The project this year has taken off and there has been lots to do to get all the groups started. Lately I have been thinking a great deal about why we are doing this project at all -- who are the students we are focusing on and why, and the benefits to all of our students. It is true that when we look closely at our practice through the lens of one or two students we learn a lot, and all of our kids can benefit from that learning.
In June and then during the summer, I wrote the final report for Year 1. Though I sent out the report to the teachers that participated last year, I have been neglectful in summarizing it here, and highlighting some key learnings. So to start with, I am attaching a summary from the full report written in the summer for Year 1. What I’d like to do is follow this blog up with more specific information about student growth and teacher reflections. What happened for the kids? And what kind of learning happened for us as well.
Here is the summary of the official report on the data collected last year:
The purpose of the Through a Different Lens project was to see if we could remove some
of the barriers to learning that our vulnerable students face, particularly our Aboriginal students
and students with behavioural difficulties. Teachers in the project made a commitment to teach
and assess in alternate ways in order to capitalize on students’ interests, talents and strengths.
Each teacher recorded the strategies that they used and the students’ response to those strategies,
with a focus on one or two students at-risk in their classrooms. This was not an easy task, as
many of the students that they focused on had difficulties in both academic and social areas –
behavioural issues, emotional issues, attendance problems, drug and alcohol involvement and
poverty.
Case studies completed in January, April and June 2012 on 36 students showed the power
of this work. Thirty-four of the 36 students successfully completed their course or grade level. In
all cases, the teachers observed their students at-risk engaging in the content to a greater degree,
participating in class, and interacting with both the teacher and the other students more often and
more successfully. In addition, these students who do not normally feel that they are
academically capable began to demonstrate their strengths and talents in the classroom. Student
interviews with students who are academically successful, and students at-risk, showed how
students positively respond to being taught and assessed in more interesting, hands-on and
creative ways (see ‘student voice’ on our blog http://differentlensblog.blogspot.com/, and how they
appreciate having choices in their learning.
Student surveys reinforced what was learned in the case studies and interviews. Students
felt more academically confident, more socially engaged and amore aware that they had strengths
and talents that could help them and others in the classroom. The biggest change overall was that
students felt they had more positive relationships with the classroom teacher, and had an adult in
the building they could talk to.
Strategies that the teachers found most successful included: teaching and assessing in a
variety of ways and connecting with student strengths and passions; building a positive and
supportive relationship with the student; being flexible and creative when adapting curriculum for
student needs; scaffolding student work so that they understood the steps involved; partnering
students thoughtfully and working with students to monitor their own behaviour.
Teachers in the project grew professionally as they met regularly and shared ideas with
colleagues, observed students, planned with their students at-risk in mind, and worked diligently
to establish positive relationships with the students. These teachers made a huge commitment to
their students and to the project, and experienced some powerful successes with some of our most
vulnerable students.
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