Teacher Inquiry and Innovation

       I just had the opportunity and privilege to work with our teachers and DECEs last week during our first set of PLCs (Professional Learning Communities). During these meetings our Tay Shores Educational Team came up with our vision of what a "School of Inquiry, Innovation and Impact" should look like. It was wonderful to see our entire team collaborating, communicating and creating a real 'vision' for this school.
       Once we came to some common understandings of where we want to take this school, our team then started to brainstorm 'inquiry' questions that would lead to 'innovation' in the classroom. We are looking at some of the common teaching practices that we engage in on a daily basis and inquiring how we can innovate those practices, using the abundance of technology at our school, to better prepare our students for a world of the 6 C's (collaboration, communication, creation, critical thinking, citizenship and character).
       We now have multiple inquiry or research projects happening at our school. Teachers are committed to try to innovate one teaching practice in their classroom, which will help develop those 6 C skills. Please be on the lookout for greater and more effective use of technology in the next few weeks, as our teachers (and ultimately our students) play with these concepts.
       I can't wait to see what comes out these projects, both from the teacher and the student side of things. It's an exciting time to be in education!