Connected Learners Visit to PSII

Connected Learning in School District #74 is always a rich, full learning experience for all those involved. The last month or so has been extraordinary for both children and adult learners. Following on from the most recent post in this space (Nicky's first foray into the world of blogging - yay Nicky!!), I'd like to continue the theme of professional learning and write about a recent experience that will not leave me.


As many of you know, one exciting piece to the Elementary Connected Classrooms (ECC) is the year long inquiry project. I've written about the inquiry project already in this space here and here. While this marks the fourth year that students are experiencing this amazing way to learn in the ECC, it's interesting that in the last two years, inquiry-based learning as a methodology is at the forefront of education in BC and around the world. Inquiry as a way for students to learn is everywhere.


Inquiry-based learning is an ongoing topic of professional development for the Connected Learning team. Imagine my excitement when I was recently invited by the English Connected 8/9 team to travel with them to Victoria to visit the Pacific School of Innovation and Inquiry (PSII). I'd watched the tweets and blog posts online last year as Jeff Hopkins left his position as the Superintendent of Gulf Islands last year to open this school. I couldn't wait to meet Jeff and observe in his school.


Before you read the next few sentences, you need to know that I love my job, I love being a part of the ECC team and I love working in School District #74. I really do. I will say, however, that if there was some way that I could transport myself and my two sons to Victoria and beg Jeff to let me teach in his school, I would. What an amazing place of learning that has been created.


There are many, many things I have to say about this school that make it such a phenomenal place to teach and learn. Jeff's passion and brilliance. The amazing energy in the other two teachers I had a chance to talk with and learn from - Jake and Sophia. The physical space set up to facilitate everything from choreography practise to 3D printers to large, whole-school activities to small spaces meant for quiet contemplation or high-energy discussion. The respectful tone and polite way in which everyone interacted with others.


And the students. I spent as much time as I could talking with the kids about their learning. The relaxed, student-directed pace and tone in the building was exactly how I wish my classroom to always be. The students were so passionate and excited about what they were doing. They were extremely well-spoken. These students talked differently from any other students I've ever had the chance to speak with in that you could tell what they were doing was interdisciplinary; they made connections with their learning between disciplines. They were also profoundly respectful of the learning activities; that was clearly evident as they spoke about their inquiries. It was wonderful to see the excitement of a group of students creating a production schedule for the filming of their short film, the seriousness of a student conversing in French with her teacher during a French lesson, and the quiet passion with which one student spoke of the novel she is writing.


I learned a great deal that day, but I'd like to end by focusing on what I learned about inquiry-based learning methods. At PSII, the year started off much the same as our inquiry project does - what are you interested in and what questions do you have about that topic? The teachers then helped students to formulate better questions. The next steps involved turning those questions into learning activities. And off the kids go, leading their learning, happy to learn and engaged in learning that really matters to them.


That is a huge simplification of the process, but essentially, that was the essence of how to get the kids going on their inquiry projects. Students can have as many inquiry projects as they like. Some they will finish, some they will continue with the next year. It falls to the teachers to take a good look at the what the students are learning and determine how it fits with the learning outcomes. Some outcomes are very specific and must be covered in isolation but many curricular areas seemed to overlap in a natural, almost intuitive way. One example of this was that the student writing the novel created a large map of landforms, ocean currents, weather patterns, etc. for the setting she created for her novel. The map project work went towards Social Studies in one term, but more importantly, it will continue to inform her writing for months to come. Meaningful learning. Student-driven. Exciting.


One structure put in place to support and enhance student learning is the competency session schedule. Basically, if a student wants more formal guidance learning something for their inquiry, they can talk with a teacher about doing a competency session. The schedule of competency schedules can be found on the PSII website here. Teachers create sessions based on interest. If needed, a student might have to or want to have some more formal learning in some areas. If students want to attend the sessions just because, they can. If they want to attend the session as part of one of their inquiries, they can and then they need to create/produce evidence of learning connected to the competency sessions attended.


There are many other structures at PSII that seem to me more like the enabling constraints. Math is taught in context, with some tutorials when needed and many opportunities for practice and guidance. There are internships set up with many outside companies. Physical education requirements are met by students stepping out to the YMCA two blocks away from the school. It must be both exhausting and exhilarating to have one's mind open to a constant cross-curricular experience. I loved it.


After spending the day watching and talking and questioning, I asked Jeff my most burning question. When you have 30 students completing 30 separate inquiries in 30 separate ways, how do you manage the messiness as the educator guiding the learning? I asked this because that's where we are at in the year, and while the energy and excitement coming from the kids in my classroom is incredible, it's challenging for me to process how to most effectively manage that learning chaos.


Jeff's advice was simple and perfect:  give them what they need right now. Don't try to think about where they're going because they can each go in a hundred different directions with their learning everyday so give them what they need right now.


I could write much more about this: the profound dream I had about learning and teaching the night after the visit, the amazing short film crew kids I had a chance to learn from and more on assessment and evaluation. I'll finish up by saying it was a fantastic experience and made me even more excited to continue to improve upon the inquiry project we have in the ECC. While I still feel that I have a lot to learn, I think we're doing a great job so far.

Flashback to Tomorrow

When I first considered writing this blog post, I wasn’t sure what I would write about. I have been tossing ideas back and forth or straight into the trash. Finally, I decided I would introduce myself by sharing my long journey and timid entrance into the digital age. No matter how it is viewed, I felt it was important to share this part of my background in order for people to understand who I am, where I’m coming from, and what’s driving me forward.

Part 1:

My name is Nicole Patterson and I have been a part of the Gold Trail School District for the past 20 years. After graduating from Cariboo College with a UBC Bachelor of Education degree in 1994, I immediately travelled north, dropping resumes along the way. When I returned home, there was a message waiting for me; offering me a job as a TOC in SD74. I gratefully accepted and have dedicated my career to the students in this district.

I worked in a variety of jobs in the beginning, but the majority of my time has been spent working with students in the immediate grades. My particular focus has been in working with Grade 7 students, but as our student population has declined over the years, I have spent time working with a combination of intermediate grades. And this year, I have the most awesome class of Grades 5-7 students who compliment each other beautifully. At times, I miss the unique culture of the straight grade 7 class, but I have learned a set of different skills by working in multi-grade classrooms.

When I was in Grade 7, our small high school had just put in a computer lab and our teacher was showing us how to use DOS. My friends and I were playing tennis on our ATARI systems at home and Ms. Pacman at the arcade. Nobody told us that we would have to use computers in the future and computer class was viewed as just another interesting elective. Our parents pressured us to focus on academic subjects because we WERE going to attend post-secondary school. And guess what? 35 of 41 of us did.

My parents were so proud of me and gave me a “top of the line” Panasonic electric typewriter and a mini tape recorder to record lectures. At this point, I knew I wanted to be a teacher, but I still didn’t know that computers would become a huge part of my life later on. They were still quite expensive and nobody was pushing the idea. I didn’t even have a cell phone until 8 years ago! My husband actually forced me to get a cell phone, using the excuse that we had two teenage children and a baby on the way. I was not at all fond of the idea, but I begrudgingly agreed. Why would I want people to think they could interrupt my life whenever and wherever they wanted? Couldn’t they just leave a message? Unfortunately (or fortunately), kids do have a way of needing you immediately and I could possibly need medical help during my pregnancy. It was really at that time that I started my journey to get connected.

I wouldn’t say that I went along kicking and screaming; however, I definitely wasn’t an eager participant. I know there are still some of you out there, but I think I was one of the last teachers to check my email on a regular basis. Once checking email became expected, I finally got myself a home computer. After all, it was about time; it was 2005! I couldn’t believe how much information was at my fingertips at any given moment. For me, this was bittersweet. I can get lost in that little screen for hours. It is so easy to get side-tracked searching the endless library of knowledge! And I can’t express how frustrating it was to navigate through the internet and different software. Everything in this realm changes so quickly. Just when I thought I had a handle on things...

Although I’m always trying to improve my skills and find more time, I cannot say that, even today, I’m terribly diligent about every email. It isn’t instinctual to use digital technology to solve problems or make life easier. There are an awful lot of things to do in a day, especially with two young children still at home and wanting all of my attention. If I could only have been born ten years later, I’m sure these skills would have been more like second nature to me. But alas, it was not meant to be. Getting connected has been a steep learning curve. I think I might be getting the hang of it though, lol!

Part 2:

In 2009, as I was getting “geared up” to have my last child, SD74 was just getting started with implementing the idea of Connected Classrooms. It sounded very interesting, so even though I knew I would be taking a maternity leave, I decided to use some of my time to take a few online courses to learn more about the digital tools that many teachers were already using. I did the best I could to concentrate on reading and connecting with other educators between cuddle time, poopy diapers, and piles of laundry.

In January of 2011, I was extremely excited to start back to work to try out some of the tools I had learned about. It was tough going, simply because, like anything else, unless you do something regularly, you are usually quite clumsy with it. My students were gracious and supportive as I practiced. I learned a lot from them and was able to introduce them to some tools that would make their school lives a little easier and more interesting. Still, the growth and diversity of technological tools seemed astounding in such a short period of time and I was beginning to see students with a variety of their own devices. It was clear that the students were learning and creating in new ways. Obviously, I would also have to find new ways to engage and teach this new generation of learners. I felt somewhat panicked that I wouldn’t be able to learn quickly enough, but I found comfort in knowing that, as long as I did my best to learn and grow along with them, my teaching would transform as well.

It wasn’t long before the idea of expanding the Elementary Connected Classrooms project was presented to the schools in our district. For me, it was pretty clear that this was an opportunity I didn’t want to pass up and I was eager to show my interest. What better way to improve and grow than to jump right in? And now, as I enter the third and final term of my first year, I couldn’t be happier with that decision.

It certainly wasn’t an easy transition to go from my own private classroom with our own sense of community to one that included three other peers and over 80 students that communicated through video conferencing. On the other hand, I always wondered how we could bridge the gap between our communities. Our students usually came together during sports competitions and thought of each other as rivals, instead of resources and a supportive network. There were very few opportunities for them to work together and build relationships with one another.

Connected Classrooms has built a stronger sense of belonging and a culture of collaboration between our students and our teachers. We are all learning from one another and our perspectives and level of acceptance has broadened. We are able to draw strength to fill weaknesses, inspire to meet challenges, and thrive on our passions to fulfill our goals. And although we use technology to help us accomplish this, I realize that the bigger idea is how we interact and communicate. We need to continue to strive to become creative problem solvers who are willing to share solutions and resources for the good of the whole. We need to be prepared to make improvements based on feedback, critique, and proven results. The students who can collaborate and become fully engaged in learning opportunities will become the leaders of tomorrow.

The Latest ECC Gathering: Connections, Active Students and Tons of Fun!!

Last week, students, teachers and other adults from all four Elementary Connected Classrooms (ECC) gathered together. Every year, each ECC site hosts the entire group for a day of active learning and community building face to face. It was our turn so we booked several facilities at the local recreation center and then walked down, welcome poster in hand, to see the rest of our classmates and colleagues.

Waiting to welcome our friends!

The students were super excited to see the other classes. My students watched down Main Street carefully as we walked down from our school in case one of the school buses arrived. At the last minute, when we were no more than 40 meters from the recreation center, we saw a school bus round the corner. The first student who saw it started screaming "RUN!! The bus is coming!! The bus is coming!! HURRY!!" which of course prompted everyone to pick up the pace and hustle in order to arrive at the recreation center first. My students were howling with laughter or screaming 'RUN', or 'they're going to beat us', or 'HURRY!!', or 'we need to get their first and welcome them!!' as they raced along. It was one of those moments that none of us will ever forget.

Setting up a running race to stretch the legs after a long bus ride!

After we welcomed the first bus full of people from Lytton Elementary (we did get there first...just!), Mr. Lewis decided to run a racing game while we waited for the other two classes from Ashcroft and Cache Creek to arrive. It was great to see the students mixing between classes much more easily than at the previous gathering in October. It does take time, and a great deal of purposeful effort, to build the community but one takeaway from the day was that real peer relationships are definitely forming between the groups.

Skating in the arena!

The first part of our day together was spent skating in the arena! As a class of nearly 100 students, it was wonderful that many parents and family members came along to help tie all the skates!! One aspect of the gatherings that I enjoy the most is that regardless of which community we gather in, there are always parents and family members involved in some way. The ECC doesn't just connect students and teachers in a meaningful way, it connects families too.

Fast friends who live 80 km apart!

After working up an appetite in the arena, the whole group ate lunch together. There's nothing like enjoying a meal together to bring people closer. The photo above is one of my favourites from the entire day. I was walking along and they asked me to take their photo together because they said they were 'besties'. While these two boys, who attend schools that are 80 kilometres apart, connected tentatively in the fall, they were fast friends during our day together last week. Every day since the gathering, the one on the right has pointed out his friend on the video conferencing screen during our daily connected lesson. I would guess that they have a connection that will last.

Swimming, diving, a water slide, and the tether ball made for a fun afternoon! 

The afternoon went quickly with all the students either in the pool or playing pickleball in the gym. The busy pace of the day resulted in engaged, active students! They certainly had enough exercise that day, but, of course, they had more than enough energy to keep going right to the end! Our community is the only one with an indoor pool so it was a real treat for students to spend time in the water with their friends that day.

Walking up the hill to return to school

After saying our good-byes and seeing the last bus pull away, it was time to make the trek up the hill and return to school. As both a mother and a teacher, there is something very satisfying about leading children through a fun day so packed with activity and friends that the children are happily exhausted at day's end. That was the lasting impression as we arrived back at the school. The children, and adults, experienced a full day that will be remembered as a full of connections, physical activity and tons of fun!

New to Elementary Connected Classrooms

Many people still ask, “What are Elementary Connected Classrooms (ECC)?”  In the simplest terms, ECC are  a group of classrooms in different locations who connect  virtually on a regular basis to do common lessons.  The lessons are taught by a “lead” teacher at one location, and are supported at all the other locations by the regular classroom teachers.  My name is Chris Lewis, and this year I am at Lytton Elementary School, where I am the ECC teaching member of School District 74 Gold Trail (SD74).  

Since there is apparent confusion regarding the purpose of ECC, you may wonder why I not only chose to be a part of the program, but also why I am extremely excited about it.  This is my fifth year in SD74.  Since becoming a teacher, I have been constantly looking for ways to make my teaching engaging and relevant.  Engaging students is imperative.  If you have their attention, you don’t need to worry about classroom management, and students are willing to participate.  In my limited experience, students engage when the content is accessible and they see how it relates to them.  Okay, to be honest, what it comes down to is if my class is engaged, they’re having fun.  If they’re having fun, then I get to, too.  One way to engage students is with technology.

Technology is all around us.  It is ridiculous to think that computers or the Internet are only fads or that the skills to use them are not necessary for students for the future.  Technology has made information more accessible, and communication more readily available.  Administration in Gold Trail has been very supportive of making SD74 a technologically progressive district.  Like many smaller districts, we are seeing declining enrolment and our communities are getting smaller.  Smaller communities means smaller social groups.  This is where the magic of ECC enters.

Elementary Connected Classrooms connect students from different communities.  This may sound like small potatoes to those teaching in larger centers, but when you only have ~20 kids, in your whole community who are the same age, it’s a big deal.  Every day, students are connecting with communities and classrooms that are not their own.  They collaborate and socialize.  They exchange perspectives and ideas.  They also get to experience different instruction styles, and witness professional collaboration between the various teaching members.

I love teaching.  I love creating exciting lessons that will challenge and excite my students. Unfortunately, it is too easy for a classroom teacher to close their door and essentially teach in the vacuum of their room with limited outside influence.  In this situation, who is challenging the teacher?  In ECC, we are exposed.  We teach in front of our peers.  Regularly!  We each teach 1-2 ECC lessons a week. I know that is not that much, but that makes the lessons we do all that much better.  Not only do we need a great lesson for when we teach, but we need a lesson so powerful that we will engage and excite students in three other towns.  This is exciting stuff!  The ECC model may have begun as a way to deal with low enrolment, but the ECC experience  has been, in some ways, better than a mere solution.  It has improved teaching!

ECC is also an exciting way for students to expand peer groups.  It is a way for students to share their ideas and be heard.  It is passionate teachers doing what they love—with the benefit of feedback!—and students are reaping the rewards.  I am a part of this program because it makes me the best teacher I can possibly be.  It challenges me and forces me to adapt and improve.  I am not in a vacuum.  I am excited.  I am a teacher.

I hope this blog clarifies some of the misconceptions surrounding Elementary Connected Classrooms.  It is my intension to share some of my experiences participating in this program.  

ECC Fall Highlights

I don't know how it came to be the last day of November. I'm thinking that the Elementary Connected Classrooms (ECC) is a good example of that old saying, "time flies when you're having fun!" We've certainly had fun while learning in the ECC this fall. Here are highlights from the last couple of months:

From three to four schools!

This year the ECC expanded! Instead of three schools as in the past, we are now a group of four! Last year the offer was extended to the remaining three schools in the district that did not have an ECC class. This was basically an invitation to come and learn what the ECC was all about and, if the interest was high, to join in. Well, Mrs. Patterson, teaching at Cache Creek Elementary took on the challenge and, thanks to her, Cache Creek Elementary students in her grade 5/6/7 class are now a part of the ECC! We have a full screen now when video conferencing and it's fantastic to bring in another teacher with fantastic ideas and a passion for working with students. Plus it's great to have another class full of peers to make friends and learn with!

All Four ECC Schools Onscreen During a Connected Lesson

The Gathering

Late last month, Ashcroft Elementary hosted our first gathering! All four classes met in Ashcroft and headed off to a local ranch to pick pumpkins at the pumpkin patch, run through the 'Haunted Barn' and snack on delicious fresh picked apples! It was a wonderful opportunity to finally meet teachers and students from all four schools in person. Some were shy at first, but that's the norm for the first gathering. It was the first opportunity to build relationships in person and enjoy a shared experience together. Thank you very much Ms Marlow and the Ashcroft Smarties for a great day!

Picking Pumpkins and Taking Photos at the Pumpkin Patch

Most Memorable Lessons

One of the best things about the ECC is that when you have four teachers working together instead of one, the students (and teachers) experience a whole range of lessons, teaching styles and enthusiasm. Each teacher brings their own uniqueness to each lesson and the daily learning environment is enriched because of it. I think, too, that because we are teaching our colleagues' students, and teaching in front of our colleagues, that we ensure our ECC lessons are the very best they can be. And teachers working together and setting the bar high create some very memorable lessons!

I've been leading students through a digital photography unit focused on having students learn about and learn how to use the elements and principles of design. Students love taking photos and they are really learning how to 'see' in a different way: more observant, more careful, more thoughtful. Students are building a bank of photos to be used in a variety of projects throughout the year including image editing in January and Digital Storytelling in the Spring. Finally, sharing student photos between the classes in a powerful way to enhance community building in our unique learning environment!

Mrs. Patterson led students through a series of fantastic lessons inspired by MindUp: mindful seeing, mindful smelling and the student's favorite, mindful tasting! She starts each connected lesson with mindful breathing, playing the chime and helping students to settle in and get ready to learn. Students love it and they are learning a variety of skills and concepts along the way!

Ms Marlow and her students have captured our interest with dramatic group readings of stories during her Writing Power lessons. Instead of just reading the book to students in her weekly connected lesson, she had the brilliant idea of assigning character's dialogue to different students in her class. What emerges through the connection is not only the illustrations and text on the SmartBoard, but also a live, drama performance on screen! This has absolutely hooked students (and teachers!) and we love to watch and here the stories as they unfold!

The most memorable moment, for me, anyway, has to be when Mr. Lewis dissected a cow eyeball live using the document camera during a connected Science lesson. I'm sorry, but there's not much that can compete with that for novelty, cool factor and grossness all at once! Many of my students are still talking about the "best connected lesson ever!" and I'd have to agree that it will be pretty tough to top! I'm guessing though that Mr. Lewis will find a way to set his own personal teaching bar even higher!

Dissecting a Cow Eyeball

One note about the eyeball. We live in ranch country, and this was donated by a ranching family for Mr. Lewis to use for Science and learning purposes.

That's a quick recap of some of the great things happening in the ECC so far this year!

Back to School, ECC Style!

Well, school here in BC is in the third week of classes already! The year is off to a great start and I had to share the excellent beginning we have had in the ECC!

Two of the novels we decided on for the first round of
online literature circles starting in October.

In the last post, which I wrote the day before our first collaboration planning day, I was full of questions, not a surprising state to be in the week before school starts! I have to say that the collaboration planning day was wonderful and by the end of the day I was super excited and thankful to be working with such a great team of people this year! We talked about everything from novels toconferencing to community gatherings that day. Once they get settled into the ECC, I'm sure you'll see posts here by our newest team members, Mr. Lewis and Mrs. Patterson, introducing themselves in this space.

There is a huge amount of effort and many, many people involved in making the ECC start up each year. We need to have a combined effort involving the teachers, the admin at each school, the district tech team, many district staff at the board office and sometimes other departments in the school district such as the carpenters/electricians. Many, many people contribute to the amazing learning environment for the ECC students.

This year, I was amazed, proud, and thankful, that the ECC completed start-up as planned because this summer, the entire district went through, and continues to go through, a major technology overhaul. Some of the overhaul included new laptops throughout the district, new wireless ports and wiring to those ports, a new image on the computer and exciting new ways to use the computers. That's a HUGE undertaking! And in the midst of it all, we needed our new addition to the ECC, a classroom at Cache Creek Elementary, outfitted with video conferencing equipment, in addition to making sure that the video conferencing and desktop sharing systems were all up and running in the other three rooms.

All four Elementary Connected Classrooms connected
via video conferencing for our first lesson together!

Well, the tech department and many, many others, came through for the kids. The ECC started as planned with four separate video conferenced teacher and classroom introduction lessons. I have to say, when I first saw all four classrooms on that screen together, I almost cried! I admit to being filled with all sorts of emotions when that first connection worked. It really did feel like a new beginning of something really amazing.

My lasting impression of that moment when I saw all four classrooms connected together on that screen was that I was overwhelmed with excitement for the students. I was excited for all 100 kids, my class...our class, who get to learn in such a cool, innovative, student-focused way. Nobody else does exactly what we do here in SD74 with Connected Learning, and I'm thrilled that I can be a part of something so great for kids.

2013-2014 School Year Start-up in the ECC

A new year in the Elementary Connected Classrooms (ECC) is about to begin! Tomorrow marks the official start of the preparation as the ECC team will meet for our back to school planning day. We take one day the week before school starts each year to collaborate and plan together. It's a great way to get motivated, get organized and come up with a fantastic start to the year for all the ECC students about to begin!

This year we have expanded from three to four school sites connecting each day. Cache Creek Elementary is now on board! Also, we have a new teacher taking over at Lytton Elementary. Both teachers are used to stepping outside their comfort zones to make learning exciting and relevant for their students, both enjoy working collaboratively, and both are experienced using technology to enhance the learning environment too. It's exciting to be working with them this year!

One of the new laptops all ready for back to school!

Another change this year is that each ECC student and teacher will be working on a brand, new laptop this year. Every computer in the entire district was replaced this summer as part of School District #74's ambitious technology plans that are moving our district along for the purpose of staying current for our students. I'm sure the students will be thrilled to be working on new machines - I know I am!

One thing I'm looking forward to is deciding how to grow the ECC this year to fit this group of students, their families, and all the communities we live in. I also seem to be full of questions right now. Aside from one additional site, what will we do differently in the ECC this year? What will we change? How can we improve? How can we grow as a learning community this year?

I have many questions heading into the collaboration meeting tomorrow and my head, at this point, feels very open and enthusiastic. I'm sure the back to school panic will set in later this week, but for now I'll enjoy the hope and possibilities to come!