How Your
Nominee Has Shown Leadership Successfully Implementing Technology into Instruction?
Building a better future based on an acknowledged
heritage, Marie Whelan and Margo McGee continue to probe the new frontiers of
learning in the 21st century age of change.
Their leadership and vision have been a driving force in leading the
school as the centre for innovation, exploration and discovery with the support
and data findings of the Emerge One to One Wireless Learning Project Research
Team: Metiri Group and University of
Calgary under the direction of Alberta Education. Site visitations focused on compiling data,
tables, charts and statistics representing authentic learning experiences in
21st century classrooms, encompassing the range of emerging technologies in
use, self-directed learning inventories, student engagement levels, as reported
by individual students and the identification of classroom structures that
engage students. The data from these
surveys, observations and scores across all domains of study reinforce the
vision of these leaders in creating a 21st century school. A school that is
characterized by high levels of student engagement, the partnership of 21st
century skills (critical thinking, problem solving, communication, inquiry and
higher order learning), transformational learning based on current research
findings.
Marie Whelan and Margo McGee have created a vibrant
and successful Community of Practice, forming a Partnership with the Edmonton
Regional Learning Consortium welcoming and in-servicing school administrators,
school learning teams and outside agencies (over 1,500 have visited the
site). St. Mary School, the Edmonton
Catholic School District Jurisdiction site for Emerge, is leading the way in
providing research findings that support the practices and demonstrated results
as detailed in the Metiri Group Jurisdiction Reports, 2008, 2009.
Marie Whelan and Margo McGee continue to probe the
frontiers of incorporating a vast array of technological options that create
universally accessible knowledge, develop 21st century skills and highly
engaged learners skilled in using new information more rigorously in a
collaborative learning environment that include high-quality measurable
assessments and ongoing reflective practice.
Marie and Margo are recognized leaders who introduced the first Focus
School in the Edmonton Catholic School District in 2002. This Professional Learning School nurtures
teacher leadership at the site, mentoring future administrators, consultants
and teacher leaders. They are University
Facilitators (University of Alberta) leading the 25 student teachers at the
site annually during their 9 week (APT) practicum. They also led the first District Beginning
Teachers’ Summer Institute at the site for three years and mentored over 200
beginning teachers (site based model).
Marie and Margo continue to explore the use of
technology as a critical design factor in combination with research on how
students learn in their continued quest to establish, create and study the
emerging new and varied environments that respond to the changing nature of
learning in the 21st century.
“No sensible decision can be made any longer without
taking into account not only the world as it is, but the world as it will be.” -Isaac
Asimov
Marie and Margo (known as M & M) are
co-principals of a Jk-6 learning school, with two campuses, in the Edmonton
Catholic School District. This unique
learning structure was put in place about 7 years ago in response to their
desire to become a centre for professional learning. It was the beginning of something
magical. Both Marie and Margo are strong
instructional leaders who put the learning needs of their students at the
center of all they do in an inclusive setting.
The journey began at St. Mary/St. Monica schools with
their own staff where they engaged their staff in site-embedded professional
development. Marie and Margo would lead
some of the activities but encouraged their staff to share their professional
knowledge and expertise, developing strong communities of practice. Not only were they successful in creating a
culture for change, they created a culture of innovation where teachers were
encouraged to think outside the box. The
goal was to transform learning by providing the best possible learning
experiences for students.
As leaders, these ladies have been instrumental in
the development of beginning teachers as the Centre for Professional Learning
includes the hosting of numerous student teachers engaging in their Practicum
component of their pre-service program.
Marie and Margo model “child-centered” instructional strategies as well
as instil the value of being reflective practitioners. Beginning teachers who receive training from
this pair begin their careers with confidence and a wealth of experience. They
are university facilitators for a cohort of approximately 25 student teachers
yearly.
As
innovators, Marie and Margo have never shied away from opportunities. They stepped forward as leaders in the Emerge
One-to-One Mobile Laptop Learning initiative.
They had been moving toward one to one technology in their building
through grant funding and when the Emerge project was launched, they shared
their innovative strategies with colleagues from many districts and across the
province. They opened the doors of their
school to visitors from across the province, their teachers opened their
classrooms and their students proudly shared their learning. They continue to lead and advise other
principals not only in their home school division but across the province in
the area of one to one learning.
In addition, this school site has been selected as
the first “Smart Showcase School” for SMART Technologies in Alberta. Working in partnership with the Edmonton
Regional Learning Consortium they have provided job embedded professional
learning to teachers from across the province in the effective use of
technology in instruction. They are also
involved in supporting professional development through partnerships with the
2Learn.ca Society and the VCRLN videoconferencing network. They have had over a
thousand visitors to their current site and offer PD for educators throughout
the province. They also have connections
to our postsecondary educational institutions including University of Alberta,
Grant MacEwan University College, Concordia University College, Northern
Alberta Institute of Technology.
The school vision is to continue to develop the
initial vision of Alberta Education’s Emerge 1:1 initiative. They are
developing best practices, instructional models, techniques and methods of how
parents can be engaged as educational partners within the 21st century learning
environment with learning and assessment tools such as: a) an online Learning Management
System; b) a variety of online web 2.0 tools for parents and students to
collaborate and share the learning environment; c) multimedia sharing; d) using
polling tools to involve parents in decision making; and e) electronic
portfolios to share and celebrate student work.
Enriching and expanding student learning is at the
center of their commitment to using current and emerging technologies with a
focus on continuous improvement that includes research on best practices in the
exemplary use of technology. They are focused on providing students with
individual laptops enabling them to direct their own learning, develop a
greater reliance on active learning strategies, problem solving and critical
thinking. Students are able to consistently show a deeper understanding of
curriculum with a more flexible learning environment. The goals of the school
include:
- Increase
in student proficiency using technology to embrace teaching and learning
- High
standards of academic achievement
- Enriched
learning experiences for students and teachers in which students are participants in shaping their own future
- Increased
learner engagement
- Assessing
and documenting 21st century learning
The vision includes the incorporation of rich online
multimedia resources and the accessibility of varied software and hardware
heighten the excitement and engagement of the whole learning community.
Students are able to produce projects that have personal relevancy and output
their project in a format that makes sense for them and their intended
audience. These personalized choices and the “cool factor” of the new
technologies all contribute to increasing student engagement. Teachers also
design projects and lessons that are inquiry based and encourage the
development of critical thinking, creative thinking, and authentic
problem-solving skills. These types of lessons and projects are increasing
student engagement as conversations develop and continue in the classroom,
home, and online communities. We are able to observe these conversations
through chatting tools, blogs, wikis, OneNote Live Share, and email. Students
are also happy to explain their learning and projects.
They have established a 21st century learning
environment that has teachers and students as “Architects of Learning”. Teachers have moved along the continuum
towards the role of a coach in their instructional practice while encouraging
peer to peer learning and shared mentorship. Teachers move around the classroom
conferencing with students while encouraging peer to peer and collaborative
group learning. The learning extends beyond the walls and time constraints of
the classroom with online tools including blogs, wikis, and a secure online environment
(portal). Videoconferencing also allows students to transcend the school and
geographical boundaries by collaborating with other students and bringing in
experts around the world.
The community of practice which includes the parent
community has witnessed the benefits of successful integration of ubiquitous
technology in educational resources, projects, and pedagogy. The use of an
inquiry approach and the vast array of possible end product formats utilizing
various technologies allows for creative and deep thinking. In the quest of new
knowledge formation and creation, students have demonstrated the capacity of
seeking relevant information and transforming the knowledge in a personally
meaningful way. Students enjoy and excel in projects where they were asked to
create or invent a solution in an inquiry-based lesson or project.
St. Mary School, under the leadership of Marie and
Margo, have been involved as pioneers in the development of a 21st century
learning environment in partnership with Alberta Education. It is their firm
belief that a 21st century classroom will not only incorporate 21st-century
learning but will also implement 21st-century teaching practices with a focus
on developing critical thinking, inquiry-based learning, and creative problem-solving
strategies with the digital age learners.
Theirs has been a journey of discovery, challenging
the status quo and seeking new and innovative ways to use cutting edge emerging
technologies but the journey doesn’t end here.
Marie and Margo continue to lead and shape the
learning landscape in Alberta as they are in the process of opening a new k-9
school with Edmonton Catholic Schools.
The school will open its doors in September 2010 and it will be a focus
school on "Partners in Technology and Innovative Learning" with a
one-to-one mobile computing environment in Grades 2-9. The journey continues as
they move to the next phase of transforming learning. “to dream… to dare… to
do… carrying the vision forward. They believe in removing the barriers for the
21st century learner – Every child… Every day… No exceptions.
“Leaders are visionaries with a poorly developed
sense of fear and no concept of the odds against them.” – Robert Jarvik
Web Resources
Displaying Nominee's Work:
The link below is the provincial initiative tin which
these co-principals have taken a leadership role. They have opened the doors to their school as
well as shared their expertise and strategies for successfully implementing one
to one programs for kids. http://education.alberta.ca/admin/technology/emerge-one-to-one.aspx
http://stmary.ecsd.net
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