MR. LEE DIV. 5

  • Home
  • LST
  • Subjects
    • English Language Arts
    • Math
    • Science
    • Socials
    • Physical and Health Education
    • Arts Education
    • Applied Design, Skills, and Technology
  • Resources
  • Rules and Expectations
  • Blog
  • Home
  • LST
  • Subjects
    • English Language Arts
    • Math
    • Science
    • Socials
    • Physical and Health Education
    • Arts Education
    • Applied Design, Skills, and Technology
  • Resources
  • Rules and Expectations
  • Blog

Never. Stop. Learning.

Norma Rose Point Elementary

5/26/2017

0 Comments

 


Norma Rose Point is a beautifully designed school on the UBC campus, but it’s much more than a pretty face. It exudes innovation, collaboration, engagement and powerful learning. There are three distinctive elements that allows this unique public school to function in such a special way. All three are essential and work seamlessly together. They are the physical learning space, the overarching school philosophy, and teacher and student relationships.

PHYSICAL LEARNING SPACE
The physical space of different “communities” with rooms like the Da Vinci room and outdoor garden space, kitchen space, open spaces, hallways and much more. All spaces are communal in nature. What was interesting was the notion of instructional space at the school; everything, even little crooks and crannies, can be instructional or learning space. Rooms are as flexible as the learning, with folding tables that allow rooms to turn from a science room into a physical exercise space in a matter of minutes.


EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY
Most of the philosophy comes from the Innovative Learning Environments Project by the OECD (Centre of Educational Research and Innovation). Learning nowadays is considered socio-constructivist, meaning that in any given context, learning is actively constructed and socially negotiated. The ultimate goal is adaptive expertise--being able to use knowledge and skills in new situations. Adaptive expertise is developed through guided (teacher-led), action (student-led) and experimental (play) learning. This leads into lifelong learning. Learning is also determined by emotion and motivation, so students need to feel positive and confident yet realistic in their learning goals.

The 7 principles of learning are the following:
  1. Learners at the centre
  2. The social nature of learning
  3. Emotions are integral to learning
  4. Recognising individual differences
  5. Stretching all students
  6. Assessment for learning (formative primarily)
  7. Building horizontal connections (interdisciplinary/multi-level)

Higher-order skills:

  • Think systematically and critically
  • Make decisions with evidence
  • Ask meaningful questions
  • Understand and process complex information
  • Be flexible
  • Be creative
  • Media literacy
  • Teamwork, social and communication skills
  • Solve real-world problems

The building blocks for innovative learning environments are cooperative learning, service learning, technology, home-school partnerships, formative assessment and inquiry-based approaches (project, problem, design).

The school’s motto is “Learners at the Centre” and I think that pretty much sums up what happens in the school. So, anything that doesn’t contribute to learning (books or materials that sit in cardboard boxes) must be taken home. Even the shelves are considered “sacred,” so they must be essential for the teacher. ​The mission statement goes on to add: To meet learner needs we differentiate instruction, focus on Learner strengths, infuse technology in meaningful ways and collaborate with each other to be the best we can be.

With such a clear and powerful mission statement, and with strong buy-in by teachers, there seems to be a sense of pride, ownership, and joy in striving for success of all students.

TEACHER AND STUDENT RELATIONSHIPS
The professional office space allows for constant collaboration, beyond actual set times, and a weekly timetable helps organize that collaboration into overall teaching goals and plans. Teachers spend only about a third of their time in one learning space, and will often work with a variety of students, depending on the learning that’s happening. Students are often ability grouped, so individualized student learning is targeted.

Inquiry learning is also a key concept at this school. Inquiry learning is student-dependent, and each inquiry is different for each student. This is closely connected with Genius Hour and passion-based learning, as well. I liked how they thought of engaging ideas, such as “Ted Talks,” “Kickstarter,” “Star Wars University,” and “CSI.”

Learning is visible in more ways than one. In the most basic sense, the openness of the learning spaces--classrooms with lots of clear glass and moving doors--allows clear lines of sight of all students. Beyond that, of course, is the notion of taking what students are thinking in their brains and then showing it in a tangible way; for example, electronic and physical portfolios. Also, learning celebrations held every few months are the culmination of that learning. They sound like student-led interviews, but on a much grander and festive scale.

Another interesting relationship was even between students and classroom supervisors. These supervisors are considered staff and treated with respect. Even more so, they help give additional collaborative time to teachers, by leading learning activities like the Daily 5 in classrooms. 
​

Finally, there was emphasis on students being able to self-regulate, using ideas of restorative justice and zones of regulation. If students are struggling with their emotions or conflict with others, then learning will suffer, so they need the tools and skills to be able to bring themselves back to the proper state of well-being.

OTHER THOUGHTS
It occurs to me that the layout and design and sharing of materials and tools are reminiscent of kindergarten and early primary. Individuality and personal space, which is keenly represented by a student's desk, does not exist. Instead, tables, floors and the outdoors now represents where learning happens--which is everywhere. What's equally interesting in my mind is that if you look at the most creative, innovative, in particular high-tech companies, you will find a similar layout and design: open space concept, communal living and working, bright lighting, and all-inclusive campus look and feel. In other words, it feels like home, not a place of work (even though you are working hard, in most cases!) Of course, individuality and a sense of uniqueness clearly exists, with their portfolio systems, differentiated learning, ability groups, and more. 

Technology is a big part of the school, with a ratio of about 3:1 iPads currently, and probably lower if you include devices from home. They have short-throw projectors, a media room with some desktops and a green screen room. The Learning Resource Centre has a 3-D printer and some computers. What's most interesting is that technology was never really discussed in the two-hour tour session with principal Rosa Fazio. Maybe because it had become second nature or because it was naturally integrated into the entire learning system. It was simply another tool used for research, presentations, expression and creativity, but it never superseded other types of tools. I think the belief that "learners are at the centre" is the key, and while they "infuse technology in meaningful ways" according to their mission statement, their mindset is that learning comes from all areas of life, not simply technology. 

0 Comments

2017 STA Convention

5/5/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
Breakout EDU

This was an interesting session, although maybe a bit tough early in the morning to solve a potential end-of-the-Earth scenario. It's basically an escape room for the classroom. We did it as a group of about 30 teachers, and it was fun to see how people acted. There were definitely a few serious people/leaders who were working hard. Then there were some of us, just catching up with old colleagues. All in all, it was a good time and we saved the world...with 20 minutes to spare.

The educational benefits are quite clear: 
  • student-centered problem-solving
  • THE FOUR Cs: critical thinking, collaboration, creativity and communication.
  • cultivating grit
  • many opportunities to fail forward

​The website has everything set up nicely as well with free resources for the escape rooms.

Creative Drama in the Classroom

This session started with a bang...but ended with a fizzle. I think with her drama/acting/educational background, we expected a lot. Still there were some good ideas to be had:
  • Moving Shapes: group of 8 or so, make different shapes and move around
  • Moving String Shapes: same idea but holding long string
  • Zip, Zap Zop: point and clap and say the word; must make eye contact
  • Alien, Tiger, Cow: make circle; use hand gestures for each creature; the dominant species survives and continues
  • Death  Stare: group of circle; on the count of 3 stare at 1 person; if both are looking at each other, then out; but "die" in a cool manner
  • Throw Pie: that person ducks while the 2 beside them throw at each other; the one hit loses; duel at the end with different items based on a theme (eg. cereal)
  • Bippity Bippity Bop
  • Hierarchy Cards: behave according to the number or stature of card; (might be for higher grades)
  • Characters on a Bench: 3 students pretend to be famous people; talk and ask questions until you know who they are; then keep going!
  • Neutral Scene: act a scene normally; then re-act, using different emotions from the audience (angry, sad, upset, happy, etc.)

Artifacts Inspire Inquiry

This session was truly inspiring, engaging from start to finish, and the presenter was extremely professional, prepared and personable. 

The start is key. She asked us to talk about our childhood "artifact," something from our past that was memorable, important or endearing. The initial brief moment of anxiety shifted to something quite calming: sharing something personally relevant helped create an invisible bond within that group of strangers.

The key point that was stressed was that an artifact doesn't need to be something ancient; after all, your students probably haven't seen some of the things you grew up with, given the acceleration of technology advancements combined with the nature of our disposable and consumable society. 

The main activity involved having poster paper, a group of people, and a photo of an artifact. We had to brainstorm as many ideas about what the item was. It was a fruitful discussion, with plenty of varying ideas. Then we received the actual physical object, and our preconceptions or ideas from that photo changed quite dramatically. So we came up with even more refined ideas about what our item was. We actually guessed correctly: a sewing kit! 

Final tips:
  • buy cheap stuff from thrift stores, garage sales
  • ask parents/grandparents to find stuff
  • have family members come in and present
  • BC Historical Newspapers
  • Surrey Archives & Museums Online Access (SAMOA)

Picture
0 Comments

    Daniel H. Lee

    This blog will be dedicated to sharing in three areas: happenings in my classroom and school; analysis and distillation of other educators' wealth of knowledge in various texts; insights from other disciplines and areas of expertise that relate and connect with educational practices.

    Archives

    February 2021
    January 2021
    October 2020
    September 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    February 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    October 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016

    Categories

    All
    21st Century Learning
    3 D Printing
    3-D Printing
    Aboriginal
    ADST
    Assessment
    Behavior
    Books
    Brain
    Business
    Coding
    Constructionism
    Creativity
    Design
    Differentiated Learning
    Divergent Thinking
    DPA
    Engineering
    Executive Functioning
    FreshGrade
    Gender
    Genius Hour
    Growth Mindset
    Habits
    Inquiry Learning
    Journals
    Kahoot
    Learning Disabilities
    Maker Movement
    Math
    Memory
    Mindfulness
    Neuroplasticity
    People
    Personalized Learning
    Physical Health Education
    Play
    Plickers
    Professional Development
    Psychology
    Quote
    Reading
    Risk Taking
    Schools
    Science
    Social Emotional Learning
    Sports
    Storytelling
    Student Teacher
    Teaching Practice
    Technology
    Writing

    RSS Feed

I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.
Maya Angelou