#isrosemao

Last week, three members of my PLC and I visited the Pacific School of Innovation and Inquiry (PSII) in Victoria, BC.  What an amazing place! It's probably what solidified our plans to actually figure out the logistics of our proposed whole-grade inquiry on water.

The school is one big open space with smaller break-out rooms around it. There are learners' inquiry maps posted on every wall; there is a schedule of all the seminars for the coming weeks (learners choose to attend only the ones they need); there is a kitchen where learners can create recipes and cook; there is a workshop for building things; there is a dress-makers work space; there is a 3D printer, for goodness sake!  The thing that has the most impact though is that the learners have a ton of freedom to move and work where they wish.

And, don't get me wrong: teens are still teens. Not all learners were "on task" all the time, but ALL of them recognized that they eventually did have to document something about their learning. Everything that we talk about as educators when it comes to 21st century learning and best practise exits at PSII... self-regulation is an understatement.

I had the opportunity to chat with two learners: one is in "Grade 11" doing podcasts on pop-culture connections to literary classics; the other one is in "Grade 9" whose inquiry centres around the Heroes of WWII.  Both were able to tell me what curricular outcomes their inquiry met. The Grade 9 boy said:

"Part of my inquiry is fulfilling some History 12 outcomes; the way I'm choosing to present everything is covering Information Technology; and because I've decided to actually do the training program the military does, I'm doing my DPA (Daily Physical Activity, a ministry requirement at each grade level)."

I was struck by the incredibly purposeful and completely personalized learning going on, and by the absence of any desire amongst the learners for a letter grade or a percentage.  In fact, when I asked Jeff Hopkins, the founder of PSII about how the report card looks, he told me the percentages arrive out of a conference with each learner and all the learners know that they will be assessed on the learning outcomes they fulfill and how deeply they fulfill them.  Learners are responsible for documenting all their learning electronically, via Quio.

There are so many more anecdotes I can share, but maybe the twitter feed of our experience is better "real time" reading. Check #isrosemao.  Rose Pillay, a consultant with the CISVA liased with Jeff to arrange the visist - the hashtag is a tribute to some of her wise words.

On Assessment: A Student Perspective

Most educators think that "in the end" it's a disservice to our strong students if we don't assign a letter grade or a percentage.  The following is a student's self assessment of his major project on poetry - apparently, not all strong students want what we think they want.  (Posted with permission.)

I struggled as I attempted to write this self-evaluation.  I looked through all my [explication] essays and poems trying to come up with a grade assessment for my work.  I couldn't.  Instead, I came to this realization:

The purpose of marking an assignment is so that an individual can see his or her own mistakes from a different perspective.  When these mistakes are realized, the student can decide if he or she values the input.  If so, he/she can put it to use improving him/herself and his/her skills.  For this reason, I don't think it is entirely appropriate for me to provide a self-mark for my work, as I am stuck in my own limited perspective.  I feel that I can only grow as a student if someone [else] helps me recognize where I can improve.  I cannot ask myself, "Is this a 6 [level] essay?"  I can only evaluate myself based on one criteria:  did I do the best I could with the resources that I had?

I completed the assignment to the best of my abilities.  I worked hard not so that I could achieve a high grade, but so that I could become a better person in one area of my life.  Instead of taking an indifferent attitude towards the assignment, I challenged myself to write the best darned essays and poems I could write.  Using the skills that I have learned, I did the best I could.  Now, I can only wait for another perspective to provide constructive criticism and help me improve myself.  I am happy with the work I have handed in; this is the only evaluation I can give.