Longitudinal Studies before and after City Hall School experience

With St. Patrick’s Island being reopened to the public after major restoration and redevelopment in the summer of 2015 we knew that we wanted to take advantage of the park’s proximity to our school and utilize the space for field study with our grade six students this year.

We visited the island in September to give students time to explore the space to see and experience what the park had to offer visitors. We have since started visiting the island monthly and students are engaging in two activities: spending time in a “Special Spot” and conducting a longitudinal research study. Students were asked to locate one special area on the island that they would like to return to each visit. 

During this time, they make careful observations and record their experiences in their field study journals as they sit quietly in nature. Throughout our visits to the island, students have developed a variety of ways they will record the changes and their experiences in their field study journals. For their longitudinal research studies, students have identified an individual research question related to the island to explore how different phenomena change over the course of the school year and what impact this may have on our city. 

Our first visit to collect data was in November and it was so inspiring to watch and work with students as they engaged in this independent work all over the island. They brought any tools and materials required for measuring and collecting data and lived as scientists and researchers as their knowledge of and connection to the island grew. Since this visit, students have been asking insightful questions, and continually modifying their research questions and approach. We can’t wait to see how our time at City Hall School enhances our understanding of the island and to see where this learning takes us over the course of the school year.

Submitted by K. Logan and B. O’Sullivan, Langevin School

How do we connect?

We love big questions, and thinking of our interconnected world.  Today, what does it look like to connect with experts when going beyond classroom walls?

This week there have been two examples of classes taking their questions up in ways that weren't available to us not so long ago.

Learners at Healthy Living School at Vivo had a class question they weren't quite able to ask face-to-face so they asked it in a different way:

Great questions! I would have to say: put family first, eat healthy, stay active and help others. #yyc #community https://t.co/sfMjtk0WSC

— CGYFireFighters (@CGYFireFighters) November 26, 2015

Learners at Aero Space School at the Aero Space Museum had a similar experience.  Looking at "unseen forces" they weren't quite sure how to interpret some symbolism on artifacts that were grabbing learners' attention:

@ShelleyWL Hello Alliah. Bird is an eagle, representing space shuttle. Sun represents life (my crew performed many life science experiments)

— Robert Thirsk (@RobertThirsk) November 25,

Do you have an example of how you're able to connect and question differently today because of the learning tools available to us now?

West Springs School Hosts Healthy Living Expo

Grade 4 students at West Springs School began their school year immersed in the ideas of healthy living and habits of mind in preparation for their week at Campus Calgary Healthy Living School at Vivo.  Their innovative teachers Becky Jackson, Lori Braun and Andrew Lawson created a year of inquiry around Art Costa’s 16 Habits of Mind.  Through these, students began to investigate the habits of successful people and in turn became experts on identifying these within themselves and others.

Their weeks at Campus Calgary Healthy Living School matched students with experts to uncover the curriculum. They participated in active breaks with activities that included yoga, DancePlay, swimming and Zumba. Students became advocates for bringing the effect of these back to their school, their family and community. Students also worked alongside experts at Vivo such as Search and Rescue members, a community Police Officer, National Sport School athletes and Panther Physiotherapy Clinic to gain further evidence of the importance of healthy habits.

One class was invited to represent their school and share their generational voice at the Leadership Roundtable 2.0 hosted by Vivo, Mount Royal University and The City of Calgary.  The adult change makers at this event valued and appreciated their expertise and knowledge sharing.  A truly collaborative initiative, student voice was a powerful addition to this event.

The following day, all three classes celebrated with a Healthy Living Expo at West Springs School.  All classes, parents and community were invited to attend to interact with the students and their informational and interactive displays.  The learning continues through the year as students expand on their ways of knowing and application of healthy living choices.

Universal Children’s Day - November 20th

Did you know on November 20, the world will celebrate children? That’s right! It is Universal Children’s Day, recognized internationally as a reminder of two historic events: the 1959 signing of the UN Declaration of the Rights of the Child and the adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989. You can check out the following link for a youth friendly format of this important document.

“There are many reasons to celebrate children, but most of all because children deserve to be recognized as important members of our community.

• All children have the right to an adequate standard of living, health care and to play.
  
• All children have the right to express their views about things that affect them and to
  participate in communities, programs and services.
  
• All children have the right to be protected from abuse, neglect, exploitation and
  discrimination.”
  
  All 3 orders of government in Canada recognize the importance of National Child Day in some way. The City of Calgary is offering many free, fun family events at various locations around the city to celebrate. You can find them on The City of Calgary’s website. Just look up National Child’s Day events!
  
  This year’s theme for National Child Day is “It’s My Right to Learn”. In Canada, every child has the right to attend school. Although some days students would rather not go, there are children in other parts of the world who desperately want to get an education. Watch this video to see just what lengths some children take to get to their schools.
  
  
  
  
  After watching this video, has your thinking changed?
  
  Maybe you will decide to more closely examine the UN Declaration of the Rights of the Child or the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. 
  
  
  
  
  
  Contributed by Jody Danchuk, City Hall School coordinator
  
  

 

Site Coordinator Collaboration

Values become beliefs become actions.

Campus Calgary/Open Minds has 11 classrooms across Calgary.  Regularly, site coordinators meet to collaborate and share ideas between sites.

This week, coordinators met at Stampede School and discussions evolved into future actions from our previous discussions sharing values related to experiential learning and our dynamic programming.

A key highlight from our discussions was not just seeing the world, but noticing it.  As a team, we feel it is our responsibility to provide learners with the tools to truly notice the world, engaging all our senses, as we consider what makes each site--and our city--unique.

We also considered our attention and learner assessment as a coordinator and teacher team.  We used the first and final minutes of  Demo: The Movie to consider times when our learners' attention is where we intentionally plan it to be--perhaps a candle demonstration as in the film clip--so that our attention can be on them.

"Your beliefs become your thoughts.

Your thoughts become your words.

Your words become your actions.

Your actions become your habits.

Your habits become your values.

Your values become your destiny" --Gandhi

Interesting to have this discussion as we embark on International Day of the Child on November 20th.  What do we value in terms of our children as learners?  How does this translate into belief?

And action?

We look forward to many more rich discussions as we continue to see Campus Calgary/Open Minds evolve and grow.

How do we know? An invitation to explore assessment

How do we know? On Tuesday, October 27^th a group of 50 Campus Calgary/Open Minds educators came together around this invitation to explore assessment.  Our quest?  To discuss, define and make visible how formative and summative assessment could be tied to a year with Campus Calgary/Open Minds.

We gathered around some challenging questions with student work to delve into assessment conversation. Who wants to grapple with questions we already know the answers to?  We began with some inspiration from a video clip.

Throughout the evening some themes emerged:

• assessment criteria can be flexible and changes as the students begin to take up the work

• student voice is key: how do we gather student voice? Conferencing around journals, class discussions, one-on-one dialogues, journals (written and visual representations), listening to the questions being asked

• authenticity – keeping tasks and learning authentic for students helps them feel a connection in order to understand the relevance

• time – good things take time

• flexibility – responsiveness and generative are characteristics of good design

• WHY – focus should be on “walking in or towards our purpose”

• Who decides? – do our targets align with our assumptions?

Thank you to the CC/OM site coordinators for their planning and effort.

We are grateful to the teachers who came to engage in this topic.  We look forward to continuing the conversation.

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