The numbers for this institute were low; however, the teacher participants made up for it in with how keen they are. In the end, there were 8 who attended the institute.
The morning followed the same structure as other two-day cc institutes. The questions for the introduction activity worked well. The question for the KBC also brought up some of the complex questions around student engagement and the student experience for addressing cc in schools. Pam Miller played an integral role in bringing the group back to the KBC question and providing insightful TDSB context. It is so important that organizers fully engage in the PD.
This group showed its intellectual and in depth engagement with cc learning when it came time to direct our learning with inquiry questions. The questions were not the regular, we want resources but considered process of knowledge formation and student experience. Grouping these questions on the fly caught me off-guard.
Concept mapping was also well-received and we had groups add comments to the other group's concept map to help direct the learning. This is something we should continue to do. The walk outside should also always be facilitated to show how many possible starting points for cc learning there are right outside our doors.
We also did the graffiti activity with the group brainstorming: 1) local sources of cc data 2) unconventional cc field trips 3) audiences to share cc learning 4) local cc community partners. This was very generative - although it ideally would be analyzed further and refined.
Innovations:
On day 2, I asked teachers to draw a spectrum from shallow to deep cc learning and then to locate their course on that spectrum. They could work on their own or in groups to then reflect on how they could push the course along the spectrum towards deep cc learning. They then made a list of opportunities/actions.
I followed Stan's innovation from Durham to brainstorm a meta-reflection list of tools/strategies. This helped bring to the forefront for teachers the tools/strategies and created a list that they can go back to.
I then had teachers revisit their "inquiry questions" and post blue sticky notes (which had not been previously used) to indicate directions that had come up through the institute and that addressed the question. I think this is an important step for participants so that they have an opportunity to consolidate responses, directions, ideas that connect to the inquiry questions. It also provides a visual of which questions may not have been addressed within the institute. We did a gallery walk after everyone had added their directions to the questions.
Since this group had a low turn-out, Pam Miller indicated that she was interested in having an ongoing professional community of learners and had some left-over monies for release time. Teachers were keen to continue their learning and so I followed the previous activity with a KBC on directing their professional learning. The sequence of the meta-reflection, revisiting our questions, and then the KBC provided a logical reflection sequence so that teachers could see what they had learned and had the space to voice where they wanted to take their learning.
As a community partner, I had Transform TO zoom in and this was a great connection. They are just about to launch an emissions model that maps Toronto by neighbourhood. The data is not live but updates very regularly. Transform TO is open to piloting a couple of class partnerships where they would come into the class and help the teacher and students understand the emissions data for the neighbourhood surrounding the school. They also agreed to facilitate future-envisioning activities with classes to help them imagine their school/neighbourhood in 2050 with zero emissions. Transform TO expects that the class will create an action plan and implement it in exchange. I would highly recommend having Transform TO be a part of future TDSB cc institutes.
Overall, it was a great group and I am quite confident that the survey responses will reflect what a rich learning experience it was for all.
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