CCBE The Crescent Centre for Boys’ Education Discovering How Boys Learn BestDiscovering How Boys Learn Best AnnualReport2021-2022
Moral Courage Relational Learning
SPARC: Belonging in High School
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 Annual Report 2021-2022 crescentschool.org/ccbe @ CSBoysResearch 1
OF CONTENTS FORWARD ...................................................................... 2 EDITORS’ NOTE 3 AREAS of FOCUS ................................................................. 4 Character 40 in 9 Report Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging Irshad
Dr. Sandra Boyes: IBSC Relational Teaching Interest (Student Participatory Collaborative): The Student/Teacher
TABLE Manji:
Group SPARC
Action Research
Loneliness and
Boys SHARING OUR EXPERTISE ........................................................ 8 Conference BUILDINGPublicationsPresentationsOUREXPERTISE 10 Crescent Considers ON THE HORIZON ............................................................... 10
Special
Relationship Wellbeing
I was honoured to accompany 15 Grade 10 Crescent students to the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia in April.
Michael Fellin P’24 Headmaster
There is much to look forward to as pandemic restrictions ease and teaching and learning return to a normalcy that we have not experienced in over two years. It is an exciting time for the CCBE and the teaching and learning possibilities in service to our boys.
FORWARD
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The work with SPARC is a perfect example of how Crescent engages our students in the school reform process, which was the subject of a workshop led by Deputy Headmaster Nick Kovacs at the NAIS annual conference in March. Using a Crescent School case study, Mr. Kovacs demonstrated how a student-centred approach helps to identify potential reform efforts better and increases student agency and buy-in.
In this Annual Report, examples abound of Crescent serving as a local and global resource for those interested in understanding and working effectively with boys. I am particularly proud of the work shared at the June 2022 International Boys’ School Coalition (IBSC) conference in Dallas, TX. Crescent’s expertise was on full display, as evidenced by Dr. Boyes’ dual roles on the Relational Teaching Special Interest Group and as part of the IBSC Board Research Committee and Ms. Cislak’s presentation on using young adult literature to inform a boy’s path to manhood.
Congratulations to the CCBE for another successful year furthering its standing as a leader in educational research aimed at deepening and enriching boys’ education. I am particularly thankful to Dr. Sandra Boyes and Mrs. Trish Cislak, whose commitment to Crescent’s research culture did not falter despite the challenges and limitations posed by the pandemic.
This delegation was part of the Student Participatory Action Research Collaborative (SPARC), a research consortium that mobilizes student insights and voices to improve school culture, policy, and practice. The boys had two focus areas for their research: belonging and loneliness and harnessing the power of student-teacher relationships to achieve academic success. Their findings and tangible recommendations will help shape our school policies and fuel future exploration in these essential areas.
EDITORS’ NOTE
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A highlight from the 2021-22 school year was our Grade 10 SPARC (Student Participatory Action Research Collaborative) team, whose efforts led them to Philadelphia to present their findings at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education. The boys’ work was well-received and they represented Crescent School with
professionalism and dedication. Special thanks to Ms. Cislak, Mr. Messenger and Mr. Fellin for supervising the boys at this important conference.
Our continued work with our IBSC colleagues provides us with invaluable perspectives and insights. We are grateful for their generous contributions to our development.
The year ahead proves to be an exciting one. We anticipate a return to pre-pandemic teaching and learning environments and are poised to capture this momentum. We will do this by leaning into discovering best practices in experiential education, wellbeing, character and diversity, inclusion and belonging to support our signature programs: Crescent’s Portrait of A Graduate and the Crescent Diploma.
Dr. Sandra Boyes
Learning & Research, Head
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community and our international partners. This past year, we turned our research lens inwards to examine the impacts of the pandemic on wellbeing, belonging, inclusion and positive school culture. Our efforts were directed toward student research and establishing the research culture for our faculty, which proved to be a valuable step in highlighting the role of the CCBE for all constituents. This investment will serve us well as we look forward to having additional opportunities to connect internally and externally next year.
Executive Director of Professional of Lower School
Our Advisory Panel was instrumental in directing our efforts this year. One significant deliverable from our strategic planning exercise was the creation of CCBE’s Four Tiers of Professional Research. These tiers outline four paths to conducting action research starting with an analysis of a classroom teaching practice and ending with a refereed article for publication or conference teaching presentation. We are excited that our colleagues have the clarity and structure to support and inform their pursuit of the best teaching practices for our boys.
Mrs. Trish Cislak Head of Libraries and Research
• Every student who earns 40 hours or more will be invited to a breakfast celebration to recognize their contribution to our community.
• Provide global and life experiences that allow each boy to find his passion and commit to a life of continued service.
• Create a more rounded individual whose actions depict and clearly demonstrate the School’s core values.
The program is designed to:
and universities look upon a willingness to serve in a favourable light.
Program Details:
• Encourage and support our Grade 9 students in achieving and completing the mandatory 40 community service hours required for graduation as outlined by the Ministry of Education.
• Students must complete their service hours and submit them to Ms. Murray or their Guidance Counsellor by the end of April of their Grade 9 year.
Outreach is one of our Character-in-Action signature programs. 40 in 9 is an incentive program that encourages Grade 9 students to earn their 40 mandatory community service hours in their Grade 9 year.
in CHARACTER9
During the 2021-22 school year, 57 students (from a class size of 106) earned the 40 in 9 award. These boys worked in a variety of areas —creatively navigating pandemic restrictions — giving back to the less fortunate in their community and beyond.
Annual Report 2021-2022 crescentschool.org/ccbe @ CSBoysResearchCCBE The Crescent Centre for Boys’ Education Discovering How Boys Learn Best CCBE CCBE The Crescent Centre for Boys’ Education Discovering How Boys Learn Best
AREAS4 OF FOCUS
• Students may earn hours immediately upon their Grade 8 graduation, ie. the summer before Grade 9.
• Expose the boys to life beyond what they currently know and experience.
• Generate an interest in service that will lead to community contributions in excess of the required 40 hours.
40
• Help our boys understand that giving back is a civic responsibility, and that many corporations
Moral Courage
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All members of the Crescent School faculty completed the Diversity without Division faculty professional development online course. Our teachers engaged with cutting-edge content, thought-provoking activities, case studies, and play to learn about and encourage important skills pertaining to moral courage. The course is designed to motivate a new generation to “appreciate their individuality as much as group membership, recognize that empathy is a much smarter, more productive emotion than feeling offended, become confident, but not arrogant, in expressing sincere beliefs, create brave spaces for asking questions of themselves and each other, grow into innovative, collaborative problem-solvers.” Armed with a common language and approach, it is our intention that we move forward to tackle challenging topics and perspectives within our community.
DIVERSITY, INCLUSION AND BELONGING
Irshad Manji
The workshop was well received and the materials prepared and presented by Dr. Coutis and Dr. Boyes are supporting the work of relational learning in other IBSC schools.
Two global studies of successful practices in teaching boys were conducted between 2008 and 2012 by Richard Hawley and Michael Reichert, in partnership with the International Boys’ Schools Coalition. Narratives were collected from over 2,000 teachers and 2,500 adolescent boys across approximately 40 schools in six countries, identifying successful teaching strategies with boys. Both groups agreed on the central feature in lessons deemed successful: “Relationship is the very medium through which successful teaching and learning is performed with boys”.
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Background
• What are the merits of the special interest group concept? What are the practicalities involved in coordinating a SIG?
of the IBSC’s Special Interest Group (SIG) on Relational Teaching and Learning. The SIG now comprises 29 member schools across eight countries. SIG activities include virtual meetings of the full group, smaller cluster meetings where topics of mutual interest are discussed and professional networks developed, presentations from expert speakers, and the sharing of ideas, practice and resources via an online platform. The primary aim of the SIG is to support member schools in building a relational practice that is visible, practical and sustainable.
• How can schools embed and sustain a relational teaching and learning culture?
Dr. Sandra Boyes
As the results of these studies were presented at schools and conferences around the world, a common question arose: “How can we enhance the relational skills of our faculty?” To help answer this question, Michael Reichert, in partnership with Scotch College in Melbourne, Australia and Crescent School in Toronto, Canada, formed a team in 2015 to develop a Relational Judgment Test for educators of boys. The test provides reliable and valid feedback to teachers and coaches about their relational teaching skills.
RELATIONAL LEARNING
a good relational teaching and learning practice look like in IBSC member schools? What are the benefits of such practice?
During the workshop, best practices in relational learning from the SIG meetings were shared. Three questions pertaining to how these might be applied in a range of school contexts were
discussed:•Whatdoes
The workshop presented by Dr. Boyes and Dr. Coutis in Dallas (June 2022) provided participants with an overview of the activities
IBSC Relational Teaching Special Interest Group with Dr. Peter Coutis, Scotch College, Australia
Presentations | Access Passcode:
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This was the CCBE’s second year participating in SPARC. Fifteen Grade 10 boys committed to weekly meetings and four research retreats throughout the year. They used these occasions to brainstorm, develop, research and report on two separate projects in service of amplifying student voice with the intent of improving overall school culture.
WELLBEING
The second SPARC research project explored how the school culture can address loneliness amongst boys in order to develop a sense of belonging, particularly as the school emerged from the lingering impact of the pandemic. The recommendations emerging from their research included more Mentor Group time, where Upper School students of different ages
View the Research Brief | View the Research Poster
as learners. Their findings included: 1) adding more extra help sessions allowing students to not only ask more questions, but also build more opportunities for connection, 2) integrating more diverse learning environments such as labs and hands-on activities to stoke the passion and interests of students and build better student-teacher relationships through actual communication and discovery, and 3) foster a better feedback system in order to create a positive feedback loop between students and teachers.
SPARC: Loneliness and Belonging in High School Boys
can interact with each other and their Mentor, an increased emphasis on club participation including a “Club Day” at the beginning of the year to showcase some of the clubs that are available at Crescent, and the revival of a Brotherhood program, which matches new Crescent students with those who have been at the school for many years.
View the Research Brief | View the Research Poster
In the first research project, students explored how boys can develop positive relationships with their teachers in order to foster their growth
SPARC (Student Participatory Action Research Collaborative): Student/Teacher Relationship
Watch the SPARC 6J.#^u2a
Despite these challenges, the research is clear about the benefits of including students in classroom and school-based decision processes. Students have lived experiences that allow them unique insights, and they can foresee how a change may inadvertently hamper their learning or wellbeing. For instance, when one school was working on a new schedule,
Schools exist to serve the needs of students. And yet, rarely in our school reform efforts do we ask students
Using Crescent School as a case study, we modelled how the school centered students in the school reform process. We explored how Crescent School used student surveys, focus groups, and other listening protocols to identify a number of potential reform efforts, including the implementation of a semester-based course schedule. In this session, participants heard directly from Crescent students and leaders – both to understand the power of student voice and to highlight the real advantages and challenges of using this model. We then asked participants during a self-study exercise to consider where in their own schools or classrooms they might begin to include student voices to improve the school change process.
Over the past 18 years, Challenge Success, a non-profit organization affiliated with Stanford University, has worked with countless schools that tend to treat students as beneficiaries and not necessarily collaborators of their school reform efforts. Involving students can feel onerous. Adults and students may not know how to listen to one another in productive ways and how to include all students in the data gathering and analysis process. Questions of power abound, including what to do when there is a clear divide between what the students desire and what the adults believe is feasible.
8SHARING
what they need. What does it look like when students have a voice in shaping the policies and practices at their schools? How might we elicit the experiences and perspectives of all students – not just a token few – so that the changes we enact result in richer learning, deeper engagement, and a shared sense of belonging?
it was the students that realized that the shortened lunch period would lead to untenably long lines. At another school, students shared that the proposed homework policy wouldn’t address the issue of busywork, which was their primary Engagingconcern.students
OUR EXPERTISE
in systems-level decisions has also been shown to increase student agency and belonging, especially for students from historically underrepresented populations in independent schools. Including students in this process helps to support real-life skill development such as collaboration, communication skills, creativity, and adaptability. Finally, including students in the change process can increase student buy-in and support for the change, which ultimately improves chances for the initiative to be successful.
Nick Kovacs National Association of Independent Schools Annual Conference, March 2022
Annual Report 2021-2022 crescentschool.org/ccbe @ CSBoysResearchCCBE The Crescent Centre for Boys’ Education Discovering How Boys Learn Best CCBE CCBE The Crescent Centre for Boys’ Education Discovering How Boys Learn Best
Dr. Sandra Boyes
International Boys’ School Coalition Annual Conference, June 2022 Using Young Adult Literature to Form and Inform a Path to Manhood
Mrs. Cislak, along with TheAndrewcolleagues,StarkfromSouthport
Our school libraries are multi-faceted, spaces for learning and growing. The resources offered and promoted provide boys with the opportunity to positive pathways for self-realization and
International Boys’ School Coalition Annual Conference, June 2022
School (Australia) and Pooja Mathur from The Kings’ School (Australia) presented a workshop promoting the value of books and libraries in the lives of our boys.
St. Christopher’s School (United States) presented a workshop on developing a research Duringcentre.
academic success. This interactive workshop featured three librarians from Australia and Canada, and explored the valuable contribution literature can make to develop young men of character. Their presentation reinforced Dr. Rudine Sims’ theory of windows and mirrors in literature and the role this paradigm plays in a boys’ personal development. With direct reference to specific examples of literature, they explored the notions of Identity, Othering and Tribalism and how they form and inform a boy’s Path to Manhood. Mrs. Cislak also presented this workshop to her Crescent colleagues.
Trish Cislak
Dr. Boyes, together with her colleagues on the IBSC Board Research Committee (Caitlin Munday and Hugh Chilton, The Scots College (Australia); Ross Featherston, Brighton Grammar School (Australia); Peter Coutis, Scotch College (Australia); Kim Hudson,
the session, team members defined research investment as it exists within IBSC member schools and explored the role of the IBSC Research Committee in supporting and enabling it.
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 Annual Report 2021-2022 crescentschool.org/ccbe @ CSBoysResearch 9
Annual Report 2021-2022 crescentschool.org/ccbe @ CSBoysResearchCCBE The Crescent Centre for Boys’ Education Discovering How Boys Learn Best CCBE CCBE The Crescent Centre for Boys’ Education Discovering How Boys Learn Best BUILDING10 OUR EXPERTISE • Crescent Considers 2021-2022 • Research Tiers for Faculty Development • Competencies/Courage and Relational Skills Alignment Chart ON THE HORIZON • Steve Verzyden IBSC Action Researcher Nominee • ISEEN (Independent School Experiential Educator Network) Leadership School • Crescent leading an IBSC in Boys’ School Series Shorts in Building a Research Culture for Faculty and Students • Crescent will be a participating school for the IBSC Emerging Technologies project • Wellbeing Podcast featuring Ms. Roberta Longpre and Dr. Greg Wells in conversation with Ms. Trish Cislak and Dr. Sandra Boyes
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