Section C: Resources

Overview

Section C includes tools, resources, and additional information to support the SHSM in the areas of:

• Policy (Part A), and
• Implementation (Part B)

Collections of additional resources, including >electronic resources, are available on the ministry website, the Ontario Educational Resource Bank (OERB) website, and the SHSM e-Community site. Among these resources are supplementary tools and information relating to SHSM programs in each sector.

Part A: Policy

C1. Sector-Partnered Experiences (SPEs): A Fact Sheet for Educators

The sector-partnered experience (SPE) is one of the five required components of the SHSM program as of fall 2017. An SPE is a learning experience tied to a student's chosen SHSM sector, developed and delivered by sector partners in tandem with teachers. Each SPE focuses on one of the following areas:

• innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship (ICE)
• coding
• mathematical literacy

An SPE is designed to support students in cultivating the mindset needed for success in any of these areas of focus. Students are supported in acquiring the following mindsets during their SPE:

• I can see the value in understanding how ICE, coding, or mathematical literacy is important to my SHSM sector.
• I am willing to take smart risks and learn from them.

SPEs are designed to give students practical experience in their sector and to illustrate the relationship between their sector and the designated area of focus. They are roughly six hours in length (delivered in one day or over multiple days) and conclude with a self-assessment to support students in reflecting on their learning.

All students pursuing an SHSM must complete at least one SPE. The completion of each SPE is recorded in the student management system, including the focus and, where possible, a certificate or other proof of completion.

Schools have flexibility in the planning and delivery of SPEs, depending on the needs of students and the capacity of sector partners within the community.

C2. Checklist for Planning and Delivering a Sector-Partnered Experience (SPE)

The goal of an SPE is for students to acquire the following mindsets:

• I can see the value in understanding how ICE (innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship), coding, or mathematical literacy is important to my SHSM sector.
• I am willing to take smart risks and learn from them.

Before the Learning Activity

• Determine the parameters for the SPE (see “Questions for the initial planning stages”, below).
• Select a sector partner.
• With the sector partner, co-design a sector-partnered experience relevant to the SHSM sector (see “Suggestions for collaborating with sector partners”, below).
• Identify any communications and permission forms that will be needed (e.g. field trip consent form, media consent form if you plan to take photographs or videos).
• Consider conducting a pre-assessment survey with students.

Questions for the initial planning stages:

• What SHSM sector is this activity for?
• What grade(s), level(s), and pathway(s) are the students in?
• Will the focus be on
  • ICE (innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship)
  • coding, or
  • mathematical literacy?
• Who will the sector partner be?
• How will the SPE be delivered? (e.g. to an entire class, if the students are timetabled as an SHSM cohort, or to an individual student or small groups of SHSM students within a larger class or cohort)
• How will the learning experience be tied to the sector?
• What are the learning goals?

Suggestions for collaborating with sector partners:

• Begin as early as possible – time management is fundamental.
• During an initial meeting with the sector partner:
  • • determine the parameters of the activity – content, agenda, schedule (6 hours in a single day or spread over multiple days)
    • set timelines and deadlines
    • determine the allocation of tasks
    • identify resources required, and consider logistics (e.g. travel arrangements, venue, consumables, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE))
    • establish future meeting dates (if required)
• Maintain communication with the sector partner during planning.

During the Learning Activity

• Introduce the activity and the SPE “mindsets”.
• Lead students through the activity with the sector partner.
• Support students through the course of the activity. Ensure that all students have opportunities to share their work and interact with the sector partner.
• Consider taking photographs or video of the activity, where appropriate and safe to do so.

After the Learning Activity

• Have students complete a self-assessment activity.
• Thank the sector partner for their participation.
• Confirm that any expenses incurred as part of the activity have been addressed.
• Record each student's completion of the SPE (with a focus on ICE (innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship), coding, or mathematical literacy) in the student management system.
• Provide, wherever possible, documentation such as a certificate or other proof of completion for the student's portfolio and SHSM Record.
• Send a message to parents, if appropriate, informing them of the SPE that their child has completed.
• If you have taken photographs or videos of the activity, consider creating a short presentation for your staff, school board, or partner organizations on the intent and results of the SPE. Ensure that the appropriate media consent forms have been signed and documented before you proceed.

C3. Template: Planning a Sector-Partnered Experience (SPE)

• School:

• SHSM Sector:

• Focus:

  ❐ ICE

  ❐ Coding

  ❐ Mathematical Literacy

• Teacher(s):

• Sector Partner: (Contact details)

• Planning meting dates:

• Date(s) of SPE:
  May occur over more than one day

• Proposed activity:
  Brief description of activity. How does it qualify as experiential learning? Will students be able to apply their learning in a safe and supportive environment during the activity?

• Location:

• Start time(s) – End time(s):
  Approximately 6 hours in total

• Number of students:

• Grade(s) and Pathway(s):

• Agenda:
  Breakdown of each portion of the activity with estimated time.
  How will student safety be addressed?

  Learning Goals:
  What am I learning about?
  How is it related to my SHSM sector?
  If I want to learn more, what are my next steps?

• Self-Assessment Activity:
  Reflecting on the learning

• Considerations: Accessibility, Safety Training, Personal protective equipment (PPE), Weather, Food

• Notes on how these will be addressed:

• Transportation:

• Consumables:

• Documentation:
  Permission form?
  Certificate of completion?
  Media consent form?
  Will I/we be taking photos? Sharing news of the activity?

• Additional Notes:

C4. Samples: Sector-Partnered Experience (SPE) Self-Assessments

Sample 1: Reflection on Mathematical Literacy

Goal: To give students the opportunity to reflect on their experience using metacognitive strategies.

I would define mathematical literacy as…

What the SPE taught me about mathematical literacy is that…

Having completed the SPE, I want to learn more about…

Sample 2: Reflection through Open-Ended Discussion

Goal: To give students a safe space to reflect on and discuss their experience using metacognitive strategies.

Optional Materials: Note-taking materials

Instructions

1. Take a moment to reflect in silence. Think back to what you accomplished during the SPE. (Optional step: Write down your answers to the following questions.) In your groups, discuss:

• What was exciting?
• What was different?
• What was brand new?
• What was challenging?

2. Now that you have reflected on the activity you did, how do these reflections change what you might do in the future?

3. Thinking about your answers and the answers of others, what patterns or themes do you notice?

Sample 3: Reflection through Storyboarding

 Goal: To give students a safe space to reflect on their experience through storytelling and art, using metacognitive strategies.

Materials

• One copy of the storyboarding template per student
• Drawing materials

Instructions

The storyboard is your opportunity to tell the story of your learning during the SPE. For example:

• Tell the story of you learning how the activity you did connects to your SHSM sector.
• Tell the story of how you applied your new learning during the activity.
• Tell the story of how you came to understand the connections among your SHSM sector, the work that your sector partner does, and the area that this SPE focused on (ICE, coding, or mathematical literacy).

Part one:

• Think back on the activities you did during the SPE, and decide what story you want to tell about your experience with them.
• Decide what you will draw in each panel of the storyboard in order to tell that story.
• Draw the story using visuals, but don't get too complicated – simple sketches are enough.
• Include dialogue in speech bubbles.

Part two:

• Share the storyboard with at least one other person.

Storyboarding Template

C5. Contextualized Learning Activities (CLAs)

Overview

While completing the “other required credits” in the bundle of credits (see Section A1.2), students in an SHSM program may be offered learning activities that are contextualized to the knowledge and skills relevant to their particular SHSM sector. Contextualized Learning Activities (CLAs) are designed to address a portion of the curriculum expectations in these courses in the context of the sector. CLAs are between six and ten hours in length.

Teachers across the province can access a wide variety of CLAs that have been posted on the Ontario Educational Resource Bank (OERB) website, as well as on the SHSM e-Community website, a password-protected site for educators. Teachers who would like to develop their own CLAs should use the template below.

Who delivers CLAs?
CLAs are delivered by the teachers of the other required credits (e.g. English, mathematics, science).

How are CLAs delivered?
CLAs can be delivered in various ways:

• to an entire class, some of whose members are SHSM students (recommended)
• to an entire class, all of whose members are SHSM students
• to an individual or a small group of SHSM students within an existing class
• to individual SHSM students, through e-learning or independent study

Template: Planning a Contextualized Learning Activity (CLA)

Before developing their own CLA using the template below, teachers are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the resource guide entitled How to Plan and Write Contextualized Learning Activities (CLAs), available on the SHSM e-Community website.

Note: For your convenience, instructions (enclosed in square brackets) have been provided throughout this template. Remove these instructions as you complete the template.

• Contact Information:

  • Board:
  • Development date:
  • Contact person:
  • Position:
  • Phone: (   )   -    
  • Email:

• SHSM sector:

• Course code and course title

• Name of CLA:

• Brief description of CLA:

• Duration: [The CLA must take a minimum of 6 hours and a maximum of 10 hours to complete.]

• Overall expectations:

  [Identify the overall expectation(s) from the Ontario curriculum for which students' achievement will be assessed or evaluated through their completion of the CLA.]

• Specific expectations:

  [Identify the specific expectations related to the above overall expectations that will be addressed through the instructional and assessment strategies.]

  [Consider the following as part of your planning: What do we want students to learn during this CLA?

  • What specific/key learning goals for students are related to these expectations?
  • Are these specific/key learning goals related to each other in a way that will allow students to achieve the desired learning incrementally?]

• Catholic expectations:
  (if applicable)

Instructional/Assessment Strategies

Assessment and Evaluation of Student Achievement

[List all assessment and evaluation strategies and tasks and include handouts, tests, assignments, exercises, etc.]

[As you plan, keep the following important considerations in mind:

• How will we know students are learning?
  How will we know students have learned?
• How will students demonstrate progress towards the desired learning?
  How will students demonstrate achievement of the desired learning?
• What criteria will be used to determine whether students are learning?
  What criteria will be used to determine that students have learned?
• What assessment strategies/tools will best gather evidence during learning?
  What assessment strategies/tools will best gather evidence that students have learned?
• Will the assessment tasks provide opportunities for students to demonstrate the full range of their learning in a variety of ways?]

Assessment tools
[List all tools used and include checklists, rubrics, correction keys, etc.]

Differentiation

Differentiation will be based on:

Differentiation will be achieved through:

Additional Notes/Comments/Explanations

[Provide additional suggestions for teachers that will help them deliver the CLA.]

Resources

[List all the resources needed to support the implementation of the CLA.]

Authentic workplace materials
[e.g. blueprints, workplace manuals, specification sheets, spreadsheets]

Human resources

Print resources

Video resources

Software

Websites

Other resources

Accommodations

[List instructional, environmental, and assessment accommodations.]
[What adjustments must be made to the instructional and assessment strategies to accommodate different learning needs?]

Template: Rubric for Analysing Contextualized Learning Activities (CLAs)

As you review your CLA, apply each of the criteria in this rubric and indicate below whether the CLA delivers each of the criteria to a high degree (4, on a scale of 1 to 4) or to a lesser degree (1 to 3, on the scale of 1 to 4). A response below 4 might suggest that a revision is necessary.

Part B: Implementation

C6. Checklist: Responsibilities of Board SHSM Leads and School Teams

The board SHSM lead and the school team are responsible for implementing a high-quality SHSM program. Their collaboration is necessary to:

• support each school in planning, delivery, and evaluation related to SHSMs
• analyse program data to ensure program quality
• meet requirements for reports and deliverables
• promote collaboration between schools and partners to ensure program quality

The following chart can be used to help ensure a common understanding of roles and responsibilities of the board SHSM lead and members of school SHSM teams (e.g. school SHSM lead, school administrator, major subject teachers, teachers of other required courses, cooperative education teachers, guidance counsellors). In the left-hand column, indicate who will be responsible for each of the implementation tasks listed on the right.

C7. A Sample School SHSM Action Plan

School board: _______________________________________________________

School: _____________________________________________________________

Year: _______________________________________________________________

Sector: _______________________________________________________________

C8. Implementation Checklist for School Principals

Principals can use this checklist to confirm that the necessary resources and staff are in place to implement a high-quality Specialist High Skills Major program.

A. Staff/Program Readiness

❐ School staff are knowledgeable, passionate, and collaborative and want to champion the SHSM initiative.

❐ School staff value and promote all four SHSM pathways.

❐ School staff understand the five required components of the SHSM program.

❐ School staff monitor and encourage students enrolled in an SHSM, and support teachers in the program.

❐ In schools that commit to offering this element, teachers of other required credit courses integrate contextualized learning activities (CLAs) in their Grade 11 and/or 12 courses.

❐ A school SHSM team composed of staff members (e.g. the principal, vice-principal, guidance counsellor, cooperative education teacher, special education teacher, subject teachers) has been established to ensure the implementation of all five SHSM components.

❐ A school advisory committee made up of members of the school SHSM team, community and sector partners, and representatives of postsecondary institutions and training centres has been established (see section B, below).

❐ The school advisory committee has established processes to facilitate the implementation of the five required SHSM components.

❐ School staff are aware of the process for registering SHSM students and monitoring their progress throughout their SHSM program.

❐ Requirements for reports, student tracking, and program evaluation have been established to ensure the delivery of a high-quality program.

B. The Board or School SHSM Advisory Committee

❐ An advisory committee has been established at the school or board level to promote and support the SHSM initiative, provide direction to the school team, support program implementation, and develop opportunities for experiential learning.

❐ The SHSM advisory committee includes members of the community representing the SHSM sector(s).

❐ The SHSM advisory committee includes representatives of colleges and universities and/or training centres.

❐ The SHSM advisory committee includes some members of the school SHSM team (e.g. teachers of major credit courses, teachers of other required credit courses, guidance counsellor, cooperative education teacher, special education teacher, member of the Student Success team, principal, vice-principal).

❐ The SHSM advisory committee has established and shared a meeting schedule.

❐ The SHSM advisory committee has established priorities for the year.

C. The School SHSM Team

1. The school SHSM team has established procedures to:

❐ complete and review the school action plan

❐ enroll students in the SHSM program

❐ track credits of SHSM students

❐ track and document certifications and training programs that students have completed

❐ track and record students' completion of experiential learning and career exploration activities

❐ track and record the completion of reach ahead experiences

❐ track and record the completion of sector-partnered experiences

❐ document contextualized learning activities completed by students in their other required credit courses

❐ identify students' needs and offer additional support, as necessary

❐ promote the SHSM at the school, in elementary schools, among parents, and in the community

❐ collect quantitative and qualitative data (e.g. feedback from students, staff, parents, and community partners) to evaluate the success of the program

❐ monitor budgetary spending

❐ prepare reports for the school board and the ministry

2. The school SHSM team has assigned roles and responsibilities to:

❐ develop the four pathways with credits that meet ministry requirements for the SHSM bundle of credits

❐ facilitate delivery of the certifications and training that students need to obtain (e.g. decide on the elective certifications and training programs that are most appropriate to and that align best with the focus of the program; decide on the most appropriate delivery methods and delivery agents for compulsory and elective certifications and training programs; negotiate and arrange for payment of fees; arrange for transportation; establish timetables)

❐ facilitate delivery of experiential learning and career exploration activities to be completed by students

❐ facilitate delivery of reach ahead opportunities in each of the four pathways

❐ identify sector partners with expertise in the areas of ICE (innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship), coding, and mathematical literacy to facilitate sector-partnered experiences (SPEs)

❐ develop contextualized learning activities (if the school chooses to offer them) for delivery in the other required credit courses

❐ address student transportation needs

❐ facilitate cooperative education placements

❐ develop a plan and promotional materials to inform students in elementary schools about the SHSM program

❐ develop marketing tools to help engage sector and community partners, as well as to promote the program within the school

❐ actively seek out and develop partnerships with other elementary and secondary schools, school boards, postsecondary institutions, training centres, and local sector-related businesses

D. The Five Components of the Specialist High Skills Major

1. Required bundle of credits

❐ All students are able to obtain the eight to ten credits (depending on the program) required in the bundle for their particular SHSM over a two-year period, in Grades 11 and 12.

❐ Required courses for all four pathways for SHSMs offered by the school are developed and available.

❐ Staff members in schools that choose to offer contextualized learning activities (CLAs) are ready to integrate the CLAs into instruction.

❐ The members of the school SHSM team work in collaboration with cooperative education teachers to organize placements for students in the program.

2. Sector-recognized certification and training experiences

❐ One or more members of the school SHSM team have agreed to take responsibility for this component.

❐ A plan has been established to guarantee that students will be able to obtain required certifications and training within a two-year period.

❐ The members of the school SHSM team facilitate program delivery by working collaboratively with the board SHSM lead and with other schools across the province that offer programs in the same sector.

❐ A procedure has been developed to document and track students' completion of required certifications and training.

❐ Teachers and school staff are informed about documentation and tracking procedures for this component of the program.

3. Experiential learning and career exploration activities

❐ One or more members of the school SHSM team have agreed to take responsibility for this component.

❐ A plan has been established to ensure the tracking and documentation of these activities.

❐ The members of the school SHSM team collaborate with the cooperative education teacher in planning these activities.

❐ Support in planning and implementing opportunities for experiential learning and career exploration has been solicited from members of the advisory committee, the board SHSM lead, and other schools that offer programs in the same sector.

❐ Students and school staff are informed about documentation procedures for this component of the program.

4. Reach ahead experiences

❐ One or more members of the school SHSM team have agreed to take responsibility for this component.

❐ A plan has been established to ensure the tracking and documentation of these experiences.

❐ The members of the school team consult with sector partners and representatives of colleges, training centres, and universities, as well as the school advisory committee, the board SHSM lead, and other schools across the province that offer programs in the same sector, to facilitate opportunities for reach ahead experiences for students in the program.

5. Sector-partnered experiences (SPEs)

❐ One or more members of the school SHSM team have agreed to take responsibility for this component.

❐ A plan has been established to ensure the tracking and documentation of these activities.

❐ The members of the school teams consult with other schools in the area to coordinate the delivery of SPEs and identify sector partners with expertise in the activities identified as part of the SPE.

E. Tracking, Supervision, and Production of Reports

❐ The school team has implemented a procedure to track students' completion of the five SHSM components.

❐ One or more members of the school SHSM team have agreed to take responsibility for implementing procedures for tracking and documenting students' progress in the program.

❐ The team has developed processes for monitoring students' progress, supporting individual students, and helping students select the courses they need to complete their SHSM.

❐ School guidance counsellors are aware of the information that must be provided for a student to obtain a diploma with the SHSM seal and will be responsible for checking that all SHSM requirements have been met.

❐ Staff members are familiar with the procedure for tracking student progress.

❐ Tools have been developed to collect, from staff members, students, parents, and community partners, qualitative data that will allow members of the advisory committee to measure the progress of implementation and the quality of SHSM programs.

❐ Marketing tools have been developed to promote the SHSM among elementary and secondary school students, and the general public, in the community.

❐ Members of the school team are aware of the requirements for submitting reports to the school board and the ministry.

❐ The school's administrative team is aware of ministry reporting requirements, and sets timelines for consolidating SHSM-related data (e.g. data on students in the program; budget-related data) to ensure that required reports are completed accurately and in a timely manner. The dates for the three required SHSM reports (initial, interim, and final) are identified in the annual ministry memo to the Director of the Board.