2016-2017 Teacher Leadership and Learning (TLLP) Projects ...€¦ · 2016-2017 Teacher Leadership and Learning (TLLP) Projects -English 1 Name Work Email Address School Board Project

2016-2017 Teacher Leadership and Learning (TLLP) Projects - English

1

Name Work Email Address School Board Project Title Brief Project Description

April Aelick

[email protected] Rainbow District School Board

Empowering Young Makers Through Inclusive STEAM Labs (FMNI Focus)

Our primary goal is to transform a space in our school into a place where students can invent, innovate and learn, and in the process, build necessary 21st Century skills for an ever-changing future. This space will provide all students, K-8, especially those from our First Nations communities, with hands-on learning experiences and increase opportunities not available elsewhere in our remote area. We plan to do the following: - Develop the first Makerspace in our board to provide hands-on, creative ways to encourage students to design, experiment, build and invent as they foster a growth mindset and deeply engage in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math (STEAM); - Integrate FMNI perspectives and learning materials and make them readily available; - Design and host online social platforms for collaboration among students, teachers, and the community; - Professional learning to stay current with ever-changing pedagogy and best-practices in regards to STEAM initiatives.

Jillian Agnew

[email protected] Halton District School Board

Making Math Meaningful: building a bridge between FDK and Grade 1

Create a plan for small-group Math instruction and hands-on mathematical learning in FDK in order to ensure instructional consistency based on student learning need, throughout the transition from FDK to Grade 1.

Hilary Aitken

[email protected] Kenora Catholic District School Board

Inquiry-based learning in the Junior grades

We are interested in exploring the impacts inquiry has on student understanding when implemented into our own junior classrooms using Maker Spaces and other exploratory, hands-on learning tools and methodologies. -We want to determine feasibility of this methodology in the junior grades as well as within the context of a French Second Language/Immersion setting.


2


Jaine Thompson Amanda Allison

[email protected]; [email protected]

Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board

Success engagement and innovation for special needs students: Focus - Locally developed learners and ASD programming

By collaboratively planning, observing, acting and reflecting on student-centred learning opportunities that include descriptive feedback, reciprocal teaching, spaced and massed practice, self verbalization and questioning we hope to further enhance student success and achievement for students in the locally developed and ASD programs.

Kristy Babb

[email protected] London District Catholic School Board

Intermediate Cross-Panel Inquiry into Learning Math

To increase opportunities for collaboration among Grade 7, 8 and 9 teachers within our Family of Schools in the area of mathematics. Looking to enhance consistent and continuous approaches to instruction and assessment within classrooms, build teacher content knowledge, increase pathway knowledge for grade 7 and 8 teachers (i.e. 1L, 1P, 1D math) going forward but also backwards (to grades 7,8) for grade 9 teachers.

Maureen Battaglia

maureen.battaglia@ ugdsb.on.ca

Upper Grand District School Board

Primary/Junior Math Tutor Program

This project will develop a primary and junior math tutor program. The program will focus on closing gaps for level 2 students in the area of Number Sense and Numeration. This project will allow for the tutoring program to be developed, monitored, adjusted within a school and then shared and implemented Board-wide. The project will begin with the development of a diagnostic for each division (primary and junior) and support material to close identified gaps. Next, the project will identify necessary components for training the tutor. During the implementation of the program, the project will allow for monitoring, data and feedback gathering and necessary program adjustments. Finally, this project will allow for time to work at a central-level to share the program and implement it board-wide in partnership with Curriculum Staff.


3


Kellie Bell

[email protected] KidsAbility School Authority

Exploring and Creating Budget-Friendly Sensory Spaces for a Diverse School Population

One definition of a sensory space is a 'self-contained area that concentrates on a wide range of sensory experiences. Such an area, if designed well, will provide a valuable resource for a wide range of users, ranging from education to recreation." (Sensory Trust, 2009) At KidsAbility School, our students attend our Kindergarten program for one year, in order to develop strategies to prepare them for future school success. Our students have complex learning needs, including communication, developmental, physical, behavioural, and/or medical needs. They may have difficulty with sensory processing, self-regulation, and managing anxiety. In our project we will research and explore a variety of sensory spaces (indoor and outdoor) with the goal of developing two spaces at our Children's Treatment Centre School. We will investigate the benefits of these spaces with the very unique population of our school in mind, so that we can create inclusive, engaging, and educational areas that will provide meaningful leisure and learning experiences for each student at KidsAbility School as we prepare them for their transition to community school.

Yvonne Bergeron

[email protected] Superior Greenstone District School Board

Rooms of Wonder By improving the classroom learning environment, we will provide a functionally successful and inclusive classroom that will foster inquiry-based learning. We would like to be responsive to student interests so that our students will feel a sense of belonging. In our school community, we have a growing immigrant population and we want to make sure every student has the opportunity to participate in the classroom. We recognize the importance of the environment as the third teacher in any learning space and believe that a more open, natural working environment will provide opportunities for collaborative learning and foster further learning and engagement. Our new learning space will improve student learning by making their thinking visible and promoting opportunities for dynamic discussions in an environment that is flexible with work spaces that can be reconfigured to meet the needs of each student.


4


Andrew Bieronski

andrew_bieronski@ googleapps.wrdsb.ca

Waterloo Region District School Board

3Rs for a New Educational Model: ReThink, ReDesign, ReSchool

The 3Rs for 21st Century learning based on first principles thinking: ReThink; ReDesign; ReSchool.Concept: design two learning spaces at secondary schools (Huron Heights and CHCI) that not only focus on the physical environment, but also encourage students to be self-motivated through a personalized and cross-disciplined curriculum in a cross-school collaboration. ReThink: a focus on personalization of learning where students move at their own pace, the curriculum is a focus on skill development not content, takes into account the interests of every individual student, and ultimately shows a progression of skill development to mastery ReDesign: the physical spaces will encourage collaboration through comfortable seating, creative design, and provide access to technology in order to connect with others outside the school ReSchool: a focus on learning through mutual reflection with students and teachers, descriptive feedback rather than grades, that promotes a love of learning through enhancing the wellbeing of the students


5


Catherine Black

[email protected] Renfrew County Catholic District School Board

Reducing The Gap In One Year: The Journey to See if Implementing Empower™ Reading with At Risk Students in Grades 2 to 5 Will Move Them from Early to Fluent Readers.

Special Education teachers require expertise and explicit teaching tools to address the urgent need to build the literacy skills of at risk students in grades 2 to 5. Generally, these struggling readers are keenly aware of their deficits within their peer group and withdraw from participating in "reading activities" because they lack the necessary skills to be successful. These students have had many hours of direct early literacy intervention yet they fail to meet the reading standards to be achieved by the end of Grade 1. The intent of this project is to provide a research-based, effective methodology that empowers students with the basic skills needed to read independently for meaning, information, or pleasure. Empower™ Reading uses direct, explicit teaching of five key decoding strategies (Sound it out; Rhyming; Peeling Off (affixes); Vowel Alert; Spy Strategy) culminating with the final phase - the "game plan" where the student chooses, applies and evaluates the strategies they used to successfully identify unfamiliar words. The TLLP team hopes to equip these at risk students with the skills they require to meet the ever increasing literacy demands in society independently without reliance on assistive technology. The ultimate goal of this project would be to see these proven strategies used throughout the county by SERTs qualified to teach Empower™ Reading. Ideally, through this intensive intervention delivered locally, the critical needs of late primary / early junior students experiencing great difficulty acquiring basic literacy skills could be addressed quickly and efficiently.


6


Regine Boissonneault

regine.boissonneault@ cdsbeo.on.ca

Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario

Learning to Develop and Teaching to Support Executive Functioning Skills within the Classroom

Executive functions (EF) are critical academic and social skills that are often overlooked when identifying students’ strengths, needs and next steps. This project, therefore, is about raising teacher awareness of Executive Functions and their role in a student’s achievement and personal growth. It is about helping teachers develop the knowledge base and tool set necessary to adequately nurture and support these skills among all students. This project will establish baseline data to measure project success and include among its resources internal seminars and workshops, presentations, guest speakers and book studies. We firmly believe strengthening Executive Functions will assist all students in transitioning through the different stages of learning within the classroom and beyond.

Daniel Boisvert

[email protected]

Sudbury Catholic District School Board

Creating a French school newspaper in order to improve literacy, production, comprehension, and communication skills.

FSF and FIF students from grades 7 to 12 will participate in the creation of a French newspaper for our school. They will research events, interview, write, edit, and publish articles in this French newspaper every month. Students will have an opportunity to peer edit, use the writing process, and use technology to create a "professional" newspaper. Senior students will also mentor the younger students. Students will be given an opportunity to communicate both orally and in writing in French in authentic, action-oriented tasks.


7


Lucas Boluk

[email protected] Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board

The Write Track We will be exploring project-based learning, integrated thinking, innovative design and knowledge building as it relates to teaching writing in an elementary school. As our group members work with experts -- a master teacher from a neighbouring board and a poet/high school teacher -- we will be coaching Grade 8 students through an authentic assignment. They will be hosting and facilitating a writing symposium for other Grade 8 students at their future high school. The goal is to improve teacher practice and determine if these strategies have an impact on student engagement and writing skill.

Diane Bowes

[email protected] The Northwest Catholic District School Board

Inquiry Based Learning Project: Environmental Strategies for self-regulation K-8 Students

This inquiry based project will focus on learning how to create a multi-sensory environment for all of our students. Children with cerebral palsy, autism, down syndrome, learning disabilities, ADD, ADHD, ODD, as well as children with self-regulation difficulties will be the main focus. Learning how to structure a classroom in an organized and purposeful manner will help both educator and student(s) maintain focus. Learning how to enhance a classroom with multi-sensory objects and experiences and providing staff with the tools to create this environment (aromatherapy, textures, music, water features, lighting, and stretching equipment) will provide the children with positive daily pleasurable experiences.

Kristin Bowlin

[email protected] Kenora Catholic District School Board

Discovery Play Space for Inquiry, Connection and Self-Regulation

We want to foster the whole child and provide opportunities to explore, investigate and communicate with others about their experiences in our learning environments. As educators, we plan to study and research how the outdoor classroom will impact self-regulation and student success. We want to learn how each student is developing cognitively, emotionally and socially through their outdoor inquiry and play experiences. Our goal is to understand how as educators, we can provide our students with a holistic education and how to balance the indoor learning experiences and outdoor learning experiences to allow for connections and deeper understanding of key concepts.


8


Janet Broder

[email protected] Durham Catholic District School Board

If They Can Make It, They Will Come (To Class)! As a digital introduction to our proposal, please click on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v-AZsFHyq2oJs

Our project is to create and implement a maker education initiative in the school and to make it part of the curriculum. We want to give this opportunity to disengaged students, as well as other learners, in order to foster peer mentorship and collaboration, in a project-based learning environment. The "Maker Movement" is design, play, construction and authenticity. It incorporates science, technology, engineering, arts, math (STEAM) and literacy learning and has been referred to as the "New Industrial Revolution" (Anderson, 2015, TEDTalk). Based on constructivism - Piaget - and constructionism - Papert - the maker movement allows learners to conduct new knowledge by combining what they already know with new experiences. (Martinez & Stager, 2013). John Dewey, philosopher, psychologist and education reformer advocated for the active participation of students in authentic interdisciplinary projects, connected to the real world (Matrinez & Stager, 2013). The maker movement is all about students making things that work and that have a place in the context of the real world. We want to foster a classroom where projects are student-driven and facilitated by us, the teachers. We firmly believe that we will learn as much as the students do, as they experiment with new technologies and age-old activities of tinkering and making. Our end goal of this project is to allow students to showcase their creations to our school community as well as to the public, thereby augmenting public confidence in our schools and our system.


9


Lucie Brun del Re

[email protected] Halton Catholic District School Board

"On communique en Français" - Let's communicate in French

A)In reference to our latest 2014 'Secondary French as a Second Language Ontario Curriculum', French as a Second Language teachers and educators will learn how to focus on the sociolinguistic and cultural aspects of the language, for students to become a lifelong language learner in a variety of real-world situations and contexts. We will develop appropriate second language instructional strategies in an authentic and interactive learning environment made for the 21st century learner. Through reflective practice and collaborative inquiry, we will foster our collective metacognitive skills to learn about language laboratory software and techniques to implement in such a learning environment. We will network with provincial educational institutions to learn different approaches to the creation and development of an Interactive Digital and Virtual Language Lab (IDVLL) suitable to meeting the ministry expectations in the development of skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing. We will apply our learning to other course material via technology and software programs. We will share our learning as we mentor HCDSB FSL teachers. B) We will create grade 9 course materials that incorporate digital and audio technology.

Christina Buffone

Christina.Buffone@ hscdsb.on.ca

Huron-Superior Catholic District School Board

An Integrated Arts and Literacy Based Approach to Engage Exploration and Inquiry in the Full Day Kindergarten Program

The Huron-Superior Catholic District School Board has recognized the importance of the Arts by creating teacher of the Arts positions at the elementary level. These itinerant teachers deliver the Arts curriculum: music, drama, visual art and dance in all elementary classrooms. This project proposes Arts integration with Literacy in the Full Day Kindergarten Program in order to engage student learning; and encourage exploration in the areas of student and classroom interest. This Integrated Arts approach project would enhance teacher learning about subject integration and provide opportunities for program fluency throughout the day for the students. This project will focus on a co-planning approach between the Arts teachers and full day kindergarten educators to integrate the Arts with Literacy and the Full Day Kindergarten Program in order to provide rich learning opportunities for the students.


10


Wendy Bumstead

[email protected] Simcoe County District School Board

Coding for Success

We will use the technology of Sphero SPRK robots to learn to teach students the art of coding, in the context of STEAM. The robots can be easy to program, though the students determine the difficulty of the coding. This can provide constant and immediate physical feedback to the students that many 2-D coding programs cannot. In doing this, we will develop a collaborative planning relationship between the Library and the Science Department, and among our students in our school and those in our feeder schools.

Jonathon Butler

[email protected] Toronto Catholic District School Board

Putting Students in Charge of STEAM Engine: Building Reflectivity & Growth Mindset in Learning Skills through STEAM Activities

Inquiry Question: How can we make this world a better place? If I create a classroom community that is centered in Inquiry and engaged in STEAM activities then I will empower students to be evaluative, self-regulated and active global citizens. This question can be woven through the STEAM and Inquiry model into a variety of intercurricular models. In an inquiry model that builds upon STEAM ideas and real world examples, I want to generate reflection and get students recognizing how the learning skills and work habits are embedded in all tasks. These learnings skills, such as Self-Regulation and Responsibility often appear foreign and vague, but can be made real and tangible through engaging in STEAM activities, inquiry based learning and partaking in reflection.

Jennifer Charnish-Currie

[email protected] Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board

Promoting Inquiry Skills to Engage Learners

Our goal is to provide more formal release time and training to continue and expand our professional learning community focussed on developing skills of inquiry in the science classroom. Authentic inquiry opportunities provide students opportunities to develop planning and processing skills that will serve them well in all domains. The critical thinking skills that develop will also promote cross curricular success. We began this project last year through a series of workshops conducted by Smarter Science. This year we continue along this course, attempting to authentically teach and assess inquiry skills from the Smarter Science framework (in line with the Ontario Curriculum, Science, Revised 2008). Our hope is to use the funds from this TLLP to expand the scope of the project to engage more teachers and reach new learners.


11


Michel Chenier

[email protected] a

Near North District School Board

Teaching and Learning by Making in the 21st Century Classroom

The project is to convert an existing classroom into a "makerspace" learning environment where students can learn by fostering their curiosity, desire to explore and create technologically rich projects. The goal of this project is to increase student success by augmenting student engagement through the use of today's emerging technologies. Subsequently, students will connect online to learn how to make and share to the global "maker" community their individual projects. This project would add a new level of technology learning to what we in the Near North DSB are now able to offer students, as presently we have neither the equipment nor the teacher expertise that would be developed by this TLLP. For this reason, our project will involve visits to makerspaces elsewhere in Ontario who are willing to share with us. As part of my leadership role, I am interested in bringing back this knowledge of the role of maker spaces, and to share my new knowledge with other educators in the NNDSB.

Stephanie Clement

[email protected] District School Board Ontario North East

Promoting Inquiry in a 21st Century Environment

Our board is implementing collaborative/inquiry-based learning, as well as the use of the third teacher in our classrooms to reach all students' learning needs. The grade 5 and 6 students will have access to iPads at all times, so we would like to use these as a tool to promote inquiry based learning in the classroom. Our goal is also to modify our classroom environment to reflect a 21st century classroom to facilitate collaborative inquiry. This will foster learning teams, promote cross-curricular learning and facilitate collaborative inquiry.


12


Laurie Condo

[email protected] Dufferin Peel Catholic District School Board

Feedback for Moving Forward

- work through a collaborative inquiry process to create and sustain a learning culture in mathematics - focus will be to improve our assessment 'for' and 'as' learning practices, through the use of digital tools, such as iPads. For example, on the iPads,

Taggett Cornish

[email protected]

Toronto District School Board

Improving Reading Comprehension: Refining assessment practices in order to inform differentiated instruction and selection of reading comprehension strategies to maximize learning for all students

Research and classroom experience has shown us that students often struggle in understanding the main idea of what they read which leads to comprehension difficulties. A variety of reasons may be the cause of this difficulty. Routinely used classroom assessment tools are not always sensitive enough to identify why students struggle in their reading comprehension. As a result, this project will focus on identifying classroom based assessment tools that can provide a more in-depth assessment of student abilities and areas of difficulty. This will assist with better student grouping and more focused instruction. Once student needs are known, specific metacognitive strategies can investigated and selected to best match each of the groups identified. Student progress will be monitored and evaluated at the end of the project.

Heather Dale

[email protected] Renfrew County District School Board

Balanced Literacy in a Second Language Classroom

To provide a balanced literacy block to our second language class to increase student engagement, confidence, and achievement in speaking, reading and writing in a second language. We would like to combine two existing programs that we are currently implementing. We believe students will be more engaged if they have a wider choice of reading resources, activities and technology which will transfer to higher levels of student learning and achievement.


13


Sandra Daugherty

[email protected] Halton Catholic District School Board

Making Thinking Visible

Our primary question; How can we make students’ thinking more visible? How can we, as teachers, gain knowledge and nurture our teaching to improve student’s critical thinking skills, and strengthen independence for all learners? We hope to provide a more stimulating learning environment where students can better think, plan, create, and inquire independently as learners. Our collaborative teacher inquiry will use the framework from “Making Thinking Visible” to guide teacher instructional strategies to develop students’ critical thinking skills. When thinking is visible in classrooms, students are in a position to express their understanding in a way that is tangible and more meaningful for others to learn from. Through this project, we hope that it becomes clear that school is not about memorizing content, but about exploring and sharing ideas.

Lisa De Luca

[email protected] Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board

Incorporating and Assessing Intercultural Understanding in the revised secondary FSL curriculum

The French as a Second Language, Secondary revised curriculum is in full implementation. The overall expectations include integrating Francophone culture throughout the world in all four strands (Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing). Many teachers are familiar with France and Quebec, but are not as comfortable teaching culture from Africa, Asia, and smaller Francophone regions in the world and accessing resources from these regions. Our plan is to find, explore, catalogue and evaluate various resources, including community connections and authentic documents for global Francophone culture, to use these resources with our students and then to develop a living document and workshop to share our findings with other teachers. Our team of six teachers plans to collaborate with a variety of people in different roles to expand our own skills and to develop a network of knowledge and support.


14


Jaime De Pippo

[email protected] Ottawa Catholic School Board

Creating a Thinking Classroom using Vertical Non-Permanent Surfaces and Visibly Random Grouping

We would like to continue to explore the research published by Peter Liljedahl, Simon Fraser University on building a thinking classroom. "A thinking classroom is a classroom that is not only conducive to thinking but also occasions thinking, a space that is inhabited by thinking individuals as well as individuals thinking collectively, learning together, and constructing knowledge and understanding through activity and discussion." (Peter Liljedahl) A thinking classroom will continue to foster inquiry based learning, math talks, growth mindset, classroom norms, etc. In fact, the notion of a thinking classroom intersects with all aspects of research on teaching and learning, both within mathematics education and in general. The thinking classroom would involve Vertical Non-Permanent Surfaces (VNPS) and Visibly Random Groupings (VRG).

Mike Dean

[email protected] Keewatin Patricia District School Board

Outdoor Learning Environment

This project is intended to explore all curriculum areas through a calm, safe, outdoor learning environment. The Foci would include the inquiry cycle, environmental literacy, stewardship, aboriginal connections and play-based learning strategies. The Outdoor Learning Environment support is shown to promote active and ongoing connection with nature for all children, instill a sense of community and natures value. The project will also support in respecting and embracing cultural differences and the use of prior knowledge of the natural environment to provoke new learning. We hope that we can support mental health needs, as well as supporting challenging behaviours with an Outdoor Learning Environment incorporating forms of meditation including yoga, the Mind Up Curriculum and other brain focused strategies which encourage mental awareness.


15


Rosa Difruscia-Warner

[email protected]

Niagara Catholic District School Board

Collaborative and Inquiry Based Learning through Technology

Teachers and students will use technology in various inquiry based learning activities in and out of the classroom focusing on self-regulation and collaboration using Google Drive applications to demonstrate their learning and provide instant feedback. Our project will look at Teacher to Teacher, Teacher to Student as well as Student to Student self-regulation strategies while engaged in self-directed projects using technology and Google Drive applications as their main resource and tool. Through this process, teachers and students will learn to use and reflect on their self-regulation strategies while learning new ways to collaborate, create and share using Google Drive applications. We will accomplish this with professional development opportunities that will occur with grade partners, within and across divisions and within and across schools with a combination of in class and withdrawn professional development lead by our own teachers and outside resources.

Jennifer Duarte

[email protected] Waterloo Catholic School Board

Using 21st Century Technology to Integrate Language Expectations and Content Areas.

Through the use of Chromebooks and a number of applicable websites, we would like to explore inquiry-based learning of content areas (Social Studies and Science) and its integration with literacy skills.

Tammy Eastman

[email protected] Durham District School Board

Self-Efficacy and Math for Grade 1 Students in a High Needs School

I have found that many of my students do not believe that they can, that they will and that they are able to succeed. This project is to give me opportunities to examine the current mind set of my students, create activities that produce mastery experiences that will foster self –efficacy and propel my students to look beyond their issues by participating in robust experiences that will make them feel encouraged, engaged and motivated.


16


Paula Fischer

[email protected] Bluewater District School Board

Improving Learner Independence Through the Development of Integrated Instructional Approaches for Students with Intensive Special Education Needs

As a learning team, we will: * collaborate with other invested partners (i.e., parents) and professionals (i.e., Geneva Centre, Thames Valley, OTs, Speech & Lang. Pathologists, etc.) to further our knowledge re. these specialized areas * investigate best practices regarding the instruction of students with intensive special education needs (i.e., ASD & Developmentally Delayed Learners) by the regular classroom teacher within their classroom * develop a profile of our students with intense special needs * unpack the Ontario and alternative curriculum expectations to develop relevant individualized learning goals for each student * locate and allocate resources (i.e., human, technological, physical, material) with creativity and effectiveness to implement our program plan * implement individualized programs using a variety of integrated approaches (i.e., structured learning, technological, kinesthetic & functional experiences) and reflect on their effectiveness thereby creating a learning environment that maximizes student independence and achievement

Lisa/Katrina Floyd/Massey

[email protected] Thames Valley District School Board

Computational Thinking in Junior/Intermediate Math Class

--support elementary school teachers with integrating computational thinking/coding/digital making into their math classes -model for teachers and provide ongoing support with using computational thinking strategies to enhance problem solving skills in math -provide leadership opportunities for computer science and math secondary students to support the math learning of elementary school students


17


Chrys Fraipont

[email protected] District School Board of Niagara

Low Floor/High Ceiling Questions - Supporting Every Student in Math

Our goal is to investigate how to use the LRT in 6 low socioeconomic schools to co-plan/teach mathematics with teachers in the Junior division. Being teachers in Ontario, we are aware that our classrooms are becoming more and more diverse. Our learners have a range of different experiences and levels of understanding mathematics that is important for us to know. In this TLLP, we will collaborate to create "low floor/high ceiling" questions that will allow all the students in our rooms to enter at their own level of understanding. As LRT's, we will co-plan/teach these lessons in the classroom with Junior teachers, where we will be able to directly assist those on our caseload, in a whole class setting. Using a growth mindset model will also be something that we will explicitly focus on in order to allow the students to feel confident, take risks and be successful.

Stephanie Francella-Stephen

[email protected]

Huron-Superior Catholic District School Board

Creating and Documenting in Natural Playscapes

Young Children are natural learners. They bring a sense of curiosity and construct their own understanding about the world that is unfolding around them. Providing a natural, safe, rich and engaging outdoor playscape will develop the whole child in terms of physical, cognitive, social, emotional and spiritual well-being. Our project entails investigating instructional strategies to support learners with thinking, reasoning, understanding and communicating their learning. Through the triangulation of data (observations, conversations and products) we will use questioning and documentation to capture student voice and build the foundational skills of Literacy and Numeracy in a naturally stimulating environment. We want to explore how we might transfer a traditional indoor environment to a natural playscape where the principles of the Full Day Kindergarten Curriculum can be realized.


18


Andrea Fraser

[email protected] Algonquin & Lakeshore Catholic District School Board

Pedagogical Documentation Using iPad Technology

We will be using pedagogical documentation as a means to further our understanding of student mathematical thinking, making their thinking more visible and more transparent to the student and to us as educators. By using technology to document student learning we will be able to keep a living record of student thinking and understanding. In essence, we will create mathematical portfolios that include videos, photographs and oral explanations as a way to document student learning. As educators, we will collaborate by examining the portfolios to analyse individual student learning and thinking, focusing on misconceptions, strategies used, and progress in their learning. This will help to inform and guide our future practice. Although all students will be involved in creating portfolios, we will pick target students from each grade level to collaboratively analyse and deepen our understanding of student learning.

Julie Fukien

[email protected] Trillium Lakelands District School Board

Digging Deep into Executive Functioning

This project will provide us with an opportunity to develop a better understanding of the eight main executive functioning skills. Using this knowledge we can help our students develop executive functioning profiles that will assist them with continuing to self-advocate based on their strengths and needs. Our ultimate goal is to use what we learned about executive functioning to create practical lessons and strategies to help educators explicitly embed these skills into daily literacy and mathematic lessons.


19


Tiffany Gallagher

[email protected] Renfrew County Catholic District School Board

Diving Deep into French Language Acquisition through Technology and Inquiry in the Early Years

As a kindergarten team we have come together to inquire how to effectively integrate extended French into our Kindergarten program at our school. Specifically, we would like to explore using technology to facilitate the learning and expand our own knowledge of pedagogical documentation that will then be used to enhance our communication with parents through Blended Learning. Our plan ties directly to the school and board improvement plans with regards to developing strong French Programming throughout the school and Board. Additionally, we will help the Board promote and establish 21st Century Classrooms that build strong partnerships between schools and home through the use of technology and Ministry of Education Platforms (Blended Learning and ePortfolios).

Liz Geddes

[email protected] Toronto District School Board

"Hacking the ESL Curriculum: The Biggest of the Big Ideas"

This Collaborative Teacher Inquiry (CTI) will prioritize specific expectations of the Reading and Writing strands of the ESL curriculum to establish the combination of expectations that will foster the greatest transfer of skills among adult learners. This investigation will test our hypothesis that a highly coherent skills continuum, which explicitly links learning goals between ESL levels, will yield greater achievement for students in quadmestered credit ESL programs than a program that does not so purposefully leverage these interconnections. In this CTI, teachers will develop a skills continuum, establish and track control and experimental groups, use pedagogical documentation to glean information from marker students, and create sets of student and teacher resources that can be shared with all adult ESL programs and beyond.


20


Andrea Germana

[email protected] Hamilton Wentworth Catholic District School Board

Responsive Pedagogy in the Primary Mathematics Classroom

As a Catholic Professional Learning Community, we will examine ways in which technology can be used to be more responsive to the needs and interests of our students in mathematics. We will collect pedagogical documentation using mobile devices and through the triangulation of data, work collaboratively to plan instruction and determine instructional next steps. We will also plan and develop assessments in mathematics, co-plan and co-teach lessons that are responsive to the needs of our students, using effective instructional strategies. We will evaluate the effect that this responsive pedagogy has on student and teacher efficacy, engagement and mathematical understanding.

Tiffany Goulet

[email protected] The Northwest Catholic District School Board

Play based and Inquiry Learning in Early Years French Immersion : The Impact on Language Acquisition

Study and have a deeper understanding of how play-based environments foster language learning in French. This project will allow the team to: 1. Explore in depth the pedagogy of play based and inquiry learning in the Early Years French Immersion and enrich these opportunities in our classes. 2. Build capacity as a School, Board and French Immersion program in the Early Years. 3. Analyze the impact of the level of engagement, interests and language acquisition via these approaches.


21


Diana Hale

[email protected] Toronto District School Board

From Digital Natives to Digital Citizens: Challenging Students to Create a Digital Footprint/Presence That They Are Proud Of. Project Theme: 21st Century Skills, Technology, Professional Learning Community

Digital Citizenship is becoming increasingly important in a world where 21st Century skills and technology tools are being integrated into the classroom. Not only do we need to consider how technology can be used to enhance the classroom, but we need to know how to do it in a safe, respectful and ethical way. This project will focus on developing a deeper understanding of how to bring digital citizenship into the work we are doing in the classroom on a regular basis. As a culmination of our learning both teachers and students will lead a Digital Citizenship Summit at the school to share our inquiry-based projects around the theme of Digital Citizenship. Teachers will identify elements of Digital Citizenship that they are personally interested in learning more about and how to bring that learning into the daily work of the classroom. We will develop a lesson or resource to integrate Digital Citizenship into the curriculum after reviewing current research and resources and share our work and learning journey with a global community through a website.


22


Leona Hass

[email protected]

Near North District School Board

Understanding the impact of Gamification and computer programming in a 21st century classroom.

We have a 3 step plan 1. research - studies examining curriculum gains through gamification - the effect that learning to code has on student success - explore the learning guides for the code.org and Kodable programs 2. capacity building - learn to use the following software programs: RPG Maker, Renpy, Twine, and Alice - develop an understanding of how the virtual world can affect student understanding of the real world such as relationships and metacognition - complete the code.org and Kodable programs as a student to build our skills 3. implementation - incorporate virtual worlds which will become the platform for activities such as: role play to understand character, puzzle solving to develop mathematical concepts - utilize game design software to complete cross-curricular activities - implement programs from code.org and Kodable to increase problem solving and collaborative skills


23


Allison Kennedy

[email protected]


Phonological Awareness: Enhancing and Deepening Teacher Literacy Assessment and Intervention Practices

According to Anthony and Francis (2005) phonological awareness (PA) is the ability to recognize, discriminate, and manipulate sounds in one's language. Teachers will have the opportunity to develop or deepen their understanding of the topic and learn why it is relelvant to student learning. They will also be given the tools to assess and implement PA strategies. They will be supported in selecting 'at risk' students and in delivering small group explicit instruction over a three month period (with the potential to continue over the course of a school year). Teachers can take their new understanding and skills and incorporate them into their regular programming for all students, especially after the project is complete

Melanie Klimkowski

[email protected]

Greater Essex County District School Board

STEMovate The overall goal of this project is to connect Science and Technology big ideas to Math processes in order to create STEM resources that can be used cross-curricular by the team and other teachers in our district. The resources will combine rich content and challenging activities with instruction that is student-centered, conceptually oriented, and focused on problem solving.

Patti-Jo Lacey

[email protected] Bruce Grey Catholic District School Board

The Flipped Intermediate Math Classroom

The purpose of our project is to “flip” our Intermediate Math lessons to make the most of our face-to-face time in the classroom. It is a pedagogical solution with a large technological component. A Flipped Classroom allows teachers to replicate themselves virtually and become that second teacher in the classroom. We will capture video screencasts of our Math lessons, using an audio recording of our own voice. The sense of trust and comfort a student has with his or her teacher is a relational aspect that cannot be ignored and is the reason why we must use our own material. Having on-line access to classroom Math content will allow students to work from either home or school and allow parents to also be active participants in their child’s learning. On-line lessons also allow for high quality Math instruction to occur even when the classroom teacher is gone for the day.


24


Jean Gilles Larocque

[email protected]

Sudbury Catholic District School board

An Inspired Heart: exercise and mindfulness to support student learning

Research shows that exercise in the optimal zone for 20 minutes a day produces similar results to anti-anxiety and anti-depression medications. Equally, mindfulness and cognitive training built around developing coherence between breathing and heart rate has shown similar positive results as exercise. Our project is to learn how to deliver a program for our struggling students that will develop a greater sense of well-being through exercise, mindfulness and cognitive training.

Nathalie Lauriault

[email protected]

Upper Grand District School Board

L'enquête dans les classes à niveaux multiples: Une étude sur le Curriculum et l’Enseignement Reposant sur des Concepts éveille les jeunes esprits. Inquiry in the split grade classroom: Exploring how Concept-Based Curriculum and Instruction engages young minds

Planning and teaching through the inquiry method can be a challenging task if teachers do not have a deep understanding of concept-based curriculum which is embedded in all Ontario Curriculum. Concept-based teaching requires a different way of organizing the planning and instruction. It is an inductive teaching model and teachers need to have a clear understanding of concept-based curriculum design and pedagogy. To guide students to conceptual understandings, concept-based curriculum and instruction uses an inquiry lesson design. The core aspect of this TLLP project is developing strategies to plan and teach inquiry within a primary split-level classroom. Our project will contain 3 sections; a) Collaborative planning of an inquiry unit for a split grade b) Examples of learning engagements in the classroom c) Teacher responses and reflections on the unit Key aspects of these 3 sections will be captured on video and a WordPress website to assist teachers in the planning stages of the unit, developing inquiry activities and reflecting upon their own experience.


25


Angelo Lillo

[email protected] District School Board of Niagara

Spiralling and Interleaving in Secondary Mathematics Classrooms

"New research in schools finds that interleaving produces dramatic and long-lasting benefits for an essential skill: math. Several members of our team have read about, attended conference sessions on, and explored some of the ideas of spiralling on a small scale. Rather than teaching courses unit by unit, “spiralling” involves students engaging in activities that expose them to the overall expectations from several strands early in the course. You then continue to cycle through the strands so that students have multiple opportunities to revisit concepts, each time on a deeper level. Our team plans to spiral some of our current mathematics courses and feel that we will have the greatest success if we work together to do big picture planning, specific lesson planning and co-teaching. Where possible our team will be comprised of pairs of teachers within schools so that collaboration can continue at the school level between whole group meetings.

Elisabeth Lion

[email protected] York Catholic District School Board

Teacher-Librarians Supporting Student Well-Being with Desire2Learn e-Portfolio Tool

The focus of this project is to support Teacher-Librarians in taking a leading role in advocating for their school community’s need to enhance student well-being by collaborating with classroom teachers to bring about the effective use of student e-portfolios. Moving toward a web-based e-portfolio will enable students to build a collection of their learning that will follow them throughout their academic careers and beyond. E-portfolios encourage students to reflect and develop greater self-awareness and metacognitive strategies. This ability to think and reflect on their own learning helps them to become better learners. Metacognition also plays an important role in making sense of life experiences; when students gain awareness of themselves, they begin to answer important questions: Who am I? Who do I want to become? What is my plan for achieving my goals? What are my opportunities? These skills and strategies also provide students with tools to reflect and grow in their emotional and social lives. Teacher-Librarians are at the centre of learning and teaching for educators and students alike, and are in an ideal position to support classroom teachers to bring the effective use of e-portfolios to their students.


26


James Little

[email protected] York Region District School Board

Student Self-Reporting - Towards improved practice of assessment AS learning

Growing Success recognizes the impact that assessment for, as, and of learning can have on student achievement. A recent meta-analysis conducted by Hattie (2008) shows that student self-reporting of achievement was among the highest yield strategies in the educational research analyzed. However, teachers in Ontario have varying conceptual understandings of what self-reporting and self-assessment strategies may look like in the classroom. We would like to explore how giving students the skills and scope to monitor, reflect on, and report on their learning and be responsible for submitting their own provisional marks can enhance the student experience in the classroom. We will work as a team to undertake a literature review, engage in action research in the classroom, collect data, and share the impacts on student learning and metacognition with other educators.

Henry Looyen

[email protected] Upper Canada District School Board

Renewable Energy and How it Relates to New Building Construction and Transportation Systems

This project will explore learning opportunities for secondary students, including female, male and at-risk students, who are planning to pursue careers in the Trades and Apprenticeship Sectors. Through collaborative inquiry with post-secondary and industry partners and other technology teachers in our board, we will learn what innovative skills and techniques are required for students in the renewable energy sector. We will explore pathways in the Trades such as renewable energy technician. Our team will visit and learn from local industry and college programs to gain updated knowledge of renewable energy and careers available in that area. This information will be used to shape the way curriculum and skills are delivered in and out of the classroom. Students will benefit from the opportunity to build on their knowledge and develop relevant skills in solar, wind and green industries. With this up to date technology, students will have more options and skills to successfully enter College/Apprenticeship Programs and make them more employable in the local market. Community/industry partners have already committed to working collaboratively with our school and have donated some equipment to modernize our shops. As an extension, we will invite them to visit our classrooms to co-teach "real life" applications and connections.


27


Alison MacPherson

[email protected] York Region District School Board

Bridging the Gap between Math and Science

Brain theory suggests that new learning is connected to previous experiences. As an extension of this research, we propose to blend the grade nine mathematics and science curricula such that natural connections occur within the blended classroom. We hope to learn more about how to deliver a more 'modern learning' approach to teaching math and science that will help students to value the connections between these two disciplines. The goal is to implement a cross curricular, project-based learning opportunity using common strategies for students to develop critical thinking, scientific literacy and numeracy skills all the while linking them to the global community using technology.

Kelly Madigan

[email protected] Nipissing-Parry Sound Catholic District School Board

Multi-Division Assessment For, As & Of Google Classroom Project

Here is our vision with this project: -students will become proficient 21st Century Learners at multiple grade levels at using Google Classroom and Chrome Apps/Extensions -feedback will no longer only be provided in the classroom, but now will come from other students in other grades through Google Classroom -students from multiple grades will develop stronger relationships through the communication around feedback using Google Classroom -students will be scaffolding their learning of Google Classroom & Apps through the grades -teachers will be developing and supporting theirs and each other's knowledge and understanding of the curriculum in all grades using a Google Community approach -we will share our learning and knowledge with other teachers so that this learning will be more widely used and implemented (thereby giving more teachers the opportunity to benefit and enhance their teaching with this program)


28


Ann Marinelli

[email protected] London District Catholic School Board

Let's Paint The community-based arts project builds on the Bell’s “Let’s Talk” campaign for Mental Health by developing a complimentary “Let’s Paint” campaign focused on reducing stigma and raising awareness about youth mental health concerns. With representatives from FEMAP(First Episode Mood & Anxiety Program at the London Health Sciences Centre) and our own board Mental Health lead, the goal is to raise awareness and build capacity amongst teachers, staff and the students themselves to reduce the concerns (stigma, anxiety, withdrawal, etc.) through presentations, discussions and art creation. The art project will empower students to help others through their actions, ideas and creativity. Students will be working with community business partners to design and paint a ceramic item, with the nice result of auctioning-off the items to raise money for mental health. Students and staff become co-learners, working together collaboratively within the school and with community partners – FEMAP, Artistscape & AIM.

Susan McCullough

[email protected] Renfrew County District School Board

Reading Assessment and Effective Intervention for Struggling Readers in Grade 9

Using a research based reading intervention approach, which includes assessing students and providing very specific strategies to meet their needs, we will determine to what extent students can improve their reading skills in a limited amount of time. We also wish to explore the most effective practices for grouping as part of a balanced reading program, i.e. read/think aloud, shared reading, guided reading and independent reading)

Tara McEnery

[email protected] Algonquin & Lakeshore Catholic District School Board

Multi-Grade Robotics Inquiry

Our project will be the collaborative creation and operation of robotics by students of multiple grades for various audiences and practical purposes. Grade 7/8 students, serving as project leaders, will invite participation from younger students in the design, co-creation, and effectiveness assessment of Lego robots.


29


Megan McGee Jennings

[email protected]


Using Design Thinking to Frame STEM Instruction

We plan to use IDEO’s Design Thinking for Education framework to reflect on and analyze the current practices in our school and classrooms and to establish a model that can be used by teachers in our school and Board to support the integration of STEM instruction with the curriculum. This framework will also be applied in the classroom by the students to provide an authentic reason to engage in and a process to design STEM-based tasks. We will develop our capacity for Design Thinking by working through the process as a planning tool for STEM-based instruction, and assessing its effectiveness for teachers and students in two different classrooms; one French Immersion and one English class. Students will learn about the cyclical nature and problem-solving potential of Design Thinking in STEM by documenting and reflecting on their learning in the form of a collaboratively constructed website.

Scott McKenzie

[email protected]

Waterloo Region District School Board

Integrating Computational Thinking into Curriculum

-to introduce robotics and coding opportunities into curricular activities already in place in teacher’s classrooms from Grade 1 to 6 -allow coding and robotics to become a natural tool available to teachers and students as they learn through the grades

Katrina Gouett Michael Leonard

[email protected]; [email protected]

Waterloo Catholic School Board

Connecting Kids and Collaborating Teachers in the Evolving 21st Century Classroom

This project will promote student engagement by redefining the classroom using our WCDSB 21st Century Teaching and Learning Blueprint as a foundation. Participants will have the opportunity to explore and collaborate beyond the classroom walls – within divisions, cross-panel within WCDSB, with local organizations, participate in virtual field trips locally and globally; possibilities that were previously inconceivable.


30


Suzie Milinovich

[email protected] Hamilton Wentworth District School Board

Accountable Number Talks: A Tool to Support Student Learning

This project will investigate the relationship between accountable number talk and student performance on Number Sense and Numeration tasks. We are focusing on the Mathematical Process of Communication and the application of Number Sense in Problem Solving throughout the year and across all math strands. We will explicitly teach "talk moves,” and through professional observation and dialogue we will explore if more participation in accountable talk is helpful for students in other academic and social situations. Students and teachers from three different families of schools within the Hamilton Wentworth District School Board will be involved, reflecting different demographics and learning needs.

Cheryl Miller

[email protected] Bruce Grey Catholic District School Board

One Size Doesn't Fit All

One Size Fits All is a project intended to offer a flexible classroom environment to meet the needs of many different learners. Sitting all day in desks is not the only way to learn. Studies show brain function and movement are connected. By providing an environment that welcomes movement, there should be an increase in on-task behavior and concentration. Offering choice workspaces, such as stand-up desks, flexible table grouping, and study carrels for example, gives students’ options to better suit their own learning needs. These can be tools to help students who fidget or have difficulty with attention, as well as for those who fatigue at school. By exploring a variety of workspace furniture and classroom tools, every inch of the classroom becomes a functional learning space. A healthy mind that understands what it needs to learn puts the students in the driver’s seat.


31


Julie Montford

[email protected] Trillium Lakelands District School Board

Feed-All-Four Reading Intervention for Equity

Providing FREE well-being, reading tutoring four days per week for 45 minutes per night to a group of 2-3 students per session with similar below grade reading levels. The student group will be selected to support at least one under-resourced family who has self-identified as low parental literacy skills and/or financial pressures that result in not being able to provide their child with home reading support or professional tutoring. One session lasts approximately 12+ weeks. The project will involve 2 sessions in a school year and a total of 4-6 at risk students.

Cheryl Mootoo

[email protected]


A Transdisciplinary Pilot Project: Student Re-engagement through Multi-Media Arts and Social Justice Education

We will explore whether team teaching a real-world, integrated and holistic curriculum focused on breaking down siloed subjects prevalent within secondary schools, will re-engage students in a meaningful way and positively affect their success. This transdisciplinary approach will be taught with a project-based curriculum that integrates technology, media arts and equity (specifically the three tenets of CRRP – high expectations, cultural competence and critical consciousness). We hope that this curricular and pedagogical approach will inspire new ways of creating knowledge to empower student voice. Additionally, we hope to transform traditional approaches and notions about teaching and learning at the secondary level.


32


Vickie Morgado

[email protected] Dufferin Peel Catholic District School Board

STEAM/Makerspace

This project will look to strengthen our science program by integrating the use of STEAM education into our inquiry based science programs. As a school community we hope to build/integrate a Makerspace in a variety of academic areas including the arts. We also hope to introduce and continue to build on coding literacy which has been introduced. The goal is to continue to improve our knowledge of science through professional development opportunities and continue to foster 21st Century skills and higher level thinking with an inquiry based focus. With regards to creative and critical process skills we hope that through the process and learning students will be able to blend both science and their personal interests, while forming real world connections. Our goal through the TLLP process is to build creativity and critical thinking skills with students while promoting innovation.

Tara-Leigh Muraska


Simultaneous Multisensory Teaching Program as a Literacy Intervention

The Simultaneous Multisensory Teaching program will be used as an in-school intervention with students who have demonstrated little or no progress in reading despite regular classroom instruction and having been involved in numerous interventions and at least one block of Leveled Literacy Intervention. The Special Education Resource Teacher will withdraw selected students from their regular classroom in small groups for 40-60 minutes each day. The SMT program is a multisensory language program developed by the Canadian Dyslexia Centre, and is based on the Orton-Gillingham methodology, which is a structured and highly organized method for language training. It consists of a series of lessons which teach reading, writing and spelling with an emphasis on reading accuracy and comprehension. (Canadian Dyslexia Centre)


33


Cathy Nguyen-Stanshall

[email protected] Hamilton Wentworth Catholic District School Board

What App or Apps Will Take Us To The Next Level!

Guardian Angels is a Catholic Elementary School with emerging new technology. Interactive White Boards will soon be installed in all classrooms except for grade 2 and FDK. Each classroom is equipped with an iPad that is set up to act as a document camera. Students have access to iPads from school. Our school is a "Bring Your Own Device School". This abundance of technology requires the investigation of software applications that will enhance our instructional practice and in turn improve student achievement all through "Action Research". It would be beneficial for my professional learning and staff alike to discover what software applications will help our students succeed in Numeracy. WE need our children to use the internet more than "sometimes" (as our survey suggests in the appendix) and consequentially student achievement will improve. In short we would like Numeracy alive via technology.

Anne Normand

[email protected] Peterborough Victoria Northumberland & Clarington Catholic District School Board

Using Pedagogical Documentation to Investigate Metacognition and Assessment for Learning

We propose an investigative project where students will use technology to document their thinking on learning tasks in multiple subject areas, including math and literacy (first and second language). Teachers and students will access and review the information collected on the devices (using software such as Explain Everything, Google Classroom, video recordings) to analyse student progress, provide specific feedback, determine goals and appropriate next steps for instruction, and communicate with parents. The teacher partnership will allow us to investigate student thinking across subject areas and use the data collected to refine our practice. We hope to learn how to use technology to move from improving functionality of current tasks (augmentation) to actually transforming our tasks (modification) and include more student input into task design and sharing of their learning process. We also hope to influence attitudes among our colleagues about using technology to transform practice.


34


Melissa Oliver

[email protected] Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board

Physically Changing the space when using Technology

This CI project will focus of the following question: "If we transform the learning space of the classroom that teachers use technology in, then effective technology can be more than a substitution." By looking at how the physical teaching space can change our use of technology, we will use the SAMR model to guide our project by seeing if the change of the physical space effects engagement in assessment for learning tasks.

Stefanie Palmer

[email protected] Wellington Catholic District School Board

ePortfolio: Using Technology for Assessment

The focus of this project is to both learn and share how to effectively use the ePortfolio component of the provincial virtual Learning Environment (vLE), Desire2Learn (D2L), to capture, gather, manage and store evidence of student learning and achievement through artifacts such as documents, audio clips, videos, images, presentations, and student reflections. Our team members will work collaboratively to share ideas, develop knowledge and compile best practices on how to best implement ePortfolio in the elementary classroom setting, and then share these findings and experiences with our colleagues.

Pamela Panopalis

[email protected] Peterborough, Victoria, Northumberland Clarington Catholic District School Board

Picking Up STEAM with Robotics

Building robots provides inquiry driven prospects with tremendous motivating power in both children and adults. The Picking up STEAM Unit is aimed at integrating this area of interest to further investigate the efficacy of robotics in teaching the curriculum. Robotics are linked with STEAM learning opportunities incorporating science, technology, engineering, arts and math as interdependent disciplines. By endeavoring to blend these subjects, STEAM learning engages students in complex, strategic problem-solving and higher-order thinking—a set of skills that is a high priority for 21st century education. However, STEAM learning goes beyond preparing students for 21st century jobs, but rather develops a set of innovate “soft skills”: reasoning, teamwork, and investigative abilities that students can incorporate in all areas of their lives.


35


Elizabeth Pearsall

[email protected] Greater Essex County District School Board

Cobras Collaborative Coding: Digital Literacy, Everyone's Learning a New Language

- build co-learning relationships between students, teachers and learning community that are cross divisional and between language streams (English and French Immersion) - develop interest, curiosity and knowledge of coding using a variety of technology - record observations of the learning and growth mindset using videos, digital and written journals (blog, twitter, authentic student voice) - study the learning for commonalities, strengths, areas of improvement, strategies and next steps for our students and develop a theory of action - meet to engage in learning and sharing with staff - meet to engage in learning with students and our Kingsville community, as a rural community, provide equity of access to information, expertise and opportunity for our students and school community (providing the opportunity to use technology and access to the Internet for those without)

Jennifer Pellegrino


Engaging Students in Accountable Talk using the Elements of Social Justice

This project will look into various ways we can assess students' work in mathematics. With our school having a whole school mathematics approach to teaching math through problem solving, many of us on staff question how we can assess our students' work. As a team, we would like time to learn more about best practises through assessment, watch each other's classes and create a bank of exemplars that other teachers can use to better understand the development continuum of our students. Our questions center around how learning goals, reflective journals, descriptive feedback and formative assessment can impact student learning and growth in mathematics.


36


Adriana Porcari

[email protected] Ottawa Catholic School Board

Creating Interactive and Innovative Learning Environments that Foster Deep Learning and New Learning Partnerships

Using the Collaborative Inquiry Cycle and New Pedagogies for Deep Learning Framework, we will create interactive and trusting learning environments that foster student engagement and learning partnerships between and among teachers, students and the wider environment. We would also like to leverage digital tools and resources to accelerate and cultivate learning partnerships and deep learning. Building on our current collaborative co-planning, co-teaching model, we want to take down walls and continue to build capacity within our team and across our school community. Secondly, we will ‘re-design our classroom space’ to create learning environments that are flexible, interactive and student centered. We envision multiple learning spaces where students can easily access tools to experience hands-on learning, engage in critical thinking, and have opportunities to design, experiment, build and invent. In innovative learning spaces, students will make things they are curious about, and create new knowledge that helps them identify their own strengths, needs and passions.


37


Micky Renders

[email protected] Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board

IN THE PRESENT MOMENT: MINDFULNESS IN SCHOOLS: a snapshot of the best practices (in Ontario) for successful implementation in education and its impact on the teaching/learning environment.

Through informal surveys, interviews and anecdotal evidence, mindfulness education in Ontario will be examined. Looking at the various mindfulness programs currently running in Ontario schools (MindUp, Breathe, Mindfulness Without Boarders, The Mindfulness in Schools Project (.b), and Mindful Schools), I will investigate their impact on individuals and the learning environment in general. This research will act as the foundation for a professional report which would include an overview of the various programs offered, making the connection between mindfulness practice and the creation of quiet and safe spaces within our schools; its potential for removing barriers to success presented by stress, anxiety and the inability to self-regulate; and offering accessible and concrete strategies for supporting mental wellness. An "Introduction to Mindfulness Workshop" will be created to share at the school board level: for staff and teachers who are interested in learning about mindfulness and the use of mindfulness programs in their classrooms, workplace or schools.

Laura Richards

[email protected] Peel District School Board

Collaborating in the 21st Century

We would like to use the school’s newly established Makerspace to develop a collaborative learning environment where teachers and students share materials and knowledge about using 21st Century technologies to create, build, invent, and inquire. This will be an environment where all users (students, teachers, parents) will be free to take risks, experiment, and learn from one another. By first developing and then leveraging teaching capacity, we can maximize the potential of our new Makerspace, allowing it to become an authentic 21st Century learning environment for all stakeholders. This will be an environment where teachers will become co-learners, building their own capacity for inquiry and the design process alongside students.


38


Olivia Roberts

[email protected] Keewatin Patricia District School Board

Evergreen Game-Based Education Initiative

Creating a digital, collaborative, game-based learning environment for students. Using platforms such as MinecraftEDU, Simcity, Age of Empires 2, and Kerbal Space Program to provide cultural/technological opportunities that students wouldn't normally have equitable access to. Also, through the use of customizable hardware, to better support inquiry-based learning, and increase student engagement of our hard to reach at-risk students and promote critical thinking in the classroom. Using a customizable mobile computer lab to interface with current preferred board technology (Google Drive), and extend beyond. Laying the conceptual foundation for both skills and trades and computer programming in Secondary and Post-Secondary education.

John Rodgers

[email protected] Bluewater District School Board

Identifying Best Practices for the Use of Video for Learning

Improvements in internet connectivity, the near ubiquity of internet connected devices and the increasing use of video sharing sites such as YouTube have made a wealth of education related videos available to the classroom. Several learning resource development initiatives across the province and elsewhere have included a video component (e.g.: CEMC Courseware, MathCLIPs, JFRoss science). Casual internet searches reveal teachers are showing an increased interest in adding video components to their regular lessons. Most of these efforts reflect an early stage in the SAMR model and use video as a substitute for lecture. Research of video as a learning tool indicate that effective use is often counter-intuitive (Muller, 2008) and our current experience indicates that video is most effective when integrated within a broader teaching strategy. This project aims to identify best practises related to the pedagogy of video.

Daniel Rolo

[email protected] St. Clair Catholic District School Board

Mindstorms and Mindsets: Using Robotics to Develop and Deepen Understanding in Mathematics and Science.

This project seeks to teach major concepts and skills in mathematics, science, computer science, and engineering to students in Grades K to 8 by using programmable robots (i.e., WeDo and Mindstorms EV3) within the context of problem-based, inquiry learning experiences.


39


Colleen Rose

[email protected] Superior-Greenstone District School Board

Exploring TAB & Technology in Art Education

Teaching for Artistic Behaviour is an educational philosophy that respects each student; rather than a traditional model of teaching that focuses on skills, students are encouraged to interpret themes using their choice of materials and techniques. We also want to use technology to document student learning and thinking processes using a variety of apps and programs.

Paul Scanga

[email protected] Durham District School Board

Anti-Oppression Equity and Inclusion Project

LGBT students and families face unique challenges within our school learning communities and the broader community. As an educator who champions the importance of inclusive education for all students, thought this TLLP I would like to explore community relationships that support education and resources on issues of sexual orientation and gender identity (such as PFLAG Durham Region). While increasing my knowledge and professional learning through these experiences, I aspire to support and enrich the Equity and Inclusive Education commitment of our board. To apply my learnings, I would like to lead a team of educators through Anti-Oppression Equity and Inclusive Education Training. The training would provide educators with an opportunity to explore social identities and deepen their understanding on how power and privilege work and operate in our schools, workplaces, and society. Through my own personal learning journey and leading the Anti-Oppression training where we focus on the examination of inequities, I strive to create equity of opportunity for all learners


40


Lori Schlueting

[email protected] Nipissing Parry-Sound Catholic District School Board

Mental Health, Self-Regulation and Coping Skills Action Research Project

Self-regulation is the foundation to academic success. Our project will build capacity and develop an ongoing community of practice. The project will maximize our resources to increase and implement the tools and coping skills necessary for our students to become caring citizens, while increasing access to all classrooms on a board level. We will provide professional development to teachers & support staff in a variety of divisions, administration, as well as the community. Our unique Primary Social Skills classroom will provide the opportunity to transition students back to their home schools more effectively as we build capacity in a deeper, more relevant and focused manner. An alignment of resources and providing a common understanding of self-regulation will strengthen the ability for educators and parents alike when assisting and coaching the students. With time and guidance students will independently be able to regulate using visuals and explicitly taught skills.

Kari Scott


Full STEAM Ahead: Computational Thinking K-8

We will explore, implement, and evaluate computational thinking in K-8 classrooms. Computational thinking (CT) includes computer programming (i.e., coding) and is means problem solving, understanding and designing systems, and understanding human behaviour (Wing, 2006; 2008, p. 3717). We will investigate how CT can be useful for learning the mathematical processes outlined in the Ontario Mathematics curriculum as well as 21st skills championed in Ontario and around the world (Partnership for 21st Century Skills, 2009). Complementing our TVDSB’s recent initiatives in STEAM, this project will investigate four pedagogical phases CT: unplugged, making, tinkering, and remixing (Floyd, Kafai, Khan, Kotsopoulos, Morrison, Namukasa et al, 2015). We will explore how CT manifests in the physical world through tangible materials such as robots, circuits, and micro-controllers. References: Floyd, L., Kafai, Y., Khan, S., Kotsopoulos, D., Morrison, L., Namukasa, I. K., et al. (2015). From computational thinking to computational participation: Towards achieving excellence through coding in elementary schools. In G. Gadanidis (Ed.), Math


41


Kathryn Smyth

[email protected] Wellington Catholic District School Board

Interactive Projector Technology and Pedagogical Documentation

Using Interactive Technology to implement student driven pedagogical documentation. Through the use of technology, students will be provided the opportunity for differentiated learning and thus be able to participate in the creation of success criteria and next steps in their learning stories which aligns with both the FDK program and our BIPSA. Students will reflect, respond, and extend their learning while manipulating and viewing their documentation using Interactive Projector Technology.

Brandi Snary

[email protected] St. Clair Catholic District School Board

Math Gamers Teaching teams will work collaboratively to assess and group students according to strengths and needs in numeracy, with a focus on early number concepts, counting, and quantity. As a complement to our existing comprehensive math approach, student learning teams will meet as homogeneous groupings for guided instruction and as heterogeneous groupings for independent practice through engaging games and activities. Teachers within each team will work together to monitor, facilitate, and document the student thinking that is happening within each student learning group. Student learning groups will be comprised of students from multiple classrooms in an effort to build leadership and mentorship skills, as well as build stronger, positive student-student and student-teacher relationships. Technology will be used as a learning tool to engage students through the use of electronic games, applications, and manipulatives, and as a teaching tool to both document student learning and to make student thinking visible during consolidation.


42


Jonathan So


Purposeful Assessment in Mathematics

This project will look into various ways we can assess students' work in mathematics. With our school having a whole school mathematics approach to teaching math through problem solving, many of us on staff question how we can assess our students' work. As a team, we would like time to learn more about best practises through assessment, watch each other's classes and create a bank of exemplars that other teachers can use to better understand the development continuum of our students. Our questions center around how learning goals, reflective journals, descriptive feedback and formative assessment can impact student learning and growth in mathematics.

Jenny Soehner

[email protected] Waterloo Region District School Board

Easing the Kindergarten Transition to Grade 1: Kindergarten & Grade 1 teacher collaboration to develop inquiry skills of students with an environmental/outdoor focus

-to smooth the transition for K to gr. 1 students by building on skills developed in the FDK model - to develop inquiry skills of K & gr. 1 students with an environmental/outdoor focus - to increase teacher collaboration of Kindergarten and Grade One teachers


43


Adele Stanfield

[email protected] Hamilton Wentworth District School Board

Using a Makerspace in the Classroom

We intend to learn about, determine the benefits of, and reflect on the successes and difficulties of having a Maker Space in the classroom. A Maker Space is a place where students can gather to create, invent, tinker, explore and discover using a variety of tools and materials. Students will have the opportunity to use robotics, simple computers, invention kits, traditional building materials, etc. to explore curriculum expectations in two grade 5 classrooms. Group members (teachers) will learn how to use Maker Space materials, investigate how they can be used within curriculum guidelines, and reflect on how they can encourage girls in STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) subjects and engage hard-to-reach boys. We will also be extending the use of this Maker Space to clubs at nutrition breaks. Working with a community partner agency (Golden Horseshoe Green Tech), after school and summer programs will also be offered at our school with a focus on Maker Space.

Jaime Summers McAlear

[email protected]

Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario

Exploring Innovative Practices of OneNote in the Classroom

Our project involves making resources matter by using OneNote from Office 365. Through CPLCs (Catholic Professional Learning Communities) and in class activities, teachers and students will explore OneNote and Office 365 for: student assessment, student work with immediate feedback, student portfolios, classroom lessons, and sharing exemplary practices.

Laura Sutton

[email protected] Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board

Understanding our Catholic Virtues in Full Day Kindergarten

This project will explore FDK level read alouds that help explain our ten Catholic Virtues. The books will be supportive of moral and character development teachings, as well as the 7 Grandfather Teachings in Aboriginal Education, which our Catholic Virtues were built upon.


44


Laura Taylor

[email protected] Huron Perth Catholic District School Board

Transitioning from facilitator to co-learner, teaching in the 21st century classroom.

As a 21st century learning environment, our aim is to create a classroom wherein collaboration occurs naturally and students channel their energy in a productive way. Our goal is to change the physical environment of our classrooms to include whole group learning opportunities as well as focused small group opportunities that allow students the voice and freedom to independently choose where and how they collaborate, what tools they require and how they can best conquer the task based on their individual learning needs. These opportunities will increase collaboration and allow for differentiated instruction and assessment to be more individualized for each student. We would foster the idea of seamless movement throughout the classroom so that students can work together, explore technology, inquire/question with others and independently. This new learning environment will promote confidence in our students, reduce gaps in achievement and instil positive strategies in the area of self-regulation.

Heather Theijsmeijer

[email protected] Rainbow District School Board

Making the Learning Real: Collaboration, creativity, creative thinking and communication through rich assessment tasks

Our 2015 TLLP project allowed us to convert our courses from lecture-style classes to a proficiency-based, mastery-learning environment. Building on this, it is our goal to extend the learning in these courses by each creating twelve rich assessment tasks (two for each of our courses) in 2016-2017. These tasks will be structured so that: - content builds on existing 21st Century resources; - technology allows students to demonstrate knowledge by encompassing the “4C’s” of 21st Century learning: Collaboration, Creativity, Critical Thinking and Communication; - focus is shifted from content curation to creation; - differentiation allows for a variety of entry points and complexity; - learning is extended beyond classroom walls, providing connections with the community as well as audiences around the province, country and globe. By doing so, our team will create and field test a bank of rich tasks that can be used by teachers in a variety of environments across the province.


45


Christy Thompson

[email protected]

Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board

Improving Reading Through Music

Our group would like to explore the link between reading and music taught using an Orff Schulwerk approach. We would like to target a few struggling students, at various grade levels, and measure the improvement in their reading level as they improve over the year in music. The students would be chosen in collaboration with the principal and the special education teacher and would be students who are currently unable to meet the provincial standards in reading. The group would attempt to measure the effectiveness of music as a way to improve reading levels. We see this as an example of early intervention for those students.

Krista Thompson

[email protected] Simcoe County District School Board

Leveraging Digital Resources to Support Math Inquiry in Primary Grades

As education has moved forward we have progressed to an inquiry model as a basis for learning and teaching. We have embraced this model in the areas of Science and Social Studies, however have met challenges in the area of merging inquiry with Mathematics and technology. We are planning to use iPads, Dash and Google Apps for Education to explore and develop a variety of strategies to support students' inquiry based Mathematics and to communicate and share their findings effectively. Another important role in this project is developing strategies to support students in their inquiries and providing effective feedback that will help move their learning forward. Providing students with digital tools will enable us to communicate their learning and feedback with home.

Dione Turgeon

[email protected] Nipissing-Parry Sound Catholic District School Board

Using technology to foster a growth mindset in our students as reflected in the three pillars of assessment.

Student mental health and growth mindset can be motivated by technology. We will use a variety of apps on tablets and Chromebooks to focus on growth mindset so that students have more confidence and stronger mental health at school.


46


Megan Van Gerven

[email protected] Durham Continuing Education - E.A. Lovell

Defining Student Success in Adult Education & its Cultivation

We are interested in researching what 'student success' means in the adult education context, and whether or not our 'student success' rates can be improved by enhancing school climate, culture and community. While student success is often measured in youth in terms of academic achievement, we believe that in adult education, it may be closely linked to personal goals and social, psychological, physical and cognitive development. We are confident that by enhancing school climate, culture and community, we can improve retention rates amongst our student population in the Adult Credit Day School program, and further educate our staff about issues pertaining to our unique clientele, which includes a significant number of students living in extreme poverty and coping with mental health illnesses.

Jeni Van Kesteren


Student Leadership in Mathematics

Our project will investigate how to change the culture of the math classroom to increase student leadership. The classroom will be set up to allow students to work in groups of five around an interactive projector and white board. This arrangement will provide students with the opportunity to take leadership on a daily basis (sharing homework solutions, working collaboratively through a problem, discussing examples from a lesson, taking initiative to consult outside resources etc.). The projectors will allow group work to be visible to the teacher and work from different groups can be captured and shared to all screens. The projectors also have the capability to connect to most hand-held devices allowing students to connect with their personal electronics.


47


Frank Vilardo

[email protected] York Catholic District School Board

Utilizing Google Chrome Books and iPads through the lens of 21st Century learning competencies to guide students' learning within the 21st Century interactive approach.

To encourage student success, the goal of this project is to use Google Chrome Books and iPads with primary, junior, and intermediate teachers and students to address and reinforce the learning competencies of the 21st Century. - All teachers will be trained on how to use D2L, GAFE, and iPads in their classroom to better student achievement and engagement. - Teachers will also be trained on how to create and share surveys, assignments, and quizzes using GAFE and D2L. - Students will be able to utilize and access learning resources and their work through Chrome and D2L from anywhere in the world. They will become competent in Google Apps For Education, even when working in groups (sharing work). This will enhance peer collaboration.

Dino Villella

[email protected] Windsor Essex Catholic District School Board

Plug into Math: Enriched Mathematic Pedagogy through the use of Technology.

Through the use of technology, a series of engaging and comprehensive mathematical activities will be developed and executed so that the student is able to comprehend, synthesize, and validate their student work by means of digital documentation, consolidation, digital tutorials as well as an enhanced focus on metacognition. These activities include and are not limited to: Flipped Classroom, Student Driven Math Tutorials, Assessment through technology, Digital Math Journal, and a comprehensive website/blog.

Nadia Viola Hodges

[email protected] Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board

Thinking outside the blocks: In Search of Spatial Reasoning Across the Math Strands

To use the learning environment (e.g., classroom, school, home-school relationship, student-teacher/student-student relationship) to develop student awareness of spatial reasoning and to support the application of it across math strands via the effective and appropriate use of technology to explore, enhance, deepen and share discoveries.


48


Susan Vogt


Inquiry-Based Learning - Building Student Capacity Through The Teaching of Foundational Skills, Knowledge and Technology

Establish a K-8 family of schools collaborative team that will engage in a process of professional development and learning to: - determine the foundational skills, knowledge and technology required for effective inquiry-based learning and develop a framework for instruction - develop an action plan to teach the identified skills, knowledge and technology to build student capacity for effective inquiry-based learning using the Ministry of Education inquiry model outlined in the Social Studies curriculum - evaluate the plan through assessment of students' skills and knowledge and student surveys - determine best practices and develop a process and model for inquiry based learning that incorporates explicit teaching of skills, knowledge and technology that can be utilized in all subject areas and will be shared locally and provincially

Katherine Wannamaker

[email protected]

Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board

Exploring the use of Chromebooks, the Google Apps for Education platform and Descriptive Feedback to support the development of cross-curricular literacy skills for at-risk students in Student Success, locally-developed, and applied classrooms.

Group members will explore methods for providing descriptive feedback to students using the Google Apps for Education platform and Google Chromebooks. Early Professional Development sessions will provide team members an opportunity to develop expertise using the Google Chromebooks and Google Apps platform, and will provide an opportunity to utilize "backward design" in the development of a plan for the use of descriptive feedback in the team members' classrooms. The team will use the inquiry cycle, including co-planning/co-teaching sessions, followed by reflection and refining of instructional/assessment strategies. Highlights and best practices will be shared with staff via a number of different in-school professional development sessions with teachers and team leaders from various subject areas.


49


Joy Wilson

[email protected] KidsAbility School Authority

Using Augmentative and Alternative Communication Strategies to Develop Narrative Skills for Complex Communicators

KidsAbility School provides a junior kindergarten, special education program for children with communication, physical and/or developmental disabilities. Our students present with complex needs, including sensory impairments and sensory processing difficulties, mobility challenges, communication and language difficulties, non-verbal and augmentative communication needs, developmental delay, and self-regulation challenges. Children attend KidsAbility School for one year with the goal of developing skills and strategies for success in their community school. Literacy skill development is an important part of school success, however, the development of narrative skills is often challenging for our students. In this project, we hope to explore how children with complex communication needs, including non-verbal children, children with limited oral language, and children with pragmatic language difficulties can use augmentative and alternative communication strategies to develop skills in storytelling and retelling activities with a goal to becoming successful readers.

Documents

2016-2017 Teacher Leadership and Learning (TLLP) Projects ...€¦ · 2016-2017 Teacher Leadership and Learning (TLLP) Projects -English 1 Name Work Email Address School Board Project