The power of belonging

In British Columbia a strong network of like-minded professionals are gathering several times a year to promote their own learning through the sharing of teacher and student success stories. This professional learning community is the Network of Performance Based Schools, founded by two amazing and powerful teacher leaders, transformational visionaries who provide guidance, theory, an ethic of care and a desire to improve teaching practices in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The Network of Performance Based Schools has demonstrated that when the key resources are intelligence, creativity and insight, teacher learning can move forward.

Teachers totally embrace the ethic of care shown them by Dr Linda Kaser and Dr Judy Halbert. In an atmosphere of distrust developed through years of professional unrest, the network provides non-judgmental support for teachers in a continual cycle of learning. Teachers supported by administrators develop a question, modify and adapt learning, visit and revisit learning intentions and criteria as they collect and analyse data and find the answers best suited for their learning. Teachers around the province are practicing the strategies that they want their students to use. Teaching practices are diverse, and shared by all, so that learning is equally distributed.

Four years ago, I met Dr Halbert and Dr Kaser at a network meeting. Everything I thought I knew about teaching (after over 25 years of practice) changed. I began using the BC performance standards, designed by teachers interested in creating independent learners managing their own learning. Expert teachers try to do whatever it takes to provide expert instruction and will seek others with the same intent. The members of the network are focused on providing the most productive learning environment for students and teachers. Jan Robertson (2003) says, ‘Educational leadership is not about the position one holds, but rather the actions taken to improve opportunities for learning’. This statement describes Dr Halbert and Dr Kaser.

Dr Halbert and Dr Kaser provide members with the pertinent readings and theory that inform improving practices. They adapted Black and Williams’s five strategies into the following six formative assessment strategies.

• Provide learners with clarity about and understanding of the learning intentions of the work being done – this means that learners should be able to tell someone else, in their own words, what the learning intentions are and how they connect to life beyond school.
• Provide to, and co-develop with, learners the criteria for success. This means that learners have clear criteria for quality and know what part they are aiming to get better at.
• Provide regular, thoughtful feedback that moves learning forward for the individual learner. This means that, over time, learners get used to knowing how to improve.
• Design and use thoughtful classroom questions to lead discussions that generate evidence of learning. This means that learners practise being ready to think and know that ‘no hands up’ and individual responsibility for thinking about the question are regular parts of learning life. It also means that teachers work together ahead of time to develop really strong questions to use part way through a learning sequence.
• Put learners to work as learning/teaching resources for each other. This means that learners know strategies and have internalised quality criteria so that they can be productive with their same age and older and younger learning colleagues.
• Do everything you can think of to make sure that learners are the owners of their own learning. This means that learners are genuinely engaged in learning and confident that they can learn and think about their own learning.

These strategies provide the direction for teachers across the province to shape their students’ learning. The ‘big’ conversation began, and has been ongoing, for my school for over four years, and for others in the province, nine years, involving not only our staff members but teachers in our zone, district and throughout the province.

Dr Halbert and Dr Kaser also developed the four big ideas that matter. These direct much of the teacher thinking in our province:

• Learner self-coaching through learning self-assessment is the goal of deep learning work (personal conversation, September 2006, Lorna Earl)
• Nimble and responsive teaching: teachers need to practice nimble and responsive planning and teaching to make formative assessment and learning a way of life (personal conversation, January 2006, Dylan William.
• Inquiry-mindedness as a way of learning life: inquiry-mindedness is using thoughtful strategies, and then looking for evidence of deeper learning, is a necessity for learners, teachers and leaders (dialogue, September 2006, Dr Linda Kaser & Dr Judy Halbert.
• Learning for all through networks: as we want to make a big difference for all learners – and especially those who are vulnerable – we need small networked communities of educators working together across roles and territories to get the gains for learners we need. Isolated efforts do not work for vulnerable learners. They need and deserve sustained and connected learning. Formative assessment is empowering for learners who need to get in on how the learning game works (dialogue, September 2006, Dr Judy Halbert & Dr Linda Kaser).

Professional learning communities are important. Just as students need to verbalise their understandings, adult learners need the same opportunity to examine their thinking. Action-based research questions provide an opportunity for teachers to use their intuitive intelligences, identifying personal and learning community needs and examining the effectiveness of teaching strategies. As we work together, and with our colleagues across the province, we are developing an authentic respect for each other’s capabilities. The personal gains of working in such a supportive environment include developing strong relationships, receiving compassionate support from peers and a developing knowledge of ethical and moral purpose. Being a member of the Network of Performance Based Schools has given me the intellectual freedom to be a true learner and make mistakes, share my errors and gain from others’ valuable perspectives that will guide my learning.

The Network of Performance Based Schools is rebuilding the forgotten learning foundations of values, ethic and trust. Assessment results have found their true purpose – to inform teaching and learning and not to evaluate teacher performance. Through the network, capacity is being built to sustain change in a long lasting manner. The network is creating the opportunity for deep and profound teacher learning by sharing our critical thinking with people of diverse perspectives. Conversation is enabled throughout the province.

Together we are pursuing the highest of ideals, bettering our students’ and our own learning. Dr Kaser and Dr Halbert’s model promotes lasting, fervent learning and rigorous teaching. We are examining our deep thinking through problem posing, inquiry and active research. We have become part of an invaluable resource, critical friends using the BC Performance Standards and formative assessment strategies, to move both teachers and students forward.

Our school has made tremendous growth in the area of metacognitive and formative assessment strategy learning. Last year (2007) we were the only school in Canada to receive the International Reading Association’s Award for Teaching Reading and this year I received the BC Premier’s Award for Teaching Excellence in Literacy. Both of these accomplishments are due to the learning and guidance of Dr Halbert and Dr Kaser, and all the members of The Network of Performance Based Schools. Our school has embraced the opportunities offered.

References

Halbert, J and Kaser, L Formative assessment - the six big strategies that matter and formative assessment - the four big ideas that matter, downloaded 18 May fromhttp://www.npbs.ca/
Robertson, J, Coaching leadership, building educational leadership capacity through coaching partnerships, NCZER Press, Wellington, 2005.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ms Deborah Koehn is an experienced classroom teacher in Prince George, British Columbia, Canada. She is currently completing her Masters program of Education at the University of Victoria. Ms Koehn is an active member of the Network of Performance Based Schools and considers herself very fortunate to have the opportunity to learn from Dr Linda Kaser and Dr Judy Halbert, co-founders of the Network of Performance Based Schools, as well as professors at the University of Victoria.

 

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