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Shannon Lake Elementary
"Reaching New Heights"
Our Learning Plan

Our Learning Story

At Shannon Lake Elementary School, we are dedicated to the ideal that all children can learn. We have worked diligently over the past several years to create a collaborative culture to view what we believe has been working successfully for our students and what we need to focus on to continue allowing our students to grow and thrive.  During the 2016/17 school year, School District 23 adopted the Spirals of Inquiry model for communicating individual school growth to the community at large. Rather than setting goals and working to meet targets as in the past, this model is more responsive to student needs as it begins with inquiring about what is happening for the learners and in turn, informs directions for the staff of the school. Specifically, the guiding question is asked, "What's going on for our learners?"   Identified below is a brief visual of the implementation plan we are following.

 

 spirals-of-inquiry.png

Here is a link to learn more about the work of Kaser and Halbert. on the Spirals of Inquiry model. 

 Scanning

  • Scanning invloves:

    • A wide perspective on learning, informed by learning principles (OECD)
    • Finding out what learners think and feel about their learning and
    • what their families and communities perceive about their learning
  • Scanning is NOT:

    • seeking evidence to reinforce the status quo
    • Only looking at aspects of academic learning that are easily mesaured
    • exclusively what the professionals think

Focusing

  • Focusing involves:

    • Using information from the scan to identify an area for concentrated team learning
    • Gathering more information if you need it to understand the situation
    • Building on strengths or positives, as well as clarifying challenges
    • Identifying a common area that the team can work on together
  • Focusing is NOT:

    • The time to introduce completely new areas disconnected from the scanning process
    • About assuming you have it all figured out and don’t need to investigate any further
    • Just about problems or challenges
    • About everyone choosing his/her own area of interest

Developing a Hunch

  • Developing a hunch involves:

    • Getting deeply held beliefs and assumptions out on the table about your own practices
    • Focusing on things your team can do something about
    • Checking your assumptions for accuracy before moving ahead
  • Developing a hunch is NOT:

    • A general brainstorm of all possibilities
    • Being obsessed with the actions of others or with issues over which you have limited influence 
    • Venting about the past, fuming about the present, or finding someone to blame

Learning

  • New Learning is:

    • Tailored to the situation
    • Directly linked to the focus identified earlier in the spiral
    • Exploratory—testing how new approaches could be better than previous practices
    • Sustained and supported over time
  • New Learning is NOT:

    • Pursuing the latest trends 
    • Disconnected from the context
    • Uncritically adopting new ways without understanding the purpose
    • A short-term or quick fix

Taking Action

  • Taking action involves:

    • Learning more deeply about new ways of doing things and then trying them out
    • Evaluating the impact on learners and seeking their feedback
    • Building trust and cultivating a growth mindset
  • Taking action is NOT:

    • Trying something new without considering its value and relevance in your situation
    • Implementing without monitoring the effects on learners
    • Assuming everyone feels OK about the change

Checking

  • Checking involves:

    • Knowing what you want to accomplish for your learners and having specific ways to determine how you are doing early in the inquiry process
    • Setting high expectations that your actions will make a substantial difference for ALL learners
    • Setting the stage for what comes next
  • Checking is NOT:

    • A routine to follow at the end
    • Seeking some difference for some learners
    • Judging the capacity of learners to succeed
    • Justifying your actions