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Building Community through Telecollaboration ProjectFirst Meeting – Year Four

Pearson Electrotechnology Centre

Lester B. Pearson School Board

September 22, 2010

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Morning Agenda 1st BCT Face-to-Face Meeting

1. Welcome and review of the agenda

2. Introduction to the BCT Project

3. A Vision of K-12 Students Today Video and Discussion

4. Personal Reflection on Four Developmental Stages in the BCT Journey

5. SHARE: Sharing Success Stories

6. SHARE: Sharing Success Stories in Cycle Network Teams

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Afternoon Agenda 1st BCT Face-to-Face Meeting

1. Development and Discussion of Collaborative Group Guidelines

2. Wallchart on Cycle Network Structures

3. Instructions and Guidelines on Using the BCT Sakai Portal

4. Professional Dialogue on the Video:

A Vision of K-12 Students Today

5. Personal Reflections on the BCT Journey

6. Appreciative Inquiry and Wrap-up

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The BCT Leadership Team

Cycle One Leader: Veronique Lemay

(We want to thank Donna Anderson and Dorothy Taker for the excellent work they did leading this Cycle last year!!)

Cycle Two Leader: Mary-Helen Goyetche

Cycle Three Leader: Karen Rye

Consultants: Drs. Alain Breuleux, Gyeong Mi Heo and Ted Wall

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The BCT Community of Practice

Over 50 teachers from 20 schools across Quebec are involved in the project

20 Principals and Vice-principals support the project

Participating school boards provide matching support to the project

Key partners are: MELS, Learn, Cefrio, McGill and Recit animators

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The BCT Co-ordinating Committee

Vincent Tanguay, Cefrio,

Michael Canuel, Learn Quebec

Bev White, Learn Quebec

Tom Stenzel, Critical Friend, Learn Quebec

Elaine Roy, MELS,

Alain Breuleux, Gyeong Mi Heo & Ted Wall

BCT Leadership Team

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Brief History of the BCT ProjectIn 2005-2006, over 100 teachers and

administrators in all nine English School Boards were interviewed on the use of ICT supported learning

The resulting Cefrio Report recommendations were discussed and widely supported

Michael Canuel and Vincent Tanguay developed the vision for the BCT Project, which MELS and the school boards supported

Over the past three years the project has grown

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Purpose of the BCT Project

The purpose of the BCT Project is to encourage, facilitate and support collaboration among students, teachers and educational leaders to enhance learning across the community

Each year, we have reviewed the above purpose of the project and we still see it as appropriate and relevant

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Major Objectives of the BCT Project

The major objectives of the BCT Project are to: facilitate the integration of ICT into teaching

practices to enhance student learning, encourage collaboration among students and

teachers to facilitate learning, encourage teachers to reflect on their practices

and share expertise with others, and facilitate the development of a community of

practice network across Quebec

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21st Century Skills:Learning for Life in our Times

Trilling and Fadel (2009) in their book, 21st Century Skills, contend students need to develop a variety of skills if they are to meet the demands of the twenty-first century knowledge-based economy

As a reflection on the following 21st century skills will show, these skills are very congruent with the cross-curricular learning objectives of the QEP, which are at the heart of the BCT Project

Source: Trilling, B. & C. Fadel (2009). 21st Century Skills – Learning for Life in our Times, Wiley & Sons

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Twenty-first Century SkillsCommunication and Collaboration Skills: Communicate clearly Collaborate with others

Creativity and Innovation Skills: Think Creatively Work Creatively with Others

Information Literacy Skills: Access and Evaluate Information Use and Manage Information

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Twenty-first Century SkillsMedia Literacy Skills Analyze Media Create Media Products

Initiative and Self-direction Skills: Manage Goals and Time Be Self-directed Learners

Social and Cross-Cultural Skills: Interact Effectively with Others Work Effectively in Diverse Teams

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Twenty-first Century Skills

ICT Literacy Skills Apply Technology Effectively

Productivity and Accountability Skills: Manage Projects Produce Results

As we know, the above 21st Century skills are totally congruent with the QEP Curriculum and especially with the Cross-curricular competencies in it

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QEP Cross-Curricular Competenciesfor Students

Competency 1: Use information

Competency 2: Solve problems

Competency 3: Exercise critical judgment

Competency 4: Use creativity

Competency 5: Adopt effective work methods

Competency 6: Use information and communications technologies (ICT)

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BCT Project Major Objectives: facilitate the integration of ICT into teaching practices, encourage collaboration among students and teachers, encourage teachers to reflect on their practices and share their expertise, and facilitate the development of a community of practice

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As the illustration shows, student and teacher learning are at the heart of the BCT Project and there are three key aspects to it: collaboration, the wise use of ICT, and an ongoingcommunity of practice

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Collaboration is a central focus for students within the classroom and online, for teachers within a Cycle or school, and for students and teachers within and across Cycle Networks

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The wise use of ICT: a BCT principle is “pedagogy first then select ICT tools to support learning” ICT tools should be learned as they are needed BCT projects should be QEP-based and not just “add-ons”

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Community of Practice: sharing and reflecting on our practices is important our Face-to-facemeetings and BCTSakai portal facilitate such sharing developing a vibrant community of practicetakes time

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Ice Breaker

a) What do you do for fun?

b) Talk about something you are proud of in your teaching.

-a project, an experience, an activity...

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SHARE – A Collaborative Group Protocol

The acronym SHARE can remind us of the key steps in this sharing and reflecting protocol:

Select a relevant teacher- learning activity Highlight the key aspects of the experience Ask clarifying questions Reflect on the teaching-learning activity Evaluate the lessons learned

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SHARE – A Collaborative Group Protocol Select a relevant teaching - learning activity: The

presenter selects a successful teaching - learning activity to share with the collaborative learning group

Highlight the key aspects of the learning experience: The presenter briefly explains the purpose, process and results that were obtained, highlighting the aspects that were important to its success

Where did the learning take place? Who were the students? How did they respond? What surprised you? How did you feel?

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SHARE – A Collaborative Group Protocol

Ask clarifying questions: Group members ask questions to more fully understand the teaching-learning activity so they can respond to it

“How were the students organized?” “Were you interrupted or pressed for time?” “Did you have technical problems?” “How long had the students been learning about the

topic?” etc.

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SHARE – A Collaborative Group Protocol

Reflect on the teaching-learning activity: Group members reflect, review, and react to

the presenter’s ideas on the teaching-learning activity by commenting on its strengths, posing questions about it, and making suggestions on it

Be specific about the aspects of the teaching that were positive – “I liked the way you . . .”

“Why did you organize the groups that way?” “Did you ever try . . .” etc.

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SHARE – A Collaborative Group Protocol Evaluate the lessons learned: The presenter summarizes the lessons he or

she gained from the comments and feedback of group members and comments on the effectiveness of the process that was used

“I was interested in the point you made, I never thought about it that way . . .”

“ I appreciated the suggestion you made, I will try it the next time I teach this lesson”

“I got some great ‘gold nuggets’ from your comments, they have got me really thinking”

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Some Thoughts on the Challenges of Collaborative Learning Groups

Being involved in collaborative learning groups is not easy. People should volunteer to act as a presenter and they should have the right to pass on making comments

We should focus on the positive aspects of the teaching-learning situation and encourage reflection on the situation rather than trying to make strong suggestions for improvement

It takes time and commitment to develop the trust that makes a collaborative learning group really worthwhile

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Collaboratively Developing Group Guidelines

Within our BCT community of practice, we will be working in small groups on a variety of topics, research on teams has shown that developing group guidelines can help us work more effectively and efficiently

Hence, what guidelines should we use to

ensure that our group meetings are positive and productive?

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Suggested Group Process

As individuals,

on separate post-its, briefly describe potential group participation guidelines that you want your group to consider

As a group,

review the proposed guidelines and identify the three or four most important ones

Be ready to share your suggestions

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Round-Robin Reporton Group Guidelines

Each group, in turn, should suggest one guideline to be recorded on the list

If a guideline has been suggested simply share the next most important one

As a group, review the list, ask for clarifications on it, and then discuss whether the guidelines should be accepted and followed in your Cycle

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INSTRUCTIONS AND GUIDELINES ON USING THE BCT SAKAI PORTAL

o http://sakai.learnquebec.ca/portal/

o Distribution of BCT Sakai Reminder Cards

o Hands-on Practice

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WALLCHART ON CYCLE NETWORK STRUCTURES IN CYCLE TEAMS

• Subject groups

• ICT tools – people enjoy using

• Personal strengths – potential contributions

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PERSONAL REFLECTIONS ON THE BCT JOURNEY

• What ICT Tools would you like to learn?

• What do you hope to get out of this project?

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PROFESSIONAL DIALOGUE ON THE VIDEO: A VISION OF K-12 STUDENTS TODAY

Revisit the video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_A-ZVCjfWf8

and facilitate small group discussions

Reports on “Gold Nuggets” from each Group within Cycle Teams

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Appreciative Inquiry on the First BCT Face-to-Face Meeting

On separate post-its, under one of these categories,

Benefits: please briefly describe the benefits you derived from participating in today’s session

Even Better If: please briefly describe ways that the session could be improved

Questions and Suggestions: briefly submit questions or suggestions that you would like us to consider