A number of parents from Tuc-el-Nuit Elementary School believe the Team Inquiry Model (TIM) is working.
“Parents were very impressed about the progress our teachers and administration staff are making towards meeting their inquiry question goals,” said Karen Somerville, president of the Parents Advisory Council.
Somerville made this comment following the council’s annual general meeting last week.
Under the TIM, students are let out of school early once a month so that teachers can meet and collaborate on improving academic results.
Somerville said it’s interesting to see how student success is being tracked.
“Dave (principal Foster) is extremely passionate about TIM which has likely helped with enrolling his staff in the process.”
Somerville said the team at Tuc-el-Nuit has identified the need to place more focus on teaching basic math facts (drills, memorization, multiplication, etc.).
“We’re already seeing positive results in our child’s math abilities and confidence,” she said.
Foster said they are waiting on TIM results in June based on reading, writing and numeracy assessment and report card data.
“I will be updating the document at that time.”
Under Tuc-el-Nuit’s TIM process, local educators asked: What strategies will we implement so that 90 per cent of kindergarten and Grade 1 students will be fully meeting expectations in reading? And will explicit teaching of basic math facts and calculations allow all students to achieve improved results in numeracy?
The document brings up some very interesting but not surprising assessments in the early reading category. For example:
Too many electronic distractions and not enough adult-student interaction and communication.
Parents aren’t spending enough time playing word games, singing or reading with their children.
No more “100 bottles of beer on the wall” or “Down by the Bay” songs on car rides.
Poor articulation and a lack of oral language skills due to limited communication between children and adults.
Television programs are more violent, grammatically incorrect or time fillers as opposed to more educational programs of the past, such as Sesame Street, Polka Dot Door, Mr. Dress Up and the Friendly Giant.
Push to early reading is causing more stress and anxiety in students. In Finland, students don’t start formal reading instruction until eight years old, and they are one of the highest academic achieving countries in the world.
Lyonel Doherty
Oliver Chronicle
