Special Symposium IssueIssue 3, 2009
Welcome
By Marguerite Jackson, Chief Executive Officer
This issue provides you with an overview and highlights of EQAO’s Learning Symposium “School Teams Making a Difference Through Knowledge, Support and Action,” which took place on November 3–4 in Toronto. In her message, Marguerite Jackson speaks about the release of the Auditor General’s report on EQAO, which is yet another strong, independent endorsement of Ontario’s provincial testing program.
Keynote Presentation
Harbours of Hope—Schools Where Learning by All Is a Reality
Wayne Hulley, President of Canadian effective Schools Inc.
School improvement is a complex issue fraught with ambiguity and challenge. To create “harbours of hope,” where learning by all is a reality, a school must create a climate that supports collaboration,
good planning, the frequent monitoring of progress and the celebration of successes.
Contains Video
Coffee Break
Interview with Sylvie Fréchette, former Olympic swimmer and accomplished businesswoman
Thanks to extraordinary tenacity, Olympic gold medallist Sylvie Fréchette reached the top of the podium despite significant obstacles. Today, strengthened by her own experiences, she motivates others to overcome the challenges of daily life and persevere in attaining their goals.
View from the Front of the Class
Co-teaching Strategies to Help Your Class Succeed
Opeongo High School’s Grade 9 math teachers Mike Neill and Ted Wren share their classroom strategies to improve student learning. After examining their EQAO assessment results, they worked together to implement strategies that engaged students and helped them to be better learners.
Spotlight
Celebrating the Success of an Ontario School
St. John Catholic Elementary School has implemented various student programs in order to help their students succeed. Using data has helped them monitor students’ progress, flag problem areas and guide programs such as a homework club and “Chill Zone.”
Data in Action
Using Data to Improve Student Learning
Victoria L. Bernhardt, Ph.D., Executive Director of the Education for the Future Initiative
Using data, not hunches, to identify problem areas and plan for improved student learning is the key to school improvement, says Dr. Bernhardt. In this presentation, she explains her model for collecting various types of data, including demographic, perception, student learning and school processes to get a clearer picture of a school’s current situation—a prerequisite for successful improvement planning.
Contains Video
How Would You Score This?
Try Your Hand at Scoring a Student Response!
Take a look at the following student response to a reading question from the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test. How would you score it? The item, scoring rubric, annotations and correct score are provided, as are sample student responses at other score codes.
