Professional Learning Goals

• Collaborated with colleagues to develop and foster a culturally relevant mindset
• Integrated CRRP in teachers’ teaching
• Shared technology expertise with colleagues
• Teachers are now able to use technology to augment, redefine and modify student learning
• Teachers and students know how to use Google Classroom and Google Sites as a means of enhancing and redefining teaching and learning
• Teachers explored the community and engaged in conversations with community members and community outreach support workers to better understand and intentionally foster a positive culturally relevant lens

Activities and Resources

• PLC – met regularly during common prep time
• Teachers used release time to engage with community members outside of the school environment
• Having the technology to use allowed teachers to collaborate more effectively; able to take them off-site for planning and researching purposes
• Colleague used his expertise with Google Classroom and other Google Sites to facilitate other members’ learning

Unexpected Challenges

With thanks to our mentor who guided us along as we experienced challenges along the way. He helped us realize that challenges are a part of our learning and how to meet them head-on or manoeuvre around them, and to accept that they were just that, challenges.

• Large classroom size particularly in our junior classroom impacted reaching our goals: impacted on time, constant behavioural issues and interruptions, redirection
• We did not find a demonstration classroom with a focus on CRRP being offered in our board (whereas, a few years back, there were many demonstration classrooms focusing on CRRP being offered)
• Difficulty receiving timely responses to further in engage in our project (i.e., planning a meeting time with a relevant professor and director for education and community)
• Restricting the infusion of CRRP to the Social Studies Curriculum, it should have been a broader lens, such as to the classroom, and cross-curricular to reach all subject areas

Enhancing Student Learning and Development

• Students explored and developed a higher level of thinking and questioning, through a CRRP lens
• Students developed greater trust in their peers
• Students saw themselves as agents of change by thinking like problem-solvers
• Students recognized themselves and relevancy in their learning and were more engaged
• Students learned or became more proficient when using Google Docs and Google Classroom

Sharing

• Community of parents expressed interest in their child’s learning
• Share with community the importance of teaching and learning with a culturally relevant and response lens (pedagogy)
• A number of colleagues were interested in the focus of our project and we will present it at a staff meeting
• Relevant resources will be shared with staff
• Discussions on how we could move ourselves as a school along the continuum using the “Equity Continuum: Action for Critical Transformation in Schools and Classrooms” as a catalyst to get us all started
• Immediate planning with a couple of colleagues who are interested in CRRP for next year

Project Evaluation

My colleagues and I felt that aspects of our project were successful considering the initial project lead had moved onto another role within the school board.  Having taken on the role of project lead with someone else’s vision was daunting at times because her road map would have looked slightly different than mine. However, the importance of CRRP for our students’ learning was a common goal we both shared and getting to implement it with the support of OTF has made this an invaluable experience of learning.

My colleagues and I felt what was most enriching was the ability to delve deeper in understanding how CRRP impacts and engages students in their learning with positive outcomes. It taught students how to have courageous conversations in a safe classroom environment. The learning was authentic as they were able to see themselves in their learning. There was greater engagement and richer conversations. It was an eye-opening experience for the teachers to hear and see responses and completed work that the Grade 1 and Grade 2 students produced. Their ability to express their feelings openly and honestly shocked some of us as we felt that they were “protected” from the happenings of their community. It really taught us how important it is to bring upon openness and honesty in each child’s life and lived experiences.

Students were exposed to new technology, which will help them keep pace with the changing world. With the use of technology, they were more engaged in their learning and able to use a new vehicle to communicate their learning. This aspect of our goals was vital to our Grade 4 and 5 learners who one would believe have technological experience, but we learned how many students do not have access to the Internet or even own a computer. Therefore, providing this learning on how to use technology, research, gather, organize, create, and edit work not only enhanced their learning, but further engaged them in the curriculum.