Learning Maps as Assessment Tools

Last year, I was part of the team of teachers that piloted the Student Learning Notebook app, developed by Peel District School Board, under the leadership of Kristen Clarke, our assessment coordinator. At this professional development we were introduced to learning maps. A learning map is not just an assessment tool but also an instructional plan. It is not just evaluative but also focuses on assessment for and of learning. The key element of learning map is assessment and evaluation of evidence of student-learning in the context of overarching learning goals. It provides rich description of  student learning that informs instructional decisions and provides the language for descriptive feedback. It can work as a tool for self assessment as well.
After having attended the full day session on Mentoring hosted by Peel's NTIP team, I was inspired to create a self assessment tool that BOTH Teacher Candidates and Mentor Teachers can use in a fair, transparent and reliable way to assess their own growth in relation to the learning goals of the collaborative inquiry. It would be informative to place ourselves on the continuum of learning. This learning map would provide next steps for both Teacher Candidates and Mentor Teachers as we take this journey of building mentor-mentee relationships. Though this tool would have been more effective if created at the beginning of the collaborative inquiry, it can still prove to be an effective self-assessment tool.
Each Mentor Teacher and Teacher Candidate will be provided with a copy of the learning map. Once I have all the learning maps, I will analyze and evaluate the results creating a short-term action plan for professional learning conversations for Mentor Teachers and Teacher Candidates. The results would also enable me to collect some resources to move our learning forward. It will provide both Mentor Teachers and Teacher Candidates a sample resource or tool that they can use in their own assessment practices. Here is the link to the learning map I created:
Collaborative Inquiry Learning Map

What do we value in what we do?

What do we value in what we do?
I applied and was accepted for "Mentoring for All: Creating Communities of Knowledge", a two-day professional development opportunity led by Peel Board's NTIP Side be Side Instructional Coordinator in collaboration with York University's Dr. Lana Parker. Dr. Lana Parker is seconded from Peel District School Board and her research interests include how to teach toward democracy, through listening and speaking. She is working in the Pre-Service program of Faculty of Education at York University and represented York University's new two-year Bachelor of Education program's perspective at the professional development session. Day 1 of the PD session, on February 8th, 2017, was just for associate teachers from Peel who are mentoring York University's students. Day 2 on March 22nd, 2017 will be a co-learning opportunity for all associate teachers and teacher candidates.

Day 1 of this session began with the question: What values can you not live without in your teaching practice? We were each asked to list our top two values and then as table groups we were asked to list the top two that all of us felt were the most important from our individual lists. This was a very powerful connection to the assignment on writing about our educational philosophy in the course. Though in our day-to-day teaching and learning practices we don't explicitly reflect on our educational beliefs and policies, everything we do in and for the teaching and learning community reflects our beliefs and values. They are unconscious competencies that affect everything we do as instructional leaders. As mentors, it becomes our role to make these beliefs and values explicit for our teacher candidates as they are still developing these educational philosophies. It was suggested at the session that it is very important to uncover this through learning focused conversations. though I did not start my mentoring year with this, I now believe this is probably the most important thing we can delve into at the start of the mentoring journey. Not only is this interaction purposeful for the teacher candidates who are developing their own sense of who they are as educators, it is also very beneficial for us to set the stage for what the teacher candidates in their first year of the program will observe, learn and do in the classrooms they are placed. With this understanding in place, the actions of the learning community will make sense to the teacher candidates. To provide myself as an example, what I value the most is a growth mindset and collaboration. Every learning opportunity in my classroom is immersed in these values and is informed by them. To a new teacher, unless this is made explicit, my classroom and my program might seem very random and so would the classroom environment. If I value a growth mindset and collaboration, I work with the premise that we are co-learners and struggle and making mistakes is an important part of any learning process. I demonstrate flexibility and responsive teaching. I create a program catered to the needs of the student. I value inquiry-based problem-solving approach in everything we do in the classroom. To a new teacher, who is not aware of my values and beliefs, my classroom environment will seem disorganized and noisy and my approach to the curriculum may seem random and not well-planned. I know how I a addressing the curriculum expectations while honoring the student's need to learn what interests them but the teacher candidate does not. To them, my program and teaching style may seem "laissez-faire".
Though it is late in the year, I feel that this interaction will still be helpful in enabling our teacher candidates to see what their mentor teachers value and believe in and developing their own vision for their classrooms. I plan to put this question to all mentor teachers and teacher candidate in the coming days. I will give them an opportunity to respond orally or in writing and collect evidence of their reflections. 

Student Perspective-How do students interact purposefully about inquiry-based learning

This video is evidence of what students think about inquiry-based learning. It is also evidence of what a purposeful interaction among students and between students and teachers.
Context: The vice-principal was on instructional rounds and walked into my classroom. She gave a context to my students and asked them for their input on what inquiry-based, open-ended, student-generated learning means to them. We had been working on an inquiry on creating generalizations and algebraic equations for areas of regular polygons. Through our explorations, we addressed the curriculum expectations and went well beyond them. The vice-principal asked if students preferred learning and activities based on the curriculum or exploring mathematical concepts and let the exploration take its course even if it meant going beyond the curriculum. This set the context for a very purposeful interaction where students were having a learning-focused classroom, listening and speaking their mind respectfully. It was very empowering to be part of such a group of thinkers. While analyzing this conversation, it was made clear to me that students will use the language of assessment if we use it, they will think deeply about their learning if we give them an opportunity to, and they will interact respectfully if we model what accountable talk moves look like, sound like and feel like.