Wednesday, April 24 th, 2013 St. Basil-the-Great Math and English Catherine Moynihan Tobin Walsh Vince Bellissimo CONTEXTUALIZED LEARNING ACTIVITIES

In a world which ignores the human thirst for God…we are called to share the living waters of faith. In a time when there is little reverence for the image of God in the human person…we are summoned to care for human life with ultimate respect. In a culture where communication is increasingly commercialized…we are invited to prayer and worship. In a world marked by personality cults…we are called to bear witness to Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord and to reverence Him in the poor, the lowly and the marginalized. In a time which often seems to be without goals or ennobling aspirations…we are called to declare goals and values to dedicate lives to their achievement. ~Amen PRAYER OF RESPONSE

 Welcome; Introductions  The role of CLAs within an SHSM program  “Other required courses” in your SHSM program  Activity #1: Sector-Related Skills & Careers  Break  Activity #2: Creating CLAs Using Existing Lessons  Lunch  Activity #3: Use of the OERB  Introduction to the CLA Writing Guide  Wrap-up: Evaluation AGENDA

SHSM: A PATHWAY PROGRAM FOR STUDENT SUCCESS & STUDENT ENGAGEMENT

Halton District School Board and Halton Catholic District School Board collaborated on the development of this definition so all teachers would have a common understanding of Contextualized Learning:  Contextualized Learning is an instructional approach that helps to relate curriculum content to real world situations.  It incorporates a learning process that helps students to make sense of information by connecting what they are learning to real world situations in which that learning could be used.  It enables students to receive feedback on their ability to relate and apply their learning to real world situations. DEFINING CONTEXTUALIZED LEARNING

 A required element of a Specialist High Skills Major  Delivered in the “other required courses”  A minimum of 6 hours of learning that contextualizes the subjects’ curriculum expectations to the SHSM sector Health and Wellness – MBF 3C Graphing the relationship between population growth and infectious diseases Arts and Culture– ENG 4U The mask of tragedy through ritual: a deconstruction of Act IV, Scene I of Shakespeare’s Macbeth CONTEXTUALIZED LEARNING ACTIVITIES

 The “other required courses” vary from sector to sector, typically there are 3 other required courses:  Math  English  Other Required in either grade 11 or grade 12 (i.e. Business, Science, Social Science & Humanities)  Refer to the sector guide ( or SHSM binder) to determine which grade level each of the other required courses are in (example on next slide) OTHER REQUIRED COURSES

OTHER REQUIRED COURSES EXAMPLE

 Class list (but not on attendance sheet!)  i.e. BUS beside a student’s name indicates they are in a Business SHSM program  Credit Counselling Summary – two pages for SHSM students  Possible absences due to certifications, reach ahead and experiential learning opportunities HOW DO I IDENTIFY AN SHSM STUDENT IN MY CLASS?

 CLAs enable instruction to be differentiated using sector-specific content, to meet one or more curriculum expectations.  CLAs in the other required credits make the course content authentic, relevant, and enable students to connect their learning to their SHSM sector. HOW DO CLA S BENEFIT STUDENTS?

There are a variety of delivery models, including:  To an entire class, some of which are SHSM students (recommended – necessary for some, good for all)  To an entire class, all of which are SHSM students  To individual or small groups of SHSM students within an existing class  To individual SHSM students, through e-learning or independent study. HOW ARE CLA S DELIVERED?

 …they must be evaluated  …they need to be a big project  …if you fail the CLA you fail the course  …you must do the CLA exactly as it was written  …you cannot use a CLA unless it was “approved”  …must use expectations from the SHSM major credit courses  …it must be from the OERB  …can only be done by the SHSM students  …I cannot make up my own CLA  …I have to make up my own CLA  …are “extra” work the SHSM kids have to do CLA MYTHS…

Using or the hard copies provided, read through the SHSM policy guide for your sectorwww.ontario.ca/SHSM  Determine the grade level of the “other required courses” in your SHSM  Examine the list of possible occupations related to your SHSM sector Using the Ontario Skills Passport, look up one of the possible occupations listed in the SHSM policy guidewww.ontario.ca/skillspassport Select a course in your subject area of expertise and use to skim through the curriculum expectations for that course  Using the documents you’ve examined, complete Activity #1 ACTIVITY #1

ACTIVITY #1 EXAMPLE

BREAK!

 Using an existing lesson, culminating task, independent study unit, or other activity, how could you tweak an assignment in order to contextualize it for your SHSM students?  English CLA’s Made EASY  Mathematics CLA’s Made EASY  CLA Authenticity Checklist ACTIVITY #2

LUNCH!

 As of May 2012, there were 1329 CLAs posted to the OERB   User id: tcdsbteacher  Password: oerbt ONTARIO EDUCATIONAL RESOURCE BANK (OERB)

 OERB Exploration and Independent Inquiry   User id: tcdsbteacher  Password: oerbt ACTIVITY #3

 MOE CLA Writing Guide is available  CLA Template  Rubric for Exemplary CLAs INTERESTED IN WRITING A CLA?

 Was introduced by the Ministry in January  SHSM lead teachers and other SHSM team members completed the following questionnaire in March: 1.Using the Ministry-created rubric, what level of CLA implementation is your school at? 2.What is going well? 3. What will you do differently this semester to improve CLA implementation at your school? MINISTRY CLA REPORT: INTERIM

LevelLevel 1Level 2Level 3Level 4 CriteriaThe CLA Is viewed as an "over and above" activity so both the students and the teachers see it as extra work. Teacher prints CLAs from OERB and they are assigned as homework/ independent work. Often the student doesn't see connection with their "in-school" assignments and their interest in the sector The CLAs are delivered, but very little collaboration between major subject teachers and other required subject teachers to ensure authenticity of the activity, student begins to see connection with subject and sector. Contextualized instruction is embedded so students see the connection in English, Math, Science, etc. to their sector. Teachers see this as part of Differentiated Instruction and not something “over and above” from what is already occurring as part of good teaching practice. CLA MINISTRY REPORT RUBRIC

 A follow-up from the Interim CLA Report  Will be completed in June by the lead teacher and/or other members of each SHSM team 1.What level of CLA implementation is your school at now? (using the same rubric from the Interim CLA Report) 2.Identify one or two key strategies that helped improve CLA implementation at your school. MINISTRY CLA REPORT: FINAL

 On a Post-it note, jot down a couple of points to respond to the following question:  Identify one or two key strategies that will help your school SHSM program in implementing CLAs into the curriculum. WRAP-UP ACTIVITY

 Before you leave, please complete the CLA Professional Learning Evaluation included in your package  Don’t forget to pick up your SHSM mug and memory stick as you leave! IN-SERVICE EVALUATION

 Catherine Moynihan x2739  Tobin Walsh x2731  Vince Bellissimo x2735 CONTACT INFORMATION