Networks Matter - a lot!

Spirals of Inquiry

Today we pressed 'send' on the book we have been working on for over a year entitled Spirals of Inquiry. We are grateful to the BCPVPA for partnering with us to publish this book and are very pleased that all the proceeds from the sale of the book will go to supporting inquiry schools - particularly those serving vulnerable communities.

In some ways working on this book represents our gift to the educators we have been so privileged to work with over the past several years within various networks across BC. Your stories, your observations, your questions, and your inquiry journeys have all provided rich opportunities for us to grow in our understanding of the importance of inquiry. Your experiences also reinforce for us the absolute necessity for educators to  connect in substantive ways across schools, across districts and across roles. We have heard this repeatedly from many educators over the past few months -  and we are listening.

We spent last Sunday with thirty of the volunteer network leaders from around the province. Although  not exactly a day of rest, the conversations were lively, the laughter was contagious, and many  connections were strengthened. As a group, we had a chance to reflect on the ways in which inquiry is taking hold through various initiatives across BC and we also explored ways to sustain the emphasis on self and co-regulation that the network represents. One of the key features of the network has been the persistent focus on the six key strategies of assessment for learning  - and the understanding that assessment for and as learning are the bridge to a more personalized, learner-focused system. Despite the progress that has been made, there was no sense that we had arrived in a place where coaching forms of assessment are way of life in every setting, for every learning.

We were very pleased that Maureen Dockendorf was able to join this discussion. The CR4YR initiative provides such a great opportunity for a well-resourced and supported network focused on young readers.  In addition, having the coaches and facilitators from the VIU rural literacy research project led by Paige Fisher  added another dimension of coherence-creation. The more connections and coherence we can create across initiatives, the better. Our discussions led to the set of beliefs that you will find below.  Networks do matter - a lot!

So what is happening next? The case studies from the 2011-2012 schools have been posted on the website and within the next little while we are planning to get small grants out to as many of these schools as we can with the proceeds from last year's seminar. The video clips from the seminar are also posted and we encourage you to check them out.  We know that many school districts find ways to acknowledge and support the dedication of network schools. This local recognition is hugely important and greatly valued.

Any school in the province is welcome to be part of the network. All it takes is a commitment to the core beliefs of the network and a curiosity for learning. A guideline for inquiry as well as templates for school questions are available on the website.

Here's what the network leadership team sees as the core beliefs. We hope you agree.

Networks of Inquiry and Innovation*

Core Beliefs

It is our moral purpose to create a system where every learner crosses the stage with dignity, purpose and options.

We want learners to leave our schools and our learning settings as curious as when they arrive.

To sustain and encourage curiosity in young learners requires that they learn from and with adults who are also curious.

Learner well-being – intellectually, physically, emotionally, socially, spiritually and environmentally – matters.

Social responsibility and the development of democratic citizens matter to us as Canadians.

The imperative of meeting the needs of every learner is simply too challenging for any one teacher, school or district to do in isolation.

Aboriginal education is for everyone. The Aboriginal Enhancement Schools Network provides a critical space for educators to explore questions related to changing outcomes for Aboriginal learners AND to deepening knowledge, understanding and respect among all learners of all ages.

A persistent emphasis on learner self and co-regulation and ownership of learning creates coherence within and across the networks.

The relentless focus on the six key formative assessment strategies provide a framework for inquiry action - and for learner engagement.

Engaging adults in inquiry inspires life-time professional curiosity.

Creating a learning space that is not bound by roles or associations can help educators to do their best work. Networks cannot be mandated or contrived. Participation is always voluntary. Networks are always open.

Continually asking What is going on for our learners? How do we know? and Why does this matter? ensures that inquiries are focused on the experiences of learners (and not the interests of adults – no matter how exciting these might be).

Demonstrating how much difference the inquiry has made to the learners  - and their learning - based on thoughtful learning progressions (the BC performance standards) creates a shared sense of responsibility for results.

Documenting the outcomes of school level inquiry through case studies and public showcases builds confidence in the process and also helps to link knowledge and practice.

The seven key learning principles provide a framework for ensuring that our innovative efforts are genuinely evidence-informed and substantive.

Small recognition grants to schools that commit to learning with other schools and then make their learning public are important. Recognition grants communicate that the efforts of a single community is genuinely valued and that their work is part of purposeful, on-going provincial community.

Face-to-face meetings are necessary for building coherence and community.  On-line communities and technology-enhanced communication create additional and vital opportunities for networking and collaboration.

Having a consistent template for generating inquiries and for case studies helps in creating coherence.

* We use the term Networks of Inquiry and Innovation to include what we referred to previously as the Network of Performance Based Schools, as well as the Aboriginal Enhancement Schools Network, the Healthy Schools Network and recently  the international network of Innovative Learning Environments.

Kangextola Sewn-on-Top: Kwak'wala Revitalization and Being Indigenous

This is the title of Trish Rosborough's doctoral thesis that she defended brilliantly on July 16. Linda and I were both honoured to be there along with several members of her family and seven members of the examining committee including Dr. Kathy Absolon, from Wilfed Laurier University and Dr. Patricia Shaw who skyped in from Australia. Over a two hour period, Trish held the group spellbound as she explained her work and responded to probing questions from each of the examiners. Her study was conducted through a Kanextola framework, an Indigenous method based on the metaphor of creating a button blanket, the ceremonial regalia of the Kwakaka'waka. Part of Trish's study involved two years  in a Master-Apprentice relationship as she studied her own language. Her research included her own journals, personal stories, and interviews with individuals engaged in Kwak'wala revitalization.

The learnings from Trish's study have significant implications for language revitalization and language learning. Chief among these are that the complexity of the task of Kwak'wala revitalization requires a multi-faceted approach by applying indigenous principles to teaching and learning and must take into account the impacts of colonization.  Further, it is essential to sustain the spirit of the language by maintaining the literal and symbolic meanings that are important in the transmission and maintenance of the culture. Just learning the words is not enough - language learning involves so much more and a large part of this is reclaiming voice, culture and identity.

Trish, with Dr. Rita Irwin, committee chair,
Dr. Shaw on Skype and her button blanket on display,

Each of the examiners recognized the quality of Trish's work and praised her for her persistence, perseverance, creativity, academic excellence and determination. She received a spontaneous ovation from the examiners - something rare in the academy! We were proud to be there for many reasons. As graduates of UBC, witnessing the rigorous approach of the defence process was gratifying. As colleagues of Trish's, we know just how hard she has worked to manage her professional obligations and the challenges of her doctoral work. This is a huge accomplishment. And as educators in BC, we are grateful to Trish not only for her initiative in getting the Aboriginal Enhancement Schools Network started, but for her wisdom and leadership that is creating better and richer lives for countless young people - of all backgrounds.

Endangered Languages and Google - a new partnership

                                                              Dr. Lorna Williams
 Lorna Williams is one of our heroes. Her tenacious work to strengthen and preserve indigenous culture, to create schools where indigenous ways of knowing are part of the fabric of the curriculum and of every child's experience, her generosity in sharing her knowledge and her wisdom so freely with our grad students, with us, with international colleagues and with everyone in the Network - these are but a few reasons why we are so deeply indebted to Lorna.

Lorna has been able to help countless teachers tap into their own sense of humanity and to deepen their sensitivity to others. She has helped to teach us the importance of language and culture  - and to understand the impact when people of any age are denied their language. She has had the patience to answer many of the questions that we have - about language, culture, Aboriginal life, and what we as settler educators can do to strengthen education for Aboriginal young people.

Last week saw the  launch of the Endangered Languages Project, a website that allows users to archive audio, video and written information about the world’s rarest languages and dialects. The project could prove a boon to cultural preservation in Canada, where dozens of aboriginal languages are at risk of fading away. Dr. Williams is the chair of the First Peoples Cultural Council and deserves much credit for making this happen. Through a partnership with Google, many endangered languages may be preserved in a way no one might have thought possible a few years ago. Please check out the website, read the press release and consider the ways in which we can all support this critically important work. 

Summer reading list

With only a few more days of school ahead, it is time to get that summer reading list ready! We've prepared a short list for you - some that will be great poolside reading (when the sun appears) - and others that you will want some quiet space to enjoy. We'd welcome comments on the blog about any of these books - or others that you would recommend. Happy reading!
Right now, we are working on an inquiry handbook that will be published in partnership with the BCPVPA.  Professional  inquiry is becoming increasingly a focus in many school and districts and we hope that building on the strong examples from network schools where inquiry has been driving student and teacher learning for quite a while will be timely and helpful. We are also working on a book with Helen Timperley on Leading Professional Inquiry that with any luck will be out by the late summer of 2013. No lounging about this summer! Maybe it is a good thing the weather is still rotten......

Making a difference

We are truly fortunate to be able to get to know and to work with so many wonderful educators. There are so many stories that never make the media - and here is a quick snapshot of some of the good news just from this past week.

On Monday we attended the convocation at VIU for graduates of the third cohort from the MEDL program. Wendy Nixon Strothert, a music educator from Comox Valley was recognized as the gold medallist in the class. Wendy is a most deserving recipient of this award and what her VIU colleagues may remember most about her was her generosity in sharing her talents and her expertise with others. At the invitation of one of her VIU classmates, Wendy recently spent time in a neighbouring district working with choirs from a number of elementary schools, modelling for other choir leaders how to work with large groups of singers, and then conducted a mass choir performance as a culminating activity. This was right at the time when Wendy was pressured to finish her thesis and coursework.  She did it all with enormous class and we offer her our sincere thanks and congratulations.

Then we received the news that  long time network teacher, VIU grad and  Healthy Schools Leader, Lynn Brown has been recognized nationally for excellence in teaching physical education.  The PETE (Physical Education Teacher’s Excellence) award honours exceptional teachers (one from each province) for their excellence in teaching physical education and their ability to motivate children and youth to participate in physical activity. This award is the only national award in Canada that recognizes physical education teachers for their hard work and dedication in helping to build strong, healthy and physically active children. Congratulations, Lynn.

Lynn Brown - Excellence in Teaching

Next it was off to Smithers where teachers from both Bulkley Valley and Coast Mountains School District were sharing the results of their network inquiry work.  We were inspired to hear the ways in which learners of all ages are  becoming more engaged and enjoying more success. Consider grade 9 Math students being able to demonstrate their knowledge of key concepts by creating their own video clips and creating a class TV station through YouTube.  Or Grade  8 students who were reading with much greater enthusiasm and understanding as a result of their exposure to Aboriginal fiction and non fiction. And, then the intermediate students who were getting instant feedback on basic Math skills along with specific strategies for improvement as a result of a program designed by one of their teachers. Speed and accuracy were moving off the charts. The stories go on.... the girls group at a secondary school where senior girls were designing lessons and activities for younger girls connected to body image and healthy choices....these are the stories that must be told.

Here's an image that will stick with us - Dave Margerm and his VP at Twain Sullivan Elementary School in Houston. This young man greeted us at the door, proudly showed us around the school, and was acknowledged by staff and students alike as the VP. He tries to emulate his principal in every way he can. Dave is now having to up his wardrobe to keep up  - and this boy knows what it is like to feel valued and respected.

Sometimes it is easy to get discouraged when all one reads in the media is of conflict and strife. There is so much more that needs to be told. At the convocation at VIU, Chancellor and national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, Shawn Atleo, explained that in this language the word for love and pain are the same. Let's make sure that the stories we tell about our schools and our learners reflect love - and the courage to make a difference.

Aboriginal Understandings - Letter of Gratitude

Within the Aboriginal Enhancement Schools Network, we take the position that learning more about Aboriginal culture and history, ways of knowing and wisdom traditions is absolutely essential for everyone in British Columbia and in Canada.

We are deeply grateful to mentors such as Lorna Williams, Laura Tait, Debbie Leighton Stephens, Stephanie Stephens, Gail Bedard and Colleen Hannah who over the past few years have shared their knowledge and experiences at the NOII - AESN seminars.

Last year, Laura Tait shared the draft form of a learning progression for Aboriginal understandings. This resource has led to some very thoughtful discussions and much thinking in districts around the province. You can find this posted on the NOII website as well as video clips from previous seminars.

We know that with the support of our Aboriginal colleagues, we can learn much more and we can move to informed action. We are proud of the growth that is taking place in many AESN schools - and  there is still a lot of work to be done.

Last week Brooke Moore, a teacher at  Rockridge Secondary in West Vancouver spent some time in Nanaimo with Laura Tait to explore questions that were troubling her. The letter that Brooke wrote in response to this day is a must read for all of us who are determined to make a difference to the outcomes of Aboriginal learners.

Gleneagles - Ch'axay Elementary School

Students at Gleneagles Elementary School in West Vancouver wrote their names into history last week, each autographing a large cedar carving commemorating the school’s adoption of its new First Nations name.

Following a naming ceremony on Thursday, the school is hereon known as Gleneagles-Ch’axay, the latter being the centuries-old title for the Horseshoe Bay area where the school sits today.

Pronounced “CHUCK-hi,” the name is a vocal approximation of the “sizzling” sound made by the once abundant herring that spawned in the waters of the bay, according to S7aplek (SOP-luck), a Squamish cultural advisor. Please follow the link above for more on this very important occasion.

Director of Instruction, Lynne Tomlinson, the former principal of Gleneagles was honoured at this ceremony by the Squamish First Nations for her contribution to increasing Aboriginal understanding and respect among West Vancouver schools. Lynne is a long time network leader whose work both with the Networks of Inquiry and Innovation and the Aboriginal Enhancement Schools Network is greatly valued.