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ACHIEVING COHESION


Are you looking to create a cohesive teaching culture at your school? Educational frameworks are the answer! The Canadian Oxford Dictionary defines a framework as “an essential supporting structure or a basic system.” At a school, a framework is the most essential supporting educational structure, and when designed correctly, it becomes the foundation upon which everything else is built. An educational framework is not a copy paste from another school; it is something which is custom designed and tailor made. Its design is the direct representation of a school’s vision, philosophy, values, curriculums, and student needs, and when implemented, turns your vision into reality.

Our Process

1. Listen & Learn: We take the time to learn everything about your school and your needs.

2. Develop a Plan of Action: We work with you to create a customized educational framework and accompanying individualized planners.

3. Implementation: We help you implement your school's educational framework and planners through staff training.

4. Follow-up: As we all know, a school's situation can change from year to year - additional classes, adding split-classes etc., therefore we assist with yearly revisions to your school's educational framework and planners to meet your evolving needs.

Our Work

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPTIONS

Frameworks
Planners
Frameworks
We are happy to design and help implement your school's educational framework, or if you prefer to design your own, we can offer training and guidance. Below are our available options, how you wish to proceed is up to you!

A. We Design

Target Audience
  • All Staff
Objective
  • We develop a customized educational framework at any level - Early Years, Primary Years, Middle School, High School or all of the above.
Benefits
  • ​The framework will provide a bird’s eye view of the curriculums at the school.​
  • Specialist classes will be linked to the rest of the school. 
  • The framework will link the school from Early Years to High School.
  • Any new teachers arriving at the school will be able to plug-in immediately.
  • The school teaching culture will be cohesive.
  • Student learning will be impacted as connections are made between all classes.
Time Frame
  • Dependent on size of school and scope of work.
Basic Package
  • Consultation – What is the school’s vision? Values? Philosophy?
  • Developing the whole school educational framework.
  • Handbooks/teacher training manuals
  • Accompanying individualized unit and lesson planners
  • Timetable recommendations
Add-ons
  • Teacher training: whole school (half or full-day)
  • Teacher training: separate departments – 1 or 2 hour sessions with each department
  • Follow-up visits with administrator and coordinators
  • Enhancing the impact of your school's educational framework
  • Planners for reflection and personal growth
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Further Reading

B. Learn How

Target Audience
  • Administrators/Coordinators
Objective
  • Learn how to develop a whole school framework at any level - Early Years, Primary Years, Middle School, High School or all of the above.
Benefits
  • ​The framework will provide a bird’s eye view of the curriculums at the school.
  • Specialist classes will be linked to the rest of the school. 
  • The framework will link the school from Early Years to High School.
  • Any new teachers arriving at the school will be able to plug-in immediately.
  • The school teaching culture will be cohesive.
  • Student learning will be impacted as connections are made between all classes.
Time Frame
  • Full day with the option of follow-ups.
Basic Package
  • Consultation – What is the school’s vision? Values? Philosophy?
  • Learn how to design and implement an educational framework for your school
  • Learn how to develop individualized planners to support your framework
Add-ons
  • ​Timetabling recommendations
  • Enhancing the impact of your school's educational framework
  • Planners for reflection and personal growth
Further Reading
Planners
For schools who are not interested in an educational framework, but would like to learn more about designing personalized planners (explore sample planners) for staff and/or students, the following options are available:

A. Linking Planners: The Jigsaw Method

Target Audience
  • Administrators/Coordinators
Objective
  • Learn how to design and link teacher planners using the Jigsaw Method.
Choose the Jigsaw Method
  • if you want to create a strong cohesive teaching culture.
  • if you are interested in providing staff with individualized planners dependent on subject area.
  • if you are open to allowing teachers to pre-plan units to a certain extent, for example, a school following the International Primary Curriculum (IPC). If a mainstream planner can be completed a few weeks prior to commencing a new unit, then specialists will have the time to plug in their unit plans to better support them.
Time Frame
  • Half day or full day with the option of follow-ups.
Basic Package
  • Consultation – What is the school’s vision? Values? Philosophy?
  • Planner recommendations
  • Design tips and tools
Add-ons
Further Reading

B. Linking Planners: The Symbiotic Method

Target Audience
  • Administrators/Coordinators
Objective
Choose the Symbiotic Method
  • if you are looking for absolute fluidity and movement amongst staff and/or between staff and students
  • if you are looking to integrate an idea as a whole, such as instilling certain concepts or values like empathy, resilience, etc.
  • if you aren’t looking to connect everyone, just certain staff members, or only certain subject areas
  • if certain teachers (or all) want a better way to connect with their students and improve learning in their classrooms
Time Frame
  • Half day or full day with the option of follow-ups.
Basic Package
  • Consultation – What is the school’s vision? Values? Philosophy?
  • Planner recommendations
  • Design tips and tools
Add-ons
Further Reading

C. Designing Planners for Classroom Setup

Target Audience
  • Administrators/Coordinators
Objective
  • Learn how to develop planners that will ensure consistent classroom setup at your school.
Benefits
  • Classrooms at your school will have a cohesive look and feel.
Time Frame
  • Half day or full day with the option of follow-ups.
Basic Package
  • Consultation – What is the school’s vision? Values? Philosophy?
  • Planner recommendations
  • Design tips and tools
Add-ons
  • ​Mentoring staff through the use of planners
Further Reading

D. Designing Personalized Planners

Target Audience
  • Administrators/Coordinators
Objective
  • Learn how to develop individualized planners for your staff
  • Planners designed in this in-service do not need to link together or tie into a framework.
Benefits of Personalized Planners
  • They allow for differentiation between mainstream, specialist and learning support staff
  • They take into account whether a teacher has a split-level or multi-level class
  • Personalized planners encourage professional growth and development
  • Individualized planners allow for staff to learn and grow at their own pace
Time Frame
  • Half day or full day with the option of follow-ups.
Basic Package
  • Consultation – What is the school’s vision? Values? Philosophy?
  • Planner recommendations
  • Design tips and tools
Add-ons
  • ​Mentoring staff through the use of planners
  • Designing planners as a learning tool for students
Further Reading

E. Designing Planners for a Program at Your School

Target Audience
  • Administrators/Coordinators
Objective
  • Learn how to develop planners for a specific program (guided reading, P.E. etc. ) at your school.
Benefits
  • Consistency in how the program is run
  • Teachers will work together as team
Time Frame
  • Half day or full day with the option of follow-ups.
Basic Package
  • Consultation – What is the school’s vision? Values? Philosophy?
  • Planner recommendations
  • Design tips and tools
Add-ons
  • ​Designing planners for multiple programs
Further Reading