Fall 2008 Symposium at the Kingbridge Centre October 20, 2008
Learning Driven Schools:
Creating a Culture of Professional Inquiry
Learning Driven Schools was the theme of the Barrie Region Professional Network Centre Fall Symposium at the Kingbridge Centre in King City, Ontario. The symposium brought together school boards within the region who are using PLC's to structure professional discussions about student achievement. The purpose for holding this event was to provide an opportunity for educational leaders to reflect on their board's existing capacity to use data to support learning.
This symposium was of interest to:
- MISA Leads
- Superintendents
- School Administrators
- Teachers
The Symposium started with a keynote by Dr. Steven Katz, followed by a PIM Taskforce update by David Midwood. Kathy Firth facilitated, as school teams work together, in the afternoon.
Dr. Steven Katz is a director with the research and evaluation firm, Aporia Consulting Ltd. and a permanent faculty member in Human Development and Applied Psychology at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) of the University of Toronto.
Steven's session offered participants the opportunity to learn about the characteristics of effective learning communities, with a particular emphasis on the concept of a culture of inquiry as the engine of a learning-driven school. The focal point centred on building and supporting effective school-based learning communities that "enable" focused professional learning in relation to defined student learning needs.
David Midwood is a member of the Privacy & Information Management (PIM) taskforce and is presently coordinating the regional training roll out of the PIM toolkit. He is also this year's past president of the Association of Educational Researchers of Ontario. David provided a PIM Taskforce update and overview of the PIM toolkit. The toolkit includes standards, a privacy impact assessment template and policies and procedures documents.
Kathy Firth is a retired teacher, administrator, Supervisory Officer and Student Achievement Officer with the Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat. Kathy has been involved in both OFIP and SEF implementations. Kathy's session focused on the process of organizing and facilitating data-driven PLC's, using a school team approach. School teams had opportunities to review and analyze data, as well as, discuss/determine appropriate recommendations for follow-up learning.
