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Posts Tagged ‘numeracy’

Yeah, but where are we going?

Posted in Change, SD45, tagged , , , , on September 5, 2024| 2 Comments »

I joked in our initial meeting with our principals and vice-principals for this fall, that I think it is far better to be upset about the directions we are taking than it is to be upset because they feel that we are directionless, or they don’t know the directions. If you are about everything you end up being about nothing.  Every chance I get I am reinforcing the three key areas of focus we have set for this year.

As we embark on a new school year in West Vancouver, I am excited to share our district’s focus on three key areas that will guide our work. These areas are designed to ensure that we continue to provide exceptional learning experiences for all our students.  Our commitment to innovative learning, foundational skills, and inclusivity will shape the experiences of every learner in our district.

Innovative Learning: Embracing  Generative AI and Being Active

Innovation has always been at the heart of education in West Vancouver, and this year, we are pushing the boundaries even further. One of our focal points is the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into the classroom. AI has the potential to transform education by offering personalized learning experiences, enhancing engagement, and preparing our students for the future. We are exploring ways to responsibly integrate AI tools that support teaching and learning, ensuring our students are not just consumers of technology but also creators and critical thinkers in a rapidly changing world.  I have written about it several times, including last week (HERE) when looking at what families can do at home to promote AI.

Alongside AI, we are equally committed to promoting physical literacy, physical activity, and outdoor experiences. We know that a healthy body supports a healthy mind, and our focus on physical literacy is about more than just movement. This has been a decade long journey (learn more HERE) integrating physical literacy throughout our system.  It’s about empowering students to develop the confidence, competence, and motivation to be active for life. By incorporating outdoor experiences into our curriculum, we are fostering a deep connection between our students and the natural world, encouraging a holistic approach to well-being that balances technological advancement with physical and mental health.

Physical literacy leads Erin Crawford and Amber Pascual lead a recent workshop.

Commitment to Foundational Skills: Literacy and Numeracy

While innovation drives us forward, we remain steadfast in our commitment to the foundational skills of literacy and numeracy. These are the building blocks of all learning, and our focus on these areas ensures that every student has the tools they need to succeed in all aspects of their education. We are enhancing our literacy and numeracy programs, with an emphasis on evidence-based practices that support diverse learning needs.

Our educators are dedicated to creating rich, engaging learning environments where students can develop these essential skills.  We are providing updated core learning resources, and ongoing supports, that will ensure high level experiences throughout the district.  Whether through innovative reading programs, hands-on math activities, or cross-curricular initiatives that integrate literacy and numeracy, we are providing our students with the strong foundation they need to thrive academically and beyond.

Foundational skills are no less important now in our ever changing world.

All Means All: Meeting the Needs of Every Learner

Inclusivity is not just a goal; it is a promise. The phrase “All Means All” captures our commitment to ensuring that every student in our district has the opportunity to succeed. This means recognizing and addressing the diverse needs of our learners, whether they require additional support, enrichment opportunities, or a different approach to learning.

We are working across the system to create an educational environment where every student feels valued, supported, and challenged. This includes ongoing professional development for our staff, the implementation of inclusive teaching practices, and the creation of programs that reflect the world changing around us.  Built on the Board of Education’s Strategic Plan commitment to Educational Excellence.

Our goal is to ensure that every learner, regardless of their background or abilities, can achieve their full potential.

I am excited to see the work we are doing in this area that is networked to a number of other districts across North America through our Deeper Learning partnership connected to the Harvard Graduate School of Education will flourish this year.  

Moving Forward Together

As we move forward into this school year, I am filled with optimism about the work we will do together. These are all areas that help guide our work in schools, but also require support from families and community.  Our focus on innovative learning, foundational skills, and inclusivity reflects our commitment to providing an education that prepares our students for the challenges and opportunities of the future. This is what I often refer to in this blog as a culture of yes—one that says yes to innovation, yes to strong foundations, and yes to every learner in our district.

The image at the top of this post was generated using AI and before publishing I pasted a draft of this post into Chat GPT to get feedback to improve the readability.

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PISAful Thinking – Giving Context to the 2023 Numbers

Posted in Assessment, tagged , , , , on December 12, 2023| 3 Comments »

If you have a narrative you want to tell about education, locally or globally, PISA results can probably help confirm it. And for the most part, we do like bad news, so if you like to describe what is happening in education as “concerning” or “worrisome” or gravitate to ideas like “declining” or “falling” there was probably something for you in the latest wave of PISA results. Of course, if you want to see Canada, and more specifically British Columbia, as one of the world’s highest performing jurisdictions this evidence is also present.

PISA 2022 – Canada Fact Sheet (shows Canada in global context)

Canadian Results (showing results for each province)

First, let’s talk about what PISA results are.  For those in education, they are a bit like the Education Olympics.  They are a tool for comparing jurisdictions around the world.  PISA is the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment, that measure 15-year-olds’ ability to use their reading, mathematics and science knowledge and skills.  If you remember 10-15 years ago when everyone was going to Finland to learn what they were doing in education, this attention started from very strong PISA results.  

And, like the Olympics, they are controversial.  Criticisms include concerns about the narrow focus on certain skills, potential cultural biases, and the complex nature of education systems, which may not be fully captured by standardized assessments.   My doctoral advisor,  Yong Zaho is one the loudest critics. He wrote,  “PISA is a masterful magician. It has successfully created an illusion of education quality and marketed it to the world.”

It does seem as though PISA results have got less attention this year than in previous waves – maybe that is a statement on fewer journalists covering education, or other global events dominating the news, or maybe the criticisms have some shying away from covering the results.

I have written here several times around the results.

In 2009 – Our World Cup (on reflection, I was much more excited about them than I am today)

In 2013 –  Some PISA Thinking (which looked at BC’s results of that time)

In 2016 –It is OK to be Happy About PISA (some celebrating our strong achievements)

I do think they have value – because at a time when it is important to have conversations around learning topics like numeracy and literacy there is little media attention around them.  PISA brings these discussions to the provincial, national and even global levels.  And while most are looking to tell a story about how we are just not as good as we used to be – so it must be the kids or the teachers, beyond this simplistic silliness there are good conversations worth having.  And beyond the front page “Who is winning” comparisons, the survey breaks out data on topics that many are curious about, like the various impacts of COVID on learning, and the impact that home language  or gender can have on results in jurisdictions.   Some of the conversations that PISA can open up include:

  • The need for quality discussions around the use of data – at schools, in the community and with politicians
  • Areas of strength and weaknesses in schools and districts.  When PISA says X about science in your country, what do we know about science at our school or district – do PISA results surprise us?  Do they confirm what we know?
  • What do PISA and our local information tell us about equity?  As you get into PISA there is a lot of information like the gap between the highest and lowest performing students – the smaller the gap, likely the more equitable, at least on this measure.
  • Education as a global topic.  The assessing of students around the world is a reminder that our students are part of a global community – they will be competing in the workplace not just with those in their school or neigbourhood but much further afield.
  • A discussion about what matters.  So, PISA says something about reading, math and science – what else do we value in our system and what other evidence can we use to better understand how we are doing?
  • What can we learn from others?  Are there particular jurisdictions having success that stand out? (I would like to know what Utah is doing with math instruction as they outperform Finland in PISA). Like the Finland impact of the early part of the century, there may be something we can learn.  Even within Canada, this can be useful.  We need to see places like Alberta and Quebec as our partners not our competitors in BC.

As with any test results, PISA results are quickly politicized – so everyone spins the results. Often current governments will say the results prove everything is going well, those looking to be the next government will use the same data to say the opposite. 

It was in my last post I wrote about the power of networking in British Columbia and how education is not just a competition.  I see that PISA does open some of the wrong conversations around this battle between jurisdictions, but I do also think that any attention can be good attention – so let’s take this energy and focus and have real conversations about equity and excellence with numeracy, reading and science – not just for a single jurisdiction but for all learners everywhere.  

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