from a conceptual framework, but it also provides details on strategies used by Richmond educators this past year, making it a useful tool and/or conversation starter for upcoming school or inquiry team meetings.

Janice and Hieu, among others, have also documented some of their collaboration strategies through the district blog. Check out this latest about their Playful Inquiry Dinner Series – very cool work!

#sd38 well represented at @noiiaesn end of year sharing circle. Such inspiring projects from across BC. #bced pic.twitter.com/RTGXq3wYBh

— Janice Novakowski (@jnovakowskisd38) May 20, 2015

Inquiry question templates now available

Among the key features of the Network from its very inception is that participation in networked inquiry is always open and always voluntary.  We also expect school teams to include principals, vice principals, teachers, support staff and cultural workers – with everyone leaving their formal role at the door to enter into inquiry with genuine curiosity and a spirit of teamwork. We also know that micro grants go a long way to both saying ‘thank you’ and to providing a tangible form of recognition for sharing school level work with a broader audience.  We believe that it is critically important to create a space for school teams from across districts to meet with one another – both face-to-face and on-line. This year is no exception.

This year, there are four areas of inquiry in which schools can become involved.  Templates for each of the four inquiry areas are available on our website (click on the links below).  

·         AESN – focus on enhancement agreements

·         AESN –student level inquiries

·         AESN– focus on student transitions

·         NOII– Learning Principles

The deadline for all inquiry proposals is December 15^th. For more information about each of the four areas of inquiry, please refer to the 2014-2015 Network Guide. Please also feel free to contact us for more information.