Opportunities for Ongoing Learning

This section supports ongoing professional learning and reflection. It is sub-divided into four possible sub-sections or avenues for learning and reflecting (individually and/or with colleagues) about the topic of the module.

Elementary

Secondary

1. Purposeful and Accountable Talk about the COPA/OTF Capsule for Teachers or Quotations

This sub-section draws on quotations and/or a short, animated video vignette as catalysts for thinking about the module’s topic, either as a starting for, or ending point to, professional dialogue. It also provides a “third point” to surface prior knowledge and experiences or to explore divergent perspectives and assumptions about, or discomfort with, the topic in a safe fashion.

Option A: View the COPA/OTF Capsule for Teachers entitled Fostering Equity (bit.ly/Capsules4Teachers) and use it as an entry point to or catalyst for a deeper discussion about promising practices to address equity and inclusion issues with parents and guardians.

Option B: Use a think-write-pair/share approach, anchored to the quotations that follow, to begin a conversation about working with parents and guardians to address equity and inclusion issues.

icon-think

Think

Individually, select one of the following quotations (in whole or in part) that resonates with or stands out for you. Remember, the quotation can resonate either because you agree or disagree with it.

“When parents and caregivers participate in efforts to prevent bullying and promote equity and inclusion, it creates a ripple effect, amplifying the outcomes…. Their endorsement of such values and attitudes, in theory and in practice fosters coherence in students’ lives by building a bridge between home and school.”

(Centre ontarien de prévention des agressions & Ontario Teachers’ Federation, 2013)

“Effective outreach makes a difference in school-wide achievement. Schools that actively tackle challenges such as communicating with parents who cannot make it into the school, or who speak different languages, have better overall achievement.”

(Sheldon, 2003, as cited in People for Education, 2011, p. 7)

“When social problems such as racism, sexism and homophobia surface in our schools and classrooms, the steps toward change are bound to be complex and multi-faceted. Teachers, as part of the education team, hold one thread in a web of prevention strategies. All members of the school community need to play a part.”

(Centre ontarien de prévention des agressions & Ontario Teachers’ Federation, 2010, p. v)

“As teachers, individually and collectively, we can identify many opportunities to model and encourage positive behaviours and interactions that help create classrooms and a school environment where bullying is unable to take root and grow.”

(Centre ontarien de prévention des agressions & Ontario Teachers’ Federation, 2011, p. 29)

icon-write

Write

Record or write why or how the quotation “stands out” for you.

icon-pair

Pair/Share

With a colleague or as a small group of colleagues, take turns sharing your quotation and ideas/thoughts about it.

2. Case Study and Group Problem-Solving About Real-life Scenarios

This sub-section uses a fictional but authentic or plausible scenario involving teachers/educators’ interactions with parents/guardians. It encourages the use of innovative, critical thinking and problem-finding/solving approaches to explore uncomfortable or problematic situations or issues. It also offers opportunities to rehearse possible responses or actions in a non-threatening context or forum. Lastly, it provides a “third point” as a foundation for safe, professional dialogue.

Read the case study/scenario that follows:

Aisha is a Grade 7 student. She and her family recently arrived in Canada from another country. Aisha is having a hard time adjusting to her new life. At school, she has been trying to figure out how to fit in and how to make friends, but there is no one to talk to and no one to explain anything to her. She is trying to figure it all out by herself.

Aisha feels really lost, alone, out of place and kind of invisible in her new school. She has made friends with some other kids who are also newcomers, but she has not made any friends with the kids who were born and raised in Canada. She has tried very hard to approach some of them, but they just don’t seem to be that interested in getting to know her. They’re not really mean to her or anything, but they just seem kind of indifferent to her. She is pretty sure it’s because they think she is too different. The clothes she brought from her country don’t seem to look right anymore in this new place…. She knows too that her English is halting and sometimes difficult to understand. And sometimes the kids make jokes that she doesn’t understand.

Aisha ends up being left out of a lot of social activities, like birthday parties or eating together in the lunch room. She just doesn’t feel like she belongs in her new school. She has run out of ideas for things to try to do to fit in.

(Used with permission.  Centre ontarien de prévention des agressions and the Ontario Teachers’ Federation, 2010, p. 89)

In pairs or a small group, discuss the following series of prompts in relation to it:

  • What is the concern in the scenario?
  • What connections to your experience as a teacher/educator come to mind?  As a parent?
  • What might be some possible ways to effectively address this issue/concern in concert with parents and guardians?  Remember to consider educational research; legislation/regulations; federation and board policies/protocols.
  • Given the possible avenues you’ve identified above, which one(s) would you elect to pursue in this instance?  What action plan/sequence of steps would you put in place?

3. Knowledge Building/Creation and Sharing

This sub-section offers a suggested way to co-create new knowledge or tools or to synthesize knowledge and skills gained from the module. It also offers a suggested path to collaborate in making improvements to current or existing practices or tools.

As a staff, smaller team or working/standing committee, examine students’, staff members’ and parents’ perceptions (e.g., data and evidence collected from assessments of school climate such as school surveys) about the degree to which your school observes equitable and inclusive policies and procedures.

Consider both the strengths and needs that surface. Use this information to reinforce effective current practices and to inform the development of new approaches for adoption in classrooms and across the school. Share these with parents and guardians.

4. Individual Reflection on Practice, Self-assessment and Identification of Next Steps

This sub-section offers a way to reflect on, self-assess and/or set goals in the area of focus in the module. It also helps to support independent, reflective opportunities that can help shape affirmations of, or changes in, practice or guide additional professional learning connected to module’s focus.

Paulo Freire (1998), in his work Pedagogy of Freedom: Ethics, Democracy, and Civic Courage, argues that “as an educator I need to be constantly ‘reading’ the world inhabited by the grassroots with which I work, that world that is their immediate context and the wider world of which they are a part…. [I cannot] ignore in my contact with such groups the knowledge they acquire from direct experience and out of which they live. Or their way of explaining their role and presence in it” (76).

  • What insights have you already gained from “reading” the world of the students and their parents and guardians with whom you interact at your school and in your classroom?
  • What steps might you take to better understand their lived context?

1. Purposeful and Accountable Talk about the COPA Capsule or Quotations

This sub-section draws on quotations and/or a short, animated video vignette as catalysts for thinking about the module’s topic, either as a starting for, or ending point to, professional dialogue. It also provides a “third point” to surface prior knowledge and experiences or to explore divergent perspectives and assumptions about, or discomfort with, the topic in a safe fashion.

Option A: View the COPA/OTF Capsule for Teachers entitled Fostering Equity (bit.ly/Capsules4Teachers) and use it as an entry point to or catalyst for a deeper discussion about promising practices to address equity and inclusion issues with parents and guardians.

Option B: Use a think-write-pair/share approach, anchored to the quotations that follow, to begin a conversation about working with parents and guardians to address equity and inclusion issues.

icon-think

Think

Individually, select one of the following quotations (in whole or in part) that resonates with or stands out for you. Remember, the quotation can resonate either because you agree or disagree with it.

“When parents and caregivers participate in efforts to prevent bullying and promote equity and inclusion, it creates a ripple effect, amplifying the outcomes…. Their endorsement of such values and attitudes, in theory and in practice fosters coherence in students’ lives by building a bridge between home and school.”

(Centre ontarien de prévention des agressions & Ontario Teachers’ Federation, 2013)

“Effective outreach makes a difference in school-wide achievement. Schools that actively tackle challenges such as communicating with parents who cannot make it into the school, or who speak different languages, have better overall achievement.”

(Sheldon, 2003, as cited in People for Education, 2011, p. 7)

“When social problems such as racism, sexism and homophobia surface in our schools and classrooms, the steps toward change are bound to be complex and multi-faceted. Teachers, as part of the education team, hold one thread in a web of prevention strategies. All members of the school community need to play a part.”

(Centre ontarien de prévention des agressions & Ontario Teachers’ Federation, 2010, p. v)

“As teachers, individually and collectively, we can identify many opportunities to model and encourage positive behaviours and interactions that help create classrooms and a school environment where bullying is unable to take root and grow.”

(Centre ontarien de prévention des agressions & Ontario Teachers’ Federation, 2011, p. 29)

icon-write

Write

Record or write why or how the quotation “stands out” for you.

icon-pair

Pair/Share

With a colleague or as a small group of colleagues, take turns sharing your quotation and ideas/thoughts about it.

2. Case Study and Group Problem-Solving About Real-life Scenarios

This sub-section uses a fictional but authentic or plausible scenario involving teachers/educators’ interactions with parents/guardians. It encourages the use of innovative, critical thinking and problem-finding/solving approaches to explore uncomfortable or problematic situations or issues. It also offers opportunities to rehearse possible responses or actions in a non-threatening context or forum. Lastly, it provides a “third point” as a foundation for safe, professional dialogue.

Read the case study/scenario that follows:

Fawzi and Hadya are twin Grade 10 students. They are new to Canada, having arrived from a primarily Muslim country a year ago. Both are happy to be in the relatively peaceful and stable environment provided by Canadian society. Though they miss their native Somalia, they are glad of the many choices and opportunities available to them in their new life. Fawzi and Hadya have always been encouraged by their parents to pursue their goals and dreams, so the family is excited about the possibilities that await them in their new life.

As newcomers, Fawzi and Hadya found it challenging to make friends and break into a social circle in their new setting. However, both have outgoing personalities and very positive attitudes and are able to make new friends from various communities and backgrounds. They have settled well into their new school, improving their English and catching up with their studies.

After much reflection, Hadya decided that she would like to start covering her head, to honour and express her respect for her Muslim background. While her parents had given her complete freedom in making this decision, she realized, through much discussion and exchange with her parents and others from her community, that for her this was an important step to take. So one day she attended school with a head covering.

The reaction from the other students was swift and surprising for both Fawzi and Hadya. One boy began teasing Hadya about her head covering, threatening to pull it off and the girls who had become her friends suddenly grew quite cold toward her. Other boys targeted Fawzi, asking him if his father was a terrorist or a member of Al Qaeda. Some of the students who harassed them were also from a Muslim background.

By the end of the week, both young people were upset and angry.

(Used with permission. Centre ontarien de prévention des agressions and the Ontario Teachers’ Federation, 2010, p. 96-97)

In pairs or a small group, discuss the following series of prompts in relation to it:

  • What is the concern in the scenario?
  • What connections to your experience as a teacher/educator come to mind? As a parent?
  • What might be some possible ways to effectively address this issue/concern in concert with parents and guardians? Remember to consider educational research; legislation/regulations; federation and board policies/protocols.
  • Given the possible avenues you’ve identified above, which one(s) would you elect to pursue in this instance? What action plan/sequence of steps would you put in place?

3. Knowledge Building/Creation and Sharing

This sub-section offers a suggested way to co-create new knowledge or tools or to synthesize knowledge and skills gained from the module. It also offers a suggested path to collaborate in making improvements to current or existing practices or tools.

As a staff, smaller team or working/standing committee, examine students’, staff members’ and parents’ perceptions (e.g., data and evidence collected from assessments of school climate such as school surveys) about the degree to which your school observes equitable and inclusive policies and procedures.

Consider both the strengths and needs that surface. Use this information to reinforce effective current practices and to inform the development of new approaches for adoption in classrooms and across the school. Share these with parents and guardians.

4. Individual Reflection on Practice, Self-assessment and Identification of Next Steps

This sub-section offers a way to reflect on, self-assess and/or set goals in the area of focus in the module. It also helps to support independent, reflective opportunities that can help shape affirmations of, or changes in, practice or guide additional professional learning connected to module’s focus.

Paulo Freire (1998), in his work Pedagogy of Freedom: Ethics, Democracy, and Civic Courage, argues that “as an educator I need to be constantly ‘reading’ the world inhabited by the grassroots with which I work, that world that is their immediate context and the wider world of which they are a part…. [I cannot] ignore in my contact with such groups the knowledge they acquire from direct experience and out of which they live. Or their way of explaining their role and presence in it” (76).

  • What insights have you already gained from “reading” the world of the students and their parents and guardians with whom you interact at your school and in your classroom?
  • What steps might you take to better understand their lived context?