Hastings and Prince Edward DSB & Simcoe County DSB

Twitter:      @HPESchools

Website:     http://www.hpedsb.on.ca

Blog:          http://blogs.hpedsb.on.ca/ec/sets

Twitter:     @SCDSB_Schools

Website:    http://www.scdsb.on.ca

Blog:         http://www.sharingsimcoe.com

Topic:

As part of their Board vision to "reach every student" through differentiated instruction and assessment that is responsive to the unique needs of the learner to support high achievement, SCDSB has been deliberating the potential for MST (math, science, technology) blocks to better support numeracy and intentional cross-curricular connections in Grades 7&8. There is untapped potential for inquiry in this type of learning environment as well as an opportunity to remove the ‘silo effect’ of our curriculum. Collaborating with HPEDSB on a cross-district project would enable a ‘family of schools’ who feed to a single secondary school to delve more deeply into this inquiry and to share the learning with educators with a different perspective from out-of-Board. A key feature would be to foster more opportunity for their teachers to share, discuss, reflect and provide feedback to one another in an online community to foster even richer teacher collaboration. In HPEDSB, they are looking to further expand our understanding of student-led inquiry as it relates to math, science and technology. BIPSA monitoring has shown that staff have a strong desire to continue to build their capacity around student inquiry, this continues their work from this year through Natural Curiosity (OISE) and Learning for a Sustainable Future. Staff also expressed interest in continuing to learn about best practices from colleagues from within our board as well as across the province. They will be utilizing GAFE to facilitate the sharing and collaboration between staff and students at multiple sites. Collaboration between the two districts will be through the online platform - Google Hangout. They will review processes and procedures, identify the expectations of its use, and coordinate release dates to ensure that planning (discussions, resource sharing, professional learning, etc) is collaborative.

Success Criteria: 

• Teachers will collaborate with colleagues from both Boards to develop authentic learning opportunities that reflect a more holistic approach to teaching math, science and technology.
• Students will engage in personally relevant inquiry that is rooted in robust, crosscurricular experiences. 
• Teachers and students will document their journey through online discussion and collaboration.

Read about Anita's Visit to HPEDSB & SCDSB.

Read about Anita's Visit to HPEDSB.

View the HPEDSB & SCDSB's PowerPoint.

View the Cross-District Inquiry Project PowerPoint.

 Hastings and Prince Edward County DSB & Simcoe County DSB - LC Project 2014-2015