Oct 2&3 SFU Surrey
Here are my notes from the ERAC conference
- no influence is more pervasive or significant on student learning that is the teaching process
- ERAC Professional Learning Model: Assist districts in providing enriched student learning environments to increase student achievement
- Annual meetings with district contacts
- Professional learning and training opportunities… two contacts at districts, digital and text (Jarrod & Kim)
- ERAC is working on building a network with all pro-d in the province… rural, bctf, etc
- Mac Petry… ERAC is about four years old
- Ministry took on the task in the past and ERAC has been created to pick up the resource acquisition piece. Districts pushed the ministry for more involvement: ERAC was created to meet these needs
- ERAC is a district lead consortium
- 1.2 Million dollar budget from ministry, 0.3M from districts
- aim is to support districts with purchasing of learning resources
- collaborative environment, consortium saves time and money, and pools expertise from around the province
- ERAC is us, changes depending on the needs of the school districts
- The old: Theoretical model of teaching (push information to students)
- The new: Theoretical model of teaching (push information to students via technology)
- Both are just filling the “container” (students’ brains)! We need to change that!
- All of the flavour of the month learning methods share the fact that the learner is the active agent
- Must move to student centred learning to move past where we are. If we are stuck at the 80% graduation rate, maybe this is what we need
- problem based learning… students must have direct access to learning resources, no barriers
- students are actively engaged in their own learning, self direct, monitor etc
- Authentic tasks
- have opportunity to investigate and discover
- demonstrate what they know in various ways
- pushing information leads to small single loop learning that is stored, unconnected in the brain
- in student centred instructional design double loop learning occurs and knowledge is connected in the brain
- David Johnassen (book search)
- Start with central question and connect it outwards, but always bring it back to the central point
- ICT performance standard for grades 5-10… load inspiration
- IDS course for problem based learning course where students create their own course
- Authentic tasks are generally broad an ill defined
- example for FNS12 regarding aboriginal graduation rate, how do we increase that rate from 60%? (Derrek Laychuk)
- Implementation: challenge is getting the resources in place
- Takes time, resources, support
- ERAC evaluates, acquires and deploys resources, support districts in supporting teachers to use learning resources – especially digital
- anything we purchase is not worth it if teachers are not using it in classrooms
- One off workshops don’t work, they don’t change practice!
- What does work? Planned, sustained, embedded, and guided professional learning over time
- Planned: part of the fabric of your school /district, has resources (people money technology)
- Sustained: over time, not one shot, sustained over years
- Pedagogical change takes time
- If stand and deliver is boring F2F then it is tragic done online… different approaches are needed
- Embedded: must work anywhere everywhere anytime
- Guide: mentorship is required. Teacher-Librarians are key to this in many schools
- In-service T-L’s more on the online databases???
- Implementation models
- -trainer of trainer (key district staff, hold workshops, workshops don’t change practice)
- -trainer of trainer plus (key district staff trains trainers in schools and they train, more successful)
- — this allows local mentors, help “in situ”, need reliable accessible technology and resources
- — district mentor needs training and support on how to build community of practices, cross curicular integration strategies
- –ERAC provides training, leadership, and hope to build a provincial community of practice
Some things to keep in mind while looking at resources on these two days
- What are some key features of this product that I would highlight in my district?
- How does this product support learning?
- What are some strategies for implementation in the classroom?
- What kind of training will teachers need?
- What kind of barriers to teachers using this resources in their classroom? How could we eliminate/reduce these barriers?