TEACHING and Learning
At Crofton House , teachers have a unique opportunity to contribute to the teaching profession in a meaningful way — through three-year , funded research positions . Research has been ongoing in various departments since 2018 , with new Research Chairs of Teaching and Learning selected each year . Here ’ s a review of what the most recent five Chairs are working on .
2020 – 2023 : CAT SPINNEY , ASSISTANT DEPARTMENT HEAD , SCIENCE , SENIOR SCHOOL
Ms Spinney is studying formative assessment , which allows students to use varying levels of support . In particular , she has implemented a “ sticky notes ” system in Chemistry 11 , AP Chemistry and Chemistry 12 assessments . The process encourages and supports students to ask individual questions — which , most often , are simple clarifications — rather than students not asking any questions , feeling the pressure to ask questions or even leaving answers blank .
While her research is ongoing , Ms Spinney has some initial positive findings . “ This simple little thing seems to alleviate a lot of test anxiety for a number of girls ,” she explained . “ Some girls also have said that the act of writing down their question refocuses them on the task that they ’ re being asked to complete on the test . Often , slowing down and thinking about the task is all that ’ s needed .” Another benefit is an increased confidence in the ability to ask questions .
If her research feedback and results continue to trend positively , Ms Spinney hopes to have similar support implemented across the Science department in the coming years .
2019 – 2022 : CHRIS GRIFFITH , TEACHER , SOCIAL STUDIES , SENIOR SCHOOL
Mr Griffith investigated the concept of democracy in education , intending to help teachers successfully transition towards more democratic classrooms . He studied new feedback loops for students to share comments , ideas and questions about their classroom experiences , in an effort to support educators ’ ongoing professional development . In creating those feedback processes , Senior School students acted as researchers themselves , which gave them greater interpersonal awareness when it came to the student body .
“ It ’ s more empowering for students and more transparent , which , I think , is a key issue around information-gathering and knowledge production ,” Mr Griffith explained of student involvement and engagement in the feedback process .
He has presented his findings in a research paper , at professional development events for CHS teachers , and at the May 2022 conference of the Canadian Society for the Study of Education ( part of the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences .)
2019 – 2022 : DIMITRI KOROL , ASSISTANT DEPARTMENT HEAD , LANGUAGES , SENIOR SCHOOL
In his research , Mr Korol aims to support teachers in making subject-specific literacy objectives explicit for their students . He is not conducting his research within the Languages department itself — as the building blocks of language are already taught in those classes — but in collaboration with members of other departments , including the Math department and the English department , where the basics are interwoven into topics and are more nuanced .
“ I worked with the English department to identify the key structures and essential foundational skills that students need to acquire in Grade 8 , making sure that we put enough emphasis on , and allocate enough time to , those structures so students would then do better in higher grades ,” he said .
Mr Korol is now developing a structure to assess Grade 9 student comfort with identified fundamental and mechanical aspects of English . The active research portion of his work in the fall of the 2022 – 2023 school year will use this assessment tool to determine the effectiveness of the objectives developed .
2018 – 2021 : QUINN CUMMING , TEACHER , PHYSICAL & HEALTH EDUCATION , SENIOR SCHOOL
Ms Cumming considered grit , its appearance in adolescent females and how it can be affected by outdoor adventure in her research .
In the 2018 – 2019 school year , Ms Cumming worked with the Outdoor Education ( OE ) staff to study a group of 35 students . She explored their grit before and after an OE trip , to determine the influence of social environments on development of grit and to determine the students ’ feelings about their goals and growth .
44