alberta education homework help

alberta education homework help

Effective Strategies for Supporting Student Learning in Alberta Education: A Comprehensive Guide for Parents and Educators

1. Introduction to the Alberta Education Curriculum and Expectations

In order to effectively support student learning, it is important for parents and educators to understand the expectations outlined in this document. We believe that every child has the potential to succeed and many factors influencing student success; parents (guardians, caregivers) and educators are two groups that play an important role in student development, helping to provide personalized learning and mentorship. The purpose of this news is to help you understand Alberta’s new curriculum, specifically, the general and specific competencies outlined in all programs of study. You should look for sections in the Programs of Study that contain the words “general competencies” and “specific competencies” to find an indication of which personal and social aspects of your students’ education are valued. These valued student competencies (self-confidence, perseverance, reflection, presentation, leadership, innovation, and personal health choices) are outlined in depth in the “Comprehensive Competency” section.

The goal of Alberta’s curriculum is to design a student-learning system that inspires every student to achieve success as compassionate, engaged thinkers who contribute to the welfare of their local and global communities. This vision invites students to take increasing responsibility for their own learning and personal development, learning to know and understand new concepts and insights; learning to do complex tasks and demonstrate that learning in a variety of ways; and applying learning in their lives and the lives of others. The new curriculum will consist of three elements: general and specific learner competencies, critical features, and short-duration and long-duration courses. All aspects of the curriculum will be essential to fulfilling Alberta’s vision of students who can achieve success.

2. Key Components of Student Success in Alberta Education

In the co-authored report entitled, Providing Education: Competencies for Supporting Student Health and Well-being in Alberta Schools, one of the major takeaways was the importance of investing in wraparound support for student well-being. This work gives voice to six areas where efforts to improve a student’s ability to learn and to keep themselves and others safe and healthy focus on supports for their social and emotional competencies. Bringing this together, the following include key components of the Alberta context and dimensions of student success and efforts that enhance student well-being and academic performance.

When considering how to best support students as they engage in their preservice journey within Alberta Education, it is important to consider the multifaceted components that contribute to student success. There are a variety of elements that significantly contribute to student academic achievement and personal well-being that resonate within the Alberta context and beyond. Furthermore, there are multiple stakeholders who play a critical role in supporting student success within our education system. For that reason, the information presented in the following pages has been intentionally developed in such a way as to support multiple stakeholders working with children and youth in and out of the classroom. This guide pays particular consideration to two major stakeholders: parents and educators.

3. Practical Tips and Resources for Parents to Support Student Learning

Parents of teens can support their learning by: structuring time that allows them to prepare for and study outside of school; communicating your interest in their education and asking for their ideas and opinions; talking to them about their hopes, dreams, and plans for the future. Resources to support your junior or high school child in their curriculum are listed by subject areas. Here are a few activities for: Math, Social Studies, Science, English, Art, Music, and Phys Ed. There are a number of teen unit study guides that use the Alberta Articulated (Program of Studies) to plan a unit of study in seven different subject areas. Unit studies are a fantastic way to increase student learning by crossing the curriculum and getting children to integrate knowledge and skills. This is very important to an education that follows the principles of working with and being inclusive of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit (FNMI) ways of knowing and learning.

Create conducive learning environments at home that provide your student with the resources, people, and atmosphere they need in order to learn. Read this tip and parent questions. Engage in learning activities with your student at home or support their interests and learning growth experiences outside of school. Here you will find: Tips to Engage in Activities with your student, Tips to Teach from the Heart, Resources to Support an Activity, or Praise and Encouragement Tool for parents to Boost a Growth Mindset. This Activity Guide is rich with resources and ideas to enhance learning experiences. They can be done as stand-alone activities, grouped together to form a longer learning session, or just to give you and your children something fun and purposeful to do. The guide is based on the Welcoming, Caring, Respectful and Safe Learning Environments Guide introduced by Alberta Education as part of the provincial initiative to integrate education relating to First Nations, Métis and Inuit (FNMI) into all education programs. It can be used by all children from kindergarten to grade six.

These are a few tips for ways that parents can support children’s learning while attending school in more challenging times. If you are reading this as a parent, grandparent, guardian, or foster parent of a student in Alberta schools, we think you will find them helpful. If you are a teacher or school leader, you may want to pass along one or more of these tips to the parents of your students.

Practical tips and resources for parents

4. Collaborative Approaches Between Educators and Parents to Enhance Student Achievement

Lifting the spirit and motivation of students; extending, deepening, and reinforcing learning; enhancing a sense of parental understanding; providing support for students experiencing struggles; providing support for students working to reach the challenge level; creating opportunities for sharing of ideas. With parents and educators in partnership, there are endless ways to bolster learning opportunities for all students. The following bright spots provide examples of positive practices that support the connection between educators and parents, through which student learning can be enhanced.

For educators and parents alike, building a strong partnership is possible through the use of the varied suggestions offered. Both educators and parents have a number of benefits to gain from collaborative efforts, including the following: Parents – support, guidance, subject knowledge, empathy, discussion, and understanding; Educators – consistency, reflection, attendance, judgment, response, and understanding. Additionally, through collaboration, educators and parents can expect the academic achievement levels of students to increase, with conflicts decreasing as a result.

Collaboration between educators and parents is known to result in positive changes that ultimately benefit student achievement. This section of the guide highlights strategies and approaches educators can use when dealing with parents to help build relationships that will, in turn, support learning. Some options, meanwhile, have been included to support parents in overseeing the academic development of their children.

5. Addressing Common Challenges and Providing Solutions in Student Learning

Some parents are not included in their children’s educational experiences. If something is happening in the school, they do not know what it is and how it affects their child. These parents are generally very specific as to what the school should be teaching and what classrooms need to do. Some of these parents also feel that teachers have it easy, especially teachers who work in small schools. These parents often do not support the work that the teacher is doing.

Some of the resources offer more detailed teacher-friendly information on specific student challenges for learning such as attention, concentration, and memory; aggressive behavior and conflict resolution; anxiety; asthma; autism; avoidance behavior; chronic health conditions; creating a welcoming and inclusive environment; diabetes; eating disorders; epilepsy; forgetfulness and inattentiveness; learning and attentional problems; and medication. Every case study includes a teacher hint, with specific strategies on working with the student and partnering with the parent that educators can try in their classrooms today to improve the success rate of our diverse student population.

This section of Effective Strategies provides solutions to the most frequently reported challenges in addressing student barriers to learning. The strategies and resources are evidence-informed, include case studies from Alberta schools, and are developed for teachers, school leadership, and parents, showing how parents can be effectively engaged as partners in student success. The strategies cover how teachers can use assessment for learning to support students based on individual student needs and barriers to learning.

Section 5: Addressing Common Challenges and Solutions for Teachers, Educational Assistants, and Parents in Student Learning