Leadership DevelopmentPrincipal Congress 2011 HighlightsKeynote Address: Dr. J. Douglas WillmsHighlights from Dr. J. Douglas Willms' keynote address have been edited into 11 different videos, each focusing on a specific topic. The ministry has produced two resources that support the theme of student engagement and link to the following video clips.
Clip #1: Four Elements of Learning Engagement is a function of and learning is a product of:
Willms emphasizes that all of these elements work together and if one is absent, learning cannot occur. To learn more about the four elements of learning, see What Did You Do in School Today? Willms et al. (2009) Clip #2: Engagement is Critical for Learning Student engagement is critical to learning and student achievement and is an important outcome in its own right. Willms discusses how positive, long-term achievement in employment depends on how well students develop non-academic skills, such as regular attendance and punctuality, as well as their ability to work in a team and function successfully in a social institution. These skills are developed through non-academic engagement in school. For additional insight into how Canadian students feel about engagement in school and learning, visit: What did you do in school today? Infographic. Clip #3: Gap Closing for Vulnerable Students – Canada Willms uses a gradient to show the relationship between students' level of academic achievement and their socio-economic background. In Canada, those students that come from higher socio-economic backgrounds tend to do better; however, Willms points out that students whose performance/achievement in EQAO assessments are at a Level Two cut right across the social spectrum. To learn more about the relationship between student learning outcomes and socio-economic status (SES), see Learning Divides: Ten Policy Questions about the Performance and Equity of Schools and Schooling Systems. In this 2006 report, prepared for the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Willms explores key policy questions relevant to the educational performance of schools and school systems. He also shows how the gradient framework can be used to assess the likely effects of different policy decisions. Additional information about vulnerable students is available in the Winter 2011 issue of In Conversation – Strong Roots, Bright Futures: The promise of education and early human development, an interview with the late Clip #4: Gap Closing for Vulnerable Students – Ontario Ontario's gradient (showing academic achievement vs. socio-economic background) indicates that gap closing activities have to look at vulnerable students within schools, and also consider vulnerable schools. Clip #5: Institutional and Intellectual Engagement Institutional engagement is about students "doing school"; indicators include truancy, positive homework behaviours and valuing school outcomes. Intellectual engagement, i.e. deep psychological engagement, involves effort and motivation by students and quality instruction on the part of teachers. Learn more about the three dimensions of student engagement in What Did You Do in School Today? Clip #6: Drivers of Student Engagement Willms discusses the key drivers of student engagement under two categories: quality of instruction and the school context. Quality of instruction includes effective learning time, relevance and rigour. School context refers to safe and inclusive schools, as well as the identification of an advocate for each student. Clip #7: Tried and True Strategies for Student Engagement Willms identifies three strategies that are effective in driving student engagement and student achievement. These are:
To learn more about Ontario's Student Voice Initiative and what Ontario students say about how to strengthen student engagement, visit ontario.ca/speakup. Clip #8: Reading as a Key to Student Engagement Willms discusses the critical transition that students go through from "learning-to-read" to "reading-to-learn". Students who do not make this transition at the end of Grade 3 end up struggling through school in every subject and are prone to becoming increasingly disengaged. To learn more about the importance of early literacy, read Using Early Literacy Monitoring to Prevent Reading Failure by Sloat, Beswick, and Willms (2007). Additional information on the Early Years Evaluation (EYE) is available at www.earlyyearsevaluation.com. Clip #9: What the Data Tells Us Willms shares data from Ontario that shows the disparity between various schools within a district. In some schools, there may be a predominant number of students with extremely low skills. In other schools, there may be very few students with low skills. Teachers will have to modify the "enabling context" within their classrooms to meet student needs. Learn more about the "contributions of the home" in Visible Learning: A Synthesis of Over 800 Meta-analyses relating to Achievement by John Hattie (2008) and the role of parents as valued partners at ontario.ca/EDUparents. For additional information about creating an inclusive environment to promote student engagement, see Realizing the Promise of Diversity: Ontario's Equity and Inclusive Education Strategy. Clip # 10: What Principals Can Do – Monitor, Advocate, Create Affiliation School leaders can help students who are disengaged by:
To learn more about the online student engagement monitoring system developed by Willms, read the report Tell Them From Me. Clip # 11: What Principals Can Do – Literacy, Behavioural Check-In, Safe School Programs, and Mental Health Intervention School leaders can help students who are disengaged by:
Indicators and evidence in the K-12 School Effectiveness Framework promote active and independent engagement of students in the learning process. |
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