Fleetwood Park Secondary 22-23

OUR FOCUS

Every day our learners are presented with opportunities to learn and grow through the implementation of First Peoples Principles of Learning. We have focused on the use of two Principles of Learning within a cohort of learners.  1) Learning is embedded in memory, history, and story, and 2) Learning requires exploration of one’s identity. This cohort includes a diverse range of learners that are representative of our school’s population and across all subject areas.  These Learning Principles found expression through the following Curricular Competencies.

Fleetwood Park Secondary students have recognized personal, social and cultural contexts, values and perspectives in text.  They have had the opportunity to learn from and develop their story-telling abilities across numerous curricular activities.  As an example, students in the cohort participated in a “Hidden Ancestors” project. They researched their ancestors and learned the stories of their lives. Students reflected on how their ancestors’ lives and experiences have shaped their own lives.

Students in the cohort also constructed meaningful personal connections between self, text and the world. They explored various aspects of their own identity through their participation in a “Masks and Identity” project. Students created their own set of masks representing their “true” selves and their “public” selves. The masks were a visual representation of their differing character traits. Students then wrote a descriptive summary of their identities and how their masks represented themselves in the world.

OUR NEXT STEPS

Our learners will continue to develop their skills and capacities through the use and practice of First Peoples Principles of Learning.

Students were able to demonstrate greater levels of proficiency in constructing meaningful personal connections between self, text and the world.

Through the use of story-telling and exploration of memory and history, Humanities 9 students completed a journalism writing task called "Hidden Figures." After viewing a film, students considered people they knew who make a significant impact without receiving the credit they deserve.  They viewed magazine articles for ideas on style, brainstormed questions, practiced interviewing, interviewed their hidden figure, collated the responses and produced a magazine-style feature article (or podcast).  Many students chose a family member for their subject, and the interviews often focused on obstacles these family members faced on their journeys.  The assignment directly supported the ". . .story-telling and exploration of memory and history" element of the Curricular Competency. 

Upon completion of the “Hidden Figures” project, students’ understanding of this Curricular Competency was significantly deeper.

Students in the cohort also focussed on learning to recognize personal, social and cultural contexts, values and perspectives in text through the exploration of their own identity. 

This learning was supported through their “Masks and Identity” project. Again, students’ initial articulation of their identities prior to the project was often limited.

Upon completion of the project, through discussion, reflection, art and writing, students in the cohort were able to reflect at a much deeper and more meaningful level and articulate their identity, and factors influencing their identity, through their expressive work.

Student Self-Assessment:

The growth of student learning was measured in two ways.

1) Grade 9 Humanities students responded to an anonymous "Identity" survey prior to the instructional unit and after completion of the unit.  Students responded to the same 24 questions related to their own beliefs about their identity.

Analysis

After completion of this unit of study, and significant self-reflection, students showed growth in these curricular competencies.  Students gained an understanding of the numerous factors that contribute to one's sense of identity and how it can change over time.  Students demonstrated that their thinking about their identity became deeper, more nuanced and subject to change. 

2) Humanities 9 students were also asked to write a paragraph to respond to the factors that impact their identity.  Students made two attempts with this writing prompt, before and after the instructional activities.  Students' proficiencies were measured using the standard Humanities 9 Proficiency scales, with focus on Content.

Results

The percentage of students achieving each level of the Proficiency Scale is represented below.

Analysis

In the second attempt of this writing assignment, there was a significant increase in content knowledge and understanding.  Structure, voice and mechanics showed little change, but content showed the biggest change of all areas.

In general, paragraphs included more detail and examples of the factors impacting one's identity.  Students saw identity as more nuanced than originally thought - a construct that is derived from a wide variety of factors and experiences.

Moving Forward

Advancing our learners skillsets through memory, history and story as well as through exploration of one’s identity have been very important. Our students have progressed in their understanding of themselves and how this connects to their interactions with their peers, our school, and the surrounding community. In moving forward, we plan on expanding the cohort of students across grades and disciplines who will focus on these Curricular Competencies and supported by these First Peoples Principles of Learning. As we continue with this work, we will build on it in the following ways.

Learning is embedded in memory, history, and story

• We will increase opportunities for students to learn through story telling.

Learning requires exploration of one’s identity

• We will further develop activities for students to explore their own identity as a foundation for curricular learning and making personal connections between self, text and the world.