Social Emotional Learning & Well-being
“Social and emotional learning (SEL) is the process through which all young people and adults acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to develop healthy identities, manage emotions and achieve personal and collective goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain supportive relationships, and make responsible and caring decisions.” (CASEL, 2022) SEL […]
Student Teacher Relationships
Positive student-teacher relationships are integral to students’ social and academic lives (Hamre & Pianta, 2010). Students with caring, positive relationships with their teachers have been shown to have better well-being (Braun et al., 2019), increased prosocial behaviours (Wentzel, 2002), and more engagement and success in school (Engels et al., 2016). Many things can contribute to […]
Peer Relationships
Positive peer relationships are associated with academic achievement, sense of connection to school and overall health and well-being (Juvonen, Espinoza & Knifsend, 2012; Ladd, Kochenderfer & Coleman, 1997; Li, Doyle Lynch, Liu & Lerner, 2011). There are many ways to foster positive peer relationships in the classroom through various strategies, routines and learning experiences. Here, […]
Engaging All Learners in the Middle Years:
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion April 26, 2022 Session Recording with Beth Applewhite and Bryan Gidinski. Beth Applewhite is the acting District Principal of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion with the Burnaby School District. BC-born and raised, Beth is a bi-racial educator of Trinidadian and Scottish heritages. She has been unrelenting in her determination to challenge the […]
Engaging All Learners in the Secondary Years
Session 1: Nov. 7, 2022 With thanks to support from the Ministry of Education, BC’s Rural Education Advisory, UBC’s Edith Lando Virtual Learning Centre, and the Greater Victoria School District invited educators in BC to join in a shared conversation about literacy learning in the secondary years. Sessions had a blend of current thinking, examples […]
What Counts as Primary Literacy
Faye Brownlie, Literacy and Learning Expert: Faye is a long-time advocate of inclusive classrooms where all children continue to grow as readers and writers. She believes in our collective ability to reach and teach all our learners, working collaboratively, asking questions, remembering to include passion and joy, and most importantly, teaching responsively. Faye finds great […]
Indigenous Storywork and Math Education
Participating teachers include: Joy Fast (SD37 Delta), Jen Whiffin (SD43 Coquitlam), Sandra Fox (SD39 Vancouver), Leighann Rodger (SD50 Haida Gwaii), Cynthia Nicol (UBC), Jo-Ann Archibald (UBC), Joanne Yovanovich (SD50 Haida Gwaii), Janice Novakowski (SD38 & UBC) Organizers include: Leyton Schnellert (UBC), Jo-ann Archibald (UBC), Janice Novakowski (SD 38 Richmond UBC), Cynthia Nicol (UBC). With Thanks […]
Teaching and Learning through Place/Land
The first session of our series Connecting Mathematics, Community and Culture. In this session four teachers share stories of math and place/land to imagine mathematics education differently. Teacher stories include the power of place and mathematical inquiry grounded outside an urban school, within a rural community, and guided by teachings of cedar on the Pacific […]
Language & Culture
Knowledge is developed in historical and cultural contexts where past, present and future are all connected. Indigenous people make sense of the world through stories, traditions, and values that are carried through the generations. As educators, we seek to honour and provide opportunities for connection and story. This requires an understanding of the diversity of […]
Land as Teacher
The worldview of Indigenous peoples is deeply connected to land. Land and place are seen as multidimensional and a source of knowledge including rich and precise knowledge of local ecosystems. Land is much more than a physical marker, a geographical location, or a landscape. Land and place encompass spiritual and emotional sensibilities. “All my elders […]
Reciprocity, Responsibility, Relationships
To live in balance and harmony with others and the natural world around requires reciprocity and responsibility. Educators can demonstrate these values in their teaching, interactions with students, families, and communities, and caring for the natural world. What is Reciprocity? What is Responsibility? What is Relationship? What does it mean to teach within these […]
Story
“The Truth About Stories is that is all we are” Thomas King “All that we are is story. From the moment we are born to the time we continue on our spirit journey, we are involved in the creation of the story of our time here. It is what we arrive with. It is all […]
Indigenous Ways of Knowing, Being, & Doing
As educators, we have a responsibility to ensure the Aboriginal/Indigenous histories, perspectives, and worldviews are accurately and respectfully conveyed to all learners. We must consider how Indigenous content and perspectives are taken up in areas of the curriculum, as well as how teaching through Indigenous ways of Knowing can be done in the school setting, and […]
Nurturing Positive Relationships
Nurturing positive relationships is a key component of cultivating a caring community of learners. We are social beings by nature and long to experience a sense of connection and belonging. It only makes sense that we should aim to establish positive relationships in our classrooms because this is where students and educators spend so much […]
Land-based Learning
Land is the ultimate Knowledge Keeper – The holder of all knowledge Once, not so long ago, Land was a revered teacher. We, the first peoples, understood that our very survival depended on our relationship with Land and that she would care for those who learned her lessons well. Over five hundred years of colonization, […]
Supportive Routines in Place-Conscious Learning
Place based education is “concerned with methods, while a place conscious pedagogy is a philosophical and political orientation within the field of education” (Fraser, 2016). There are core routines that can support a place conscious pedagogy in practice, however a place-conscious pedagogy is mostly an orientation towards teaching and learning in place. Drawing connections between […]
Place-conscious learning
What is place-conscious learning? Place is really any environment or context in which people interact to “learn, create memory, reflect on history, connect with culture, and establish identity” (BC Ministry of Education, 2021). The marriage of critical learning with place-based education produces a place-conscious pedagogy that incorporates the life experiences of both teachers and students […]
Supportive core routines for place-based learning
Many place-based educators rely on core routines to support their teaching practice. Core routines are deliberate and intentional habits that build a community of learners in a shared space of learning. Core routines are important for establishing safety protocols and provide a sense of structure, particularly when introducing resources or materials that will be used with learners […]
What does it mean to be a place-based educator?
Within formal systems of schooling, place-based education can mean different things to different educators. Place-based practices are difficult to replicate because they are specific to the relationships, environments and contexts in which they are enacted. However, in all iterations, pedagogies of place involve holding space for direct observation, hands on investigations, and meaningful experimentations of […]
Place-based learning in BC
In practice, educators who enact a pedagogy of place situate the local environment, and more-than-human-world, as important teachers in curricular learning. Place-based learning is not a singular lesson, but rather a reflective practice that prioritizes meaningful connections between learners and the more-then-human world over rigid adherence to a prescribed curriculum (Smith, 2007). The Kooteney / […]
Place-based learning
Place-based education is the process of using the local community and environment as a starting point to teach concepts in language arts, mathematics, social studies, science and other subjects across the curriculum. Emphasizing hands-on, real-world learning experiences, this approach to education increases academic achievement, helps students develop strong ties to their community, enhances students’ appreciation […]
