Inspired by the joy that filled a room of adult learners during the CBE summer literacy sessions, I knew the monsters would make their way into my classroom. And so, the first day of school with my grade six students began with a picture book and monster comic strips.​

I led students through the process of drawing lines and shapes and watched and listened as they joyfully created their own monsters. They wrote a list of five things they were excited about and five things they were nervous about for grade six. Items from these lists then became captions for their monsters. During a silent gallery walk, students starred any monsters whose captions echoed their own sources of excitement and anxiety. In reflecting afterwards, students learned that they were not alone in their feelings. A sense of belonging emerged; we had made connections within our first hour together.

The surprise for me came when I read through their lists and admired their monsters. I understood things about them that would normally take me days or weeks to learn. I knew who was hesitant about math or writing, who was worried about finding friends or being bullied and who was nervous about report cards and P.A.T.s. I knew what they perceived to be their strengths and also what their passions were. I realized that joyful literacy not only engages the hearts and minds of my students, it also brings us together in community and helps us come to know one another.

In my role as Specialist, I had an opportunity to help Copperfield School use their Learning Commons for the first time. Planning conversations with the staff centered around questions like “What are the mindsets we want students to have when they work in this space?” “How might we begin to teach students the process of design thinking?”  The grade fours opened by talking about how cool it was to be in a brand new school and that they were the first kids to use this bright, open space.
 
We read The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires to introduce students to the idea of learning from failure and prototyping. We moved into an interview for empathy as students began to design the Most Magnificent Thing for a friend.

After asking questions, students ideated by drawing a few different design plans of how they could make their friend’s favourite thing to do even BETTER.

During a feedback protocol, they shared design plans, listened carefully and adjusted ideas based on feedback

Moving to rapid prototyping, students used low tech materials to put thought to form. We made a very creative mess!

When students shared their creation with their partner, some of the feedback was that they felt special, honoured and surprised at the effort that went into designing something to help a friend.  An engaging 90 minute experience helped give students some important mindsets that will help determine how they interact together and use the Learning Commons. I felt special and honoured to be a part of the group.


Stephanie Bartlett, learner, teacher, CBE Specialist…always working towards outcome unknown.
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 I  Love Science. Harry Potter nerd extraordinaire. Love performing arts&reporting about cool events in YYC.
Learning about our brain is fascinating. That's what I'm learning in Science now. Our brain is the most complex organ in our body. Science is awesome and one day I want to be a scientist. 

Thank you,
Alexia S
@jr_reporteryyc Grade 6 student.

​Having attended Shift Lab at the Telus Spark this summer we decided to use the design thinking process (DTP) to have our grade 3 students design their own learning space instead of setting it up ourselves. This was a leap for both of us (one more than the other) as we like to be organized. We were comfortably uncomfortable!

​When we work within a large school board such as the Calgary Board of Education, it can be challenging to see how we are all connected. As I begin this school year, outside of the classroom, I feel privileged to be able to learn with many amazing educators. I am curious about how to support our collective impact and what becomes possible when we make our work visible to each other.
 
As part of professional learning at CBE’s summer literacy sessions and at various schools, I had many opportunities to dialogue with colleagues and consider:  How are we designing learning spaces to amplify literacy learning? Using loose parts teachers explored the ‘Cave, Campfire, and Watering Hole Theory’ to prototype classroom spaces and engage in conversation about how we might use space to impact student learning. 

​At Fish Creek School, teams of teachers wandered through classrooms as they discussed what they were willing to let go of to make room for new ideas. Some teachers reimagined the allocation of their space to increase student real estate and decrease ‘teacher only’ space. Spaces to come together as a large group, or ‘campfires’, were moved from the traditional Smartboard location to include new focal points such as book collections or Wonder Windows.

​With the return of students to classrooms, I read tweets where students shared their ideas about what they needed their classroom spaces to include. Giving our students’ voice and choice in their learning is an important component of personalized learning. 

​I admit, I was a Twitter fan before but now I am even more convinced of the power this tool has to connect learners and make thinking visible. What did I learn today? I learned that while I cannot always see the continuation and impact of professional learning face-to-face, digital spaces offer great opportunities to build community, invite collaboration, and accelerate our collective impact.
 
@HeatherMMckay – Learner, Teacher, CBE Specialist (K-12 Literacy Strategy)
I’m wondering how might 'Everything I need to know... I learned in Kindergarten' bring more joy to all classrooms?