The Indian Creek Difference

We went to visit Indian Creek School in Chatham Ontario, this is a very progressive school that would alarm many traditionalists but was like a breathe of fresh air to me.  We were supposed to go there to see Minecraft lessons and samples from the staff.  What happened instead was much more valuable than lessons on Minecraft, what we witnessed was an incredible student focused school.  We learned about the norms and beliefs of the school community while going on a tour with principal Chris Moore and teachers Mr. Pattison and Mr. Aspinall.

The first hint that this school was different was when Principal Chris Moore showed our group that he had taken down the prominently displayed pictures of former principals and replaced them with current pictures of Grade 8 leaders in the school.  What this showed is that student's are placed front and centre and showed a focus on the people who are learning in the building now.  We were told that many students in Grade 7 now aspire to positions of leadership and want their pictures on the wall for a year.  What a way to instill a sense of ownership in the students.

  Another student focused thing that they do is that they minimize the amount of grades given and instead they focus on giving feedback.  A student is given at least a few feedback sessions before a student is considered done an assignment, the student receives their letter grade at the reporting period and not before.  The teachers are finding that the students make more gains under this system because the continual feedback loop keeps the students interested in learning and not just going for marks.  They have compared the new system to the old system over a number of years and have found the students are doing better with less grades and more feedback.  The kids actually improve over time because they learn how to be better learners, it is not important when the students learn but if they learn.  There is not a bonus for learning the material quickly.



One other cool thing that they do at this school is that they allow the students access to more of the building than I have ever seen.  There were students everywhere and they were well behaved.  They were working on green screens, they were working on building model playgrounds and they were quietly working on i-pads in the  French room.  The students work on passion projects and projects that they propose to their teachers.  In this way, the vast majority of the students really thrive  because they are so immersed in what they are doing!


I could add much more to this post but I won't, what I will say is that I was really impressed and here are a few takeaways:


1. This environment took 6 years to build
2. Student voice and a love for students was crucial for their success
3. Technology is big but the pedagogy behind the tech is bigger
4. We have always done it this way are dangerous words
5. Pay for your tech use by reducing other costs like photocopying and printing
6. Let your staff make mistakes without penalty- keep improving
7. Feedback can be oral too
8. Students who work on their passions are more likely to learn and less likely to misbehave

Thanks to the Indian Creek Family for the tour and keep up the great work!