ASCD Conference 2013 (14 - 18 March)

Finally we are at the ASCD Conference!

Pre-Conference (14 - 15 March 2013)

Main-Conference (16 - 18 March 2013)

Lincoln Elementary School Visit, 13 March 2013

We visited Lincoln Elementary School on the 13 March 2013. It is in the same district as Bryan Middle School. Both won the prestigious Blue Ribbon Award in 2012.

This is Lincoln Elementary School Principal Ms Kathleen Tomei.

This is Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction for Elmhurst School District, Dr. Charles Johns and Lincoln Elementary Principal, Ms Kathleen Tomei addressing us.

School and classroom visit.

Lincoln Elementary School tecahers having a dialogue session with us. It was definitely a fruitful session.

 

 
We had time after the school visit for a cultural visit to Chicago Field Museum!

Our Reflections:

Reflection 1

The visit to Lincoln Elementary School was indeed refreshing. Principal Kathleen Tomei took us on a school tour and we were able to watch several staff and pupils during lesson time. It was indeed a special thing to come up close to the staff and mingles with them in this blue ribbon school. We took this chance to find out as much as we could during interaction time.

Kids at Lincoln are extremely well behaved. We found out that CHAMPs, a classroom management tool, is also used at Lincoln.  Expectations in behaviour are clearly spelt out and this in turn has made teaching a pleasure when teachers can deliver their lesson to a highly disciplined group of pupils. It was evident that pupil engagement is high in the classroom. Pupils were observed to be focused in their work and they asked interesting questions.

Lincoln's close partnership with community is seen in the authentic project based learning at Grade 5 which has been going on for the last twenty years. The school taps on professionals like bankers and restaurant owners to teach their pupils skills in running a business. Pupils need to come up with a business proposal, learn budgeting, apply for loan, run the business and serve customers. The entire project lasts ten weeks.

Having seen what goes on in Lincoln, it is heartening to learn how educators make such big impact in the lives of the young charges. I must indeed thank Ms Tomei for generously opening her school and hosting our cluster schools' visit. 

~ Angelina Wong-Lim (CHIJ Our Lady of Good Counsel)

 

Reflection 2

Similar to Bryan Middle School, Lincoln Elementary also emphasises on character education. The school has adopted the Character Counts programme in inculcating values to the pupils. In  an elementary school, where the students are aged between 6 to 11 year old, providing a safe and conducive environment is vital. The school has set that direction in equipping students with content knowledge as well as life skills in order to be college and career ready pupils. During the classroom observations, it was evident that the small student teacher ratio has allowed for close observation and monitoring of the pupils. In addition, the teachers in the school speaks the "same" language in managing the class. Students are very aware of the class routines, academic and behavioural expectations. Due to the fact that they are aware, the students were engaged in class. The lesson went on smoothly with minimal disruption. One thing that I find interesting was that the students were allowed to have their snack during lesson. I was pleasantly surprised that not many students actually made a mess. This could be attributed to the fact that the students are aware that they have to clean the mess on their own should they spill their food. This in turn has taught the students to be more careful and responsible when handling their food. One learning point that can be applied to my school is the use of CHAMPS ticket system. This will allow for pupils to be more motivated in doing good and for the teachers to be more observant of the pupils' behaviour.

~ Hafidzah (AMK Pri)

Reflection 3

Our Visit to Lincoln Elementary school was very enriching. I am impressed with the school’s philosophy of creating life-long learners and creating an environment for students to feel socially safe, explore something they have not explored, take risks and to build their skills and confidence. They also put in a lot of strategies to motivate students by giving out CHAMPs rewards, make lessons exciting, fun and engaging for the students. This would ensure reluctant learners are eager to participate in lessons. Different types of students’ interest are also catered to. Such as infusion of dance in the curriculum, project based learning to move away from rote learning. Authentic problem solving opportunities such as running a restaurant would ensure students are ready for the working world. I was also impressed with the support given to students who were struggling with Reading. A reading specialist was engaged to level up these students reading competencies. Early intervention to ensure that no student is left behind is what they strongly believe in. Parents involvement is also prevalent in this school. They support teachers in the teaching and learning, give feedback regularly on how schools can improve further. School also keeps parents updated on their child’s progress on a regular basis so that they can play a pivotal role in their child’s development. We hope to establish such partnership in our schools as well. Explicit messaging on expectations of students are clearly displayed around the school. Students are very clear on their code of conduct. This is evident in the classrooms. Students are very engaged and well behaved in their lessons. It is encouraging to see the dedication of the teachers who spend much time interacting and getting to know their pupils on a personal basis.

~ Deepa (AMK Sec)

Reflection 4

Two words came to my mind after my visit to Lincoln Elementary School - 'Continuity' and 'Sustainability'. I realised that certain practices and processes from Bryan Middle School were replicated and reinforced at Lincoln Primary School. At Lincoln Elementary School, the CHAMPs tool, the CHAMPs tickets and the use of Character Counts ideas and teachings are similar to the middle school, explaining the success of the practices in the school as there is congruency in the philosophy, practices and processes. Positive reinforcements are the norms at the school, visibly evident from students' display and the approaches such as the tone of the teachers' voice and teacher-student relationship strategies. Strong community partnership such as involvement in students' project at Grade 5 for almost 20 years propels the enhancement of 21st century skills and supports the district's focus to strengthen the students' college and career readiness. The commitment and active participation of the community are commendable and truly capture the essence of the African saying that it takes a whole village to raise a child. One area which I would like to implement in my school is certain aspects of CHAMPs tools such as the use of voice level and movement which will facilitate the learning and engagement of the pupils.

~ Serena (CHIJ OLGC)

Reflection 5

We went back to Elmhurst District to visit another school in the area who won the prestigious Blue Ribbon award in 2012, Lincoln Elementary School. Being a Elementary school, the first thing that struck me when we enter the school were the various posters on ‘Character Counts’ programme and also the CHAMPS chart long the highway, toilets etc. Being part of the district wide initiatives, Lincoln Elementary School had the advantage of being able to consistently implement it among the teachers and students. When the students move up to high school, they will still be familiar with the same strategies as it will be consistent with what they have learned all along. In terms of teaching and learning, pupils in the classroom show great enthusiasm in learning by participating actively. There were also many teachers using various learning stations to differentiate student’s learning in the classroom. What surprises me was the high engagement level of the students even with minimum teacher’s intervention. Lastly, the teachers were highly motivated to learn from us as much as we want to learn from them. They posted many questions during our dialogue with them and also shared with us their various school programmes. The warmth and passion again prevails much like in Bryan Middle School which prompts me to think if this could be why they achieve their Blue Ribbon award in 2012. One thing I would like to take back and implement in my school is the consistent approach of their Character Development programme. Everyone is clear of what they are in for and sings the same tune. This level of consistency is important in ensuring the effectiveness of such programmes. What struck me also was how everything was seamlessly infused into the classrooms and although the teachers acknowledge that they do not have a structured Character Development programme in school, they recognize the importance of it, thus teaching students the life-skills and right behaviour comes through naturally without any deliberate programmes being plan. Food for thought indeed.

~ Cher Hwa (Holy Innocents’’ Pri)

 

Reflection 6

The visit to Lincoln Elementy School was an enriching experience. Students were very engaged in their lessons and knew the classroom routines well. The teachers also make good use of the walls in their home rooms to display posters which include thinking skills that are made explicit in their curriculum.

What struck me on our visit to the school was the similarities in the approach that the elementary school had with the middle school. Knowing that that the students from the elementary school would be feeding up to the middle school. Their practices reinforce each other so that students find a common approach to positive discipline as well as classroom behaviours that are expected.

The other striking thing was that the strong ties that the school has with the larger community which allows the students to have real world learning experiences, where the Grade 5 students get to run an actual restaurant for a day. In the process, they need to plan the menu as well as get funding to run the restaurant by meeting up with a banker to get a loan. I think that such strong community ties give students an invaluable opportunity to learn as well as apply their knowledge they learn in the classroom.

~ Gary Tan Joon Meng (Holy Innocents’ High)

Reflection 7

Three things that I learnt:

The school leader is very involved in the daily operations of the school. She is familiar with the pupils’ names and acknowledges them. She has good rapport with the students as well as the staff.

Closer monitoring of pupils’ progress was made possible with the implementation of learning centers in the classrooms. The different groups of pupils in class are engaged in different activities while the teacher is attending to one group of learners. This approach has enabled the pupils to experience a variety of learning through the use of different materials. Pupils were able to work independently and used of a red cup or a blue cup to indicate the level of assistance they need from their teacher .

The learning of values was done explicitly and all other subject teachers reinforce them. This ensured consistency in the implementation.

2 things I found interesting:

The display of pupils’ work on the walls helped to build up the pupils’ self- esteem and a sense of belonging to the school. Pupils’ also found that they are being recognized for their contribution to the school.

The community is responsible and showed their commitment to the pupils’ development by being involved in the activities of the schools. They partnered the school to enhance authentic learning experiences as well as volunteering their services to assist the schools in their daily operations.

1 thing I can carry out:

To promote self-directed learning, learning centers can be used to focus primarily on individual students’ learning. Pupils are made aware of the goals of each activity and pupils’ learning is evaluated by whether they have achieved the predetermined, developmentally oriented objectives. It may be tedious for the teacher to prepare learning centers activity on their own. They can collaborate with other teachers to create these learning centers activities.

~ Mariam (Jin Shan Pri)

Bryan Middle School Visit, 12 March 2013

We visited Bryan Middle School on the 12 of March 2013. It was a bitterly cold morning but we were all really excited about the visit.
 

 
A group photo with Bryan Middle School Principal, Mr John A. Glimco.
 

 
Bryan Middle School Principal, Mr John A. Glimco and Assistant Principal, Ms Melissa Couch.

Elmhurst School District Superintendent, Mr David Pruneau.

 
Sharing by Mr Glimco.

 
Sharing by Bryan Middle School teachers.

Visit to the classrooms and special rooms.

 

 

Our Reflections:

Reflection 1

Among several other things, what really struck me was the excellent discipline of the students. The school was sparkling clean both inside and outside the classrooms. Not a single price of litter can be found along the corridors. Our group stepped into the cafeteria immediately after the Grade 7's morning break and was pleasantly greeted with a sparkling clean canteen. The tables and benches were cleaned and neatly arranged, and the floor swept. We understood from the VP Melissa, that all students were assigned to use only specific toilets in the school (by their grades) and tables and benches in the cafeteria (by their classes) and that the students are responsible of cleaning them. This was to inculcate a greater sense of ownership to their school and to respect others. The students' behaviours in the classrooms were also commendable. Majority of the students were attentive and on task, even during small group discussions and group works. The noise level in the class was certainly low which provided a conducive learning environment. When a teacher asked a question, we observed that students will put up their hands, wait the teacher to call them before they answers the questions. This is the result of many years of positive conditioning since their elementary school. The students were also very warm, greeting and welcoming us when we meet them. The excellent discipline of the students is the outcome of the good work that the school has done in the area of character education. This was achieved despite of the lack of dedicated curriculum time or compulsory extra curriculum time to explicitly teach values and/or character education. Values and character education was pervasively taught and emphasized by all teachers daily, in their interaction with their students. Posters are put up around the school to remind students of such values. Lastly, the school implemented a Bryan Demon Dollar incentive system to reward students who have demonstrated good deeds. This was to reward and recognize students to do good deeds and to motivate others to do likewise. I hoped to be able to adopt some of the above initiatives back in our school as part of our values and character education.

~ Eric Chua (Holy Innocents’ High)

Reflection 2

What strikes me most about Bryan Middle School is the high level of professionalism and passion in the staff in designing and implementing a curriculum which motivates learners and impacts learning. The STEM curriculum is one which integrates the disciplines of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math to make learning more meaningful to students and enables them to see the application of Science and Math concepts in the wood craft that they craft. This requires a great deal of discussion and collaboration among the different departments and it goes beyond the teaching of the subject matter as a mere subject to be more of a life skill learning. It is enriching for both the teacher and the students when learning becomes authentic for the pupils.

The English Language teachers are analytical with the information they have gathered from the students’ reading tests and initiated a structured learning teaching package to further stretch the abilities of their competent learners and level up the competencies of their slower ones through the REACH programme. They design and conduct lessons which achieve the same objectives through the use of differentiated reading materials and levels of scaffolding to teach reading comprehension skills, while maintain the same delivery of lessons. The students are regrouped and pulled out during curriculum hours for better engagement and impactful learning. The teachers also consistently made use of data collected from each reading test to evaluate students’ progress and improve strategies.

~ Martina Lim (Holy Innocents’ Pri)

Reflection 3

At Bryan Middle School, what left me the deepest impression were the school wide structures in place to create a positive tone and conducive environment for all to learn, namely the 3 B’s of Bryan and CHAMPs. These structures have seamlessly infused the important values and social-emotional competencies during curriculum time and beyond. CHAMPs (Conversation, Help, Activity, Movement and Participation) is pervasive in their homeroom systems to ensure all students elicit positive learning behaviour in the classrooms. Even though each subject teacher may vary their expectations, these were clearly delineated under CHAMPs with the use of common terminologies schoolwide. On the other hand, 3 B’s of Bryan (Be respectful, Be responsible, Be Safe) serves to promote positive behaviour of students in and out of the classrooms, even when they are not within the supervision of their teachers during transition between classes, using of school facilities and break time. These two work hand in hand to create the positive learning environment that we have observed in their classrooms as well as public areas in the school compound, such as the canteen and hallway. Truly, the mindset of “character is what you do when no one is looking” has been well rooted in the young minds of Bryan Middle School.

~ Bao Jun (Chong Boon Sec)

Reflection 4

"The game does not change much across schools and countries."
                                                                                 John A Glimco, Principal, Bryan Middle School

As the quote suggests, today's visit was an affirmation of all the things that we are doing in the school to provide a student-centric values driven education. Affirmation of not only the successes, but also the trials and challenges that we face. There were many good practices that I saw, one of which was on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering in Math). What I found really powerful was the collaboration between 3 departments in the school to help the pupils see the connections between what the students are learning in Math (Measurement) to how they apply it in Design & Technology and Science. It helped deepen and enrich the pupils' learning. I belief such collaborations in our schools will reap similar benefits among our pupils too.

~ Kumari (Xinghua Pri)

Reflection 5

During the school visit, I can see clearly why Bryan Middle School is indeed a Blue Ribbon School, a prestigious recognition as a school of excellence by the nation. The staff was highly committed to their profession. The Superintendent, Principal and various groups of teachers who presented were guided closely by the school’s vision of ensuring that their students are able to fulfil their fullest potential and that they are provided with the foundation for future success in life, recognising that 21st century skills and character education are vital. The school aims for all its students to graduate from college.

The school also emphasizes greatly on gathering feedback from the student population, parents and staff so as to guide its decision making. Their decision making, for example, designing academic programmes, is also closely guided by the use of data from various sources.

Efforts by the school to inculcate values in their students were clearly visible throughout the school. The strategies are actually simple but very effective. Banners showing the positive behaviour the school would like to develop in their students could be easily seen at various corners of the school. The school would want to encourage 3 positive behaviours: Be Respectful; Be Responsible; Be safe. Concrete examples of such positive behaviours expected in various parts of the school are clearly displayed, for example, in the classrooms, cafeteria, auditorium, and gymnasium. They also ‘catch’ students who exemplify these behaviours, such as having ‘Student of the Month’ and the awarding of Demon Dollars, which they could redeem things they like. The school also provides simple opportunities for the students to put such positive behaviours in action. For example, in the cafeteria, students have to clean after themselves. Mops and clothes are provided for the students and they keep the cafeteria and washrooms clean.

In the area of department management, I would like to be more savvy in using data to make informed decisions about the teaching and learning of Mathematics. As for the Year Head system which I am in charge of, I would like my committee to work with the Student Development Committee in making positive behaviours be more explicit for our students.

~ Hui Yih (Serangoon Garden Sec)

Reflection 6

Bryan Middle School is one of the two schools in the district to achieve blue ribbon status. The school has made impressive efforts in ensuring continuous improvement. The school seeks feedback from key stakeholders such as parents and the community . In addition the school also seeks feedback from the staff. One of the strengths of Bryan Middle School is its positive and committed staff and students. The school customises its curriculum to ensure meaningful integration and application of the concepts across various disciplines. This is clearly seen in STEM-Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. The school has very clear expectations of their students. Their 3 bes'- be respectful, be responsible and be safe are pervasively visible in the school. The school spells out desired behaviours expected of their students. For instance students know how to moderate their noise level according to the type of activity they are engaged in, be it group activity or walking along the corridor.This programme is called Champs. Indeed the school leaders and the teachers have made an impressive impact on the students . With strong community support and an excellent character education that is seamlessly infused within the curriculum,this has definitely been an enriching learning experience at Bryan Middle School .

~ Shakila (Da Qiao Pri)

Reflection 7

The visit to Bryan Middle School was a very enriching experience. The school demonstrated its generosity and hospitality in receiving us, and even the Superintendent was present. In this school there is much emphasis on the holistic development of the students. The expected behaviours (3B’s - Be Respectful, Be Responsible, Be Safe) focus on Self, Others and Environment, and posters of these are displayed throughout the school. The teachers also make good use of the walls in their home rooms to display posters which include thinking skills such as predicting and evaluating, showing that these skills are made explicit in their curriculum. This approach could be applied in my school in coordinating the curriculum for 21CC in the various disciplines.

~ Geok Choo (YuYing Sec)

Reflection 8

This 100 year old school believes in providing a safe environment for its students, making sure that students are engaged learners and placed values and character as part of daily activities. What interest me particularly is how they have nurtured the spirit of entrepreneurial skills as young as grade 3 and continued till grade 5 where they are taught on business proposal writing and actual operation of a restaurant. I was impressed with the authentic learning that they have engaged their students in. This is an excellent platform to teach them decision-making and problem-solving skills. The students are given some autonomy running the student council and their environment club. One thing I will implement is school is the CHAMPs expectation of students behaviour in common areas in my school. This is a great platform to promote positive behaviour in them.

~ Rohayati (Mayflower Sec)

We have arrived in Chicago!

We started our journey on a sleepy early morning in Singapore. Thanks to everyone who took the pain and time to send us off at Changi International airport. Onwards!!

20+ hours later...

We are in Chicago! It was pretty cold and wet but everyone was in high spirit. (Thanks to Gary for all the beautiful pictures!)

Our warrm and cosy hotel @ Chicago South Loop Hotel.

We also had our first group dinner at Zaytune which serves mediterranean Grill.

It rain and rain but didn't dampen out spirits one bit...

The Beginning of Our Journey...

10 of March 2013 marks the beginning of our wonderful journey to Chicago for the ASCD Conference 2013!