The Constructs of Student Engagement within an Effective Teaching Practices Framework

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The Constructs of Student Engagement within an
Effective Teaching Practices Framework

• February 20, 2009

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AgendaLive Video Simulcast with Saskatoon
Catholic School District

• 830 Refreshments
• 900 Greetings and Overview of the Day Paul
  Cuthbert
• 930 Evergreens High School Review Report
• Scott Hill, Manitoba School Improvement Program
• 945 Constructs of Engagement and National
  Findings
• Penny Milton, Executive Director, CEA
• 1030 Refreshment Break
• 1045 Effective Teaching Practices Framework for
  Engagement
• Dr. Sharon Friesen, Galileo Educational Network
• 1200 Preparation for Afternoon Group Session
• 1215 Lunch (on own)
• PM Session at Dr. George Johnson Middle School
• 130 Group meetings with dialogue on
  Engagement/Framework with guided questions
• Sharon Friesen and Penny Milton facilitating
• Groups will take a break at their own
  discretion.
• 330 Adjournment
• Group Configuration K-4 5-8 9-12
  Principals
• Note Grade cluster groupings will be posted at
  Dr. George Johnson School
• First Steps in Math resource - twenty-minute
  presentations by Pearson for K-4 and 5-8 groups
  in library. Times will be posted.

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Context for the Day

• Over the past four years, Evergreen School
  Division has been engaged in collecting data from
  former graduates, students, teachers and
  community regarding the purpose of education and
  the processes and conditions for learning.

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Student Voice

• Data collected from our students has raised
  critical questions about issues such as student
  engagement and preparedness for life after
  school.

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Need to Re-think Education?

• The need to re-think the education of our
  adolescent learners is becoming widely
  articulated in education research
  e.g. CEA Getting it Right for
  Adolescent Learners

• The changing expectations of post-secondary
  pathways for all students and high levels of
  student disengagement support a critical review
  of what we are doing in our schools.

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What do we value, aim for and aspire to?
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Vision, Mission, Values, BeliefsOur Foundations

• The Board of Trustees, in consultation with
  stakeholders, have approved new Division
  Foundation Statements for Evergreen School
  Division.

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Why are Foundations Important?

• To communicate
• the purpose of our work
• the values and beliefs that underpin our work
• To inform our practice
• To provide a reference point that helps us to
  evaluate our practices
• To guide our decision-making

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Evergreen Foundations
Vision Learning Today to Improve Tomorrow
Mission Evergreen School Division will engage students in learning to become contributing citizens of a democratic society.
Core Values Students Come First Learning is Our Core Purpose Public Education Serves the Common Good
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Values and Beliefs

• Students Come First
• success for every student is the goal of our work
• every student is capable of learning
• every student has individual strengths and learns
  in a unique way
• every student is respected and in turn respects
  others
• the diversity of our students will be
  acknowledged, recognized and celebrated
• student learning is the basis for all school
  system decision making and leadership
• resources will be used effectively and
  responsibly to meet students learning needs

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Values and Beliefs

• Learning is Our Core Purpose
• learning empowers people to achieve their
  potential
• learning requires relevance and engagement
• learning requires a safe and caring environment
• positive relationships are critical to the
  learning process
• every person has responsibility for his/her own
  learning
• learning requires a balance between social,
  academic and intellectual engagement
• learning requires clean, well maintained and
  aesthetically pleasing physical environments

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Values and Beliefs

• Public Education Serves the Common Good
• public education is essential for a vibrant
  democracy and a sustainable future
• public education develops citizens who work
  toward the betterment of their family, community
  and the world
• public education is a shared responsibility of
  the home, school, and community
• public education requires a balance between
  academic, personal/social and physical
  development
• public education provides a foundation for
  life-long learning and responsible citizenship
• public education must be responsive to the
  changing needs of society

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What does it mean to be a contributing citizen?

• Students will become informed and responsible
  decision-makers, playing active roles as citizens
  of our communities, Canada and the world, and
  will contribute to social, environmental, and
  economic well-being, and an equitable quality of
  life for all, now and in the future.
• Characteristics of well-developed people in a
  democracy
• Reasonableness - able to think clearly, logically
• Agency - acting on the basis of our own plans and
  intentions
• Relationship - a sense we have of other people
• Morality - prudence, generosity, moderation,
  honesty, courage, and humility
  
• Fenstermacher

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Evergreens High School Review

• The purpose of the project is aimed at
  conducting action research through the engagement
  of students, teachers, and community in
  reflective dialogue to inform change in Evergreen
  School Division high schools.
• Research Questions
• To what degree is there resonance or dissonance
  between our core beliefs about education and our
  experience with high school?
• What can we learn from our successes?
• How might we reconcile the challenges?

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Research Partnerships

• Evergreen School Division formed a research
  partnership with the Manitoba School Improvement
  Program (MSIP) and the Manitoba Association of
  School Trustees (MAST)to assist with this
  important research.

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Evergreen Research Data Collection (2004-2008)

• Former Grad/School Leaver Surveys
• Division-wide Student Learning Forums
• School-based Student Focus Groups
• School-based Staff Focus Groups
• Community-based Focus Groups
• Division Planning Sessions
• Evergreen Student Council
• WDYDIST

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Students Staff Parents

• Caring / Empathetic / Tolerant/ Compassionate
• Wise
• Committed/ Motivated/ Passionate/ Determined
• Knowledgeable
• Industrious / Perseverance
• Open-minded / Learner / Tolerant / Adaptable
• Inquisitive / Curious
• Visionary
• Confident

• Empathetic
• Worldly / Aware / Informed
• Reflective/
• Contemplative
• Committed / Motivated
• Knowledgeable / Skilled
• Motivated / Committed
• Open-minded / Adaptable
• Inquisitive
• Innovative
• Experienced

• Caring / Compassionate
• Worldly / Well-rounded
• Thoughtful / Understanding
• Passionate
• Knowledgeable
• Industrious / Persistent
• Open-minded / Learning
• Sharing / Advises

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Purpose of Education The Educated Person

• Pro-Social / Civic-Mindedness
• How one impacts the world (e.g. sustainable
  development)
• Appreciation of diversity/social justice
• Self-Development
• Critical thinking
• Morality
• Agency
• Functional / Material
• Life skills
• Preparation for career/work

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Theme - Relationships

• Building Positive Relationships
• particularly between teachers and students, but
  also between all education partners.
• groups of students, parents, and staff also
  recommended that the school division continue to
  pursue inclusive learning environments.
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• Democratize Decision-Making
• include student, teacher, and community voice in
  setting the educational direction of the high
  schools.

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Theme - Relevance

• Curriculum Relevance
• need to integrate curricular outcomes across
  subjects, and connect them with educational aims.
• curriculum must not be viewed as an end in
  itself, but as a means to get at the social,
  individual, and practical attributes that matter
  most to the citizens in Evergreen.
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• Assessment for Learning
• pursue assessment practices characterized by our
  educational aims.
• involve students in assessment and set grading
  criteria in advance.
• assessment should be used to inform learning and
  instructional practices.

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How Have we Addressed These Themes?

• Relationships
• Staff PD and Parent Session with Dr. Gordon
  Neufeld Relationships Matter in Fall 2007
• Staff Professional Development and Parent Session
  with Corwin Kronenberg (Teaching Kids to be
  Responsible) in Fall 2008
• School-based Student Success Initiatives
• School-based Advisory Groups

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• Democratize Decision Making
• Establish ESD Student Council in Spring 2008
• Student involvement in teacher recruitment and
  selection (developed questions for interview
  guide)
• Student-developed teacher self-assessment tool
• School beautification research
• Former student action research project in
  conjunction with OISE
• School-based planning involving teacher and
  student voice
• Teacher Consultation Sessions
• New Division Foundations

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• Curriculum/Assessment Relevance
• New Assessment Procedures
  Assessment FOR/AS/OF Learning Guidelines
  for Grading Portfolio
  Implementation (K-12)
• Professional Learning Community grants
• Division PLC day February 2008 Relevance
• Career and Technology Studies in High Schools
• Relevance Teacher Action Research
• Lobbying of MECY to identify Essential
  Understandings

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WDYDISTWhat Did You Do In School Today?

• The project is designed to test the potential of
  new ways of thinking about the concept of student
  engagement and their relationship to classroom
  practices and student achievement
• Evergreen has completed three survey snapshots of
  all Grade 6-12 students. These results have been
  complied and shared with all of our Middle Years
  and High Schools

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What do we want to find out?

• What students are doing in classrooms
• How students feel about their experiences of
  learning
• Whether the work they are asked to do contributes
  to their learning
• How classroom practices can be improved to create
  more effective and engaging learning environments

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What we have found out about Intellectual
Engagement
Anxiety
Flow
Boredom
Apathy
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Education is a living practice

• As the world changes and the expectations of
  education shift to meet these changes, the nature
  of teaching and of its effectiveness must follow
  suit.

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Five Principles of Effective Teaching Practices

• Teachers are designers of learning that
  intellectually engage every student
• Work students are asked to do is worthwhile
• Assessment practices are directed towards
  improving student learning and directing
  instruction
• Relationships are strengthened through the work
• Teachers improve their practice in the company of
  peers and others

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How do we Align?
Five Core Principles of the Framework for Effective Teaching Practices Current Evergreen School Division Initiatives
1. Intellectually engaging learning environments. SY Review Project Relevance WDYDIST research on engagement
2. Work is personally meaningful to student and deeply connected to world in which they live. Understanding by Design CTS Programming New Division Foundations
3. Teachers use of assessment is directed towards improving student learning and guiding teaching decisions. Assessment Policy - Assessment for and as learning, Guidelines for Grading MY Outcome-based Report Cards with Achievement Codes Portfolios Student-led Conferences
4. Teachers build strong relationships with and between students through intellectually engaging work. SY Review Project Relationships/Student Voice Student Advisory Systems Dr. Gordon Neufeld Relationships Matter Corwin Kronenberg Teaching Kids to be Responsible
5. Teachers are actively engaged in ongoing professional learning. PLCs Early Dismissal School PD days