CCBE Annual Report 2020-2021

CCBE

The Crescent Centre for Boys’ Education

Discovering How Boys Learn Best Discovering How Boys Learn Best

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CCBE

Annual Report 2020-2021 crescentschool.org/ccbe @CSBoysResearch

The Crescent Centre for Boys’ Education

Discovering How Boys Learn Best

CCBE

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CCBE

The Crescent Centre for Boys’ Education

Discovering How Boys Learn Best

FORWARD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 EDITORS’ NOTE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 RESEARCH REPORTS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Character

UHN Give a Shift

Wellbeing Caitlin Tino: Optimizing Recess to Promote Student Wellbeing Gord Wotherspoon: Grade 5 Impact of Technology on Social-Emotional Wellbeing

Pedagogies Trish Cislak and Rob Messenger: Grade 9 Portfolio Pilot Project Dr. Sandra Boyes: IBSC Relational Teaching Special Interest Group Mike Stephens: Grade 12 AP Statistics Student Research

Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Leah Di Vincenzo and Lisa Weldon: DIB Staff Book Club Student Participatory Action Research Collaborative (SPARC)

SHARING OUR EXPERTISE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Conference Presentations Publications Podcasts

BUILDING OUR EXPERTISE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 ON THE HORIZON. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Be The One Training to Empower Positive Student Leadership IBSC Action Research - Fostering Boys’ Empathy and Global Citizenship Through Technology IBSC Wired to Connect: Relational Teaching for Boys

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CCBE

Annual Report 2020-2021

crescentschool.org/ccbe @CSBoysResearch

The Crescent Centre for Boys’ Education

Discovering How Boys Learn Best

CCBE

CCBE

FORWARD The Crescent Centre for Boys’ Education

Discovering How Boys Learn Best

It is my joy to invite you to review the Annual Report of the Crescent Centre for Boys’ Education (CCBE), a summary of Crescent School’s professional learning and research dedicated to serving the teaching and learning of boys. Despite the various challenges faced by schools over the past year, I am very proud of the CCBE’s continued success following their inaugural year of operation.

First, it was a year of creation. The CCBE added a fourth area of focus to their platform, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging, to ensure this work has a permanent home in the Crescent community. We know there is still much work to be done and much to learn so that schools for boys are indeed places of belonging. In addition, they formed an Advisory Panel of international thought leaders to support and guide each area of focus. We are grateful for these men and women who have dedicated their time to influence the strategic direction of the CCBE. Second, it was a year of new partnerships.

Crescent School was the only Canadian school invited to participate in SPARC: a research consortium among faculty and

students at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education and school leaders, faculty and students at a cohort of leading independent schools. In doing so, we have mobilized student insights and voices to improve our school culture, policies, and practices. We also became partners with ISEEN (Independent School’s Experiential Education Network), allowing us to deepen our access to experiential learning opportunities for staff. Crescent’s participation in and influence on the world of education continues to expand.

Finally, it was a year for Crescent staff to contribute to this global body of research dedicated to “discovering how boys learn best.” The research briefs shared in this report demonstrate how our faculty are improving the ways our boys learn and experience school.

Crescent School is blessed to have Dr. Sandra Boyes and Ms. Trish Cislak leading our research culture alongside dedicated staff who are eager to explore their work at a deeper level. There is much to look forward to next year as we long for greater normality, including the further development and expansion of the CCBE.

Michael Fellin P’24 Headmaster

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Annual Report 2020-2021 crescentschool.org/ccbe @CSBoysResearch

CCBE

The Crescent Centre for Boys’ Education

Discovering How Boys Learn Best

EDITORS’ NOTE We are pleased to share this annual report with you.

It represents our flourishing research culture in ways many would not have expected over the course of this past year. We have discovered that promoting research, gaining new knowledge and collaborating with global colleagues thrive under any circumstances, even a global pandemic.

As our school year began, we realized a need to build our team, and we are grateful for the insights and support from Rob Messenger. Rob is a Crescent Learning Support Specialist, and his work through a master’s program at Johns Hopkins University is fueling the development of our Wellbeing pillar of the CCBE.

Dr. Sandra Boyes Executive Director of Professional Learning & Research, Head of Lower School

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CCBE

The Crescent Centre for Boys’ Education

Discovering How Boys Learn Best

The creation of our Advisory Panel further strengthened our team. We are so fortunate to have their expertise, guidance, and support. Our two meetings this year have allowed us to create our guiding principles for 2021-22. We can now move forward with intentionality and clarity. The CCBE is determined to provide inspiration, innovation and guidance for the Crescent community as we strive to represent excellence in the teaching and learning for and of boys.

Finally, our roles within the IBSC – Sandy as co-chair of a Special Interest Group on Relational Teaching and a member of the Research Committee and Trish as an Action Research Team Advisor – allow for purposeful and insightful interactions with boys’ schools’ colleagues across the world.

We value these connections and are looking forward to sharing our continued findings with them.

Ms. Trish Cislak Head of Libraries and Research

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CCBE

Annual Report 2020-2021

crescentschool.org/ccbe @CSBoysResearch

The Crescent Centre for Boys’ Education

Discovering How Boys Learn Best

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RESEARCH REPORTS The Crescent Centre for Boys’ Education

Discovering How Boys Learn Best

CHARACTER Crescent School participated in the University Health Network initiative, Give a Shift, supporting hospital workers and their efforts throughout the pandemic. The CCBE viewed this as an opportunity to capture this experience from the boy. Student reflections from their Give a Shift experience were recorded, and this summary shares insights from the boys. Crescent School pledged to raise $5000; we did that and more!

We raised $8,330.00 over one weekend. This was truly a moment to celebrate the Boys of Promise.

WELLBEING Optimizing Recess to Promote Student Wellbeing Caitlin Tino Caitlin Tino embarked on an action research project throughout the winter term based on her intuition that recess had the potential to be used in a more intentional way for the boys to recharge and build a greater sense of wellbeing.

The results of the research can be found here

Grade 5 Impact of Technology on Social-Emotional Wellbeing Gord Wotherspoon As we continued to build our student research culture with peer schools Christopher’s School in Virginia, Scots College in Sydney and Fairfield Country Day School in Connecticut, our Grade 5 students embarked on a study to determine the impact of technology on boys’ social-emotional wellbeing and friendships. The group of schools, collaborating during a series of Zoom calls, created a standard questionnaire. Data was collected and analyzed by each school, and the results were shared amongst the four. The interest in finding commonalities was prevalent.

The study affirmed that technology has benefits for creating connections, but there is still an overwhelming preference for in-person contact with friends.

The results of the research can be found here 4

CCBE

Annual Report 2020-2021 crescentschool.org/ccbe @CSBoysResearch

The Crescent Centre for Boys’ Education

Discovering How Boys Learn Best

CCBE

CCBE

The Crescent Centre for Boys’ Education

Discovering How Boys Learn Best

PEDAGOGIES Grade 9 Portfolio Pilot Project Trish Cislak and Rob Messenger Trish Cislak and Rob Messenger teamed up to develop a Grade 9 Study Skills program using digital portfolios. The portfolios tracked each student’s approach to learning and helped them understand the benefits of reflective practice and metacognition skills. This routine also taught them self-efficacy, awareness, regulation and determination. A pilot project of tracking these skills over the spring of 2021 has inspired a full Grade 9 portfolio project for the fall of 2021 supported by the Grade 9 geography teachers. We anticipate that portfolios will help develop futureready skills that will support the boys well beyond their time at Crescent.

IBSC Relational Teaching Special Interest Group Dr. Sandra Boyes Dr. Sandra Boyes is co-leading a Special Interest Group (SIG) in Relational Teaching with 30 colleague schools from the IBSC. The SIG is comprised of boys’ schools committed to developing and sharing expertise in relational teaching and organizational practices that promote it. Collaboration with like-minded schools can leverage programs and best-of-class practices that are less likely to be sustained in isolation. The SIG aims to develop and test researchbased instruments that build expertise in relational teaching at the professional and organizational levels. They also share approaches to professional self-reflection, learning and growth through the career cycle of teachers and identify and work with school organizations and universities to promote research-based approaches to relational teaching. Dr. Boyes has been integral in creating connections and sharing her expertise in relational learning with colleagues. This work will continue throughout the 2021-2022 school year.

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CCBE

Annual Report 2020-2021

crescentschool.org/ccbe @CSBoysResearch

The Crescent Centre for Boys’ Education

Discovering How Boys Learn Best

CCBE

CCBE

The Crescent Centre for Boys’ Education

Discovering How Boys Learn Best

PEDAGOGIES CONT’D Grade 12 AP Statistics Student Research Mike Stephens Inspired by the Big Data High School Challenge, the students of Mike Stephen’s Grade 12 AP Statistics class honed their data analysis skills and science communication to empower their understanding of research and its impact on society. Ryan Rakusin, Adam Omarali, Tarik Irshad, Jack Wallace and Christopher Law decided to tackle the impact of Crescent’s COVID-19 protocols and the number of cases in our school.

The team learned many valuable lessons and has created an exciting precedent for future research amongst our STEM courses.

Their report shows research practices and will be an important part of Crescent history.

DIVERSITY, INCLUSION AND BELONGING DIB Staff Book Club Leah Di Vincenzo and Lisa Weldon Inspired by the NAIS People of Color Conference in the fall of 2020, Leah Di Vincenzo and Lisa Weldon promoted the idea of a staff book club to explore, appreciate and share insights regarding diversity, own voices and inclusion. Ninety staff members joined the clubs in 2021. Necessary, sometimes awkward, but always fulfilling conversations were had as new perspectives were developed. These kinds of conversations will fuel Crescent’s commitment to embracing and celebrating diversity.

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Annual Report 2020-2021 crescentschool.org/ccbe @CSBoysResearch

CCBE

The Crescent Centre for Boys’ Education

Discovering How Boys Learn Best

CCBE

CCBE

The Crescent Centre for Boys’ Education

Discovering How Boys Learn Best

Student Participatory Action Research Collaborative (SPARC) Grade 10 students The CCBE supported 11 Grade 10 students throughout the eight-month process. Crescent was the only Canadian school involved in a network of independent schools conducting collaborative research with students. It was truly an honour to connect with so many impressive schools in the U.S. There were many powerful learning opportunities, and we had dedicated students to lead the way in creating positive change at Crescent. We used a Youth Participatory Action Research approach to investigate belonging and inclusion experiences.

the student researchers. The experience was all about empowering the agency in the boys. Their voices matter. Their perspectives matter.

The purpose was to develop a research question about “life at Crescent” that needed the student voice and perspective to drive positive change within the overall community. The boys learned how to do a literature review, design data collection tools, conduct interviews and administer surveys. They then analyzed data to create practical and measurable results that can be implemented into life at Crescent. Next year, we hope to track the impact of the recommendations made by

Click here to view their research poster.

Crescent students explored two issues, created research posters and put forward the following recommendations: Belonging in the House System - Create more leadership opportunities for boys to further engage their House brothers in House activities; create a more diverse set of House activities; allow for communication to come from student leaders on platforms more conducive to connecting with fellow students.

Impact of Unconscious Bias - Allow more student agency and engagement when creating assemblies and events that inform and celebrate different cultures; continue to build safe forums and protocols for important conversations about unconscious bias within affinity groups or Mentor groups.

Click here to view their research poster.

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CCBE

Annual Report 2020-2021

The Crescent Centre for Boys’ Education

crescentschool.org/ccbe @CSBoysResearch

Discovering How Boys Learn Best

CCBE

CCBE

SHARING OUR EXPERTISE The Crescent Centre for Boys’ Education

Discovering How Boys Learn Best

2020-2021 CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS AISL April 2021: Y’all Means All: Promoting Social Justice in Your Library Lisa Elchuk, in collaboration with three other AISL librarians from elementary, middle, and high schools, presented favourite social justice books, websites, documentaries, podcasts, booksellers, social media hashtags, and more. As part of AISL’s Growing As Champions Of Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion In Our School Libraries workshop, the presentation focussed on the concept of windows, mirrors and sliding glass doors to ensure students see themselves and others in literature. It builds upon the importance of asking students what they want, as well as sharing resource lists and LibGuides (curated library resource pages) for topics like Social-Emotional Learning, Black Excellence, Pride/LGBTQ2+, and Asian Heritage and Awareness.

IBSC Student Forum May 2021: ISBC Global Youth Online Forum on Racial Equity in Boys’ Education: Values, Identity, and Access This forum solicited experiences with diversity at boys’ schools and proposed solutions to increase belonging and diversity. Crescent was the only Canadian school and shared insights with boys from the U.K., South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and the U.S. Kayvan Movahedi, Jack Hetherington, Xaivian Lee, Runo Ajise, and Ken Cheng, accompanied by Jonathan Arendt represented the Crescent experience.

Students from Lower through Upper School were divided into groups of about 20 students each for discussions led by the Aspen Research Institute, who collected the data for a later report. They were the only adults who were allowed to speak – the rest

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Annual Report 2020-2021 crescentschool.org/ccbe @CSBoysResearch

CCBE

The Crescent Centre for Boys’ Education

Discovering How Boys Learn Best

CCBE

CCBE

The Crescent Centre for Boys’ Education

Discovering How Boys Learn Best

of the adults could listen but had to have cameras off and speakers muted – to highlight the student experiences. The boys shared their thoughts on how content-driven schools can make students of colour feel isolated and separate from their reality. They spoke of their experiences with bullying and racism from other students, ranging from the overt to the more subtle. They also highlighted the importance of having spaces where they could gather with other students who identified with their in-group, in a place and time apart from the rest of the student body. Having teachers and adults in the building was also important for students to feel supported.

This small pilot gathering provided some beginning ideas and concerns for more auspicious, broader identification of issues that exist in boys’ schools that create atmospheres of exclusion and intolerance, working against belonging. The plan going forward is to take the salient findings and use them to create a more expansive approach, based on student voices, in bringing about changes to our communities.

Multiple Contributions February, April, May 2021:

Greg Ryerson seized several opportunities to present his knowledge and passion in the realm of science and coding over the course of this year. He has integrated this passion into his Grade 7 science curriculum with so many positive outcomes.

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CCBE

Annual Report 2020-2021

The Crescent Centre for Boys’ Education

crescentschool.org/ccbe @CSBoysResearch

Discovering How Boys Learn Best

CCBE

CCBE

The Crescent Centre for Boys’ Education

Discovering How Boys Learn Best

2020-2021 CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS IBSC June 2021

Creating a Professional Competency Model to Transform School Culture For boys to thrive and connect, teachers and leaders need the professional competencies to go on the learning journey with–and for–them. Lara Koretsky led an interactive workshop that explored explored why competencies such as emotional intelligence, growth mindset, and courageous communication are important, and suggested the best ways to create a robust competency model for staff and school leaders in 21st-century schools for boys.

Panel Discussion: Future-Ready Boys’ Schools: IBSC Research and Innovation Sandra Boyes joined her IBSC colleagues on the IBSC Research Committee to discuss hot topics in the five domains of research identified as important for future study, including pedagogy, curriculum, character and well-being, school processes and leadership, and culture and teacher formation.

Panel Discussion: Shared stories from our schools Michael Fellin led this discussion along with Upper School teacher Jonathan Arendt and two other IBSC colleagues. They shared insights and reflections from keynote speaker Jon Meachem. Meachem challenged the IBSC community to examine ways to create a culture of social justice and the competencies we should promote in nurturing our boys.

Panel Discussion: Schools of Character Session Becoming a Strong 21st Century School of Character Michael Fellin contributed to this discussion that shared wisdom and experience of schools’ continuing journeys in becoming successful 21st century schools of character.

Their progress evolves in tandem with the Character Education in Schools for Boys 2019 research supported by CIRCLE. Focus on strategies for implementing a holistic framework for character education was a highlighted feature of this discussion. Dr. Phillip Cummins from CIRCLE is also a member of the CCBE Advisory Panel.

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CCBE

Annual Report 2020-2021 crescentschool.org/ccbe @CSBoysResearch

The Crescent Centre for Boys’ Education

Discovering How Boys Learn Best

CCBE

CCBE

The Crescent Centre for Boys’ Education

Discovering How Boys Learn Best

PUBLICATIONS AND PODCASTS Publications

Podcasts

Independent Teacher, the magazine of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS)’s Spring 2021 issue EQ vs IQ featured an article submitted by Patricia Alviano and Lara Koretsky on the impact of executive coaching.

Lara and Patricia - Executive Coaching Independent Teacher

WELLRead: The launch of the CCBE’s podcast, WELLRead, in February 2021 put us on the global stage as we shared insights about teaching and learning at a boys’ school.

WELLRead

Crescent Considers: This research opportunity encourages faculty members to read and reflect on various topics within the realms of teaching and learning. The weekly reflection supported individuals’ interests, courses, and professional reading in developing the capacity to be intentionally engaged in professional growth.

Crescent Considers

VoicEd Radio: Dr. Sandra Boyes and Trish Cislak joined Stephen Hurley on VoicED Radio in December of 2020 to share how the CCBE is promoting a research culture at Crescent. The idea for teachers to use evidenceinformed practices to examine and improve their teaching is just one realm of the vision of the CCBE. Stephen Hurley - VoicED.ca - December 2020

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The Crescent Centre for Boys’ Education

Annual Report 2020-2021

crescentschool.org/ccbe @CSBoysResearch

Discovering How Boys Learn Best

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BUILDING OUR EXPERTISE The Crescent Centre for Boys’ Education

Discovering How Boys Learn Best

Boys and Sexual Citizenship - IBSC Course Ashley Cridland Sexual orientation, family dynamics and gender discussions with boys as early as kindergarten, followed by conversations about pornography, masturbation, healthy relationships and consent as boys age, are integral to normalizing sexual citizenship. These findings from Dr. Ada Sinacore’s IBSC research, Responsible Sexual Citizenship for a Changing World were shared in an online course attended by Middle School teacher Ashley Cridland.

“Besides teacher adoption, the largest hurdle for implementing this type of curriculum is parent buyin,” says Cridland. “As an educator at an all-boys school and mother of two boys, I always thought I was leading positive, insightful communication on these tough topics. It’s clear Canadian school curriculum has a long way to go to ensure equality and respect are ingrained in young men.” Cridland hopes to establish a forum where parents and teachers can find resources and courses for communicating with boys on these topics.

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Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning Winter Webinar Series Trish Cislak and Rob Messenger The Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning developed a four-part series aimed at helping teachers address student engagement, educational technology, project-based learning, and diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging that are all critical in the academic, social, and emotional recovery from COVID. These webinars provided participants research findings and strategies based on how the student brain learns, works and thrives. Rob Messenger and Trish Cislak participated in these timely webinars. They integrated new knowledge on student engagement, technology and belonging into the Grade 9 Portfolio pilot project in real-time. This experience has formed new practices for both the GLS10 course they teach in the summer and the upcoming Grade 9 research project on using digital portfolios to enhance student learning in the fall of 2021.

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Annual Report 2020-2021 crescentschool.org/ccbe @CSBoysResearch

The Crescent Centre for Boys’ Education

Discovering How Boys Learn Best

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CCBE

The Crescent Centre for Boys’ Education

Discovering How Boys Learn Best

Embedded Librarian PD Lisa Elchuk “With colleagues from the AISL (Association of Independent School Libraries), I participated in a month-long summer online PD about Embedded Librarianship via Library Juice Academy, an online professional development site for librarians.”

An embedded librarian focuses “on the needs of one or more specific groups, building relationships with these groups, developing a deep understanding of their work, and providing information services that are highly customized and targeted to their greatest needs.”

This definition fits well with the Crescent Libraries Team’s collective objective to meet students where and when they need us. Lisa has continued to integrate embedded librarianship into her teaching and instruction with the courses she had previously partnered with for this academic year. Upon reflection, 100% of faculty surveyed would request

an embedded librarian again in the coming school year, and 100% said that having an embedded librarian adds appreciable value to their formative or summative project(s)/assessment(s). This experience will continue to elevate the skills continuum that represents our library continuum.

IBSC Ideas Lab: Professional Conversations for School Librarians in Boys’ Schools.

Trish Cislak This interactive exchange among IBSC colleagues was an opportunity to learn and grow with others.

Three modules focused on navigating the media landscape and empowering boys as informed citizens through media literacy initiatives, promoting inclusivity and diversity in our collections, and practitioner research and the school library. This network will continue in the future and will only enhance the offerings of the Crescent Libraries.

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CCBE

Annual Report 2020-2021

crescentschool.org/ccbe @CSBoysResearch

The Crescent Centre for Boys’ Education

Discovering How Boys Learn Best

CCBE

CCBE

ON THE HORIZON The Crescent Centre for Boys’ Education

Discovering How Boys Learn Best

Be The One Training to Empower Positive Student Leadership

another teacher supervisor. “There is keen interest from our faculty to be accountability partners in this work to ensure the entire school benefits from increased intrapersonal, interpersonal, and community engagement.”

Be The One (BTO) empowers positive student leadership by teaching students to be aware, think empathetically and offer help. A new BTO toolkit, featuring visualization and listening exercises, a values exploration and a literature review, has been developed to train student leaders to provide this help. In July 2020, Patricia Alviano & David Finkelstein participated in the CAIS Strategic Change Accelerator. This program brought the implementation of BTO, a Grade 3-12 school program focused on the promotion of nurturing safe and inclusive school culture to new heights.

Throughout the school year, a faculty team worked diligently to create a BTO Toolkit for empowering positive student leadership. The 2021-2022 Prefects will be the first to hone their skills using these tools.

“Self-reflection and empathy are essential,” says David Finklestein, one of BTO’s teacher supervisors. “Our Prefects have good intentions, and this training will equip them with skills to excel in their goal.”

IBSC Action Research Fostering Boys’ Empathy and Global Citizenship Through Technology

BTO is a student-led initiative to cultivate a safe and inclusive school culture. The BTO student council, teacher supervisors and faculty groups have created a three-module training program that supports the relationship between emotional intelligence and positive peer interactions. This work is part of Crescent’s Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Winter/ Spring Action Plan. “The next phase of exploration will train each school division in the principles and practices of Be The One,” says Patricia Alviano,

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Lower School teacher Natalie Vera has been inspiring a love of learning through connection and technology at Crescent since 2005. So when the International Boys’ Schools Coalition (IBSC) named Boys and Technology as the 2021-2022 Action Research topic, Vera was immediately intrigued. “I chose Fostering Empathy and Global Citizenship Through Technology as the focus of my research because it feels particularly timely,” says Vera. “The need for our students to show empathy, reflect and understand the world outside of their bubble has never been more important.”

Vera participated in a four-day virtual orientation and training program in late June with 30 other IBSC researchers worldwide. The fieldwork will take place in the fall, and she will present her findings at the 2022 IBSC Conference in Dallas next July.

Trish Cislak, one of the research team advisors for the IBSC program is working alongside Natalie (although leading a different team of researchers) for this project. This is Trish’s ninth year as an IBSC action research advisor.

Annual Report 2020-2021 crescentschool.org/ccbe @CSBoysResearch

CCBE

The Crescent Centre for Boys’ Education

Discovering How Boys Learn Best

CCBE

CCBE

The Crescent Centre for Boys’ Education

Discovering How Boys Learn Best

SPARC 2.0 The CCBE will once again partner with SPARC to empower students to undertake an action research project to foster a positive change in the school community. Boys entering Grades 10 and 11 in September can apply to be part of the research team. We will be tracking the impact of this years’ recommendations as the school year progresses.

New AP Course - Seminar While Crescent has offered AP courses for over 10 years, AP Seminar is the first of two courses that focus on academic research skills. AP Seminar and AP Research (coming in 2022) use an interdisciplinary approach to develop the critical thinking, research, collaboration, time management, and presentation skills students need for university. Independent, curious and collaborative students will find this an empowering experience and we are excited to integrate this course with Challenge and Change in the fall of 2021. Eight faculty members will undergo an intensive week of professional development in the summer of 2021 in support of this new offering. The CCBE will have an integral role in supporting research skills development as the boys advance their inquiry projects.

ISEEN Partner School We are very excited to launch next year as a partner school with the Independent School Experiential Educators Network (ISEEN). ISEEN is a collaborative of independent schools from across North America

and Crescent’s Director of Outreach Sheryl Murray is a board member of this organization. The partnership demonstrates our commitment to an innovative and future-focused pedagogy in service of pursuing ISEEN’s mission of “Seeking to lead, inform, connect, expand, and steward transformational experiential teaching and learning throughout an interconnected world.” With this status, we can significantly add many professional development opportunities within the realms of Adaptability, Community, Inclusivity and Passion.

IBSC Wired to Connect: Relational Teaching for Boys August 24 & 25, 2021 Crescent will co-host two online workshops with Michael Reichert and a panel of leading boys’ educators on relational teaching, based on research conducted with IBSC schools. The first workshop focuses on a theory of boys’ education derived from actual practice and confirmed by their students. A panel of teachers will describe how they hone their lessons in response to feedback from the boys in their classrooms.

The second workshop provides an overview of relational gestures shown to be effective for establishing a working alliance and the common phenomenon of relational breakdowns and their repair.

The results of a study that explored the relational model with boys in primary grades, in which Dr. Sandra Boyes and Natalie Vera were on the lead research team, will be discussed along with insights from other researchers who have tested the framework with boys of colour.

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CCBE

The Crescent Centre for Boys’ Education

Discovering How Boys Learn Best

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CCBE

The Crescent Centre for Boys’ Education

Discovering How Boys Learn Best