With our first term coming to a close, and report cards just around the corner, I want to talk a bit about assessment and reporting. A quick Google of “proficiency scale bc” showed me these top searches:
This tells me that the adults receiving the report cards are trying to understand the proficiency language in the way that they were assessed (or perceived to be assessed) when they were in school–whether that is percentages or letter grades. I get that: we try to understand things based on our own experiences. So let’s dive into what we’re really talking about in these report cards.
The proficiencies–Emerging, Developing, Proficient, and Extending–represent a snapshot of student learning at a certain point in time. It is not a “category” or a label for the child or their ability. We acknowledge that learning is a process in which we are active participants, and that stretches and struggles are sometimes a part of that process.
One of the major shifts in curriculum (that happened over ten years ago) was the creation of “curricular competencies” which are based in learning skills instead of content. So students’ abilities to question, communicate, think critically and creatively, and contribute to and participate in communities are foundational in their learning practice. So much so that these competencies are called the Core Competencies, upon which students self-assess themselves.
To be clear: the proficiencies do not align with letter grades. They do not align with percentages. Earlier in my career, even when we were using letter grades from grade 4-7, these still did not align with percentages (we had rubrics called “Quick Scales” which outlined the performance standards/expected content).
Here is a proficiency scale explanation in student-friendly language:
Especially for our grade 4 students, the first term is a time of big adjustments: more students in the class, different routines, and a shift in expectations (academic and personal independence) is a lot of adjust to! One of the things we’ve been working on this term is the idea of taking greater accountability for our actions as learners and members of a community. Finding commonalities and ways to get along with a 
variety of people help us when conflict arises. We are learning to use our planners for our own reference to help us plan for and track due dates and events. Students are learning to receive feedback from peers and teachers, and to integrate it into their next assignments. I would say the “training wheels” are certainly still on, but we are also pushing students to stretch themselves and their burgeoning independence. When I have a room of 30ish students, we have a group plan where students are supported with routines and structures and are expected to leverage those tools with increasing independence, and make choices that contribute to their own learning.
Students in Division 7 are all somewhere along their proficiency journeys, and their attitudes and willingness to stretch themselves will pave their way to continued growth.
Hour of Code takes place during Computer Science Education Week, which is this week!
Last week, Division 7 went to Burnaby Lake. We went for a visit to get to know the animals and plants that we share this land with, and how they change over the seasons. Our purpose was to connect to place through observation. We saw and learned so much! Even for me–who grew up in this area and have spent a lot of time walking around, canoeing in, and visiting the ducks at Burnaby Lake–I learned so much during our visit!
Did you know that the way salmon find their way back to their particular stream is by scent? They navigate back from the ocean with a kind of “magnet” in their heads, but they find their specific stream through the mixture of scents from that specific place. Students looked around the ground near the stream to collect bits of plants and soil to mush together to smell. We had a good time mixing our potions and comparing scents.
Students were given visual guides about the various winged wonders that alight on Burnaby Lake. We spent a long time playing a version of eye-spy with the birds. We learned that some of them stay year round, some are visitors from further north, and some will head south for even warmer weather. The wood ducks were a big hit! We also observed many gulls and crows feeding on the carcasses of salmon who have spawned and are now giving back to the waterways that once gave them life. We didn’t see any bears, who also feed on these fish, but we did note that there is no feeding birds seed right now since that will also attract bears as they prepare for the winter months.
Students learned about some local plants and how to identify them. They played a running game where they got a card with clues about the plant, had to locate and tag the plant, and then race back to our leader for confirmation they identified the plant correctly and to get a new card. So fun! Check out the gallery for the different plants we identified. Some change through the seasons, but still have identifiable characteristics. Keep an eye out for these on your next walk!
We had a very special experience to see and feel the silent wings and fierce talons that make owls efficient predators. It was interesting to compare and contrast how loud a goose feather is when flapped versus an owl wing. Geese don’t have to be stealthy, and they have waterproofing features on their feathers, but owls need to be silent to be effective birds of prey. Their talons are very sharp, too! I wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of those razor sharp claws! We got to look at an owl skull, and we observed that the owl’s eyes sit in bony sockets to maintain their shape. Because of that, they cannot move their eyes, and that’s why their heads can rotate 270 degrees.
Last week Division 7 embarked on a journey in ADST (Applied Design Skills and Technology) to design a first-class paper airplane. Ms. Rudolph, in the library, guided students in a lesson about the four forces of flight: drag, lift, gravity, and thrust.
Students explored different designs through the links:
As students progress in their school experience, they are challenged to take on greater responsibility in a variety of areas: with their academics, their work-habits and responsibilities, and with their social-emotional regulation. As we build community in our classroom, it’s important that students are a part of deciding the tone and expectations of our shared learning space. Some of the questions we’ve explored in the first month of school have been:
