Who’s Fanning the Flames?

One of the questions I ask principals during my schools visits is: "What are you and your staff doing to communicate to parents about the changes underway in education? " The responses vary, but generally speaking, the question elicits responses like: PAC meetings; use of the school website, via the SchoolsConnect/SynreVoice system; parent/teacher interviews, etc. My follow up question is then: "How are teachers engaging the parents?" Again there are a variety of responses, but I would summarize them by saying “it’s a work in progress.”

The genesis of this question came from an observation I made about the shift in the ‘language of learning’ embedded in the revised curriculum. For example, observe how our language is shifting in the area of assessment and reporting. We have come to put more emphasis on assessment FOR learning and less on assessment OF learning. Since our redesigned curriculum has been launched, I have seen more reference to ‘communicating student learning’ than ‘reporting;’ I have noticed more reference to learning standards than ILOs ('integrated learning outcome')…and more reference to essential questions, big ideas and core competencies. As the curriculum takes root, these terms will become more and more commonplace to us inside the education system, and we will use them with an assumption that their meaning is mutually understood.

While such changes in our language are incremental, we must endeavour to teach this language to our students and parents. In the absence of a genuine understanding of WHY and HOW we are changing the curriculum, many parents (and students) will bristle at some of these educational changes. There is comfort in being taught and assessed the way they were taught and assessed in previous years. It is almost a rite of passage for many parents (‘Doggone it, I struggled with school, and so will you. It builds character’!). While on one hand they will intuitively say that learning needs to be more holistic, experiential, skills based and career focused, they may not necessarily know what this will look like on the ground, and will take exception when they do not understand.

Case in point: I visited Ms. Bonnie Bevan’s grade 4/5 class (at Mountain Elementary) recently, and saw some very interesting work students were doing in relation to a unit of simple machines. Students were (really) engaged in designing and building ‘mouse traps cars’ in teams. (See photos below) To further integrate and deepen the experience, the students were required to set a budget, and secure a loan for component parts and services associated with building their cars. Students videotaped their test runs and had opportunities (within the confines of their budget) to rework their designs. Hours went into this work, both on the part of the students and their teacher. This was an interesting demonstration of learning related to several learning standards, and there was clear evidence of critical, creative and collaborative inquiry.

So my probing question, when Bonnie begins to communicate the progress of her students in relation to this unit, is how will it be done? What language will she use to describe the competencies demonstrated by her students? Will the students and parents understand and appreciate the standards being met? What tools will she (we) use to fan the flames about the very important language of learning in her classroom?
~ Kevin
Kevin Godden
Superintendent of Schools/CEO
Abbotsford School District