Tech Club and Makerspace

Our Tech Club has been more of an experimental process since we started it up only last year. Katie and I have been focusing on teaching students to code using mostly Scratch and having students involved in Hour of Code. However this year, we have had a different approach with our TLLP initiative. We wanted our Tech Club students to be more involved with the creation of our Makerspace. We wanted student voice in the creation and use of the mobile spaces.

Our school had started a Makerspace committee among some of the staff. They are in charge of organizing the 4 Makerspace carts the TLLP team had put together. The Tech club got a chance to preview these 4 carts and give feedback to the teachers on the Makerspace committee.

After the club got familiar with all the items and gadgets within the carts, Katie and I decided to begin introducing Spencer and Juliani's Launch Cycle. This cycle is a great design thinking process framekwork for students to follow. Students main goal is to design and create a self-regulation tool (Getting to Green tool) for students in another school. The Prezi shows how we infused the Launch cycle framework with the Tech Club students.

Prezi

Katie & Yolanta

What SEL? How SEL? Of Course … SEL!

Last year our school began its journey with  Self- Regulation for our students. What was it? How could we possibly do that at school as well as all the other things and how will this help our students were many of the initial questions.  Our project started off small with some support from a team at the Board office. We selected a couple of groups of students to work on a project with the team. We felt this group would benefit the most from regulating themselves in the classroom and on the yard.  After seeing the success this brought, we decided to go school wide.

Last spring our school improvement team met and discussed this topic specifically.  How could we do this as a whole school? Is it possible? Will it benefit all our students?  Will the teachers buy in? It was at that point that the TLLP group came together and decided that this could also  be a focus of their proposal. In August our SIP team gathered and put together the 5 in 10 SEAS activities.  These were prescriptive activities for the entire school to follow for the month of September.  It included activities and videos that would be consistent across every division.We had intentionally focussed activities that created discussion on social awareness and building relationship skills. The team decided that the best way to have whole staff ‘interest would be to provide the specifics and let them branch out from there.  

The month of September was a huge success. The students were using the SEL language to describe their emotional states and were able to up and down regulate to the best of their abilities.  Our next step was to have the parents involved more. The TLLP group organized an evening for our parent community. They also had other staff members, who were using the strategies presenting to parents.  As our enrollment was changing it was decided to make our SEL strategies live for all students. This would also benefit the students who came new to our school. As a team of teachers we gathered before and after school to help create a live Zones of Regulation Wall.  This wall is used by our students daily. They can actually stand in front of it and physical describe their feelings and begin to move as the up or down regulate.

As our SEL journey continues, so will the resources we provide to our students.  If we can equip them with the strategies and provide them time to practice them, they will succeed.  As our TLLP team progresses through their journey, they bring multiple options to our school. And for that we are grateful!

Jody Prevost

Principal

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

Makerspace Reflection

   This year our school made it a priority to incorporate Makerspace into our learning environment.  Although I had done STEM challenges with my classes in the past, I really wanted to begin to incorporate Makerspace on a more consistent basis, into my Gr. 2 curriculum. I also wanted to branch out to include a variety of stations (invention, technology, lego, Makedo sets, etc.). What I immediately noticed was that ALL of my students were engaged from the planning stages right up to the completion and presentation of their projects. The students were even excited to hear other students present their finished product, asking thoughtful and insightful questions about their peers’ projects. Makerspace allowed the students to work on challenges that naturally provided differentiation and allowed each of their strengths to shine through. So even when their task was the same, the finished products could be delivered in a way that used materials and methods that were vastly different.  As a result, not only were all the students able to design, execute and deliver a product that met task expectations, but there was more freedom to create and think critically.

   I also noted that using Makerspace in my Grade 2 class provided opportunities for my students to persevere, especially when their idea didn’t look like their design or when it wasn’t quite meeting the expectations.  It led to rich discussions on the importance of failure and how scientists and inventors often learn through mistakes and ultimately end up with a better product. Every student in my class was able to make suggestions on how their original design could be improved upon, which ultimately was just as important, if not more important, than the final product.

    So in addition to allowing students to take risks, understand the importance of failure and foster creativity and critical thinking, Makerspace also helped foster empathy in my students. When students became frustrated with building their design, I would often see other students step in and offer suggestions or advice. Thinking about a product that could be beneficial to others in the real world, also led to thinking about the reasons why we invent new products.  

   In the future my plan is to continue learning about Makerspace and how I can continue to incorporate it into my curriculum.

Bobbi Larock

Gr 2 Teacher, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

MakerSpace Committee

SEL and the Curriculum

Do we infuse SEL teaching into the curriculum or do we use the curriculum to
enhance SEL?

As a TLLP team, we have begun to more explicitly plan how SEL concepts such as Zones
of Regulation, mindset and mindfulness can be interwoven into the everyday tasks and
activities that students complete in all curriculum areas.

Religion

Students each had a paper heart. As students shared stories about times they were
hurt, teased or embarrassed, they made a fold in their heart. Once all the students
finished sharing, we tried to smooth out our hearts. Students realized that their heart
could never be  

Media Literacy

During our school Pizza box contest, the students designed mindfulness and family
activities. Each student contributed to the mindful colouring page, brainstormed ideas
for “Family Night Rules” and collected recycled pencil crayons to colour our mindful
colouring page.

Science
For their culminating Science task on their "Strong and Stable Structures" unit, grade 3
students had the choice to show their learning in a variety of ways. One such way was to
create a structure to match one of the zones of regulation. For example, a house in the
'green' zone might be strong and stable, while a house in the 'yellow' zone could be
wiggly and not as stable-looking. A red house (see below) was made to show the idea of
being spiky or prickly, as well as unstable - the roof caved in without the necessary
supports. Students were then asked to reflect on how their structure matched their
chosen zone.

Math - Telling Time and Making Connections to the Zones
Students were asked to create a clock to practise telling time to the 5 minute mark.
They were then asked to focus in on 3-4 times of day that they could connect to a
specific feeling and zone. For example, if they usually feel tired before lunch, they
would identify that as being in the blue zone. Students used time lapse technology
(the 'Stikbot' app) to show how their feelings change at certain times of the day.

SEL Musical

SEL Play - Can You Tell Me How To?

The Grade 3 classes collaborated to produce a Musical Play based on social
emotional learning (SEL). Each character had a challenge to overcome such
as learning to read or dance, or accepting oneself. The music lyrics provided
motivation, encouragement and acceptance. We even had a guest appearance
by our school principal, Jody Prevost. The play was presented to the students
in Kindergarten to Grade 2, and parents were also invited to watch. Our
school has been involved in many activities that promote SEL, and through
media literacy, drama and music we were able to link our SEL Musical directly
to the curriculum.

                               

                 

         Media Literacy Link                                      Audience Feedback

Cross-curricular SEL Activity - Grade 3 by Melanie Harkes

The Greedy Triangle SEL Activity

by Melanie Harkes - Teacher Candidate @ Nipissing University

The greedy triangle activity was a great way to integrate geometry, SEL and language.
We started with a read aloud of the book, “The Greedy Triangle” by: Marilyn Burns.
The book was about a triangle that was dissatisfied and continued to change his shape.
At the end of the book the children realized the triangle was much happier being himself
than any other shape. The students were able to make connections and explain that
sometimes people want to be different, but in the end we have to appreciate who we are.
We shared different character traits and what zone of regulation they would be
associated with and why. The students got very creative and came up with some great
“personality polygons”, like awesome arrow, sad square, tired triangle, respectful
rectangle and so much more.

For the next part of the activity the student wrote an explanatory paragraph, which
would explain their polygon and its associated personality trait. They had to specify why
their shape was considered a polygon, which furthered their understanding of geometric
shapes. They often wrote about what zone of regulation their polygon was in and why.
The students really enjoyed this activity and they were able to tie together geometry
and social emotional learning with literacy. It was great to have an activity that not
only developed their skills academically, but socially and emotionally as well.

       

SEL Activities - Grade 3 by Shayla Pierre

SEL Activities

Shayla Pierre – Teacher Candidate @ University of Ottawa

I was lucky enough to have my final placement as a teacher candidate in Laura Cress’
grade 3 classroom. I learned so much from being a part of the classroom environment
from September-January. I think one thing that stood out the most was the amount of
emphasis that not only Laura but that the school put on mindfulness, SEL and student’s
overall well-being. Student success is what we all strive for as educators and I really
believe that working on a student’s well-being is setting them up to be successful.

One specific example that I was a part of during my time there was a SEL Sesame
Street play. The whole message surrounding the play was to try even if you don’t succeed
right away and to be happy with who you are as a person. The topic of SEL is so
important for us to foster in children from an early age. It is important for them to
understand their emotions and understand how to deal with them. In the play we saw
that Big Bird couldn’t read a really long word and she just didn’t give up. Although it was
frustrating to not know something right away with patience, time and some help Big Bird
was able to read the word. As well as Grover, he wanted to learn to dance and was sad
that he couldn’t but with help from his friends he was able to. The play was presented
for the students from kindergarten-grade 2 and I think that it was a great message for
them to hear and learn in a fun and engaging manner.

Another example of a mindfulness activity that we did in class was something called a
positive self-talk flower. The students were given a template of a flower with 6 petals
and about 100 different options that they could write on the flower for when they
needed some encouragement. Some of the messages were “I am smart”, “I am beautiful”,
“My voice matters”. All of which were important messages that the students could apply
to their everyday life. I think it’s so important for students to take control of their feel
ings and emotions and the positive self-talk flowers were a great way for them to have
those reminders.

Indigenous Education- Deep Learning

Indigenous Education -Deep Learning

Our Indigenous Education Journey started in August when my teaching partner and I decided to team teach 48 grade 6 students. We designed our room around a central "Community Circle". Our vision was to have a sacred area in the classroom where the students could engage in the sacred ritual of circle as well as a nearby prayer table to represent our liturgical season.




The year started off with the students driven by many wonderings; The meanings behind  Dream Catchers and the reasons behind Restorative Circles. Using the design process the students researched as well as created their own dreamcatcher that representes who they are.

The Grade 6 students took an excursion to Mosaïc Canada in early fall to support their French Social Studies Program. The gardens provoked their thinking of Canadian Identity which includes Indigenous culture. The students were engaged in the opportunity to build their knowledge about local community and indigenous history, culture, music and sport. They explored the experiences and perspectives of the Botanical Sculptures that represented the communities within Canada. They examined how all First Nations contributed to the development of Canadian Identity.

As the children continued to learn about Indigenous Peoples in Canada their inquiry led them to Residential Schools.  "I Am Not a Number" by Jenny Kay Dupuis and Kathy Kacer is a picture book based on a true story about a young First Nations girl who was sent to a residential school. After the classroom read aloud the students journaled about the story and reflected upon how they felt after learning about this part of our history and how the truth was hidden from us.



This led to research about the Truth and Reconciliation between Indigenous Peoples of Canada and Canadians. The grade 6 students were connecting Point of Views to Canadian residential schools. Their activation question was; Whose point of View could they consider during this tragic part of Canada's history?

Through the Seven Grandfather Teachings our Collaborative Inquiry discovered the wisdom of community partnerships by inviting our School Board (OCSB)  First Nations, Metis and Inuit Learning Partner; Daphane Sandre.

Her knowledge of restorative practices,
seven teachings and the links to our Catholic Virtues supported the students learning and actively engaged
them in Indigenous Education.


The students participated in a powerful Blanket Exercise that immersed the children through pre-contact, treaty-making, colonization and resistance of the indigenous peoples of Canada. The goal was to educate empathy for the Indigenous peoples.

Students continued their Indigenous Education through other disciplines in French: Social Studies, Visual Arts, Science and Music.

Students were first introduced to Gord Downie's The Secret Path as part of the Social Studies curriculum. We watched the parts of the animation portion only - pausing and discussing the imagery and making connections to their introduction of Indigenous education and reconciliation.


The imagery and animation of The Secret Path captivated and triggered students' emotions.

The Team at St. Leonard Elementary School

Our TLLP is extended to teachers at another elementary school within our board, St Leonard. We have been fortunate to keep the Learning Partnership active as much as possible. Here is a summary of what they have been up to:

We are a team of three educators, from St. Leonard school, who are passionate about inquiry learning and building capacity in deep learning. Through our experiences over the last few years we have come to understand that students are better equipped for inquiry learning and developing global competencies when they have a basis of social-emotional learning skills. This year we dedicated the first few months of school to the explicit teaching of self-regulation skills using Conscious Discipline, Mindmasters and Zen Den activities from Cosmic Kids. We used the Zen Den videos to learn and discuss various strategies so students were better able to understand what their bodies feel like when they are in an optimal learning zone. Follow this link to access the library of Youtube Videos goo.gl/fRw016. 

Our initial observations have confirmed that with these self-regulation skills students are better able to negotiate the demands of deep learning through inquiry and design thinking. Our students are using the self-regulation strategies to demonstrate a growth mindset and be active contributors to the classroom learning environment. They have grown to be accountable in collaborative discussion, accepting their responsibilities to the learning environment, engaging in self and peer feedback and advocating for their learning needs

~Bonnie Caminiti and the teachers at St. Leonard

Deep Learning in our District

This is a pasted portion of the article that focuses on the Deep Learning initiative within our district. Please see link below for the full article

OTTAWA CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD (OCSB)

The OCSB has 84 schools and about 41,000 students. They joined our Deep Learning initiative three years ago, immediately developing a plan for system-wide change. They moved from seven schools to 21 to all 83 schools. I don’t have the space to describe the multiple strands of communication and involvement that characterized the change, but let’s just say it was systematic and two-way within the district in its deliberations. The essence of the model is displayed in Figure 1, which is essentially our model from Deep Learning, but I use OCSB’s version here.

Figure 1

Here is an example of the strategy: “Each month the board has a common focus that is shared across all 83 schools at the monthly staff meetings. Over the ten-month school year, all four learning elements and all six global competencies will be explored in every school” (interview with district leaders). Multiple overlapping ideas are used and reinforced through interaction and digital devices. The district continues to perform above provincial levels (although it should be noted that good outcome measures of the global competencies are not yet available).

EdCan Network. "From Signals to Seas of Change | EdCan Network." EdCan Network. 22 Feb. 2018. Web. 2 Apr. 2018. https://www.edcan.ca/articles/signals-seas-change/