This bonus episode was recorded as the final session for the Greater Victoria School District's Secondary Assessment series in June 2021. In this 13 week series, Secondary educators engaged in a deep dive to explore competency based curriculum and assessment in relation to their personal teaching areas.  We relied on perspectives from across the field of competency-based assessment including borrowing frequent excerpts from the Ministry of Education's Secondary Assessment Webinar series that was hosted by Tom Schimmer.  

In this final session, we were fortunate to connect with Tom and hear his take on our series, his changing perspective on the role of feedback, and what the future holds for competency-based assessment practices.   We hear from educators who are asking Tom some excellent questions, such as what role does post-secondary have in the assessment transformation process?  

Key links related to this episode: 

Tom Schimmer's Ministry of Education Webinar Series: https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/classroom-assessment/webinars

Tom Schimmer's Website: https://tomschimmer.com/

Tom's Podcast: https://twitter.com/tomschimmerpod

Tom on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TomSchimmer

Book Tom to speak: https://www.solutiontree.com/ca/tom-schimmer.html 

SD61 Secondary Assessment Series: https://learn.sd61.bc.ca/secondary/secondary-assessment-series/

All the rest of our links and past episodes available here: http://www.shift-ed.ca/

Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ShiftEDBC

Kyle McKillop is past president of the Surrey School District's Secondary ELA Local Specialists Association (LSA) and the current president of the BC Teachers of English Language Arts (BCTELA) association. In this conversation we discuss what this year has been like in the Surrey School District, the district with the highest number of COVID exposures in the province. We talk about how this year has impacted his students and teaching practices, what the quarter system has looked like, and what next year may hold. Along the way we touch on systemic racism in literature selections and the power of community connection through the LSA & PSA structure for Secondary subject area specialists.  

Links mentioned in this episode: 

BCTF PSA Groups: https://bctf.ca/psas.aspx

BCTELA Website: https://bctela.ca/

Surrey English Language Arts LSA: https://surreyenglishta.wordpress.com/ 

Kyle's Website: https://mistermckillop.wordpress.com/

Kyle on Twitter: https://twitter.com/KyleMcKillop

All past episodes are available here: http://www.shift-ed.ca/

Natalie Buchmann is a teacher who is passionate about her students, passionate about the environment, and passionate about teaching Science in a thoughtful and careful way that is inclusive of worldviews that extend far beyond the walls of her classroom at Lambrick Park Secondary. In this episode, we discuss the interplay between Western and Indigenous science, her role as an educator within the Truth and Reconciliation process, land stewardship, and the importance of relationships and community within our curriculum and classroom practices. This is the final episode of Season 2. Massive thanks to all the educators who contributed this season!

Prefer to watch this as a video? Check out our YouTube video playlist link here:

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjKAX9Hi702BNWw3yAQH7ztRs_WOHzDY2

More info and all of our platform links are available at: http://www.shift-ed.ca/  

Resources mentioned in this episode:  

Knowing Home Book 1: https://onlineacademiccommunity.uvic.ca/press/books/titles/knowing-home/ 

Knowing Home Book 2: https://onlineacademiccommunity.uvic.ca/press/books/titles/knowing-home-2/ 

Braiding Sweetgrass: https://milkweed.org/book/braiding-sweetgrass 

Saanich Invasive Plants: https://www.saanich.ca/EN/main/community/natural-environment/invasive-species-noxious-weeds-wildlife/invasive-plants.html

In a world where connections and relationships are the underpinnings of all the work that we do, the global pandemic has created significant shifts for our Indigenous Education department here in SD61. From how we connect with community to how we strengthen our relationships with our students, we have had to shift and adapt quickly in order to maintain these connections wherever possible. Throughout the course of this conversation, we hear from the SD61 Elder and Indigenous Knowledge Facilitator John Harris about how he has maintained connections with elders and how community connections have actually increased based on re-examining how we communicate and reach out. Secondary Indigenous Learning Support Teacher, Emma Milliken reflects on how we maintained contact with students and the challenge it has been to keep students engaged during this challenging year.

Prefer to watch this as a video? Check out our YouTube video playlist link here: 

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjKAX9Hi702BNWw3yAQH7ztRs_WOHzDY2

More info and all of our platform links are available at: http://www.shift-ed.ca/

Resources mentioned in this episode:

SD61 Indigenous Education Department: https://ied.sd61.bc.ca/ 

SD61 Bentwood Box Series: http://aned.public.sd61.bc.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/112/2021/02/Indigenous-Education-Bentwood-Box-Learning-Series-2020-21.pdf 

Butch Dick - Welcome to the Territory Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwvlGqVHcVY

Connecting to the community through music. As far as being impacted by the pandemic, there are few programs that have been as hardest hit as our music programs. Jeff Weaver is the band director at Oak Bay High School. Their prolific music program regularly enrolls 400+ students in large 60+ class sizes. From how they perform to how they connect within groups and cohorts, everything in their program had to change this year. Jeff shares what these changes entailed, what resources he used as they made these adjustments, and what role provincial and district based connections played in forming his support network to get through this challenging year.

Prefer to watch this as a video? Check out our YouTube video playlist link here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjKAX9Hi702BHnLBwZWTTbv8bAPThtHSw

More info and all of our platform links are available at: http://www.shift-ed.ca/

Resources mentioned by Jeff in this episode: 

Oak Bay Band: https://www.oakbayband.com/

Oak Bay Band on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oakbayband/

BCTF PSA Groups: https://bctf.ca/psas.aspx

BC Music Educators Association: http://www.bcmusiced.ca/GVTA 

Greater Victoria Teachers' Association Local Specialists: http://gvta.net/index.php/gvta/local-specialist-associations

School libraries are often the heart and school of a school community. Author Sidney Sheldon once said, "Libraries store the energy that fuels the imagination. They open up windows to the world and inspire us to explore and achieve, and contribute to improving our quality of life.” In this episode, we are connecting with three of our outstanding SD61 school librarians to learn more about what trying to maintain services and support students during a global pandemic has looked like at elementary, middle, and secondary schools.  

Metthea Maddern (Margaret Jenkins Elementary), Katherine O'Connor (Central Middle), and Geoff Orme (Esquimalt High) share how their roles have been impacted this year and what measures they have taken to maintain the library services within their school communities as safely as possible.

Prefer to watch this as a video?

Check out our YouTube link here:

https://youtu.be/C98twBZqN3k

See the full Shift-ED Season 1 & 2 Video Playlist here:

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjKAX9Hi702BNWw3yAQH7ztRs_WOHzDY2

Leslie Davis is a well-travelled educator. She has taught all over the world and brings a wealth of global context to her many different teaching assignments here in Victoria. As somebody who embodies a growth mindset, Leslie has been exploring the use of ePortfolios across multiple subject areas at both Secondary and Middle school here in SD61. During this conversation, Leslie discusses role that ePortfolios have played in her classroom practice, how they affect her assessment practices, and the role they play in facilitating a window into communicating student learning.  

Prefer to watch this as a video? 

Check out our YouTube link here:  

https://youtu.be/C98twBZqN3k

See the full Shift-ED Season 1 & 2 Video Playlist here:

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjKAX9Hi702BNWw3yAQH7ztRs_WOHzDY2

Key links mentioned in this episode:  

Google Sites: https://techforlearning.sd61.bc.ca/learning-with-gsuite/google-apps/google-sites/

UBC - Examples of ePortfolios: https://eportfolios.arts.ubc.ca/example-eportfolios/

Ally Hoffman supports students at Esquimalt High School as both a school counsellor and Psychology teacher. During our conversation, she describes how life has changed for both students and counsellors during the pandemic and what silver lining moments have emerged as a result of our changing practice.

Prefer to watch this as a video? Check out our YouTube video playlist link here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjKAX9Hi702BHnLBwZWTTbv8bAPThtHSw

More info and all of our platform links are available at: http://www.shift-ed.ca/

Tina O'Keeffe is an ICT and Media Arts guru. She teaches at Esquimalt High School, here in the Greater Victoria School District. She has a very prolific program that extends across all facets of ICT from media arts, to computer programming and hardware. She runs the district's only CISCO Networking Academy and one of our most successful First Robotics programs. She led her team, the Esquimalt Atom Smashers to the world championships in Houston, Texas during their inaugural season in 2018.

Prefer to watch this as a video? Check out our YouTube channel here:  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjKAX9Hi702C2JbVV0OyOqMMYpl6jNNw7

Check out all of our platforms and contact information here: http://shift-ed.ca

Links mentioned in this episode:  

First Robotics: https://www.firstinspires.org/robotics/frc

CISCO Networking Academy: https://www.netacad.com/ 

https://www.vicnews.com/news/esquimalt-high-robotics-students-engineer-their-way-to-texas/ 

https://www.instagram.com/7287_atom_smashers

Animation playlist by student Levi Rowan: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMx1Q3aaaqiBZOC_j8_KjGA

Google Classroom: https://techforlearning.sd61.bc.ca/learning-with-gsuite/google-apps/google-classroom/

Computer Using Educators of BC: https://cuebc.ca/

Welcome back to Season 2. This time around, we are focusing on teaching and learning within the quarterly system at Secondary schools. This episode examines the role of community when it comes to our classroom education. The First People's Principles of Learning mention how "learning supports the well-being of the...community" and while we have all struggled with the challenges that COVID has brought to our schools, we have countless community partners that have been significantly impacted as well.  This episode, we connect with Brad Cunningham from the Reynolds Flex Program, Chris O'Connor from the Royal BC Museum, and Adriana Ayers from the BC Legislature to discuss the role of community in education and how they've all been affected by the pandemic.  

Prefer to watch this as a video? Check out our video playlist link here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjKAX9Hi702BHnLBwZWTTbv8bAPThtHSw

More info and all of our platform links are available at: http://www.shift-ed.ca/

If you prefer an audio version of this show, check out our podcast at:

Anchor: https://anchor.fm/shift-ed

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/shift-ed/id1531155670

Google Podcasts: https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy9kYzdiZmU4L

Spotity: https://open.spotify.com/show/5NRt13S6oQvRlYZWnnWZMG

Questions, comments, thoughts, or ideas? 

Leave us a voice message that we can play in a future episode: https://anchor.fm/shift-ed/message 

Key links mentioned in this episode:  

Reynolds Voices Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/60rQnlCV0FPY3D85hr0xru?si=SWWK4E7wTKqD3a64RjKW5Q  

Reynolds Flex Program: http://www.flexiblestudies.com/ & https://reynolds.sd61.bc.ca/programs-courses/flexible-studies/ 

Digital Field Trips: https://royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/learn/outreach/online/digital-field-trips 

RBCM@Home (Kids) https://royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/rbcmhome-kids 

RBCM Learning Portal https://learning.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/ 

BC Legislature Virtual Classroom: https://www.leg.bc.ca/content-peo/Pages/Online-Learning.aspx 

BC Legislature Virtual Tours: https://www.leg.bc.ca/content-peo/Pages/Tour-Information.aspx