[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HaaPIM3Pm4&feature=youtu.be[/embed]

With the rise of technology our world is becoming increasingly smaller; today’s students are truly global citizens, and having an understanding and appreciation of different cultures is enormously beneficial. Bilingual programming is one way to help prepare students for a wealth of opportunities post-graduation, and Calgary Board of Education (CBE) schools have an ever-increasing range of additional language options.

Midnapore School’s Mandarin Bilingual Program is one of the CBE programs providing students with the opportunity to master an additional language during their time in full time education. Instruction is given in both English and Mandarin to help students develop fluency through their daily classes and routines.

To support the program, Midnapore School received an EducationMatters grant to purchase 50 new books to supplement their school library. The books specialize in encouraging language learning through guided reading and have been shown to improve word recognition, fluency and comprehension throughout a range of grade levels. As the students grasp of the language increases, the complexity of the books do too. It allows students to advance at their pace and be appropriately challenged at each stage of fluency.

Some books purchased were ‘Meimei the Panda’ series and ‘It’s My Book series.’ Books were chosen with Midnapore’s students in mind and include stories relevant to their daily lives to help provide the greatest range of useful vocabulary for the more than 200 students working to learn Mandarin.

“I read my book with my little brother all the time. He’s in grade one right now, but he’s learning so much from me,” says a Grade 4 student from Midnapore School.

As with all additional languages, learning Mandarin provides a lot of benefits for students. They develop their self-esteem by having a usable skill they worked so hard to improve, increase future employment prospects, and develop an understanding of another culture.

“More books for my son to choose from will only deepen his love of reading and now in both languages. Thank you so much for adding this to our program,” says Susan Lam, a parent of a student from the school.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKSSYn5tNvc&feature=youtu.be[/embed]

The post Guided Reading Books for Mandarin Bilingual Program appeared first on EducationMatters.

Moving to a new place can be daunting, but imagine the upheaval of moving coupled with the added complication of not speaking the native language of your new home.  An already stressful and potentially isolating experience becomes even more so, and can make the transition for children of immigrants incredibly difficult.

Falconridge School in Calgary’s North East quadrant is proud to have a diverse student body, and with more than 200 students representing a wide spectrum of countries, languages, and cultures. Their strong English Language Learner (ELL) program is vital in helping the school community celebrate their origins while embracing their new country, Canada. 

The Windows into Our World project was born from a desire to enhance their ELL program with an initiative that would bring a sense of belonging, while celebrating their similarities and differences.  With language being one of the most common barriers between students, Falconridge ELL teacher and photography aficionado Shannon Hutchison realized that words were not the only way to have students talk to each other – they could make meaningful connections and have conversations through photographs.  The only thing missing from the plan was suitable equipment to make Shannon’s vision a reality.

With the help of an EducationMatters grant, the school was able to purchase DSLR cameras that students were allowed to use in the school and take home to document their family life and daily rituals. Their parents and siblings were enthusiastic about participating in the project - many of whom were captured in the pictures – and allowed each student to showcase their own cultural identity and invite their peers into their world.

Capturing photos that showcased cultural traditions such as attire and food, allowed students to compare and contrast their cultures, provided opportunities to learn new stories, and gave them the opportunity to explore different cultures guided by their peers.

“It makes me think about like, even if you’re in a different culture, you don’t have to feel left out because we are all together,” says a grade 3 student.

They began to grasp the importance of culture, and it gave them a sense of pride and belonging when identifying similarities with their peers. “I feel happy because I feel like I belong to all the cultures,” says a grade 4 student.

The sharing sessions especially helped ELL students utilize and develop their English language skills.

“This project will enhance oral language development in disciplined based vocabulary as well as language for communication that can be used across all disciplines,” says Shannon.

The project has provided opportunities for more students to be involved in the Photography Club, where they learn the fundamentals of using a camera, and understand various photography techniques.

Already, there are certain students who come to school on Thursdays because they are motivated by the Photography Club,” says Shannon.

Shannon says the project will continue to evolve in order to support student-learning, belonging, and community development, and it has the added bonus of developing the already impressive skillset of several budding photographers at the school.  A modest investment in technology has made, and will continue to make, a significant impact on Falconridge students. EducationMatters donors are incredibly happy to have been able to provide the spark to ignite this project, and look forward to seeing what the students do and create next.

The post Windows Into Our World appeared first on EducationMatters.

“I love it because I can compete with
others,” says a student at Highwood School.

“I like it because it is fun. You can play
against your friends,” chimes in another.

“I love it because I can challenge myself,”
another student adds.

No one would fault you for assuming these
students are talking about the latest video game release, or maybe the newest
sport being played at recess, though, you might be surprised to hear what they
have to say next.

“It helps me do math faster,” one explains.

“It give me lots to practice,” says
another.

“Mathletics is easy to interact with
because they have a variety of subjects, educational games, and ways to push us
students forward,” the first student adds again.

There it is: Mathletics!  It’s the new online subscription service that
Highwood School has brought on board for all of its students to help them
engage with math concepts, and other students, in new ways.

As a Mandarin bilingual school, over 60% of
Highwood School’s population are English Language Learners which adds an extra
level of complexity for students struggling with math concepts.  Math is a subject that many students find
intimidating; this compounded with studying in a language that a student is
still working to master can easily set an individual up for a lifelong fear and
dislike of the subject.

The other layer of complexity that Highwood
students work through is the commute that the majority of the student body
makes each day.  The school is
well-suited to the needs of its students, but long bus rides mean that they
find it difficult to participate in meaningful and engaging extra curricular
activities, which build relationships and strengthen the school community – not
to mention enhance connections to learning for students.

Mathletics is a solution to both of these
challenges. The online platform is accessible from anywhere, so as long as
students have access to a computer or tablet they can log in to practice math
solutions from school or at home. It encourages students to play games and
watch math videos to earn credits and compete against their classmates in
educational games which helps to build connections within the school, as
students can remotely connect with each other to solve challenges and earn
points as they work through different math problems.

While the Mathletics program is aligned
with the Alberta provincial curriculum, funding for the program is not covered
provincially. Staff at Highwood School approached donors through
EducationMatters for support to fund the program subscription and provide
access to Matheltics for the 353 students within the school, and it’s been a
resounding success.

12 classes participated in a baseline
mathematical skills assessment prior to the new subscription service launching.
In a follow up assessment, after implementing the program, all classes showed a
5%-25% increase in their class average performance. The average increase in
score on the follow up assessment across all classes was 11%.

The numbers speak volumes, but the
students’ eagerness to use the program was the real standout. The opportunity
to compete against other, earn achievement points, and play educational games
had students jumping with excitement to play.

“They are more engaged in class activities
as they have gained confidence demonstrating their math skills on Mathletics,”
says a grade two teacher at the school. “I would say that students, on average,
have improved steadily in their math skills.”

“I would love to have Mathletics as my
sidekick for years to come,” another admits excitedly.

But it’s not just teachers and students who
are in on the excitement; parents are joining in as well.

“Generally, I limit screen time,” says the
parent of a grade one student in the school, “however, I do let my kids use
Mathletics because I feel that it is a very good program.”

A parent of a grade two student at Highwood School feels a similar excitement. “My son likes to do math on Mathletics. Not like before, on paper, he didn’t like to do it at all.”

Excitement and math do not always go hand in hand. Seeing an improvement in math scores is certainly a positive sign, but more important is seeing eagerness in students to learn in new ways which has positive implications for all aspects of their learning.

Highwood School is currently evaluating how it will continue its use of Mathletics going forward, but one thing is for sure, if students, teachers, and parents all agree that something special is happening, then that is something we can call get excited about.

The post Creating Math Excitement: How Tech is Helping appeared first on EducationMatters.

“It whoket but the problem still was that it still whoed be hard to get our lunch kit.”

This is an excerpt from an English language learner (ELL) at Belfast Elementary School, describing a possible solution to a storage issue in her classroom's backpack and lunch kit storage area.

For ELL students, and students with other learning needs such as autism, learning disabilities, and emotional challenges, independent learning can be challenging.

In many cases, these students require additional support from teachers to function on their own and demonstrate an understanding of curricular concepts. Without assistance, these students are often left feeling frustrated and bored, which can lead to learning distractions for themselves – and their classmates.

At Belfast School, a kindergarten to grade six school in Northeast Calgary, technology is helping to address these issues and allowing students with specific needs to take charge of their own learning.

With a grant from EducationMatters, Belfast purchased iPads to help students develop a sense of autonomy and build essential skills for coping with academic and social situations. Given the portability of the iPads and the range of apps that can be installed, the tablets are assigned to individual students as needed.

The benefits to ELL students at Belfast School were immediately clear.

“They take the iPad everywhere, class, recess, lunch, to help them build both social and educational connections around them,”

says Jana El-Guebaly, the Assistant Principal at Belfast School.

Language translation apps on the iPads allow teachers to clearly communicate instructions to ELL students. Then, students are given the independence to work on their own, while being able to demonstrate their understanding of course material to teachers using the translation tools.

“The iPads have been an integral tool for the successful transition my students have made both academically and socially,” says one teacher at the school.

As well, students with autism are often found using apps that tell personalized stories to help them navigate their day. There are also apps that help develop fine motor skills and enhanced communication techniques.

Students with learning disabilities and emotional needs are finding the iPads helpful as well.

“We have one student who starts each day with an iPad in the office to calm himself and ensure he starts on a positive note,” says El-Guebaly.

In another case, a student who was prone to frustrated outbursts in class, reduced his in-class disturbances significantly when he was able to use apps and tools on the iPads that were personalized to his needs.

Not only did this benefit the students around him, but he enjoyed the work he was doing and felt that he was an equal member of the class when he could work independently on his own.

The demand for iPads continues to grow and, since receiving the initial grant in 2015, Belfast has purchased 4 new iPads.

The iPads are so popular that when students are given a similar type of assignment there are often several students that want to use an iPad for speech to text, text to speech, and fine motor work at the same time.

For the team at Belfast School, this means that the EducationMatters supported enrichment has been a huge success.

The impacts of the iPads speak for themselves, just look at how clearly the same ELL student was able to communicate her thoughts on the classroom storage space when using assistive technology.

“We did that and it work but the only problem was that it was still hard to get our lunch bags.”

The post Using iPads to Improve Independent Learning appeared first on EducationMatters.