Table 15: School Tasks Directed Toward Program Delivery
Type of Task | Number of Schools (30) |
Continuity of Instruction | 18 |
Curriculum Alignment - School to Province | 9 |
Improving instructional strategies | 12 |
Meeting individual student needs | 17 |
Using school wide curriculum themes | 9 |
Collaboration on curriculum and program | 3 |
Upgrading curricular resources | 17 |
Practice exams | 7 |
Increasing the amount of homework | 7 |
Core related extra-curricular activities | 10 |
Communicate curriculum/performance expectations | 9 |
Involve parents/community/students in delivery | 5 |
Improve assessment strategies | 23 |
Tutoring (e.g. paired reading) | 15 |
Goal setting - student/parent/teacher | 9 |
Overall | 29 |
Over two thirds of the schools identified tasks related to assessment strategies as a way to improve student performance. A few schools looked at different forms of assessment. Also, some schools intended to start measuring learning growth. However, the majority of the schools planned to implement school wide assessment standards and approaches. Further, the school wide standards were generally based on Provincial curriculum expectations. When this is combined with the schools' commitment to curriculum alignment and continuity of instruction, clearly the schools intended to adhere closely to the Provincial curriculum as tested and to use consistent standards for assessment of student learning. This is re-enforced when half of the schools directed professional development efforts toward increasing teacher knowledge of the provincial curriculum. Even when a category suggests flexibility such as "meeting individual student needs" and "goal setting", many of the tasks were related to setting goals for individual students based on the Provincial curriculum. Continuing the emphasis, the focus on the Provincial curriculum formed: the basis of expectations communicated to parents and students, centered school wide instructional themes, and was carried into extra-curricular activities. Each of these was mentioned by a third of the schools. In addition, more than half of the schools planned to upgrade curriculum resources. Finally, a quarter of the schools were going to administer practice exams; indicating that the motivation for the adherence to the Provincial curriculum was to improve the results on achievement tests.
Some of the tasks undertaken to improve program delivery were more general. Just over two thirds of the schools were going to improve instructional strategies or direct professional development toward program delivery. Another strategy was tutoring, often in the form of paired reading, chosen by half of the schools. Five schools were going to involve parents, students, and/or community members in program delivery. More conventionally, seven schools planned to increase the amount of homework.
Table 16: School Tasks Directed Toward Professional Development
Type of Task | Number of Schools (30) |
Knowing the Provincial curriculum | 15 |
Program delivery skill | 15 |
Assessment skills | 6 |
Personal growth | 4 |
Formative evaluation - teacher/principal | 2 |
Activities for Parents | 6 |
Overall | 22 |
The bulk of these professional development activities were designed to support program delivery, which would be expected to increase short-term student achievement. However, program delivery and assessment skills provide a long-term benefit to both the teacher and the students. It is interesting that some schools identified professional development activities for parents. Most of the schools that did this planned to involve the parents directly in program delivery.
Table 17: School Tasks Directed Toward Student Skills
Type of skill | Number of Schools (30) |
Analysis - thinking/problems solving | 9 |
Pro-social (e.g. conflict resolution) | 5 |
Goal setting | 13 |
Testing | 2 |
Study and organization | 7 |
Attendance | 10 |
Overall | 23 |
These skills are of long term benefit to the students. While they will affect student achievement in the short run, they aren't directly related to acquiring knowledge of the curriculum. These are the core skills needed by a good student and a productive member of society. Study and organization, attendance, and testing, are the housekeeping skills. A student needs to know what to do, when to do it, and how to balance conflicting demands. Of course, students and staff need to attend, if learning is to take place. Tasks classified under attendance included increasing time on task as well as encouraging the physical presence of the students and staff. The analysis skills, critical thinking and problem solving, are part of the curriculum for most subjects. Over and above this, some schools wanted the students to recognize and develop analytic skills. The schools expected that the students would apply the analytic skills to all subjects and expand their use to non-academic situations, the most notable being: conflict resolution, goal setting, and pro-social skills. Also, a third of the schools identified teaching pro-social skills and conflict resolution as tasks to improve the health and safety of students and staff.
Table 18: School Tasks to Improve Achievement
Type of Task | Number of Schools (30) |
Recognition of student achievement | 13 |
Changing the school organization | 13 |
Follow-up/feedback on suggestions | 4 |
Health/safety/behaviour | 1 |
Overall | 23 |
These skills are of long term benefit to the students. While they will affect student achievement in the short run, they aren't directly related to acquiring knowledge of the curriculum. These are the core skills needed by a good student and a productive member of society. Study and organization, attendance, and testing, are the housekeeping skills. A student needs to know what to do, when to do it, and how to balance conflicting demands. Of course, students and staff need to attend, if learning is to take place. Tasks classified under attendance included increasing time on task as well as encouraging the physical presence of the students and staff. The analysis skills, critical thinking and problem solving, are part of the curriculum for most subjects. Over and above this, some schools wanted the students to recognize and develop analytic skills. The schools expected that the students would apply the analytic skills to all subjects and expand their use to non-academic situations, the most notable being: conflict resolution, goal setting, and pro-social skills. Also, a third of the schools identified teaching pro-social skills and conflict resolution as tasks to improve the health and safety of students and staff.