Discussions

Your Name and Title: Najwa Chalabi, Teacher

School or Organization Name: St. Kevin School, Toronto Catholic District School Board

Co-Presenter Name(s):

Area of the World from Which You Will Present: Toronto, Ontario

Language in Which You Will Present: English

Target Audience(s): Junior- Intermediate educators

Short Session Description (one line): Hearing the Silence Behind Learning Goals and Success Criteria!

Full Session Description (as long as you would like): The world is changing. We need to figure out what, where and how kids need to learn. Since learning is accessible anywhere and anytime, educators scramble to define learning goals to answer "What do I teach? “. Students search for the answer to "How do I learn?"  In response to this, the "Learning Goals" and "Success Criteria" strategy have been created. This presentation's intention is an effort to globalize different Math competencies and communicate an inquiry process which indicates that "Learning Criteria "evolve out of "Learning Goals" and that "Success Criteria" evolve out of "Success Goals.“ This process will complement the present drive to advance the practice of a world- wide Four Parts Math Lesson that will: question the question based on research of real world questions, solve well framed critical global problems, provoke evaluative thinking that helps in communicating, in creating assessment conversations and consequently in taking action. This pedagogy can be mapped into the Before --> During--> After--> Consolidation and Assessment parts of a lesson plan. It is providing learning that can reach all students including students with English as a Second Language ESL, Early English Learners, and Special Education students. It is the learning, thinking, and evaluative processes that allow students to investigate the world, to recognize different solution, to communicate perspectives of ideas as people differ from different countries, to take action and not only learn about the world but learn with the world. This will be the practice that will build capacity and make a difference in the world.

One of the global aspects of the presentation is to connect with others and share how their Math lessons are changing based on the flipped classrooms or the virtually connected classes. Using the processes of Learning Goals, Learning Criteria, Success Goals, and Success Criteria, how will this framework or mindset enable better collaboration among educators/ students/ schools and help in the inclusion of all students. It is also an outreach for other Math collaborative projects or activities.

Another global aspect is to diagnose the reasons for decline in student achievement in Math. Is that a global issue and what might be attributing to that? Is connecting to a Math community one of the strategies to share best practices? Is flipping the classroom a practice that has demonstrated better achievement? Are learning goals in Math global or is it just for my class, in my room and hence can't extend my knowledge beyond that?