This afternoon I listened to Susan Cain speak on “The power of introverts.” Like any TED talk I’ve listened to before, the message was thought provoking and caused me to ponder on what we are trying to do in education today. I’m a great advocate for ensuring that the competencies of the 21st century are well established …
Category: Educational Updates
Feb 26
Provincial Achievement Tests
In the Province of Alberta, students in grades 3, 6, and 9 write Provincial Achievement Tests (PAT’s) on a yearly basis. Grade 3 students write tests in only Language Arts and Mathematics, while students in grades 6 and 9 complete the previous two plus Science and Social Studies. These tests were initially instituted as a …
Feb 17
Being instead of doing!
I’m a subscriber to the Leadership Freak. I love the insights I receive about leadership in under 300 words. The blog causes me to reflect on my own practice as a leader in a school division- sometimes I’m reaffirmed for what I’m doing and other times… However, some of the posts really push me hard in my thinking …
Feb 12
Preparing tomorrow’s teachers!
On Friday, I had the pleasure of presenting to members of the Faculty of Education at the University of Lethbridge on the transformation agenda. I began my presentation with a quote that I took from a tweet by Dave Martin (@d_martin05) “If we teach today, the way we were taught yesterday no one will ever …
Feb 04
Finding your PLN
I recently read an article published in the ATA News suggesting that teacher’s autonomy and choice for pursuing growth plan goals had slipped. The article, “Teachers want a balanced approach to PD” is based on longitudinal data from the Alberta Teachers’ Association. In the ATA 2010 PD Survey only 44.4% of respondents reported a high …
Feb 02
Beyond the Classroom: The Importance of Culture
Over the last couple of weeks I presented to a group of aspiring leaders and our own administrators about what governs education. The first part of the presentation is fairly straightforward. In education, we are primarily governed by legislation, collective agreements, board policy, administrative procedures and, for Catholic school divisions, Canon Law or diocesan rules. …
Jan 22
Transforming curriculum
“Transformative change refers to changing the education system by re-examining student needs, how we teach students, what we teach them, how to better engage communities in educating students and how research can be harnessed to inform change.” This quote is taken from the Alberta Education Action Agenda 2011-14. This document was followed up with Framework …
Jan 13
Accountability in Education
Earlier this year, the Minister of Education, Thomas Lukaszuk, communicated that the provincial government spends 33 million dollars daily to fund education in Alberta. For the average Albertan, that number is staggering and in all likelihood elicits questions like, “Where are they spending that type of money?” or “Why are they spending that amount of money?” These questions …
Jan 08
Forwarding the conversation
One of the commitments that I made to my staff in August was to visit every classroom and meet with every staff before the Christmas break. I finished these visits in mid-December. Part of my goal for these visits was to engage staff on why I believe that schools and education as a whole need to be transformed. …
Dec 11
What’s really important in education?
Like most parents, I remember very clearly the day that our son and our daughter were born. Holding them in my arms that first time, I can guarantee you my first thoughts were not, “I sure hope they do well on their Provincial Achievement and Diploma Exams!” In fact, when I think back to their …