Prince Rupert School District 52 has entered into its second week of distance teaching for educators and distance learning for students.
Learning is having an unprecedented education for itself as every school board, every school, every teacher and every student learns to navigate the distance learning journey due to COVID-19.
The results, of out-of-class learning however, can not currently be quantified as they are yet unknown.
What is known is that British Columbia’s Ministry of Education (MOE) is leaving it up to individual school districts to make decisions and to chart the course it feels best to navigate, with teachers still providing year-end assessments and report cards for their students. The expectation is for students to complete the work assigned and for teachers to assess it, the ministry said.
“Teachers will prepare year-end report cards for each student in June. Teachers will determine a final grade and assessments for each student based on the work completed to date,” Irene LaPierre, superintendent of Prince Rupert’s school district 52 said, “That’s the best we can do at this time.”
Assessment learning opportunities will happen over the next few months.
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“That part will continue because the teachers will be keeping track of who is participating, who is completing work and who is not … Teachers know who is doing what.”
The ministry said, in its Integrated Planning Framework for School Districts and Independent School Authorities publication, that teachers across the province are empowered to determine a final grade for children based on work completed to date and the assessment of participation in learning opportunities that will occur over the coming months.
“Teachers are expected to prepare report cards for their students for June. The evaluation of learning taking place after the suspension of in-class instruction should be in relation to a smaller selection of learning standards which students are able to complete at home,” the Ministry of Education said.
LaPierre said education outside of the classroom will take on various forms at each level a child is at, whether they are in primary, middle school or high school.
“It will look very different at each level with a wide variety of learning techniques being integrated into the new paths of home and school education,” LaPierre said.
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“Since many students may not have easy access to specific learning resources aligned to the curriculum, summative assessment should focus on the development of competencies and key literacy and numeracy skills, rather than mastery of specific content,” Ministry of Education said.
“There are a lot of different ways that the connection (between student and teacher) is happening…There is an expectation that there is work to be done, and the assessments will carry on,” LaPierre said.
K-J Millar | Journalist
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