Chas Desjarlais And Renee Diemert

Our goals district wide and school wide are to connect the Aboriginal Education Enhancement Agreement with Assessment for Learning (AFL) The goal of our presentation today is to: 1. Clearly outline practical ways to incorporate AFL strategies within the classroom 2. How to bridge the district goals with school goals

To create positive educational experiences for Aboriginal students and their families. Reduce systemic racism Breakdown barriers in learning and communication Improve cultural sensitivity and understanding Implement career programs, mentoring programs and post- secondary training Poverty and illness among many Aboriginal families contributes to: High absenteeism High drop-out rates and 30% graduation rate High unemployment rates among Aboriginal youth and adults

Aboriginal Education Enhancement Agreement Signed in June 2009 to create a document that embodies a shared commitment to promote the success of Aboriginal students. Goals: Belonging Mastery of Skills Culture and Community

Research evidence shows... “Students are more likely to succeed when they feel connected to schools” Goal To increase Aboriginal students sense of pride, self-esteem, belonging, place, acceptance and caring in schools (AEEA) Action Implemented Connections Tool Friendship Circles District Aboriginal Student Council Aboriginal Focus School

We need to inspire our students… Start career exploration early to help guide students on a career path to start investigating their options Develop more out of school support program such as: cultural programs, sports and recreational activities homework clubs/tutoring programs work experience in the community mentoring programs Students should be taught tools for choice so that each student can find success in his or her own way

To increase cultural knowledge, empathy, awareness, and appreciation of Aboriginal histories, traditions, and contributions. – To decrease racial incidents and comments reported by Aboriginal students. – Continue to develop leadership opportunities for Aboriginal staff and students to share their culture – First Peoples Festival at the Museum of Anthropology on April 23 and 24

How do we connect district goals with AFL ? What are you learning? Students in charge of their own choices around learning, cultural engagement, recreational activities and career planning How is it going? Connections Tool engages teachers to learn how their Aboriginal students are doing inside and outside the classroom Where to next? Create strategies around student engagement at school and in the community Develop solutions to support academic learning styles

What are you learning? Where are you going with your learning? Assessment for Learning Strategies: Provide clear learning intentions and outcomes in an unit overview Have students create their own learning questions as what they hope to learn from the unit Connect learning outcomes to next unit, so students know where they are going in regards to their learning Record and post learning intentions, either on the board or within powerpoint/prezi on a daily basis

How is it (your learning) going? Clear Criteria is crucial for students to understand how their learning is going and how their work will be assessed Effective strategies are: Connect criteria to learning intentions through the use of rubrics Review assessment rubric with students prior to task Provide examples of student work and a range so students have something concrete to refer to and use as a guide Provide a checklist so students can stay focused on task at hand and self-monitor their own progress

Where to next? Descriptive feedback and peer and self-assessment plays an important role in giving students the necessary feedback in order to improve their learning Effective strategies are: The use of rubrics is very helpful in providing descriptive and evaluative feedback Rubrics are concrete and help students understand where their strengths and weaknesses lie and where they need to go in order to improve Peer and self assessment: important for students to articulate feedback that will help strengthen their own learning and that of their peers

Overview with students that feedback needs to be descriptive rather than judgmental, get them to use language used in the rubric and provide a framework for effective feedback such as the ‘sandwich’ technique

By implementing Assessment for Learning strategies at the school level with support from the District staff, we hope to: – Improve attendance and graduation rates – Create a feeling of safety and comfort – Increase the number of students completing BC First Nations Studies 12 along with First Peoples English 12 – Increase leadership opportunities in fine arts, academics, and athletics – Develop Friendship Circles in your school to bring the Aboriginal students together along with teachers – Create mentoring opportunities for students in the community through work experience

Vancouver School Board Aboriginal Education Enhancement Agreement files/Programs/VSB_AEEA.pdf files/Programs/VSB_AEEA.pdf J. Halbert and L. Kaser (2011). Key Questions for Learner Engagement. C. Cameron (2008). Assessment for Learning Six Strategies.