Principals and Values

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It is important to recognize that all teachers share different strengths and passions with their students. You may find that the program I offer may be different from other teachers they have had before. I believe different learning experiences over a student's school career should create adaptability to learning in different ways and interest in different subjects. For those interested in learning more, you can see how the new curriculum (click here for details) connects to my principles and values outlined here:

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Integration: Together, our learning community aims to tie the various concepts we are learning in one unit to all the other units of study when possible. We aim to fit our learning into a larger framework of understanding about literacy, math, science, social studies, art, music and all aspects of life. 

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Place-based and community focused learning: Our focus will be on the world around us - what we are exposed to everyday. This aims to increase understanding of, inclusiveness and care for the communities around us. We will be studying the past, present and future of the people, landforms, and ecology around us. The goal is that this will foster an ethic of care for that which surrounds us. 

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Multiage and intergenerational learning: Once and later twice a week our class will be working together with Geoff Styles' grade 2 class and Emily Styles' Kindergarten class. Each session will be 1 1/2 hours and the goal will be for the kids to work together in multiage groupings on a variety of experiential projects in different subject areas. Each student will be in a 'family grouping' they will stay with all year and will have one of us three teachers facilitating the lessons for this group for the entire school year during these sessions. We will connect as a larger group of 3 classes for a 5-10 minute activity prior to breaking up into our smaller multi-aged groups. We also plan to make 6-8 visits to Bastion Place, a longterm care facility where we will undergo a variety of intergenerational learning activities with the residents there. I did this a few years ago and it was one of the highlights of the year for many of the students in my class. 

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Experiential and imaginative education: In a nutshell, experiential education allows kids to learn by doing. Direct instruction is decreased during these learning sessions and students learn by making mistakes and learning from themselves and their peers. Throughout the year I will encourage students to leave their comfort zone, and take learning risks where they will be in a position to make mistakes. My job will be to help them reflect on their mistakes. I believe this type of learning instills curiosity and engagement in the task at hand, fostering use of imagination to solve problems (whether they are social or technical). All lessons will not be done this way though, as I believe there is great merit to learning via direct instruction as well. 

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Process-based mentality and continuum thinking: This relates to experiential education. My goal is to create learners and develop skills. Thus the product may not always be pretty. Exploring a variety of new art skills does not always make for a show piece and, when 'in training' a piece of writing may have 4 different of beginnings and no end. As we focus on process, I will continually encourage students to think about where there are on a continuum of learning around a given topic and where they aim to be. Not to mention celebrating our growth along the way! 

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Outdoor Learning: This is a big passion of mine and where my greatest experience lies as a teacher. Hundreds of peer-reviewed studies have been completed now in this field and the evidence of the benefits of spending time and learning in nature is overwhelming. The benefits range from improved cognition, creativity, problem solving, focus, improved well-being and decreased stress. If you want unlimited reading on the topic visit the Child and Nature research library here.  

Here is a short audio clip to summarize the rationale, from Scott Sampson, CEO of Science World.

Here is a great summary and resource on the impacts of nature on executive function.  

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Sustainability: Throughout the year, I will weave issues of of sustainability into our learning. There is much doom and gloom in Climate Change education. I aim to focus on the positives of what we can do to change things and adapt to the inevitable changes currently happening and in our future. 

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Kindness, Gratitude, Mindfulness, Curiosity, Risk-taking, habit forming: These are areas that perhaps aren't spelled out in the curriculum that I'll be discussing and incorporating into our lessons throughout the year.