Thinking Critically About Confederation

As part of the Grade 8 History curriculum, students study the evolution of Canada's Confederation. Our students engaged in this topic by adopting the perspective of one of the colonies involved in the Confederation debate and used this perspective to think critically about the pros and cons of this important decision. 

Working with their teammates, students used a variety of historical sources and class activities to examine the key issues relevant to their colony. The Confederation conferences were simulated using a fishbowl discussion, as it created an authentic environment for students to communicate and understand the competing points of view. Each fishbowl discussion contained one participant from each colony, which resulted in lively debate. Students outside the fishbowl offered feedback to the discussion participants.

In a debrief, students indicated they like the format of the presentation as they were able to really demonstrate their understanding of the topic and many even said they wished they had more time to discuss and debate! 

The Power of Collaboration

Having students work in small groups not only helps them develop important team-building skills, but it also enables students to share and construct knowledge. Adding a novel, hands-on component to the task deepens engagement and makes learning fun.

Students studying Grade 11 Biology had the opportunity to work in this way during a class on genetics. The class was introduced to the concept of inheritance patterns by having them build fictional animals named "Reebops". 

Students learned how information is passed from one generation to another, and how genes code for physical traits. They also explored how meiosis creates variation between individuals, which is why parents, and offspring have similar traits, but are not identical. 

As you can see, our students were pleased with their creations!

Make It Relevant!

One of the best ways to engage students in learning is through the exploration of relevant issues and ideas. Allowing students opportunities for sustained discussion guided by the use of personal goal setting also enhances student engagement.

The Grade 11 FSL class depicted in this entry are exploring global communities, like Canada, that have Francophone cultural roots. In this instance, students read an article on Rwanda and listened to a song performed by a Rwandan musician who now lives in Montreal.

Before initiating the discussion, students set three individual goals to ensure that the discussion remained focused and personalized. The group used the Harkness Table framework, which encouraged students to take greater ownership of their learning, a desired outcome of engagement. When debriefing the activity, students indicated they really liked the topic, as well as the format of the lesson.