What does success look like?                                                           

What does success look like? This is a big question, that covers many big areas, and requires a big answer! We (Alice Meurice from Victoria Avenue School - new ASL and Melody Liu from Meadowbank School- newish ASL) have taken on the responsibility to try to uncover the layers to this big task. 

In our first initiative meeting, each school shared the area of focus and their goal for the end of the year. There were similarities and differences, and it generated interesting conversations. 6 main themes came out of the discussions and they will be used as a way to evaluate our progress throughout the year. 

1. Teacher success

Knowledgeable teachers use effective practice with specific targeted groups to promote success

2. Teacher success

Teachers to develop and enhance their pedagogy in terms of what success means and looks like

3. Student success

Students develop tools and strategies to feel successful in their learning and understand what success is to them 

4. Student success

Students have a growth mindset to change their attitude that results in improved student outcomes

5. Progressions

Students have agency over their learning, know where they have come from and where they are going

6. Environment

The learning environment is conducive to promote self-efficacy and success

To start our meeting at VAS and to get our brains buzzing, an ISL from MBS led a brilliant math warm up activity. We know a few of us will be taking this back to use in our own classrooms! If you want to find out what is was then have a look here!

In our second initiative meeting, each school created an action plan for the term based on their evaluation of the 6 themes. Many of them included gathering student voices as part of their action plan, as we suspect that teacher and student mindsets have a great influence in a child’s view on what success is, what it looks like to them, and whether they’ve been successful in one’s own learning journey. We look forward to sharing some of our findings, trends, and next steps with you all.

For now, we think we’ve taken a successful first step in our ASL role, don’t you?!