Ray Shepherd Elementary 23-24
OUR CONTEXT
At Ray Shepherd, we take pride in building a strong sense of school culture that includes the greater community to provide authentic and meaningful learning opportunities for our students. We engage in collaboration in a variety of ways, and seek participation from our families and the greater community.
At Ray Shepherd, we understand that learning happens within a social context, and that there is a cultural component of knowledge. With the support of our PAC, we continue to seek ways to highlight cultural celebrations, and honor cultural knowledge from those within our community. We acknowledge that there is no one way to do anything, and the more opportunities we have to learn from people who are different than us, the more we will learn about the world, and ultimately ourselves.
Please see the following highlights of our learning community...
SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING
We are proud of our focus on social and emotional learning and how we integrate these concepts into our daily routines, curriculum, and school goals. Some examples of our focus on Social Emotional Learning include: our positive behavioural support plan (SOAR), evidence-based SEL programming, and an in-house Social and Emotional Learning lead teacher.
IDENTITY AND SENSE OF BELONGING
Our identity as hawks is used as a tangible metaphor for the qualities we want to celebrate within our community.
MONTHLY ASSEMBLIES
We gather as a learning community at the end of each month to highlight learning, cultivate student voice, focus on SEL themes, and celebrate student successes. Students are the focus!
ENCOURAGING POSITIVE BEHAVIOUR
Our goals for student behaviour (acceptable behaviour) are outlined in the acronym "SOAR". Students are acknowledged with a "hawk feather" by a staff member when they are noticed demonstrating this positive behaviour. Students then enter these feathers into a draw box for a chance to win gift cards on the last day of each week. Thank you to our PAC for supporting this initiative by providing the gifts cards each week!
LOOSE PARTS "DISCOVERY ROOM"
At Ray Shepherd, we have a dedicated room for a "Loose Parts" program. This room provides an opportunity for students to express themselves and their learning by using a variety of different manipulatives to communicate.
MENTORSHIP PILOT PROJECT
Our school has the District's pilot project that encourages in-house mentorship support for any staff who are interested. The focus is primarily on early career teachers and mentor teachers working collaboratively to create a professional learning community that supports student learning.
STUDENT LEADERSHIP
Our school offers multiple access points for all students to contribute based on interests and strengths (social responsibility). Student leadership opportunities include: Playground pals, lunch monitors, tech helpers, fundraising, communication team, big buddies, garden club, and recycling team.
DIVERSITY CLUB
At Ray Shepherd, we celebrate our diversity and encourage conversations that promote and discuss equity and inclusion. Students meet in a safe space where they are encouraged to be themselves and celebrate their identity in positive ways.
OUTDOOR LEARNING
Outdoor learning opportunities have beecome heavily embedded in our educational programming here at Ray Shepherd. We are fortunate to have some pockets of natural space including a "mini forest" on our property. Other outdoor spaces frequently used include Bell Forest Park which is adjacent to our school property. Classes utilize this space to engage in hands-on, place-based learning. Our classes also participate in off-campus excursions to our neighbouring beaches, and even to further destinations like A Rocha ecology centre and Galiano Island.
INDIGENOUS LEARNING
The First Peoples Principles of Learning are embedded in announcements, assemblies, and classroom activities. At Ray Shepherd, we acknowledge that learning happens in a social setting, is based in relationship, and should reflect the history of the land and its original peoples.
Our school is also supported by the District's "Inidgenous Connections Team" who coordinate cultural programming on a monthly basis to support Indigenous students at Ray Shepherd and their sense of identity and belonging.
PAC
Our dedicated and involved parent community actively fundraise to support learning opportunities for students throughout the school year. Without the support of our PAC, many of our amazing learning opportunities would not be possible.
OUR LEARNERS
Student Learning Plan focus:
Numeracy and Student Voice
Overview of Learning Experiences
Our focus cohort of Grade 7's have been encouraged to develop their voice to communicate their thinking through a variety of strategies, including: self reflections, student-made videos, use of manipulatives/loose parts, and other strategies shared in the resource "Number Talks" by Sherry Parish. Opportunities for communicating thinking will be presented routinely to students, and they will be provided with guided practice so they can develop their competency in a variety of different areas.
Cohort
Our focus group of students are our grade 7's. We chose the group of students in our learning community who have had the longest opportunity to acquire the necessary practice and develop the appropriate vocabulary to articulate their mathematical thinking.
Big Idea
Decimals, fractions, and percents are used to represent and describe parts and wholes of numbers.
Curriular Competencies
- use mathematical vocabulary and language to contribute to mathematical discussions,
- explain and justify mathematical ideas and decisions,
- communicate mathematical thinking in many ways
- represent mathematical ideas in concrete, pictorial, and symbolic forms
Objective
Our learners can... communicate their learning in numeracy using a variety of strategies, including manipulatives, documentation, and oral sharing.
OUR FOCUS
Student Learning Plan focus
Numeracy and Student Voice
Big Idea
Decimals, fractions, and percents are used to represent and describe parts and wholes of numbers.
Curriular Competencies
Our students can :
- use mathematical vocabulary and language to contribute to mathematical discussions,
- explain and justify mathematical ideas and decisions,
- communicate mathematical thinking in many ways,
- represent mathematical ideas in concrete, pictorial, and symbolic forms,
The content covered this school year relates specifically to decimals, fractions, and percents and how they are used to represent and describe parts and wholes of numbers.
This goal matters as we hope to create students who have the ability to clearly communicate their thinking, be confident while engaging in numeracy tasks, and also use mental math and manipulatives to understand concepts and processes of solving problems versus memorization. The focus group at this point in time is our intermediate students in grade 7.
Specifically, these students have had the opportunity to work collaboratively in groups to discuss their learning, and teach one another strategies for problem solving. Though this collaboration, students have had the opportunity to develop and enhance their social and emotional skills such as reflecting on mathematical thinking, connecting mathematical concepts to each other and to other areas and personal interests, using mathematical arguments to support personal choices, which are all part of the curricular competencies in the B.C. curriculum for mathematics.
OUR NEXT STEPS
Summary of Student Progress
School Year 2021-2022:
School Year 2022-2023:
School Year 2023-2024:
Direct Evidence of Student Learning
Lesson 1: Fractions, Decimals, and Percentages (January 2023)
In this featured activity, students were asked to explain their thinking as they converted fractions to decimals, and decimals to percents. Students were asked to use words, pictures, loose parts and numbers.
Student Example 1:
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Student Example 2:
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Student Example 3:
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Lesson 2: Fractions, Decimals, and Percents with Skittles (April 2023)
In this featured activity, students were provided with a random assortment of Skittles candy. They were asked to sort by colour and represent their data in as many ways as possible. Below are 3 examples of different student work, including a link to an audio file where each student was interviewed about the activity and their understanding about how fractions, decimals, and percents are related.
Student Example 1:
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Student Example 2:
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Student Example 3:
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Moving Forward
After collecting and analysing student data, we have seen an improvement in student understanding as indicated by student self-assessment and teacher assessment.
We are seeing students continue to be more explicit in their explanations. Colour coding of data, specifically in graphing exercises was a important aspect teachers noted as extra effort to ensure student understanding was clearly communicated.
A continued focus on utilizing bright, colourful, and tactile resources encourages hands-on involvement and student interest. A continued investment into more loose parts and our discovery room will only further encourage student interest to engage in those materials through a safe and inviting approach.
Word walls continue to aid the development of vocabulary and are a quick reference for students who are trying to articulate their understanding.
Our Next Step
Our next steps are to extend the focus of communicating student thinking using a variety of strategies, to include reflection on their mathematical thinking.
Next Steps to Support Numeracy Goals
1. Professional Development Focus on Numeracy Communication
- Workshops and Training: Provide targeted professional development for staff on strategies to teach and assess mathematical communication. Topics could include using math journals, incorporating mathematical discourse, and teaching students how to explain their reasoning effectively.
- Collaborative Planning: Establish Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) that focus specifically on numeracy, where teachers can share best practices, analyze student work, and co-create lessons aimed at improving mathematical communication.
2. Integrated Use of Technology for Communication and Assessment
- Digital Tools for Expression: Introduce digital platforms such as Explain Everything, Seesaw, or Flipgrid, where students can record and present their mathematical thinking using visual and verbal explanations.
- Adaptive Assessment Tools: Use tools like Mathletics or Freckle to assess student progress while providing opportunities for students to explain their thinking within the platform.
3. Refinement of Assessment Practices
- Rubrics for Mathematical Communication: Develop and use rubrics that explicitly assess how well students communicate their mathematical thinking, including criteria such as clarity, accuracy, and use of mathematical vocabulary. Share these rubrics with students to guide their self-assessment.
- Formative Assessment Techniques: Implement regular formative assessments, such as math exit tickets, where students must write or draw how they solved a problem. This can provide immediate feedback and inform instruction.
- Student Portfolios: Establish a numeracy portfolio where students collect examples of their problem-solving work, paired with written or recorded explanations of their reasoning.
4. Classroom Strategies to Support Communication
- Math Talks: Dedicate time for regular math talks, where students explain their reasoning to peers and engage in constructive discussions about different solution methods.
- Anchor Charts: Create visual aids in classrooms that outline steps and language for explaining mathematical thinking, such as "I solved this by…" or "My strategy was…".
- Peer Reviews: Introduce peer feedback sessions where students evaluate and discuss each other's mathematical explanations using teacher-provided criteria.
5. Engaging Families in Numeracy Communication
- Numeracy Nights: Host family math nights where students demonstrate and explain their problem-solving strategies to parents. Provide families with resources to support mathematical communication at home.
- Home Learning Tasks: Design take-home math activities that require students to explain their thinking in writing or through videos submitted to the teacher.
6. Data-Informed Instruction
- Analyze Patterns: Regularly review assessment data to identify trends in how students communicate their thinking. Use this data to tailor interventions for students who struggle with expressing mathematical ideas.
- Goal Setting with Students: Engage students in setting personal goals related to mathematical communication, fostering ownership of their learning.
By embedding these strategies, we aim to build on current initiatives to enhance student learning and deepen student ability to articulate mathematical reasoning more effectively.
Surrey Schools
Formed in 1906, the Surrey School District currently has the largest student enrolment in British Columbia and is one of the few growing districts in the province. It is governed by a publicly elected board of seven trustees.
The district serves the cities of Surrey and White Rock and the rural area of Barnston Island.
