Amy Park and Deirdre Bailey [Investigating the truth of opinions] consists not in trying to discover the weakness of what is said, but in bringing out its real strength. It is not the art of arguing but the art of thinking… the art of strengthening. (Gadamer, 1975) Abstract Although there is substantial research supporting collaborative… Continue reading Collaboration: The Art of Strengthening
-by Phil Butterfield, Assistant Principal Instructional leadership has been getting a lot of buzz in educational circles these days. It seems challenging enough to gain consensus on a definition for the role of an instructional leader without venturing into the potential minefield of strict adherence to a set of guiding principles designed to provide a… Continue reading Opening Up a New Frontier of Exemplary Instructional Leadership
-by Jody Pereverzoff and Dan McWilliam, Grade 7 Humanities In the final inquiry for the year, students examined significant themes in Canadian history by studying specific events, people, and places that have had an impact on the development of Canada. Students, using one of the major themes, created a monument or structure using Augmented Reality… Continue reading Significant Historical Events using Capzles and Augmented Reality
-by Erin Couillard, Professional Development and Collaboration Coordinator We have reached the end of our first year with designated learning coaches within the school. Last fall, two Math/Science learning coaches and two Humanities learning coaches were selected from teachers who applied for the positions through a letter of intent process. For more information on the… Continue reading Learning Coaches – One Year Later…
-by Kevin Sonico “Show me your ‘thinking’.” “Explain your process.” These are two statements that are often used to encourage students to communicate their strategies in solving a word problem. In my experience, what is often produced, written, and described are algorithms, equations, and other symbolic representations. Rarely have students submitted strategies that comprised of… Continue reading Action Research: The Model Method in Solving Word Problems
-by Lisa Nelson, Dan McWilliam and Jody Pereverzoff, Grade 7 Teachers Near the start of this year, our Grade 7 team began a research project about using iPads in the classroom: Through a variety of sub-questions, we hoped to address the larger question, “Where do iPads fit in Education?” Using real projects, student exemplars, and… Continue reading Where do iPads fit? A Reflection…
-by Dean Schmeichel, Phys. Ed Teacher This is my final blog for the Research project – Video Assessment in PE. This was an extremely worthwhile project and it has shaped the future course of assessment for me in my career. From past experience, I know that I will continue to develop, adapt and modify this… Continue reading Video Assessment in Phys. Ed – A Reflection
–Jody Pereverzoff grade 7 Humanities After reading Lisa Nelson’s blog on using ShowMe in the Math class, I thought it would be a successful tool for students to demonstrate their understanding of editorial cartoons. Students first read the short story “Back to our Roots” by Fernando Sorrentino (translated from Spanish by Iris Maria Mielonen) and… Continue reading Using ShowMe in the Humanities Classroom
-by Tanya Stogre, Grade 5 Humanities In the preceding three blogs, I have outlined the research behind why parental and community engagement is important; the differences between ‘involvement’ and ‘engagement’, as well as specific examples of each at the Calgary Science School. In the final blog of the series, I want to look at the… Continue reading Parent Engagement: Where to from here?
-by Dean Schmeichel, Phys. Ed. Teacher (For more information on this project, read the first blog post here) I have now completed all of the video recordings for 300 students. There is a clip of the students participating in PE class (approximately one minute) and a conversation between each student and myself that lasts for… Continue reading Video Assessment in PE, Part II
