During Education Week, there were a significant number of announcements from Alberta Education indicating major changes upcoming in the educational landscape. Given this year’s Education Week theme of Inspiring Education: Building Connections, Celebrating Relationships, the timing was especially fitting.  I thought I would use this week’s blog to give you a brief round up of all of the new initiatives. Accordingly, the following information comes from a newsletter that was sent to each Board by the Honorable Jeff Johnson, Minister of Education. I think it is a very informative synopsis of the latest developments in education in Alberta.

Education Week Round-up

Inspiring Education Comes to Life

Alberta is proud to have one of the best education systems in the world. But the world is changing and our education system needs to evolve to meet the needs of learners, now and in the future.

Over the last few weeks, you may have heard about several initiatives that will change the way students learn and are assessed. This shift brings to life Inspiring Education – a vision for education that will ensure Alberta students are prepared with the skills and competencies they will need to succeed in a rapidly changing world.

The approval and signing of the new Ministerial Order on Student Learning sets the foundation for future curriculum and is a key milestone toward achieving the vision of Inspiring Education. The Ministerial Order provides an overview of the goals and expectations for Kindergarten to Grade 12 students and establishes a clear mandate for Alberta Education and school authorities to follow when developing provincial curriculum.

Changes in High Schools

High school students will have more opportunities to expand their horizons. Through the Provincial Dual Credit Strategy, the Alberta government is investing more than $11 million over three years, including $5 million to support schools, post-secondary institutions and businesses as they partner to deliver opportunities for students to earn both high school and post-secondary credits for the same course. These credits could also lead to workplace certification or advanced standing in post-secondary programs. Current dual credit opportunities are offered in areas ranging from welding and culinary arts to pre-engineering and health sciences.

Alberta Education is also rethinking and redesigning high school to provide more flexibility for students and teachers. Linking credits to the time a student spends sitting in a desk is too prescriptive for some high school students, especially those who don’t require the full 25 hours of face-to-face instruction currently required. More than 100 high schools will remove the 25-hour standard this coming school year.

Assessment is Evolving

Alberta students will soon be able to write their diploma exams in a digital format and have access to more exam sessions throughout the year.

Also, beginning next school year, the traditional Provincial Achievement Tests (PATs) will be phased out and new Student Learning Assessments will replace them. These new assessments will be given at the beginning of the school year, as opposed to the end of the year when the PATs were traditionally administered. This change will give parents and teachers valuable insight into a child’s strengths or areas that need improvement over the course of the year and will allow the results to be revisited throughout the year. The series of tests will assess skills in numeracy and literacy and include interactive approaches to help educators and parents understand how well students are applying what they are learning. This will demonstrate their competencies such as critical thinking and problem-solving.

Thanks to you (Alberta school divisions) we already have one of the best education systems in the world – but that doesn’t mean we can be complacent. We need to continue to look for ways to ensure our system and our students are ready for whatever the future holds.

For more information about any of these initiatives please visit  Alberta Education’s website.

It was with conflicting viewpoints that I read Mike Faille’s National Post blog entitled “In praise of failure: The key ingredient to children’s success, experts say, is not success”.

On the one hand, I agreed with his premise that our students and parents receive mixed messages around risk-taking and making mistakes and, as Susan Einhorn, Executive Director of the Anytime Anywhere Learning Foundation[1],  notes, that “the process of getting to the success (the stops and starts and the failed experiments) do not get any recognition in our culture.”  We truly need to provide opportunities for our students to learn by doing and this belief needs to be reinforced through our practice.

What I do not agree with is Faille’s conclusion that a culture of risk-taking and making mistakes is best reinforced in a learning environment where zeros are given to students who do not meet the academic standard.

I would argue that this approach to assessment reflects an “old school” pass-fail attitude and leaves students wondering what they need to do to make the grade.  It becomes about the mark, not about the learning.  It also reinforces a grading system that is based on an industrial model of “sort and rank” which has been proven to be unfair, de-motivating and one that does not support a “wanting to learn more” approach to education.  If it is all about the grade, rather than the learning – “take a risk, make a mistake, fail an experiment” sounds more like a recipe for academic disaster.  When I was in school, failing anything resulted in a lower mark being entered into my grade book; never mind the impact of that low mark when averaged with the other marks – especially if it was a zero.  How fair is that?

Pass/fail, right/wrong, zero, 100% — this doesn’t sound like a “think outside the box”, take risks, make mistakes kind of system to me.  Way too much at risk – especially in today’s highly-competitive, marks-driven environment!

Furthermore, upon receiving a zero, will the student be motivated to perform better next time?  Do they even know what they need to do to improve or will they just make the same mistakes again?   And even if they learn from their mistakes, if they don’t get a second chance to demonstrate what they have learned, who will ever know?

We need to re-frame our thinking.  Failure alone is not the key ingredient for success, particularly if a student has not been given an opportunity to learn from their mistakes.

I contend that our primary focus must be on LEARNING because that is ultimately the key ingredient for success.  Our failed experiments need to INFORM our learning and help move us closer to achieving our learning goals.  We need to be “failing forward”.  Learning is a progression… Learning is dynamic, not static.

We need a system that supports risk-taking and learning from mistakes…  A system that communicates clear learning targets, creates exemplars of what successful work looks like, and provides students with second chances… A system where students are provided with differentiated instruction, where the learning is scaffolded, which helps students develop the appropriate skills to achieve learning challenges.  They also need to receive timely, descriptive feedback throughout the learning process.  We need a system that holds everyone accountable for learning – students and teachers…  A system that measures and reports on a student’s depth of understanding as it relates to the targeted learning outcomes…  A system that values learning over the grade…  We need a system where our instruction and assessment practices support this.

I believe that it is through this lens that we will truly foster a culture of risk-taking and making mistakes in our schools and classrooms – and that the end result will help ALL of our students achieve success.

[1] Susan Einhorn, Executive Director of the Anytime Anywhere Learning Foundation

Author Malcolm Gladwell [1] has written extensively about social change in our society and how we arrive at the “tipping point”, the moment when a critical mass of circumstances come together and set us on a new and unstoppable course. I truly believe that we are on the threshold of this tipping point in education, especially when we take a look at some of the exciting changes that are transforming our high schools. The focus has shifted from relaying information and facts to active and engaging preparation for real life. As we move away from a system of time-based evaluations and summative assessments to one of performance-based outcomes, the importance of improving learning for every student is the non-negotiable bottom line.

Socrates once said that, “the secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new”. For far too long we have been on an slow evolutionary path of change in our profession. One where change looked more like tinkering — adaptations, slight modifications or a combination of the latest learning ‘fads’. Today, the excitement generated by looking deeply into WHY we do what we do in our schools has engaged our teachers to view their mission differently and focus on developing positive relationships with their students, find ways to make curriculum more meaningful, individualize their instruction, and motivate EVERY student to do their best and take ownership of their own learning.

Both as a professional in education, as well as a parent with a daughter in grade ten in one of our high schools, this tipping point has me beyond excited in anticipation of what the future holds for our students and our profession!  I anticipate that we are going to see a reversal of the current national data that indicates that students become less engaged in their educational experience the older they get and further along in grade level they progress.

In Foothills School Division, we are embracing a systematic approach to education that continually focuses on creating an environment where EVERY student flourishes to the fullest extent of their abilities…  one that taps into their own unique perspectives and visions for success in life after high school… and one that not only allows them, but ENCOURAGES them, to move through their studies at their own pace while inspiring them to do and be their best. In the face of this, how can I NOT believe that this is the transformation we have been waiting for?

I am proud of the work that our school division staff have undertaken to make learning something that our students take ownership and pride in. By serving as facilitators, mediators, and guides in the learning process, they are making a deep and lasting difference in their students’ lives.

It is a transformation away from words on a page to real life expressions of vital concepts that engage our students to truly apply what they are learning to goals they have for their future life outside of the classroom and curriculum! This is the tipping point that we have been talking about in relation to 21st Century learning, and we need to be proud that we are leaders in “building the new” as Socrates encourages us to do.

I did a brief “Google” search the other day: “Arts Programs Being Cut from Schools.”  The search revealed 172,000,000 hits in .35 of a second. I admit that I expected a significant return, but 172 million hits in less than a second? I think that indicates a pretty significant and troubling trend.

This development is more than a little disconcerting to many educators, particularly those who follow the research in education quite closely. There is, in fact, a very strong research argument to be made for ensuring that strong arts programming is available to students.

The benefits include the following: 1.) the arts help students develop vital higher level skills, 2.) arts education helps students learn other subjects, 3.) assessment methods used in arts can measure achievement in other disciplines and 4.) higher level skills and attitudes developed through arts education are valued by prospective employers  and are seen as essential in the workplace.

“The growing body of research is proving what arts advocates have always known: arts education helps children to develop and learn.”[1]

One of the most significant surprises I have experienced since arriving in Foothills School Division (FSD) is the amazing offering of extremely high quality arts programming available to students, whether we are referring to theater arts, music or visual arts. Even more amazing… I think we are actually getting even better.

The reason is quite simple. We have an excellent staff, dedicated to providing high quality learning experiences in the arts for students. Equally important, they are collaborative learners. No successful idea or initiative remains a secret in FSD. This is a team that works incredibly well together and is dedicated to collaborative success on behalf of their students.

In the past few weeks, I have had the opportunity to observe some amazing student performances in the visual arts, in choral performances, in drama and theater, and in jazz and band… and I have seen them from elementary through high school. High quality arts programming is simply part of the fabric in FSD, and we are proud of our reputation of success.

In times of budgetary constraints, there is no question that arts programming becomes vulnerable. One hundred and seventy-two million Google hits provide ample proof of this. Moving forward, we certainly can’t promise that arts programming will be unaffected by any budgetary issues that we may face as a school division. What we can promise, however, is that we view arts programming as an investment, not simply an expenditure, in terms of achieving our central vision in FSD: Improving Learning for All Students. Accordingly, we remain committed to ensuring high quality programming for ALL of our students.

Assessment is no longer something that teachers do just at the end of the unit so that they are able to arrive at a summative mark that will “count” towards a student’s overall grade.   It’s more than assigning grades and moving on to the next unit. 

Assessment is about learning.

If one comes from the perspective that assessment is about learning (and not just about the grade), then the purpose of assessment, in practice, needs  to be twofold:  to provide feedback to students so that they are clear on what they need to do to improve AND also to provide information to teachers on their instruction:  what is working, what isn’t, and what do they need to adjust in their teaching so that ALL of their students can learn at high levels.

The FSD Vision for Leading and Supporting Learning clearly identifies “Assessment for and of Learning” as a key component for improving learning for ALL students.  We understand the relationship that exists between student learning and high quality assessment practices, especially the use of formative assessment strategies (e.g. peer assessments, self assessments, questioning techniques, providing timely descriptive feedback without a mark/grade, etc.), and recognize that when used effectively, these strategies have a significant impact on students’ overall achievement.

One should not find it surprising that the research clearly links high quality formative assessment with improved student learning.  All we have to do is to reflect on a time when we were learning something new… learning how to play an instrument, how to ski or play golf, or how to  build a new shed.  Those of us who were fortunate to receive coaching along the way (ongoing feedback) were likely far more apt to be successful at achieving our goal then those who had to muddle through on their own.

Learning something knew became even easier when we:

• had the learning task broken down for us so that we knew and understood the steps along the way that would lead us to our end goal or learning target;
• not only received multiple attempts to succeed, but also received timely, descriptive feedback as to what was working well and areas for improvement/attention as we progressed towards our end goal; and
• had a picture  (exemplar) of what it was that we were trying to achieve  so that we were able to “self-assess” how we were doing in relation to the end goal (e.g. a recording of how the instrument should sound when it was played accurately, a picture of how the shed should look when it was complete).

So, if we know from both the research and our own learning experiences that formative assessment is key to helping improve learning and achievement, why is it that we do not see widespread implementation of these strategies throughout classrooms and schools?  What are we missing?

In an article published in Education Canada[1] (Canadian Education Association), they maintain that a “research-practice” divide exists in the use of formative assessment in the teaching-learning cycle and that focused attention needs to be given to help bridge this divide.   Further, they suggest that “when educators participate in sharing stories, take part in internal accountability practices and build networked learning communities, the philosophy of assessment and school culture begins to move forward.”

In FSD, we are a learning organization driven by a shared vision for teaching and learning.  Professional learning and a focus on continuous improvement is a part of our cultural fabric.  On professional development days, administrators, instructional coaches and teachers work together in collaborative teams studying their curricula, designing intellectually engaging lessons, sharing instructional strategies and creating effective assessment strategies.  It is during these times that our staff  are able to share their teaching and learning successes and challenges with their colleagues – sharing strategies that worked well and helped to advance student learning in their classroom, as well as challenges that they faced and possible approaches that might make a difference in learning for their students.

Through our professional learning work, we are shifting our assessment culture – from an old model of “teach, mark, assign a grade, and move on” to a more current approach that embraces a philosophy of assessment that is focused on improving learning for ALL students.  We are holding ourselves professionally accountable to our students for their continuous growth and improvement.  We want our students to see learning as what matters, we want them to continue to challenge themselves to go deeper in their understanding of the discipline they are studying to become critical thinkers, problem solvers, risk takers, and to build their confidence as innovators and creators of new knowledge.  We recognize that in order for our students to achieve these competencies, many of our assessment practices need to be formative in nature so that our students are given the information that they need to succeed as well as to achieve high quality work.

This is definitely easier said than done given that many of the assessment strategies that we are using in our assessment practice are significantly different from what parents and many of our older students have experienced in their schooling,   In light of this, it becomes our responsibility as professional educators to help both our students and our parents see (and experience!) the positive impact of high quality assessment on student growth and on their ability to reach their full potential.

Over the last few years we have also come to understand the power of engaging our students in their learning.  We recognize that they are a very important partner in this assessment conversation as we shift our focus to learning and not just the grade.

In structured group conversations where we asked our students to tell us what helped them improve their learning, they indicated that they need to be provided with clearly defined learning targets and a clear path on what they need to do to improve.  They also shared with us that when they were provided with clear learning targets and specific details/timely descriptive feedback regarding what they needed to do to progress from one level of understanding to the next  (Beginning, Acceptable, Proficient, Mastery)  they were able to hit the target.  In classes where teachers were clear on what they expected their students to learn and what the students needed to do to demonstrate their learning, students reported that they were far more apt to be successful then in classes where this information was not readily available to them.

It is also clear that the students’ feedback during this focus group conversation reflected an assessment culture – not just around what they, as students, needed to be more successful learners but also what the teacher needed to adjust in his or her teaching in order for the students to experience success in their learning.

Foothills School Division is a networked system of talented professional educators who are interested, curious and personally invested in the quality of their work – recognizing that both curriculum and assessment are changing, and that with these changes comes a change in practice.

We are moving forward in our professional practice… in our classrooms, in our schools and throughout the division.  Have we arrived?   Not yet – however, as we continue in our work together, we will close the gap between the assessment “research and practice divide”.  In FSD, we have the will and are finding our way!

[1] http://www.cea-ace.ca/education-canada/article/formative-assessment-bridging-research-practice-divide

We’ve heard about the extreme growth that Okotoks, High River and other areas in the M.D. of Foothills are experiencing.  Is Foothills School Division prepared for the increased number of students projected to enter our schools as a result of this growth?  This question and others like it seem to be heard more frequently around skating rinks and other areas where parents gather throughout the district, especially in light of the latest census results showing that the communities of Okotoks and High River are among the nation’s fastest growing municipalities.

As you may know, the M.D. of Foothills and Towns of Okotoks, High River, Turner Valley and Black Diamond all participate in the Calgary Regional Partnership, which is aimed at managing and planning growth in the region as well potential infrastructure needs.  In addition, the Province of Alberta does its own forecasting, which predicts 20 per cent overall growth in the “Calgary Corridor” over the next 10 years.  In FSD, we review our own projections annually as part of the preparation of our own Capital Plan.

All of Alberta’s 64 school boards are required to prepare their capital requests and submit them to Alberta Education each spring, outlining and prioritizing requests for both new schools and modernization of existing schools.  As outlined in the Alberta Education/Alberta Infrastructure School Capital Manual [1], the Province then has to balance these requests with the dollars that are available for capital improvements. If, in an ideal world, the Province were able to approve all current requests across the province, the total would hit well over $2 billion. Due to the vagaries of Alberta’s economy, when resource revenue is high there are more dollars available for new projects; when the economy slows down, obviously the reverse is true.

The Government uses the following criteria when prioritizing school building requests:

• Health and Safety – Potential impact on the health and safety of occupants if the project does not proceed.
• Building Condition – Based on facility audits, which are conducted every few years to determine the condition of components such as mechanical, electrical, building envelope, etc.
• Utilization Rates – How full a school is compared to its capacity rating.
• Enrolment Projections – Trends and growth of population.
• Education Program Delivery – Alignment with the direction the board has described in its Capital Plan.
• Additional Information – Studies, regional plans, etc.

This past summer FSD contracted Stantec to undertake a review of our facility needs to assist us in planning for anticipated growth within our district.  This report as well as other information, like the latest census, will be used to help us update our Capital Plan and provide rationale for our capital requests.

Currently our top capital priority is the modernization of École Secondaire Foothills Composite High School/Alberta High School of Fine Arts.  We are also seeking new schools in the Okotoks and High River areas – areas which are experiencing significant growth that is forecasted to continue into the foreseeable future.

In conjunction with the preparation and filing of our Capital Plan, we also meet with our local municipal partners, provincial MLAs and members of Alberta Education/Alberta Infrastructure in order to ensure that the decision makers are aware of our community needs and priorities.

It’s impossible to be prepared for every scenario, and decisions finalized at the Provincial level and based on Provincial needs and funding are clearly outside of Foothills School Division’s control.  What we can control, is ensuring that our Capital Plan is based on accurate and timely information that advocates well for our communities and our students.

[1] Alberta Education/Alberta Infrastructure School Capital Manual (Updated January 2012); see p. 16 – Approval Process for School Building Projects

By Stacey Meyer, Assistant Superintendent, Employee Services

Mornings in our schools are both an energizing and challenging time because over the hours that have passed since the previous day’s dismissal,  much has happened in the lives of our students and staff.  Teachers begin to look and plan ahead, and students join their peers in our classrooms, some excited and full of anticipation, others tired and physically or mentally worn out from the previous evening’s events.  A common expectation of all is that they are in a healthy, safe and welcoming environment.

We know that bullying in schools across our nation is a prominent issue that has received increasingly widespread attention, not necessarily because there are more cases of bullying than in the past, but because of some of the excellent work that has been done in the area of identifying and dealing with the issues surrounding bullying, abuse and harassment.  One only has to read the newspaper or turn on the national news to see the serious and lasting harm that these issues can have on our schools, and more importantly, the children attending them.

Far too often, bullying was dismissed as a childhood rite of passage.  On an international scale of 35 countries, Canada has the 9^th highest rate of bullying among 13 year olds.  In CCL’s 2007 Survey of Canadian Attitudes toward learning, 38% of adult males and 30% of adult females reported having experienced occasional or frequent bullying during their school years and beyond.  In addition, 47% of parents reported that they had a child who had been bullied while 16% indicated that this bullying was a frequent occurrence. [1]

There are many bullying prevention programs available to schools. Most of them focus on educating students.  In Foothills School Division, we are proud of our work and growth in this area, including a focus on ensuring our ADULTS have a common understanding, definition, and approach to bullying, abuse and harassment in our schools.  Every employee in Foothills School Division who works with children is required to be certified in one of the Respect Group Inc. programs: Respect In School, Respect in Sport or Respect in the Workplace.  These are preventative e-learning programs, driven by the powerful work of former NHL player and sexual abuse survivor Sheldon Kennedy. The programs are designed to promote safe and healthy classrooms, sporting environments and work places where adults work with our students.

I am a firm believer that if our adults are not learning, how can we expect our children to learn?  By providing our adults the tools and education to identify and address (and hopefully one day eliminate) the bullying that they witness, we in turn support our children.  The programs focus on teaching the adults in schools and in leadership positions how to monitor their own behavior while teaching, supporting or coaching our students.  It also helps them identify manifestations of bullying, such as the misuse of power, and how to recognize, intervene and report incidents of bullying, abuse, harassment and neglect.

We are currently in year two of our implementation plan of the Respect programs (see recent Global TV report)  and are proud of the improving results we are seeing when we look at such data as the Safe and Caring category on the school and divisional Accountability Pillar reports. Furthermore, informal conversations with students suggest that they are feeling much more comfortable and confident in sharing their own stories of abuse, harassment or bullying with adults they trust in our schools.

While it may seem as if there are more cases of bullying in schools, it is my opinion that we are only hearing and seeing more of them because we are in a better place in identifying the issues surrounding bullying, which in turn garners more attention from everyone.  Social media has, without a doubt, put a new face and challenge on what bullying looks like, but when you drill down and systematically approach the issue, it is the same whether it is a face to face comment, text message or online posting.  The powerful approach of ensuring our adults have a common understanding, language and approach to bullying is a positive element in ensuring our students feel safe in our schools.

I am not naïve in suggesting we have found the “answer” to end bullying among peers, students or adults, but the evidence suggests (survey results of those who have taken the course in FSD would confirm) that an overwhelming percentage of our adults report that the Respect programs have assisted them in their teaching or support role by helping them identify, prevent and/or intervene with bullying and related issues in our schools.

I think we can be proud of the fact that Foothills School Division is the first school division in Canada to mandate and implement this adult-based program, which can only benefit our students!

Often when I’m talking to people of my vintage, my counterparts argue, often passionately, that today’s students are clearly not of the standards of the students of yesteryear…and furthermore, that today’s schools are not of the standards of their educational history.  They all have their stories of “evidence” such as the clerk who needed a calculator to do basic math, the job application riddled with spelling mistakes and the incidents of public misbehavior by kids as proof of a crumbling educational system.  When I inquire about their  “Golden Age of Education”, they often respond with a decade – like the 70’s.  I smile and tell them, “Well, I was actually around for the ‘good ol’ days’ and, trust me, they weren’t that good”… and then I remind them that almost none of us leave school at age 18 as fully developed people.

Author Jamie Vollmer in his book, Schools Cannot Do It Alone actually labels this perception “nostesia: a hallucinogenic mixture of 50% nostalgia and 50% amnesia that distorts rational thinking.”[1]  Vollmer cites written expressions of doubt and disapproval from adults about previous generations and their failings as far back as Plato.  Vollmer notes that dropout rates, in particular, are many multiples less today than the often-cited “Golden Ages” of previous years.  The most effective treatment for nostesia, according to Vollmer, is “direct exposure to students and teachers in schools…coupled with regular, powerful doses of good news about our schools.”[2]

Well, count me among those who believe that our Foothills School Division (FSD) schools, teachers and students are better than they have ever been, despite having higher expectations from our stakeholders and society than ever before.  However, it’s not just my experience, education or title that give me cause me to speak this way.  I’m going to back up my opinions with facts:

• Did you know that last year, in 16 categories tracked by Alberta Education in their Accountability Pillar Report, FSD improved in nine categories, maintained its high standards in six and declined in only one?
• Did you know that in five of the nine categories referenced above,  FSD received the highest possible rating for improvement and that each of these categories were measures of student learning?
•  Did you know that within the 26 categories of Provincial Achievement Testing programs tracked by Alberta Education that, last year, FSD students showed improvement in 12 categories, maintained the previous standard in 14 and declined in exactly zero?  In fact, the English Language Arts scores in grade three showed that almost half of our students (44.6%) achieved the Standard of Excellence in reading!  If you want your child to have a great start in literacy, these results should tell you a story.
• What about high schools? Well, the current drop-out rate in FSD is 1.8%, a little less than half the Alberta rate of 3.2%.  More importantly, however, may be that the Alberta rate is the best it’s ever been, improving a full percentage point from the previous year.  This doesn’t sound like a system in crisis!  In fact, international student data suggest that Alberta’s educational system is the highest rated, predominately English-speaking educational system in the world, and ranks second in the world in the overall ratings, trailing only Finland.
• Additionally, did you know that our Rutherford Scholarship eligibility rate in FSD is 66.4% about 5% better than the rest of high achieving Alberta.  Again, if you want your child to graduate and achieve well in high school, these results tell you a compelling story.

Despite what ‘nostesics’ might believe, the facts are that FSD is graduating more students at higher levels of achievement than ever before… and that FSD is one of the highest achieving school divisions in Alberta… which is one of the highest rated educational systems in the world.  It’s world class education.

I don’t know if FSD can improve its results to the same degree next year.  Our Alberta Education liaison told us, quite frankly, “I have not seen this level of improvement anywhere else.”  It would be amazing if we could repeat it.  Having said that, we know that we certainly aren’t perfect.  There are things we still need to do better.  Rest assured, however, that we are constantly working to achieve our ultimate goal of  ”Improving learning for ALL students.”

I’m proud of FSD.  It is a school division with tremendous moral purpose.  It’s a learning organization, built on healthy relationships and committed to developing innovative, engaging learning environments for improving learning for ALL students.  And when I interact with our tremendous staff and students, my 30 years of experience tell me, “These are the ‘Good ol’ days.”

If we are to move forward with the transformational learning agenda the education system needs students’ perspectives, ideas and their voice.

According to student voice expert Adam Fletcher: “Meaningful student involvement in education turns the microphone around, making the student the examiner as well as the examined, and the feedback loop an engine for school change.  The most important partners need to be engaged now, and that is what meaningful student involvement is all about.”

Guest blogger Fletcher expands on this idea in his post  Engaging Student Voice to Welcome The Future, Today on The Whole Child Blog. 

Obviously, young people have a unique perspective on learning, teaching and schooling.  I believe that if we are truly going to transform education we need to give our students opportunities to actively shape their education by ensuring that their insights warrant not only the attention but the responses of adults.

In the last few years, Alberta Education has hosted a number of Speak Out forums throughout the province to engage students from various educational systems to share their diverse perspectives and experiences regarding their education.  At each forum the students were separated into small working groups and asked to share their educational experiences.

According to the Speak Out 2011-2012 Year In Review report, when asked, “What does it look like when you are learning at your best?”, 33 per cent of the students indicated “flexibility in learning” which they described as a variety of teaching styles, ability to be involved in class, hands-on activities, group work, and interactive learning; another six per cent indicated “interesting and relevant lessons” which included comments such as “interested in what’s being taught”, “enjoy what I’m learning” and “relevant to life and future.”

In response to the question, “What is holding you back from learning at your best?”, 29 per cent of the students indicated that ineffective teaching styles, including inappropriate methods and materials, teachers who aren’t flexible or understanding, and boring teachers.  Another seven per cent indicated that they had no interest in the curriculum, specifically that classes were irrelevant and that topics were boring.

Foothills School Division has established a Students’ Matters committee (consisting of Grade 8-12 student representatives from our schools) and found that their responses were very similar in nature to those heard at the Speak Out forums.

One of our students summarized her thoughts with the following comment: “In our LA classes I think that we could benefit by hearing more from the student voice because when we write about different things some time the kids don’t know anything about the topic so it is really hard for them to write about that topic.  In some other parts of our school it might help to hear more from the students’ voice because then it might make some of the students want to take part in the activity more if they have a voice in what/how they would be learning it.

Another one of our students commented: “I believe that there is greater improvement in this area (academic achievement) because of student voice.  When teachers and adults care about what we have to say, we feel a greater level of acceptance.  Because of this we are more willing to learn.”

So if this is what our students are telling us, what is our response?  How does what they are saying reflect what we know about our changing world… a world where skills such as problem solving, critical thinking, communication, collaborating and risk taking are becoming increasingly more important for future success?  What does this mean for us, as educators, as we work alongside our students encouraging them to identify their interests, act upon their passions and represent their learning in ways that work for them?

Recently, Paul Rasporich, a CTS digital technology teacher at our Oilfields High School, shared an example of the power of listening to the voice of one of his students, capitalizing on the pride she felt for the ranch that has been owned and operated by her family for the last two generations and is the home of Foothills’ residential program, Stampede Ranch for Kids.  Paul worked side by side with student Ireland Edey to co-create an authentic learning experience that not only helped Ireland master the learning outcomes for that particular unit of study but also intellectually engaged both Ireland and Paul throughout the entire learning journey.  We invited Paul and Ireland to share this experience with our Trustees at a recent Board meeting.

It is my belief that if we are going to successfully prepare our students for the changing world and help them to reach deeper conceptual understandings and enduring competencies for learning and life, then we need to actively involve them in this transformation.  Students throughout Foothills School Division and the Province of Alberta have demonstrated to us that when given the opportunity to “speak out” they are able to clearly articulate what they need to be successful learners.  Our challenge is to both listen to and act upon what they are telling us.