So we're back for week three, and trying a different approach. Kindergarten in Ontario is "play-based in a culture of inquiry", and I am going to do my best to support this. If you've been reading my blog you will know that I am an experienced secondary school teacher and administrator who has most recently … Continue reading Junior Kindergarten Online – Journal – Day 10
In 2019 I interviewed 28 Ontario secondary school educators who are moving away from marks. They all grounded their assessment practices in clear communication of learning expectations in the form of task lists, curriculum expectations, or overarching learning goals. They communicated achievement of these expectations through the use of hidden mark, traditional four-point rubrics, single-point … Continue reading 12 Gradeless Models
Well, you know we are in a "new normal" when emails are sent out at 4:37 on a Saturday, to respond to changes since Friday. Our teachers received an email, ahead of the posting of a letter to parents on our board's website, letting them know that our online population has grown from 54,000 to … Continue reading School Online – Journal – Day 7 and a half….
Well it's almost bed time for me, and I'm having to think hard to remember what my day looked like today. It started out slow, and then ended like a freight train! As I mentioned earlier, our teachers don't yet know what they will be teaching next week. So, a survey was designed to be … Continue reading School Online – Journal – Day 6
Day 5 for both our "bricks and mortar" schools, and our new Online School! In person, our teachers are welcoming Cohort B of Grade 9 students, combining COVID training with our traditional welcome to secondary school. I can't imagine what it's like for our teens, heading off to "high school" in such a time. Online, … Continue reading School Online – Journal – Day 5
After the long weekend, we teachers expect to head back to school, meet our students, and embark on the new school year with excitement and optimism. This year is different. Teachers in "bricks and mortar" schools in our district are spending this week orienting students to the new reality of COVID-19. Today they welcome Cohort … Continue reading School Online – Journal – Day 4
A rainy Sunday and a good book; what could be better? And even better when it can be read in a few hours, and generates the thought "yes" at every page! This Sunday it's "Wired to Create: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Creative Mind" by Scott Barry Kaufman (@sbkaufman) and Carolyn Gregoire (@carolyn_greg). Inspired by … Continue reading Sunday Reading: Wired to Create
We talk a lot about student engagement and motivation, but a whole lot less about what de-motivates, or disengages learners. My personal "aha" this week is that one of the best ways to shut someone down is to have them experience a failure that they don't understand. Set up criteria, have them provide evidence of … Continue reading Dealing with Disappointment
Last week I enjoyed the final #IMMOOC conversation online with Brad Gustafson, Katie Martin and George Couros. I was mid-way through Brad's book, and have now finished reading it. The strongest "take-away" for me was Brad's discussion of our frequent focus on the innovators in our schools, often at the expense of those who are … Continue reading #IMMOOC – Tradition vs Innovation
It's Week #2 of the Innovator's Mindset MOOC, and the end of Week #3 of school here in Ontario, Canada. In my school board, we are now in the middle of "reorg", a process whereby we meet the class size limits as set by the Ministry of Education and negotiated with our teachers' unions. In … Continue reading Reorganization with an Innovator’s Mindset
