Showing posts with label Learning Community. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Learning Community. Show all posts

Wednesday 2 May 2018

CSI Meets Newton's Law of Cooling

Creating scenarios that allow students to use skills and knowledge to solve real world problems is a great way to make learning stick. Our Advanced Functions (MHF4U) class did this recently through an activity where they played the role of detectives examining a crime scene.

Students worked in teams to solve the puzzles
Students were divided into three teams, assembled in one of our breakout rooms and given a puzzle to solve in three stages. In the first stage, students worked together to use prior knowledge to solve a series of exponential and logarithmic functions. Once they had these answers, they used them and Newton’s Law of Cooling to determine the time of death of the body found at the crime scene.
 
The timer counting down added excitement to the activity
With the correct time in hand, three members of the team escaped from the breakout room to find a website URL that had been hidden in the classroom. Once the site was located, the remainder of the team left the breakout room and together the team used graphing software to create a function that reflected the function related to the time of death.
Each team worked in a separate breakout room
Rich performance tasks like this one enable students to develop valuable critical thinking and problem solving skills, and learn how to work effectively in teams, all of which are vital skills for the future.

Friday 29 September 2017

Conflict, Characterization, and Co-Teaching

After a full year in our expanded facilities, teachers are accustomed to the different uses of their Learning Communities. Here is one example of how co-teaching is enhanced by the resources available in the space. 

Co-teaching in our learning community rooms offers numerous ways for teachers to engage students. In this example, Grade 10 English teachers Johanna Liburd and Laura Vhalos have the students explore the intersection of conflict and characterization.



To energize students, the activity begins with students out of their chairs and on their feet.



Students collaborate, share their ideas, ask interesting questions and record their thinking on movable white boards.



After working in small groups, students come together as a class to share and refine their thinking about character and conflict. Organizing classes in this way enables all students to participate and develop important communication and teamwork skills.


Tuesday 13 December 2016

WATCH: Campbell River Town Hall

On November 24, we took you behind the scenes of our Campbell River Town Hall Project. Supported by our new Learning Communities, the project integrated elements of English and social studies for Grade 7 students.

What did this project look like in action? See for yourself in the video below!

Thursday 3 November 2016

Learning Communities Support Oral Communication Skills

With three breakout rooms, soft seating and lots of space to move around, our ground-floor
Learning Community offers plenty of possibilities for both individual and group work.

More and more research has shown that there is an important connection between where we learn and how we learn. Being in a spacious, well-lit room with a comfortable, flexible seating environment supports the development of oral communication skills, which are a vital component of learning a second language.

With three breakout rooms, soft seating and lots of space to move around, our ground-floor Learning Community offers students plenty of possibilities for both individual and group work. French teachers Emily Borden and Heather Maxted recently used every corner of this Learning Community for a Grade 10 French lesson. 

Students had lots of room to spread out and practice for their oral interview.

Working in pairs and small groups, students were practicing for an oral interview that would take place during the following period. With oral practice, the ability to clearly hear what your partner is saying is critical. The size of the room and variety of furnishings encouraged the groups to spread out, giving each the space they needed to practice effectively.

Being in a spacious, well-lit room with comfortable furnishings supports the
development of oral communication skills.