Key Questions to Guide the Report
The Key Question: How do we know implementation occurred?
A significant amount of resources was dedicated to the implementation of the new social studies curriculum. This report contains both quantitative and qualitative data that seek to provide some of the insights to implementation support in the ERLC region. Large numbers of teachers have participated in professional learning opportunities in the past six and a half years. Artifacts have been collected that demonstrate the curriculum as it is lived in schools and classrooms. The responses below provide a snapshot to the current state of implementation as provided by district representatives on the ERLC advisory committee. While the question is a good one, the advisory committee is focused on, How do we know that implementation occurred and continues to occur? Teachers, schools and districts have not stopped their work of deepening their knowledge and skill with the new social studies curriculum.
Key questions grouped under Essential Conditions www.essentialconditions.ca |
Summary
Comments and |
Leadership |
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1) How did the consultants/coordinators enable and support implementation? |
The coordinator/consultant enabled
and support implementation by working closely with all districts
in the region and by being responsive to
both the common and unique needs of districts. A unique feature
of implementation in the ERLC region was the creation of
a social studies regional team consisting
of consultants from three districts in the region. The ERLC
coordinator was able to work with the regional team to provide
districts with access to a breadth of expertise and experience
that could not be represented by one person. The coordinator
managed the deployment of the regional team across the region
and acted as a champion for implementation in
the region. The coordinator facilitated the sharing of implementation
plans and “best practices” from all parts of the region.
Responses from the ERLC social studies advisory committee
include:
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2) What are some of the effective supports/personnel provided by Alberta Education to support implementation? (I.e. Summer Institute, assessment sessions, collaboration, LearnAlberta.ca, multiple departments’ contributions) |
Collaboration with Alberta Education
was an important pillar of the implementation process. The Summer
Institutes and LearnAlberta were most often mentioned
in survey results as effective supports for implementation.
In addition, members of the Learner Assessment Branch provided
sessions on PAT and Diploma exams and worked
with cohort groups in the region to begin development of
quality assessment materials. Members of the curriculum branch
provided advice and feedback on materials
such as the social studies poster and parent newsletters
which have been distributed across the province. Alberta
Education has also provided technical support to
the videoconference sessions that have allowed social studies
teachers from across the province to collaborate and learn
together.
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Resources |
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3) How has technology been used to support implementation? What were some of the successes and challenges associated with technology? |
The expanding use of technology has been noted as an important innovation in providing more equitable and flexible access to professional development. In addition to webinars and videoconferencing, the ERLC website has been updated and expanded to contain a section on PD resources that includes links to a wiki with a wealth of archived resources. The use of technology has also resulted in significant cost savings for districts in the ERLC region. However, a challenge for ERLC has been that the use of technology has increased costs of providing learning opportunities for consortium. The costs of hardware/software are significant. Maintenance and upgrading are costs that must be addressed. Presenters do not generally have a great deal of experience in using VC and webinars and must be coached and supported. ERLC does have a presentation room that is also a VC suite but when larger presentations/conferences take place an outside site must be used at a cost and careful work must be done to ensure that any external sites that are used have the ability to support the technology requirements. The demand for in servicing on the use of Interactive White Boards was unexpected and a large demand in all subject areas continues. One of the many PD resources created by
ERLC to support implementation was the workshop facilitator
resource: Technology in the New Social Studies Program
of Studies K-4.
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Teacher Professional Growth |
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4) What are some new and innovative PD practices employed during implementation? |
One of the most significant parts of the ERLC regional plan for implementation was the creation of a social studies regional team. This not only created a significant partnership with the two large districts in the ERLC region (Edmonton Public and Edmonton Catholic) but also provided a vehicle for all districts in the region to access the broad range of expertise in the region. Another important innovation was the greater use of technology in providing access to learning opportunities. For example, during one supper session featuring a panel of teachers who had piloted the Social 30-2 curriculum, two of the panel members were in Edmonton and one was in Calgary. Teacher groups from Lethbridge, Ft. McMurray, Grande Cache and Boyle participated in the discussion with the Edmonton teachers. This was possible through videoconferencing. Webinars have also been increasingly used as a delivery vehicle for professional development. The ERLC has also taken the lead in developing PD resources for use by district facilitators with their own teachers. PD resources such as the workshop package on the front matter of the curriculum widened the base of presenters as well as providing a legacy/sustainability piece in that districts can continue to use these materials with beginning teachers and others such as teachers who come from out of province and may not be familiar with the new curriculum. These PD resources are now being archived on the ERLC website at www.erlc.ca under PD Resources/Social Studies.
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5) What kinds of learning opportunities on student assessment have been provided? |
While most learning opportunities incorporated assessment there were also opportunities that focused on assessment specifically. Many of these learning opportunities were led by Alberta Education staff on topics such as Provincial Assessment for the new Social 6 & 9, Preparing for the new Social Diploma exams 30-1 and 30-2, creation of selected response items and the use of sources. Other learning opportunities included topics like Assessment for Learning with Dr. Anne Davies, Using Assessment to Nurture Critically Thoughtful Learning with Dr. Garfield Gini-Newman, and sessions like Planning for Assessment & Transfer in Grade 5 & 8 Social Studies led by members of the ERLC regional team. The Edmonton Regional Learning Consortium and the Alberta
Assessment Consortium collaborated to create the PD
resource: Assessment in Social Studies: Part
One – Implications for Change and Part Two – Moving
Ahead. This resource was distributed across the region
and used as a basis for a variety of learning opportunities
at specific grade levels.
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6) What PD delivery strategies, worked and did not work both currently and in the past? |
Delivery of PD in the ERLC region has been marked by choice, variety and responsiveness. One of the most successful strategies in the ERLC region was the creation of the ERLC social studies regional team. This team was able to provide in district support to districts in the region. This allowed for districts to use the broad expertise of the team to meet the unique needs of the district. The success of this strategy is reflected in the fact that the district contacts asked for the creation of a regional team to support implementation of the new mathematics curriculum as well. Multi-year funding of the social studies implementation project allowed for long term planning and was key in the creation of a cohesive plan and vision for implementation. It allowed for the creation of multi-year supports such as the regional team. Some of the issues faced by teachers in accessing professional
development were shortages of substitute teachers, distance
from the location of learning opportunities, lack of resources
for PD and the unwillingness to leave their classrooms.
A strategy used to try to address these issues and maximize
accessibility to professional development was to provide choice
and variety of learning opportunities that addressed
the unique contexts and learning preferences of teachers
across the region. Supper sessions, planning and development
cohorts, webinars, videoconferences, summer sessions in late
August as well as face to face sessions were all intended
to provide PD entry points for teachers and address the variety
of barriers across the region.
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Community Engagement |
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7) What kinds of collaboration happened and with whom? (Alberta Education, community, districts, other PD providers, between Consortia, and other associations.) |
The Edmonton Regional Learning Consortium was pleased to collaborate with many different organizations and this collaboration was a crucial element to the success of the project. The ERLC social studies advisory committee was an integral part of the planning and success of the project. Advisory committee members represented districts and other organizations such as the Alberta Assessment Consortium (AAC) and provided advice and feedback which greatly enhanced the responsiveness of the ELRC to changing and emerging needs. The advisory committee also provided an opportunity for networking across the region. An example of what results from such collaboration occurred in the fall of 2009. Aspen View Division hosted a series of days for senior high teachers to work together to create high quality assessments for the new curriculum. Participants came from a number of school districts and the day was facilitated by Alberta Education’s Tim Coates with support from a member of the ERLC regional team. ERLC collaborated and partnered with Alberta Education and other consortia in the ARPDC on an ongoing basis. Alberta Education personnel were key presenters in the area of assessment, provided technical support for videoconferencing sessions, and provided advice and feedback in the development of PD resources such as the social studies poster and parent newsletters. All consortia worked together to provide equitable access to big name speakers and to efficiently manage the costs of bringing this knowledge and expertise to Alberta. ARPDC collaborated with the Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) to provide speakers for Teachers’ Conventions as well as for the Social Studies specialist council annual conference. The specialist council also provided feedback and advice on the development of the social studies poster. The ERLC collaborated with educational organizations such as the Alberta Assessment Consortium (AAC), the University of Alberta and Historica (Benchmarks of Historical Thinking Project) and the Critical Thinking Consortium (TC2) in providing learning opportunities and resources to teachers in the region. ERLC also collaborated with community organizations like the Royal Alberta Museum in Edmonton. The RAM provided space for ERLC learning opportunities as well as guided tours of the Syncrude Aboriginal Gallery.
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Research and Evidence |
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8) Statistics and other Evidence – How many teachers/administrators report that they were involved in Social Studies Implementation support sessions and activities? What did they say? |
Statistics and evidence is provided in the sections on Alberta Education deliverables, the social studies survey results and the section with implementation exemplars. The ERLC advisory committee noted:
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9) What were some of the key challenges? What would you change or do differently |
Some key challenges included:
The ERLC consulted with all stakeholders in order to be as responsive as possible to changing needs. Consultation, and providing choice and variety of learning opportunities was meant to address changing contexts as they arose.
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10) How do you know Consortia made a difference? |
Further evidence is provided through data from the social studies survey as well as the artifacts collected.
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