Friday, September 25, 2015

Award for Innovative Teaching and Learning

With so many Network schools already engaged in innovative learning and teaching, we thought some of you may be interested in the Canadian Education Association’s Ken Spencer Award for Innovative Teaching and Learning. There are 7 awards available, with a total of $15,000 in funding for your school.  The application deadline is November 10th.  




Sunday, September 20, 2015

Assessment for Learning Event in Nanaimo - October 26th

The NOII and Canadian Assessment for Learning Network (CAfLN) have teamed up to offer the Assessment For Learning Drive-In for mid-Vancouver Island educators and network teams. This will be an opportunity to network with colleagues around AFL and inquiry.
 
Here are the details:

Assessment for Learning Drive-In
Monday, October 26, 2015
4:00pm – 6:00pm
Dover Bay Secondary – Library
Nanaimo, BC

To RSVP, email Tanya Gunn: tgunn@sd69.bc.ca. 

Stay tuned for more learning opportunities in your area. 



Monday, September 14, 2015

Welcome back! New resources, programs and upcoming events for 2015 - 2016

Welcome back to school, everyone. We’re excited about all of the possibility that this new school year offers!

A lot of professional learning took place this past summer – while everyone had a bit of time to engage with deep questions around collaboration, inquiry and learning.   

For instance, Judy and Linda hosted a 2-day Inquiry and Innovation Summer Institute at UBC at the start of July.  Over 50 educators from across BC worked through the Spiral of Inquiry and the OECD Principles of Learning, considering how to use these frameworks to address big questions and make meaning change in their educational contexts.  Check out some thoughts from that event here

At Vancouver Island University over the last few weeks, Linda and Judy also welcomed their fifth cohort of Centre for Innovation and Excellence in Learning (CIEL) participants – a group of 26 outstanding educators from Qatar to Haida Gwaii embracing new learning.  

And now, Judy and Linda are in the midst of preparing for a new post masters level leadership program aimed at system level leaders – this means anyone from teachers to superintendent who is focused on transforming the system for learners. It is an exciting opportunity and a great way to strengthen networking across roles and across the province. Applications are now open for this UBC Transformative Educational Leadership Program.  

As you start to think about your inquiry work this year, here are a few resources and upcoming events to consider as you plan your learning and teaching:

Developed in response to the call by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada for age-appropriate education materials about Indian Residential Schools, these Teacher Resource Guides provide activities and supports for dealing sensitively with the topic of residential schools. Please take a look and make sure to share with your colleagues.

Inspired by Scott Benwell and Kaleb Child from School District 85 (Vancouver Island North), this project is a call to action for educators and leadership to create and enhance learning environments to serve each learner, family and community. Aboriginal voice is dominant in this resource guide and reflects the opinions of community members.

NOII/AESN Extended Lower Mainland Fall Meeting
Tuesday, October 20th, 2015 – Richmond (near the airport)
4:00 – 6:00 pm
Sea Island School, 1891 Wellington Crescent, Richmond
Note: the school driveway and parking lot are accessed via Templeton Street
(Templeton Street can be accessed via either Miller Road or Grant McConachie Way (the road that takes you to the airport).

Save the Date! - 2016 Network Symposium
May 13 – 14, 2016
Richmond, BC
The 2016 Symposium will again include international speakers and partners, as well as showcase work from school teams, with lots of networking and interactive time. Stay tuned for registration details.

Please visit our website for other important dates/meetings, as well as easy to access resources. 

We’re once again grateful and impressed at the caliber of work that network school teams are leading. Case studies that were submitted over the summer are almost ready to put up on the website. We’ll post a link here when these are accessible.  We are also preparing templates for submitting your 2015 - 2016 Inquiry Questions - more to come!

We’re grateful to both the Ministry of Education and the Irving K Barber Learning Centre at UBC for their continued funding for continued funding to support the AESN. Book sales from Spirals of Inquiry also continue to support the exceptional work of network schools. 

Looking forward to another great year of learning, teaching and inquiring together!