The problem that I would like to solve involves my math class. I teach a grade 6/7 class at one of the top performing schools in Burnaby. During math class every morning, I platoon with the other grade 6/7 teacher. The problem is, we both have a large number of grade sixes and I am responsible for all 34 of them for an hour every morning. Many of the students are performing at grade level, but more than a couple are not. Furthermore, there are several who could be advancing much faster if I could find a way to allow them to progress at their own pace. I would like to adopt a blended learning program to allow for more personalized instruction however this is also problematic as we have approximately 20 reliable easily accessible computers that must be shared between six hundred students.
It is this final wrinkle that elevates this problem from something that a lightweight team could handle into something requiring a heavy weight team. Our school needs more computers. We actually have the machines themselves, so more accurately- we need electricity and DSL cables run to our large open pods and we need desks and chairs so students can work at them.
For this reason, I am going to want a couple of people from the Board Office on my team to get this project up and running- not to mention at least one electrician and a computer technician. My principal will lead the team as ultimately it is his school and he is responsible. We will want to assemble the group of teachers who are directly affected by the installation- those that currently use the pod for exercises. As well as the members of the tech committee- which is a lot of the same people, plus our librarian.
Together we can create procedures that will allow us to use the equipment fairly and come to some sort of understanding with regard to shared expectations. It would probably also be beneficial to discuss procedures for when students fail to meet our established expectations (i.e. what are the consequences when a child starts looking at pornography).
All of this is currently in process at my school, though my principal has delegated the pestering of the board office to our head teacher (who is like a vice principal). I am hopeful to have the new machines up and running before Christmas but in the most recent update the board was dragging its feet getting desks so it’s hard to say when it will happen.
It is this final wrinkle that elevates this problem from something that a lightweight team could handle into something requiring a heavy weight team. Our school needs more computers. We actually have the machines themselves, so more accurately- we need electricity and DSL cables run to our large open pods and we need desks and chairs so students can work at them.
For this reason, I am going to want a couple of people from the Board Office on my team to get this project up and running- not to mention at least one electrician and a computer technician. My principal will lead the team as ultimately it is his school and he is responsible. We will want to assemble the group of teachers who are directly affected by the installation- those that currently use the pod for exercises. As well as the members of the tech committee- which is a lot of the same people, plus our librarian.
Together we can create procedures that will allow us to use the equipment fairly and come to some sort of understanding with regard to shared expectations. It would probably also be beneficial to discuss procedures for when students fail to meet our established expectations (i.e. what are the consequences when a child starts looking at pornography).
All of this is currently in process at my school, though my principal has delegated the pestering of the board office to our head teacher (who is like a vice principal). I am hopeful to have the new machines up and running before Christmas but in the most recent update the board was dragging its feet getting desks so it’s hard to say when it will happen.