SFDCI Tell Them From Me October 04, 2018

SFDCI reports higher levels of stress/anxiety than province and board SFDCI reports higher levels of stress/anxiety than province and board. Bulk of stress can be attributed to academic pressures... other social media parents Resiliency addictions teenage hormones

According to our students, the number one source of stress is uncoordinated assignments and the method of content delivery (not just our school team) SO WHAT CAN WE DO? Increase coordination, communication, collaboration on staff & review assessment practices and reflect upon task value

What is value? the regard that something is held to deserve; the importance, worth, or usefulness of something: Good questions to ask yourself: does the task reflect the current curriculum? is the task relatively one dimensional or can students demonstrate mastery in a variety of ways? is there a heavy reliance upon memorization? is the task relevant to students? do all classroom assessment/tasks look the same? CAN WE MOVE AWAY FROM CONTENT HEAVY, MEMORY WORK AND INTO DEEPER ASSESSMENTS OVER TIME?

Here is what the students are saying… “I would rather show my teacher what I know, not what I remember" "we like it when there is lots of choice in how we complete assignments" "I'm good at memorizing, but it doesn't make me want to learn" "If I didn't have other people (mom) helping me at home, I would just be winging it ... what happens to people that don't have those supports?" "I actually have to do something to learn something"

Shared Calendar Some are using, some are not. Why? Students shared that 2 full days between assignments would greatly reduce stress and anxiety

Other initiatives… Yoga Animals in the School Girls Fitness