In school districts where there are no middle schools it can be difficult for some children to transition from Elementary to Secondary school. Those who are identified with special needs should have supports and their support teams in theory work together for a successful transition from grade 7 to grade 8. At-risk students such as those who may come from a single parent household, lower socioeconomic situations, mild anxiety, etc. may go unnoticed until the student is far behind in grade 8. The goal of the Gator Shades youth-at-risk summer program is to provide incoming grade 8 students with time at the Secondary school prior to September to familiarize them to the school, practice some literacy and numeracy skills and develop positive relationships with peers and adults. A classroom teacher, resource teacher and technology teacher will work together with special education assistant(s) and youth care workers to provide the program. The grade 7 teacher, special education teacher and/or counsellors will be the ones to recommend at-risk youth to the program. Parents will complete an application package with the input of the student and program teachers will select appropriate students. The term "at-risk youth" refers to young individuals who face various factors or circumstances that put them in a vulnerable position, potentially leading to negative outcomes in their lives. While specific criteria may vary depending on the context, there are some common factors and indicators that are often used to determine if a youth qualifies as "at-risk." It's important to note that these criteria are not rigid and can differ based on the organization, program, or purpose for which the determination is being made. Here are some general criteria:
The program stakeholders are students, parents, teachers, youth care workers, special education assistants, school administration, superintendent of schools and school board trustees. The program is funded by the government with financial contributions from a local youth care worker organization. There are many types of program evaluation that could benefit the program from formative, to ensure the activities we are currently doing are engaging and practical for the students, meeting their needs. One example of a summative evaluation that could be useful to determine if the program should continue in future years is to host a lunch time meeting at the end of September with the Gator Shades student to reconnect and survey to see if and how the program helped with their transition to the Secondary school. A hybrid evaluation could provide feedback for changes for future programs and how to grow the program for different student groups, example students with autism, or other schools within the district. It’s possible that the introduction of middle schools still results in difficulty for those transiting from Middle school to Secondary school and the program could be useful in those situations. This program could also be adapted to a shorter version right before the start of school for all new students, more comprehensive than an hour-long orientation on the first day of school. The program I am referencing is called Gator Shades because Walnut Grove Secondary is home of the Gators and many other programs reference the Gator. Examples include Gator Aid, Gator FORCE, etc. Sources: Huey T. Chen. (2014). Practical Program Evaluation : Theory-Driven Evaluation and the Integrated Evaluation Perspective. SAGE Publications, Inc. Kaboski, J. R.; Diehl, J. J.; Beriont, J.; Crowell, C. R.; Villano, M.; Wier, K.; Tang, K. Brief Report: A Pilot Summer Robotics Camp to Reduce Social Anxiety and Improve Social/Vocational Skills in Adolescents with ASD. Journal of autism and developmental disorders 2015, 45 (12), 3862–3869. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-014-2153-3 Koegel, L. K.; Glugatch, L. B.; Koegel, R. L.; Castellon, F. A. Targeting IEP Social Goals for Children with Autism in an Inclusive Summer Camp. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 2019, 49 (6), 2426–2436. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-019-03992-4 Why emotional self-regulation is important and how to do it. (May 3, 2023). Medical News Today. Retrieved July 29, 2023, from https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/emotional-self-regulation#:~:text=Emotional%20self%2Dregulation%20refers%20to,Feeling%20strong%20emotions%20is%20healthy.
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In school districts where there are no middle schools it can be difficult for some children to transition from Elementary to Secondary school. Those who are identified with special needs should have supports and their support teams in theory work together for a successful transition from grade 7 to grade 8. At-risk students such as those who may come from a single parent household, lower socioeconomic situations, mild anxiety, etc. may go unnoticed until the student is far behind in grade 8. The goal of the Gator Shades youth-at-risk summer program is to provide incoming grade 8 students with time at the Secondary school prior to September to familiarize them to the school, practice some literacy and numeracy skills and develop positive relationships with peers and adults. A classroom teacher, resource teacher and technology teacher will work together with special education assistant(s) and youth care workers to provide the program. The grade 7 teacher, special education teacher and/or counsellors will be the ones to recommend at-risk youth to the program. Parents will complete an application package with the input of the student and program teachers will select appropriate students. This program stakeholders are the administration/district and the program is funded by the government with financial contributions from a local youth care worker organization. There are many types of program evaluation that could benefit the program from formative, to ensure the activities we are currently doing are engaging and practical for the students, meeting their needs. A summative evaluation would be useful to determine if the program should continue in future years. A hybrid evaluation could provide feedback for changes for future programs and how to grow the program for different student groups, example students with autism, or other schools within the district. It’s possible that the introduction of middle schools still results in difficulty for those transiting from Middle school to Secondary school and the program could be useful in those situations. The program I am referencing is called Gator Shades because Walnut Grove Secondary is home of the Gators and many other programs reference the Gator. Examples include Gator Aid, Gator FORCE, etc.
Assignment DescriptionIn the workplace and the field, researchers are often interested in enhancing the status quo. This is a 2-part assignment with four tasks. Part 1: Defining the Problem of Practice (10%)
My role the past five years has been outside the classroom supporting teachers in the union. This position has created a challenge for me thinking about problems in practice as I have not been practicing in the classroom. Listening to other teachers concerns and thinking of my past experience in the classroom has me wondering about student focus in the classroom. How has the pandemic affected student concentration? My last assignment was teaching Science 8 and Chemistry 11 where I had my own classroom. I had a diffuser in my classroom and would have different essential oils which the students appreciated. When it was possible to do so I had lower level lighting in the class and the walls were not overly decorated. In my role in the union I reviewed classroom resource purchases with remedy funds as a result of LOU 12 in the Provincial Collective Agreement. Teachers would purchase wobble stools, fairy lighting, and other classroom enhancements. Using the Ice Cream Cone Method (Turner et al., 2014) I developed my research question. What changes to the environment in a junior science classroom improve student focus? Alternatively, how do you create a welcoming environment in the classroom that is conducive to learning?
BCTF (2023, March 9). Provincial Collective Agreement 2022-2025. Retrieved July 18, 2023, from https://www.bctf.ca/docs/default-source/services-guidance/provincial-collective-agreement-2022_20254aa7ce568c65449f8ea5792651628efc.pdf?sfvrsn=bfc28a35_0 The readings from Creswell, J. W., & Guetterman, T. C. (2019), Pole, C., & Hillyard, S. (2015), and Groothuijsen, S. E. A., Bronkhorst, L. H., Prins, G. T., & Kuiper, W. (2020) are practical and excellent guides for research, reminding me of my science background with reference to the scientific method and considerations for quantitative versus qualitative approaches. I found similarities to the qualitative approach and field work. My focus today is on the article titled "A New Era of Indigenous Research: Community-Based Indigenous Research Ethics Protocols in Canada" by Hayward, Sjoblom, Sinclair, and Cidro (2021) which explores the emergence of community-based Indigenous research ethics protocols in Canada and their significance in developing a new era of Indigenous research.
Hayward et al (2021) highlight the historical context of research involving Indigenous communities, depicted by colonial practices that have often exploited and marginalized Indigenous peoples. They emphasize the need for a shift in research approaches, which actively involve Indigenous communities and prioritize Indigenous knowledge, values, and self-determination. “Balancing collective rights with individual rights emerged as an important theme across identified Indigenous community research ethics boards, protocols, and standards.” Hayward et al (2021) This approach is noted in other readings as well such as in Creswell, J. W., & Guetterman, T. C. (2019) it’s stated that ethics is a complex matter that involves much more than merely following a set of static guidelines. Connecting to my own practice I think it’s important to consider the audience of the research and the research subjects and what benefit will result from conducting such research. “Members of the ethics board also consider the community’s priorities to confirm the proposed research will be meaningful and relevant within the community.” Hayward et al (2021). I appreciate and respect that The Indigenous Health Research Advisory Committee (IHRAC) advocates for research investigating pain in Indigenous populations to utilize a “two-eyed seeing” approach which bridges Western science and Indigenous knowledge. This approach could be considered in other aspects of research especially when it comes to education. Our revised curriculum in BC has embedded Indigenous knowledge and perspectives as it is a part of the historical foundation of British Columbia. In summary, this leads me to ask the following question based on our assigned readings. How can the implementation of community-based Indigenous research ethics protocols in Canada serve as a catalyst for decolonizing research practices and fostering a new era of knowledge production that respects Indigenous rights, values, and autonomy? References: Creswell, J. W., & Guetterman, T. C. (2019). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research (6th ed., pp. 2-56). Groothuijsen, S. E. A., Bronkhorst, L. H., Prins, G. T., & Kuiper, W. (2020). Teacher-researchers’ quality concerns for practice-oriented educational research. Research Papers in Education, 35(6), 766-787. Hayward, A., Sjoblom, E., Sinclair, S., & Cidro, J. (2021). A new era of Indigenous research: Community-based Indigenous research ethics protocols in Canada. Journal of Empirical Research on Human Research Ethics. https://doi.org/10.1177/15562646211023705 Pearson. Chapter 1: The process of conducting research using quantitative and qualitative approaches. Pole, C., & Hillyard, S. (2015). Doing fieldwork (pp. 1-18). Sage. Chapter 1: What is fieldwork? Curriculum Overview | Building Student Success - B.C. Curriculum. (n.d.). https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/curriculum/overview Greetings classmates! My name is Tanya Kerr and I am a teacher in the Langley School District in British Columbia. The last five years I have been out of the classroom and in the local union office as a released table officer. Previously I taught junior science and senior chemistry as well as being a resource teacher. In September I return to teaching as a Teacher Teaching On Call where I hope to visit all schools in the district and connect with all grade levels.
When reading the article, I thought of how technology has improved, spurred on by the pandemic and the ability to join virtually has allowed for greater connections in the education community. I have been a part of the Compassionate Systems Leadership community calls and have been able to engage with educators from around the world since spring of 2020. Our district has partnered with the local union and has been piloting a teacher growth plan which is an alternative option to the stale evaluation process. The process working together with the district has been collaborative and meaningful for all stakeholders. My role in the union was quite different from being in the classroom and my professional development has been focused on workshops and trainings that support the role such as investigations, grievances and bargaining. When I was teaching my professional development was typically curriculum based either math or science centered and as a special education teacher, I also have an interest in behavioral studies and a curiosity of the benefits of dogs in the classroom. I hope this course will help me set the stage for the rest of my professional master’s in education and help refresh my skills in research, as a consumer, producer and someone who values the development of research identity. Currently I would say I am mostly a consumer of research and expect that to change over the next few weeks. |
AuthorTanya Kerr is a current student of Queen's University Graduate studies. Archives
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