A new kind of teamwork — District Teachers bring classrooms together

April 14, 2021

“We’re trying something new,” says Stacey Bernier, District Teacher.

Bernier is talking about the trial run of an online activity, where four classrooms around the District joined together to take part in a mural building activity.

Hosted by District Teachers, Sandra Averill and Stacey Bernier, the activity focused on building Computational Thinking skills as well as discussing how colour and emotion interact. Classes took part in a two day lesson over Microsoft Teams to colour a mural, where each student was given a small piece to colour in using Microsoft Excel. The mural was then put together and discussed as a group.

This exercise led by Averill and Bernier was intended to see how they can use the digital world to bring classes and students together in new ways.

“A vital skill for students is to learn how to interact with people beyond their community,” says Averill.

The District Instructional Services Department continues to be a leader in Applied Design, Skills, and Technologies (ADST) curriculum and innovation. With the COVID-19 pandemic, District staff have been pushing the limits and finding creative ways to use technology to advance education and keep students engaged.

“The pandemic thrust us into this world where we were ready to do this,” says Averill, “because, students are used to using Teams, as are teachers.”