grade 9

In this episode, we are discussing the challenges and successes that we have experienced with  destreaming in our classrooms. Specifically, we'll chat about the new grade 9 English curriculum, continuing efforts with other destreaming program areas,  and how to best support teachers that are implementing destreaming.
 
If you like what you hear, we would love it if you could share this episode with a colleague or friend. And make sure you subscribe so that you don’t miss out on any new content! And consider supporting the show by buying us a coffee or two!

We would love to hear from you – leave a comment on our website OR check out our FLIPGRID!

Featured Content
**For detailed show notes, please visit our website at https://edugals.com/136**

• Challenges and experiences we have had with implementing destreaming in our schools, specifically in grade 9 English, science, and math
• The importance of providing support and resources for teachers during the implementation process 
• Challenges include lack of time and resources given to educators
• Need for additional support in grade 10 courses to ensure a smooth transition from destreaming to academic streams
• Additional pressures with teaching a new grade 11 curriculum (NBE course) 
• Other episodes on destreaming:
  • Getting Ready for Destreaming - E081
  • Destreaming Education: Our Two Cents - E048

Connect with EduGals:

• Twitter @EduGals
• Rachel @dr_r_johnson
• Katie @KatieAttwell
• EduGals Website
• Support the show

We made it to season 3!!! Hosts Becca and Robyn are back, and ready to find out who Emma Nelson's dad is. In this two-part episode, Spike is so pregnant she is about to pop! Everyone keeps making the assumption that Mr. Simpson is Emma's dad, and Emma is fed up with not knowing the truth about her biological father. Also, there's a dumb subplot about Spinner's locker scheme, but we're just going to ignore that. This episode of Trail Mix features the return of "2000 Oh No!" and a fan favorite segment: "Dream Cast!"

Trail Mix is back, and officially posting every Monday! Join Becca and Robyn as they share their thoughts on the on-again-off-again relationship between Ashley and Jimmy. Is Ashley too #deep and poetic for a guy like Jimmy? Could there be somebody else that she's more suited for.......? Meanwhile, JT and Toby embark on a condom shopping spree. What could go wrong?! This episode of Trail Mix features a brand new segment: "Character Cocktail", as well as the return of Becca's favorite segment: "Time Travel!"

Hey, wanna come over and have an awkward dinner with your girlfriends' parents? Sounds like Sean's worst nightmare! That's right, join Becca and Robyn as they watch Spike make Sean feel absolutely terrible about himself, causing him to cause a bit of a scene at Jimmy's party. Will this be the end of Sean and Emma (#Seamma)? Does Jimmy know where the broom is in his own house? (Probably not). Find out all of this and more in the newest episode of Trail Mix, which features fan-favorite segments such as "Song for the Star" and "Dream Cast!"

It's International Day at Degrassi High, and the ninth graders are exploring their cultures! Well, everyone except Hazel is, because she is ashamed of the fact that she was born in Somalia and that she is Muslim. Hazel goes to such great lengths to hide her secret that she bullies Fareeza, a fellow Muslim girl in her class. Meanwhile, Liberty discovers that JT is exceptional at sewing. This episode features the very first edition of a new segment "Random Boners with Spinner" as well as the return of a fan-favorite: "Dream Cast!"

In this episode, we are talking about how to get ready for destreaming. In Ontario, all grade 9 courses will be destreamed next year. This is top of our minds in thinking about our planning for the upcoming school year, so we're going to share our best tips, strategies, and ideas to get ready!
 
If you like what you hear, we would love it if you could share this episode with a colleague or friend. And make sure you subscribe so that you don’t miss out on any new content! And consider supporting the show by buying us a coffee or two!

We would love to hear from you – leave a comment on our website OR check out our FLIPGRID!

Featured Content
**For detailed show notes, please visit our website at https://edugals.com/81**

• Change can be scary and cause fear - we need time to "get used to this idea" and get excited to try new things
• Ontario's Policy Paper on Destreaming
• Grade 8 to Grade 9 is a big leap, so destreaming makes sense
• Start by revisiting your curriculum
• It's ok if initial implementation is not perfect, it takes time!
• Ideas:
  • Collaborate with others - reach out to colleagues, cross-panel connections, other schools, board contacts, Twitter
  • Go visit elementary classrooms if you can
  • TDSB Destreaming Resources
  • Use a menu of pedagogical choices to promote teacher autonomy (Modern Classrooms, Thinking Classrooms, UDL, Design Thinking, Gradeless/Ungrading practices, CRRP)
  • Learn strategies and pick a focus for next year
  • Incorporating student choice and voice in both content and assessment
  • Alternative assessment formats
  • Focus on descriptive feedback
  • Focus on skills and use the content as a vehicle to develop the skills
  • Class sizes are a real concern
  • Is any timing good timing? Probably not! Do your best and give yourself grace
• Resources:
  • Modern Classrooms Project
  • Book: Going Gradeless, Grades 6 - 12 by Elise Burns & David Frangiosa
  • Station-based learning - Edutopia and Hacking Learning Centers, Grades 6-12 by Starr Sackstein
  • Universal Design for Learning (UDL) - Katie Novak
  • Learning for All (Ont Ed Policy Doc)

Connect with EduGals:

• Twitter @EduGals
• Rachel @dr_r_johnson
• Katie @KatieAttwell
• EduGals Website
• Support the show

In Ontario, Canada, the Ministry of Education just announced a brand new math curriculum for grade 9 students as of September 2021. This new curriculum will have a focus on financial literacy, coding and much more real life application of math.

However, the controversial topics around this new curriculum is the fact that Ontario also plans to destream math. This means there will no longer be "Applied" and "Academic" math. For the longest time, all the strong students would be in the academic stream and the weaker students would be in the Applied stream. 

On this episode I invited Jason To, who is the Coordinator of Secondary Mathematics and Academic Pathways in the Toronto District School Board. Previous to this role, Jason was a math and science teacher at Westview Centennial Secondary School in Toronto for 13 years.

I ask Jason:

1. What does the new curriculum focus on? How is it different from the old?
2. Why are we eliminating streams?
3. How does a math teacher, teach math to a wide range of abilities now in a classroom?
4. His thoughts on Advanced Placement (AP)  and the International Baccalaureate (IB) program. Are these essentially streaming? Should they still be in place?

and much more!

You can follow Jason on Twitter at @Jason_To 

Instagram: @theteacherhotline
Facebook: @theteacherhotline
Twitter: @ronaldhae

Winter camping, an urban history scavenger hunt, and painting on the shore of Georgian Bay. These sorts of experiences are part of The York School’s unique Integrated Canadian Experience (ICE) Programme, an innovative combined study of Canadian history, geography, civics, and literature undertaken by all Grade 9 students. 

In this episode, Sara Gardner, an architect of ICE, shares how students uncover the story of Canada and its inhabitants by combining field research with classroom learning and developing observational, inquiry and communication skills. Reese Feldberg, an ICE alum, shares her experience as a student. And Andrea Lossing, Trip and Camp Curriculum Coordinator, talks about the other amazing experiential learning opportunities at York.

To see experiential learning in action, search the hashtag #Yorklearns on Twitter, follow @ICEGardner and follow @a_lossing. 

You can read more about the ICE Programme here, find Sara Gardner’s article about winter camping here, and watch a winter camping (2015) video here. And here's a link to the Grade 9 ICE Showcase from 2020. Links to different ICE documentaries can be found on The York School’s Vimeo page including B.C. 2019, Alberta 2019, Newfoundland 2018, and Killarney 2015. 

The 2018 International Service Trip to Global Pathways School in India offers another glimpse into experiential learning as does the 2017 Music Trip to Cuba.

Written and produced by Natasha Estey
Audio editing by Andrew Scott