This pandemic has turned the world upside down and education has endured some tremendous pivots. Notable among many was the shift to online, or ‘remote’ learning. Despite the issues with digital equity in Manitoba, some primary, many secondary and most post-secondary institutions have utilized a combination of online classes and asynchronous tasks to run courses since last spring. With less face-time and a shift in learning ownership, teachers have really had to reimagine their classroom.
Another focus for the remote learning centre is wellness. Mental illness and suicide are more prevalent among teens and youth today than ever. (Read more staggering stats on mental illness and youth.) Many youth today require support with emotional awareness/regulation and struggle with depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts. The remote learning centre is using the Project 11 curriculum to support mental health and well-being. Developed by the True North Youth Foundation, Project 11 is a classroom-ready K-8 mental health curriculum with lessons and learning materials available at no cost to Manitoba teachers.
It seems as if the province is really onto something here. With a new vision for education and a forward-thinker like Andrew Mead heading up the centre … this might be switch-up Manitoba Education needs.
Sources
Last week in #I4Ed, we spoke with Andrew Mead, Principal of the Manitoba Remote Learning Support Centre, recently established by the province to provide resources for classroom teachers and support to virtual learners. Also a guest on Professor Nantais’s podcast, Dial I.T. Up, Mead highlighted the essence of education: social/emotional wellness and learning.
During the school closures last spring, Mead recognized a transformation in student learning where teachers and students were focused on collaboration and improving student products; no longer was everyone dwelling on tests and final grades. This change in perspective is consistent among twenty-first century education strategists and objectives of the hidden curriculum.
As trained educators, we are familiar with the Manitoba curriculum, but have you heard of hidden curriculum? This idea came up for me last fall in Instructional Methods with Krista McDivitt. Then these recurring themes continued popping up: critical thinking, creating, making connections … turns out, there’s a name for that too.
The 6 C’s of Education, first introduced by Brian Miller, refers to essential twenty-first century skills to prepare students for the jobs of tomorrow - critical thinking, collaboration, communication, creativity, citizenship/culture and character education. Industry has changed and the education model is due to adapt. These themes, for me, shape the how and why for my planning and teaching instruction.
During the school closures last spring, Mead recognized a transformation in student learning where teachers and students were focused on collaboration and improving student products; no longer was everyone dwelling on tests and final grades. This change in perspective is consistent among twenty-first century education strategists and objectives of the hidden curriculum.
As trained educators, we are familiar with the Manitoba curriculum, but have you heard of hidden curriculum? This idea came up for me last fall in Instructional Methods with Krista McDivitt. Then these recurring themes continued popping up: critical thinking, creating, making connections … turns out, there’s a name for that too.
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| The 6 C’s of Education. Photo Credit: Michael Fullan & Sylvia Duckworth |
The 6 C’s of Education, first introduced by Brian Miller, refers to essential twenty-first century skills to prepare students for the jobs of tomorrow - critical thinking, collaboration, communication, creativity, citizenship/culture and character education. Industry has changed and the education model is due to adapt. These themes, for me, shape the how and why for my planning and teaching instruction.
In our Q&A with Andrew Mead, he shared the guiding themes at the Remote Learning Centre - community, efficacy and autonomy. The support centre has centralized content experts available to Manitoba teachers and hosts a growing online repository of K-8 learning resources and strategies.
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| Source: https://www.nhl.com/jets/community/community-assist/mental-health |
Another focus for the remote learning centre is wellness. Mental illness and suicide are more prevalent among teens and youth today than ever. (Read more staggering stats on mental illness and youth.) Many youth today require support with emotional awareness/regulation and struggle with depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts. The remote learning centre is using the Project 11 curriculum to support mental health and well-being. Developed by the True North Youth Foundation, Project 11 is a classroom-ready K-8 mental health curriculum with lessons and learning materials available at no cost to Manitoba teachers.
It seems as if the province is really onto something here. With a new vision for education and a forward-thinker like Andrew Mead heading up the centre … this might be switch-up Manitoba Education needs.
Sources
Wonderful and informative blog post! I love the visuals you are using, but more so I love how you elaborate on the content we have learned in class. I love the inclusion of the 6 C’s of Education, the podcast, and Project 11, but also how you highlight the importance of mental health in today’s classrooms - especially throughout the pandemic and remote learning. I’ll be bookmarking and checking out these sources, for sure!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your thoughtful words, Martina!
DeleteHi Deanne!
ReplyDeleteI really like how you touched on the use of Project 11 and the importance of mental health. I also enjoyed the reminder of the 6 C's of education. The visual you provided made it that much easier to understand the topic as well.
Thanks for also providing some very useful sources at the end of your post!
Matt