Students and teachers at Cowichan Valley Open Learning Cooperative, Cowichan Valley Distributed Learning and the Cowichan Adult Learning Centre in Cowichan Valley will benefit from innovative learning concepts being put into action thanks to 15 new K-12 Innovation Partnership projects announced today.

Cowichan Open Learning offers elementary and secondary distributed learning, adult and alternate education, and dual credit opportunities all on a single campus with shared staff.  Students will be encouraged to move seamlessly between these programs and offered a more flexible personalized learning environment to better support the diverse learning, social, and emotional needs of the student population.

This is just one example of the 32 Innovation Partnership projects now in place in public and independent schools throughout the province. In fall 2015, the first 17 programs were announced.

Selected projects reflect B.C.’s new K-12 curriculum and support teachers and students as they prepare for future success in our changing world. Other examples of new K-12 Innovation Partnership programs include opportunities for kids to:
 

• use technology to conduct self-directed scientific research
• partner with a local symphony orchestra to learn about Canadian history
• participate in enhanced STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) programs
• develop creative and critical thinking skills.

These projects reflect B.C.’s new K-12 curriculum by supporting teachers and students as they prepare for future success in our changing world. The curriculum provides a flexible and innovative plan to help B.C. students gain the knowledge and skills they need for the jobs of tomorrow.

Projects are selected by the Innovation Partnership Working Group (IPWG), a collaboration of education partners including the BC Teachers’ Federation, BC Schools Superintendents Association, BC Principals’ and Vice-Principals’ Association, the Federation of Independent School Associations of BC and the Ministry of Education.

Each project will receive $8,000 in financial support for teacher release time, research, and project expenses, plus there will be opportunities for project teams to collaborate with colleagues and explore how these innovative concepts could be adopted by other school districts.

The K-12 Innovation Partnership gives public and independent schools support to explore new programs and approaches to help students and teachers succeed.

For a list of new Innovation Partnership projects announced today, click here: http://ow.ly/XE08n

Details on projects announced fall 2015: http://ow.ly/XEqC2

Quotes:

Mike Bernier, Minister of Education –

“The world is changing and parents expect us to do everything possible to prepare their kids for future success. Innovation Partnership projects help us do that. It’s encouraging to see what is possible when education partners come together and focus on students. Schools, districts, teachers associations – they are all valuable collaborators. I’m looking forward to seeing these projects in action.”

Rod Allen, chair, Innovation Partnership Working Group –

“It is clear from all the applications that educators in B.C. are committed to providing students with an education that gives them opportunities to succeed. The goal of the partnership is to provide these schools with some support to innovate and share their success with the entire province. Our goal is to learn from these projects, evaluate their impact, and share information on those practices that have positive impacts on the teaching and learning environments. We will all benefit from these projects, and we look forward to working with each team.”

Quick Facts:

• The working group received 119 project proposals for the first two intakes of the Innovation Partnership.
• Proposals for the partnership were received from 43 school districts and 19 independent schools.
• The IPWG will be bringing teams from each project together twice during the year to discuss their innovations.
• The Innovation Partnership is a key component of the K-12 Innovation Strategy announced at the ‘BC’s Focus on Learning’ forum in January 2015.

Learn More:

Find out more about the K-12 Innovation Partnership: www.k12innovation.ca

B.C.’s New Curriculum: https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/