Banded Peak School "XChange": Rocky View Schools Design Fellowship
My grade 5/6 teaching team was granted a fellowship to work in a Rocky View Schools design cohort in winter 2015, planning for implementation of new school initiative in 2015-2016. “Banded Peak XChange” developed through over the course of the year with curriculum-based school and community connections and projects. My leadership in the project centred around documentation of these learning opportunities. I was the creator of the Banded Peak XChange blog, where teachers and students shared their learning stories. The XChange project culminated in a month of outdoor leadership development in grades 5-8. With a partner on the grade 7/8 team, I developed a 10-minute “RockyDoc” learning documentary to summarize the program through student voice. Our school's efforts were recognized by RVS board of trustees in September, 2016.
Click below to visit schoolblogs.rockyview.ab.ca/bpeakxchange:
Developing Media Literacy through Inquiry: Student Spark Media
Student Spark Media and PineCo Publishing were the creation of my 2015-2016 grade 5/6 students. This project has by far been my most impactful experience with discipline-based inquiry. My original goal was to improve communication skills in as authentic a way as possible. The media investigation and production that the students took (and continue to take on) were truly amazing. Beginning with the direction of a curriculum-based goal - or as Davis and Sumara term it, an "enabling constraint" - of creating meaningful, accurate and detailed communication, and then allowing space for personal passion and interest to enter the process continues to yield impressive work and engagement. It was an honour to share the Student Spark story as a guest author on the Rocky View School Division "Empower the Potential Blog" - please click on the image below to link to my post:
The best projects break down distinctions between students and teachers - we are all learners. Here is my own contribution to Student-Spark Media and PineCo Publishing: