Today, we attended a seminar on the Pacific School of Innovation & Inquiry by Jeff Hopkins, who spoke about how he believes his school is transcending the standard for Education in BC. Jeff explained that the school goes beyond “covering” the curriculum, the educators use what they call an “Emergent Curriculum”, which is a curriculum that is personalized to the progress of a certain class. By this, the educators can track the development of their students and adapt the curriculum to the learners path throughout the school year. Jeff continued to explain how the school uses an inquiry process to establish the subjects covered in class. First, the students generate questions around subjects that they are interested in, then begin researching on the agreed-upon subject-areas. This manner of lesson planning allows a cross-curricular approach, whoch differentiates itself from the standard archetype of the BC classroom. This approach also fosters the curiosity of the students, who are constantly generating inquiry questions throughout the semester. It is only after the initial research has been made and new questions have been generated that the learning activities are generated and executed by the educators. Watch below for an animation of the inquiry process.
Jeff believes that this method of “co-cunstructing” is stimulating for both the educator and the learner because they are both working collaboratively to generate inquiry questions and answer them. Jeff underlined assessment literacy as one of the biggest factors in educators being able to integrate themselves into the PSII environment. By adapting learning conditions to be developmentally appropriate for each learner, integration of in-and-out school experiences, bringing in experts, teaching and assessing in teams, educators at PSII are working to better serve their students by offering a student-centered environment. Additionally, the educators at PSII keep students engaged by employing a large array of technology tools including Trello, StudioBinder, Adobe Creative Cloud, among other things. Jeff highlight his students’ work by showing how, through the work of website development, coding, artistic projects, and animation, learners are able to pursue their passions, cultivate their creativity, and apply their skills to the real world; many of the students going on to earn a living in their fields of interest.
I am pleased to know that schools like Pacific School of Innovation and Inquiry exists in the Victoria area. I believe that this style of school is very effective, and Jeff was able to exibit exactly how effective it is. It’s clear that the educators at PSII stay up-to-date with the emerging research on Education and put that to the test in the classroom. Jeff stated several times that they are constantly evolving, adapting, and learning from themselves at PSII, something that is essential when working on the cutting edge of any field. The biggest take away for me from Jeff’s seminar is the focus on collaboration. I am a strong believer in the power of collaboration in Education and would like to implement a similar approach in my classroom. In conclusion, I believe that schools like PSII are the answer to a new generation of learners, who have new literacies, and have unlimited access to information. I also believe that learning like that done at PSII must not be solely undergone at specialized schools, but should be exercised in the private and public sectors alike.
Featured Photo: Hush Naidoo Jade Photography At: Unsplash