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What are Best Practices

What are Best Educational Practices
How do you know that your effort is a best educational practice
Where can I find examples...
Why is there a need to provide a platform for best practices
How do I create a best practices
Can teachers work individually towards best practices
What is a learning circle
Areas of concern
How do I contribute towards a best practice

1. What are best educational practices?

Best practices are innovative, creative and effective approaches to teaching and learning that show evidence of improvement or success in a school or classroom.

2. How do you know that your effort is a "best practice"?

You can compare the results of that effort with:

Other teachers within your school.
Your previous efforts/performance or
The efforts of others within your school boards network of teachers, or even efforts of Guidance Oriented Approach to learning (GOAL) in similar organizations.

3. Where can I find examples of teachers' work that are considered as best practices of the GOAL program?

Some examples are:

Contact other schools within the school board and network with other teachers.

School to work transition programs.

Activity Sheets

Making connections of the subject to the outside world. Using your own experiences as examples.
Simulated business projects in classrooms e.g. students becoming a business: Entrepreneurship Contest.
Personal Education Plans.
Go to forum for best practices.

4. Why is there a need to provide a platform for best practices?

Every teacher embraces best practices in teaching and learning to some extent.

My Destiny provides a forum for these practices to be created and shared on the web in order to inspire teachers to continually think of innovative and creative approaches to cultivate a habit of lifelong learning.

5. How do interested teachers get started in creating best practices?

Best Practices start with specific concerns that teachers might have in key areas of teaching and learning. This can be followed by teachers asking themselves "How can the quality of teaching and learning be improved in my/our practice" in relation to a specific concern expressed.

This question will spark off a process of:
Inquiry, reflection, action, consolidation, and sharing based on the experiences and evidence to support the teachers' claim that the approach is innovative, creative and effective.

6. Can teachers work individually towards best practices?

Yes, but it would be better for teachers to pool their ideas and resources together in seeking out better ways to do things in teaching and learning.

Teachers can work towards best practices collaboratively through:

Work Improvement Teams (WITS) through The Learning Circles Approach

7. What are Learning Circles in GOAL about?

Purpose

Learning Circles in the Guidance Oriented Approach to Learning (GOAL) are small groups of 5 to 6 teachers who get together regularly to explore common concerns with the purpose of finding new and innovative ways to improve the quality of teaching and learning by infusing career/life skills into the classroom at all levels of education. Learning Circles are aimed at enhancing the personal and professional growth of teachers through the value-added changes that are made to their practices.

Values, Beliefs and Commitment

Members of Learning Circles:

Believe that they can take charge of their own professional development by being in a collaborative and supportive relationship;
Value their students and are concerned about their ability to achieve the expected outcomes of the QEP;
Find innovative ways to address those concerns through sharing and learning from each other, challenging assumptions, reflection and action;
Create professional knowledge that is shared so that the knowledge can benefit a wider community of teacher to improve teaching and learning in your school.

The Learning Circle Model

The Learning Circle concept for GOAL is based on the Action Research philosophy and approach adopted by the Teachers' Network in Singapore.

8. KEY AREAS OF CONCERN that could be raised by members

Teaching effectiveness - better understanding of concepts within the QEP, grades, attitude towards learning, teaching materials and acquisition of the key competencies;

Student management & discipline - better student behavior (punctuality, reduced disruptions in class, better attention span);

Use of information technology - effective use of IT to deliver the content of the QEP,

Curriculum and pedagogy innovation - interdisciplinary efforts using GOAL Pedagogic model or similar framework.

Assessment methodologies - use of alternative assessment tools - student portfolios and Personal Education Plans, checklists, peer assessment, student reflections.
Development of students through soft skills development - leadership skills, self-esteem, problem solving, team building activities, personal development.

9. How do I contribute towards best practices?

If you wish to share a thought, an idea or a teaching and learning approach that you have used that you think will help to improve student learning in the Western Quebec School Board, email or give me a call and I will put your idea on the web.

mydestiny@wqsb.qc.ca

Adapted from the Academy for Best Learning in Education, Singapore