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Jewish Community in SoHo
No full textThis tour features three stories about important personal events from members of London’s Jewish community
Building Environmental Education Capacity in Classrooms and Schools
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There is growing global acknowledgement that our planet is facing an imminent environmental crisis (Kensler, 2012; Kensler & Uline, 2017). Issues such as climate change, loss of biodiversities, water quality, the impact of long term fossil fuel use and single use plastics are compelling countries around the world to calls for action. In the education sector, there is an increasing recognition that raising awareness of environmental issues needs to begin in the schools where students will learn about the impact of individual choices on our environment. Research has shown that environmental education programs in schools have a positive influence on student achievement, while supporting equity, social justice, global citizenship, and ecoliteracy values. In Ontario the number of schools that are choosing to participate in environmental education programs, and practise environmental sustainability, is rising. This paper focuses on one school in a large urban school board in Ontario, and describes the use of mentoring as a tool to support the principal and staff in choosing to embrace environmental education programming in their school. Using a transformational leadership approach in the context of the Cawsey, Descza, & Ingols (2016) Change Path Model and the Burke & Litwin Causal Model of change theory, the mentor will be the change leader throughout the change process, gradually, through modelling and collaborative decision making, releasing leadership responsibility to the principal to sustain and monitor the implementation of environmental education programming in the school.
Keywords: Environmental Education, Sustainability, Mentoring, Transformational Leadershi
Re-conceptualizing Faculty & Staff Development: Building Adaptive Capacity in a Rapidly Internationalizing Higher Education Context
No full textThis organizational improvement plan concerns a mid-sized Canadian community college and explores the relationship between rapid internationalization and related faculty and staff adaptation challenges. It conceptualizes a targeted learning and development strategy to build intercultural competence and adaptation strategies. The theoretical framework underpinning this approach is drawn from the field of intercultural communications and is based on communication theory and constructive perception. Looking at the culture and structure of the organization, the plan also incorporates relevant leadership theory and a change path model that situates reform at the macro organizational level. A distributed leadership approach is suggested, which builds leadership capacity while it seeks to execute the organizational transformation. The leadership structure is developed in a manner that includes collaboration across all levels of the organization and harnesses the knowledge of front-line faculty and staff. Egalitarian principles of caring, empowerment, and inclusion are woven into this overall approach with a view toward team engagement. Drawing on the literature for complex change in educational environments, the plan incorporates tools such as communities of practice, network improvement communities, and service learning to empower the organization to change and build long-term capacity. The leadership vision for change sees reform to the existing approach to faculty and staff learning and development. This vision provides for increased faculty and staff support, connections, and empowerment, while at the same time continuing to address key institutional obligations and requirements
Case 2 : Hurricanes and Health: A Systems Thinking Approach to Understanding Complexity and Context
Get PDFThis case examines the complexity of responding to a natural disaster. Leona Hernandez, a water and sanitation engineer from the Pan American Health Organization, is in charge of coordinating the water and sanitation response on the island of Dominica following Hurricane Maria in October of 2017. Upon visiting one of the shelters in the remote fishing village of Scotts Head, she becomes aware of the precarious environmental conditions in the community. Many of the residents are distressed by the complete destruction of their surroundings, and a lack of running water has led to a reliance on drinking from the river. Of immediate concern is the potential for an outbreak of leptospirosis; however, issues of the disaster’s impacts on mental health are also emphasized. The Water, Sanitation and Hygiene team members each have a different idea about how to act and which response actions to prioritize. Leona must unite the team and coordinate an effective response, which becomes more complex with another storm system threatening to develop near the island
Case 6 : AQCESS: Access to Quality Care through Extending and Strengthening Health Systems
Get PDFAccess to Quality Care through Extending and Strengthening Health Systems (AQCESS) is an Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) initiative that works in partnership with underserved populations in Kenya, Pakistan, Mali, and Mozambique to improve maternal, newborn, and child health. The project targets regions and populations where MNCH indicators such as maternal mortality, under-five mortality, and stunting rates are particularly high. In these regions, women and children still lack access to essential, quality health services. AQCESS projects help reduce maternal and child mortality in targeted regions by focusing on improving delivery of essential MNCH health services, improving utilization of essential MNCH services by region, and improving dissemination of MNCH information and evidence.
Rachel Pell, a Program Manager at Aga Khan Foundation Canada, is approached by a private donor who has seen the positive outcomes of the AQCESS intervention in Kilifi, Kenya. He wants to donate to the Aga Khan Foundation Canada to expand the project to other East African countries, specifically to Tanzania and Uganda, in which AKDN is already present. Rachel realizes that not all communities in these countries have a need for AQCESS. Consequently, she has to prepare a needs assessment to help determine which areas, if any, need such a program. Her goal is to research and identify statistics on the health status in Tanzania and Uganda to determine their health care requirements and present these results to the donor.
Rachel decides to prepare a community health needs assessment plan, focusing only on steps one to four and not on the full nine-step evaluation. By focusing on these specific steps, Rachel can collect the relevant information she needs to analyze and make conclusions about the regional health care requirements. Along with determining whether Tanzania and Uganda need a project such as AQCESS, Rachel must use the available data to determine which specific regions have the highest need
Case 9 : Achieving Health Equity in Ontario: Increasing Capacity for Relationship Building with Indigenous Communities
Get PDFPaul Green is concerned that his organization is not meeting the requirements of the modernized Ontario Public Health Standards’ Health Equity Standard after his colleagues ask for direction on working with local Indigenous communities. Under the third requirement of the new Health Equity Standard, all boards of health must engage with Indigenous communities and organizations, which must include the “fostering and creation of meaningful relationships”. As the new Health Equity Manager at Turtle Creek Public Health (TCPH), Paul is tasked with developing a set of recommendations for organizational action. After receiving advice from a colleague, Paul decides that the next step for his organization is to conduct a situational assessment to explore how it may effectively, appropriately, and meaningfully build relationships with local Indigenous communities. However, Paul is unsure about where to begin. What questions should be asked? What important considerations need to be made? By developing an understanding of community histories, current contexts, colonial policies, historical events, social determinants of Indigenous health, and the foundational principles for relationship building with First Nations communities, meaningful partnerships may be cultivated with stakeholders and organizations in Indigenous communities across the province
Ch. 06 - Pilgrim and Quest Revisited
Get PDFIn Pictures of Music Education, Estelle Jorgensen extends her analysis of the pilgrimage metaphor and its associated model of quest in music education. The purpose of the present chapter is not to refute or critique Jorgensen’s work with this metaphor but to build on it by exploring even further the possible meanings captured by the metaphor for music educators. While the notion of pilgrimage carries religious overtones from its long association with faith practices, in a secularized world our present understandings continue to be shaped by remnants of meaning from past mythologies. To that end, various notions associated with pilgrimage are explored in the current context: quest (what is a pilgrimage?), hero (what is a pilgrim?), initiation and graduation (how does one get started on a pilgrimage?), journey (what is a pilgrimage like?), discipline (what does it take to be a pilgrim?), and paradise (where is the pilgrim headed and why?). The analysis suggests that the pilgrimage metaphor applied to music education evokes a progressive view of teaching and learning. The metaphor and its glosses may serve as a counterinfluence to standardized curricula, assessment procedures, and external expectations, for instance, that impact how music education is conducted today
Community Arts
Get PDFThis tour will highlight the way art builds communities in the SoHo neighbourhood
Differentiated Induction: An Enhanced Model for the New Teacher Induction Program
Get PDFThe Ontario Ministry of Education established the New Teacher Induction Program (NTIP) in 2006 to facilitate a smoother transition into the teaching profession for beginning teachers. This program intends to provide another full year of training and support to beginning teachers. The components of NTIP are: (a) a system orientation; (b) peer mentorship; and (c) targeted professional learning opportunities. Through the provision of differentiated professional learning communities and enhanced mentoring opportunities, this Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) revises the existing induction structure in the Tungsten Board of Education. Using an adaptive, situational leadership style, the NTIP Facilitator employs the Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability, and Reinforcement(ADKAR)model and the Care, Relate, Examine, Acquire, Try, Expand and Renew(CREATER)change management models to guide the change process. The change implementation plan and communication plan both leverage existing teacher leaders to facilitate the professional learning communities and provides individualized follow-up supports through in-class instructional coaching opportunities. The Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA)model monitors and evaluates progress. Enhanced opportunities for professional capacity building supports the implementation of instructional practices, improvements to teacher self-efficacy, reduces attrition rates, and improves outcomes for learners