Project Leadership: Steps Along the Way



Step 1: Building Capacity As The "Lead Learner"

 

 

• Attending the Council of Outdoor Educators of Ontario Conference, Sept. 26-28, Glen Bernard Camp in Sundridge, Ontario.  Our activities included working with, observing and sharing resources with educational leaders in Science and Outdoor Education. These professionals represented diverse areas of the province. International keynote speakers shared wisdom about best practices in environmental education and stewardship.

 

 

 





Step 2: Collecting Resources, Building a Team and Setting Direction

 

• "Inquiry involves the science, art, and spirit of curiosity. It can be further explained as the scientific process of active exploration by which we use critical, logical, and creative thinking skills to raise and engage in questions of personal interest.  Driven by our curiosity and wonder about observed phenomena...”   Douglas Llewellyn"

 



Is Just Being Outdoors Enough?

 

"Understanding the outdoors as a classroom means that the outdoors IS the content and not just a different place to do classroom learning."

-Annelies Groen, Instructional Leader/Science & Technology, TDSB

 

As Teachers and "Lead Learners" Working Together, We Can Better Understand:

• The Role of Play/Outdoor Play
• The Role of Inquiry
• Science Inquiry Skills
• Developing Inquiry Questions: The Role of the Teacher & The Role of The Learner

 

 

 

 



 

 



Using System Priorities to Shape Instructional Leadership.....

As noted in Shaping our Schools, Shaping Our Future: Environmental Education in Ontario Schools,

 

Environmental education...

 

“is the responsibility of the entire education community. It is a content area and can be taught.  It is an approach to critical thinking, citizenship, and personal responsibility, and can be modeled.  It is a context that can enrich and enliven education in all subject areas, and offer students the opportunity to develop a deeper connection with themselves, their role in society, and their interdependence on one another and the Earth’s natural systems” (page 10)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Leading the Outdoor Education FDK Project in Simcoe DSB with Tori Osadca from Willow Landing, we aim to align provincial priorities with board initiatives to meet these goals:

 

• to increase the capacity of SCDSB Full-Day Early Learning teams to implement inquiry-based and experiential learning while using the newly-built outdoor classrooms with students
• To impact student engagement and student achievement in Science & Tech, Literacy and Numeracy
• To highlight and promote the expertise of exemplary SCDSB kindergarten teams (in a demo class capacity) as they support student achievement in these specific learning domains. 
• To augment and revise the SCDSB working document Outdoor Learning Spaces
• To share this professional learning with new FDK teams at implementation training in June



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



No Speeding Tickets, Mrs. Aldersey!!

Dear Class,

I am so excited to be on my way to Toronto today to visit the Equinox school in Toronto! They have the first Outdoor Kindergarten in Ontario. They have a very special way to do most of their learning and playing in their outdoor classroom. I am hoping to learn from the teachers there. Have a great day with Mrs. DeBruyn. You will be painting melted snowmen and writing about your gold medal moments. Here is a movie about their special school:

Have a great day!

 



February News and Friendship Salad!

Here is a link to our February News:

 

CLICK RIGHT HERE FOR NEWSLETTER!

 

Don't forget to read all about Friendship Salad Day and Kindergarten Olympics, Coming Soon to Room 102.

 

Stay warm, everyone! Wiarton Willie says 6 more weeks of winter. Learn more about groundhogs here: