Love the Learning: Ministry-sushi

May 25 2012
A couple of events today:
1) Day long meeting of Subject/Division Associations at the Ministry of Ed (notes below)
2) Sushi with RCI staff (photos below)

Ministry of Ed Subject/Division Association Meeting

(900 Bay St Toronto)

This has been an annual meeting of representatives from each subject or division association across the province, convened by the CAPB branch of the Ministry of Education (Curriculum and Assessment Policy Branch), updating us on Ministry initiatives and initiatives in the various subject areas.

These are some notes that I gleaned through the day, attending as a representative of the OSLA (Ontario School Library Association). Feel free to pass them around.
(** asterisks and notes in RED are either side-notes-to-self or points of particular notice for school libraries.)

Hosts:

Maureen Callan Policy branch
Cyndie Jacobs OTF
Beth Round CAPB branch
Irene Charette French branch

Introductions were made around the room, most subject areas were represented (one rep. could attend from each provincial-level subject area and report back to their Subject Councils or Divisions).
OSLA and TALCO: Jeanne Conte and I both agreed we need to connect with the new Ministry of Ed branch: “21^st C Learners”: Janet Murphy and Catherine Sim (manager) – we must send them our document! Bill MacKenzie from ECOO as well.
A few subject council updates:

Kim Snider updated us on CODE (Dance and Dance) financial literacy resources tied to drama and dance and integrated with other subjects (full lessons and units posted on EDUGAINS).
New writing project process guide, online, created by CODE (Kim Snider) outlining the process they developed when writing the curriculum resources. The process went beyond financial literacy, applicable to any subject area, to help with any curriculum writing group (personal note: I was privileged to hear CODE/Kim’s process last year and was thoroughly impressed, this information will be useful for any team leader planning any kind of writing project).

i. “How-to” run a joint or curriculum writing process of any kind, great tips and how to run any writing project efficiently.

ii. "How to" steps for building a team, whether to use a webmaster, lead writer, think tank model, reviewers, other roles in the process.

iii. Differences between publishing for the web vs. in print.

iv. Samples of forms to use (writers’ contracts, editing conventions and more).

v. It will be posted on EDUGAINS under the Financial Literacy banner (even though it is not about Financial Literacy).

Update from Bill Mackenzie about the ECOO conference: not any one particular curriculum, but interest in technology in education, Financial Literacy, BYOD, software, OAME workshops, e-leaning Ontario - *** They wish to hear more from other divisions, especially if interested in presenting at their pre-conference (NOTE: OSLA/TALCO colleagues could be interested! This fits right in with our Together For Learning visioning document) Pre-conference starts on Oct 24 2012, then main conference Oct 25/26 including guests Michael Fullan & Nora Young. Sheridan centre Hwy 7 & 404.
OAEA Ontario Arts Education Association presentation by Pat Rocco, new president. Was Ontario Society for Education through Art, they are in transition. Upcoming conference: Art Attack. Outreach: consolidation with renewed constitution; outreach across Province, with Bob Philips. Media arts, visual arts, English. Assessment & evaluation and teaching in a thematic way.

Financial Literacy updates:

Tom Hamza, IEF and co-chair Financial Literacy at the Ministry.
IEF: Investor Education Fund, a non-profit organization funded and established by the Ontario Securities Commission (not-for-profit unbiased advice on financial literacy across the lifespan). Mandate: to develop engaging and relevant educational programs and resources that help people better manage their personal financial affairs. Has worked with math educators, business educators, teachers, teachers colleges and others to help create classroom resources to inspire financial learning.

i. http://getsmarteraboutmoney.ca/ , their public site, to sign up for summer institutes and free classroom content (videos, print and more). General information with a link to the teacher section.

ii. www.Inspirefinanciallearning.ca, specifically for teachers. Including info on their free educator workshop Aug 20 2012.

Beth Brown (CAPB) discussed the new documents just released on EDUGAINS: videos, viewer guides, support materials, lesson plans, for teachers and professional learning facilitators, gr. 4-12, across subject areas.
Videos for professional learning facilitators to use in subject area meetings and workshops.
Ministry publications: cross-curricular Financial Literacy curriculum documents (French and English)

Junior Achievement:

Jane Eisbrenner & Jennifer James, largest not-for-profit organization dedicated to the education of young people about business.
Mandate: teacher financial literacy, teach work readiness, and an entrepreneurial program.
To secure funding and guest presenters from the business community.
Day programs (with curriculum and learning objectives, special workshops, competitions and scholarships for gr. 6-12) and After School Company (entrepreneurial) programs.
http://central-ontario.jacan.org/program/company-program

OSP: Ontario Skills Passport, Chantal Locatelli.

Is a web-based free cross-curricular multi grade resource, funded by Ministry of Ed. and Ministry of Training, Colleges & Universities.
Focus on students’ essential skills and work habits in everyday life and on the job (ex: reading text, document use, money math, scheduling, data analysis, job task planning, decision making, finding information, teamwork, reliability, initiative, self-advocacy and more).
www.ontario.ca/skillspassport ; http://skills.edu.gov.ca ; www.skillszone.ca
Tips for Classroom Teachers – All Subjects
Track your Essential Skills and Work Habits in Learning Activities: a tracker for students to track their own skills across classes.
Guide to Linking Essential Skills and the Curriculum, CESL guide
Handouts: sample classroom activities using a template;

Mental Health Strategy Update

Sandy Palinski, Paul Grogan, Myra Stephen; Ministry of Ed, Ministry of Health, and Ministry of Children and Youth Services (MCYS)
Schools play a critical role in supporting student mental health and well-being
Open Minds, Healthy Minds, released last year (MCYS)
Mental Health Commission of Canada released their Canada-wide strategy last year.
Year one of three year strategy.
Education focus: Identify And Intervene Early, provide tools to help educators.

Revision of the Choices into Action document (Guidance and Career ed.) with Anne Sasman, John Lavelle, Anne Clifton.

Previous document was in 1999, was an OSS document, now revised as a K-12 document, online, with connections to all the other policy documents out there.
Guidance and Career Ed. Section. Goals very much like previous ones. Changes made to help people see how to work with the learning across all subjects and classrooms.
New name: Education and Career Planning Policy Document K-12, focusing on learning education and career planning competencies.
4 competencies and inquiry questions:

iii. Self knowledge: Who am I?

iv. Opportunity awareness: What are are my opportunities?

v. Decision making/goal setting: Who do I want to become?

vi. Preparing for transitions: What are my plans to achieve my goals?

K-6: Personal Profile; 7-12: Individual Pathways Plan (ultimately leaving school with a post secondary destination: apprenticeship; college; community living; university; the workplace). Notice there are now 5 pathways, not just the 4 (community living is included now).

Full-day Kindergarten Update – Jill Snider, Dianne Riehl, Stephen Kelly.

Plan to have a fully electronic document with all content useful for users.
Last 3 years: training staff in education (boards, principals, teachers, ECEs, program leaders).
The 3 Rs framework in planning: rethink, repeat, remove (looking at current initiatives). Samples:

1. Rethink: the learning environment, theme-based planning.

2. Remove: generic worksheets; generic arts and crafts.

Produced several resources, documents and videos. Also on EDUGAINS.

CAPB Unit Updates. John Ryall, Peter Sovran, Susan Orchard, Catherine Sim, Maureen Callan, Irene Charette.

John Ryall, Assessment and Reporting Unit sample updates from last year:

1. Kindergarten assessment & evaluation policies 2^nd version projected for 2013.

2. OSR policy needs updating (since 2000). Various policy and community changes since 2000 create a need to update the OSR records and policies (ex: change of gender and other new issues, security, common format across the province). Projected for 2013 or 2014 (after much legal vetting).

3. EDUGAINS continuously updated, more resources, more videos for teachers.

4. Are in the designing stage of a video on models of “how to determine a grade” (more recent most consistent etc). 15 teams working collaborative inquiry projects across the province.

5. Superior-Greenstoneboard: unique issues of travel to get PD and services they need. Instructional Rounds well received in one board using it.

6. They only have 4 educational officers and one secondee coordinating all of this.

7. PCAP ( Pan-Canadian Assessment Program) contextual report 2013, focus on science (see 2010 report here).

8. PISA testing May 2012, focus mathematics.

9. No move away from using balanced Achievement Charts (even if some boards seem to be doing that).

Catherine Sim, manager 21^st Century Teaching and Learning unit

1. brief intro today: will plan a longer presentation at the Fall meeting

2. Janet Murphy on secondment from the York Region DSB.

3. Multi-phased approach: now in the research phase with 46 school boards, final report later in the summer 2012.

Implementation Review Unit, Maureen Callan, 3 areas:

1. Financial Literacy.

2. Full Day Early Learning Kindergarten Program.

3. Curriculum review process: They are in the last year of 7 years of curriculum updates for all areas not yet updated (!) Working towards release of documents.

4. No word yet on Social Science/History, Phys Ed or other areas. They are working on them.

Great thanks to Cyndie Jacob OTF for collaboration on these meetings with the Ministry.
Cyndie Jacob wraps up with future plans:

Potential dates for next year, still to be confirmed:

1. October 19th 2012?

2. May 10^th 2013? (weekend before the long weekend next year?)

More notes to self:

** note to self: bring a better extension cord! Many of us bring our own devices with limited battery power so we find seats on the periphery near power outlets. I learned during Jury Duty a few years ago that you are a star if you bring an extension cord with lots of outlets for others to also plug in. The one I have has a dead outlet.
** got to wave at John Tancredi over in the next room in another meeting.
** An observation:
With so many excellent and important cross curricular initiatives it becomes challenging for individual subjects and teachers to focus on them all, or even be aware of them all (Financial Literacy, essential skills and work readiness, 21^st C. Learners, computers across the curriculum, ECOO, Mental Health Strategy, Choices into Action…) How do we keep up? How does the information practically get used or get disseminated? And if funding is not specifically delineated or sweatered, it could be used anywhere.
***Idea: how to add names of interested subject council leaders to OSLA listserv?
Anne Horton OECTA: came to chat with Jeanne Conte and I about OSLA/TALCO and school library staffing reductions. In her board, Dufferin Peel Catholic, they try to at least include a ½ time TL in elementary schools but most also do prep. coverage, so little opportunity to do true partnering with classroom teachers in the inquiry process. We must continue to advocate for students.