During its regular board meeting on Jan. 20, the Rocky View Schools (RVS) Board of Trustees heard a presentation from a Cochrane-based instructor who, by adopting an “innovator’s mindset,” has been able to help students and teachers overcome challenges they faced during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Amanda Klager, a teacher of a combined Grade 7/8 class at RancheView School in Cochrane, began StudioXP – an immersive, experiential, and inter-disciplinary program – in 2019 to provide her students learning opportunities that would integrate career and technology foundation skills with core curriculum objectives.
During the presentation to trustees, she discussed the various ways the class has had to pivot during the pandemic, and make use of alternative learning pathways. She added she considers the opportunity to speak on behalf of fellow staff and students both a great honour and responsibility.
“I don’t take it lightly to share at one of these board meetings,” she said during the presentation. “I feel like I am representing a wider group of teachers, giving you a glimpse of how it’s been to teach through the pandemic and some of the struggles, but also some of the learnings.”
She added with the challenges brought on by COVID-19, there has been a personal “awakening” which she feels other RVS instructors might resonate with.
“Through the pandemic, it’s really been focused for me what is important for these kids and I’m confident wherever I am next year, if we decide to keep going with XP or if we change it up, I’ll still embed these practices and I still think it’s beneficial for schools, especially at the middle school level,” she said.
Studio XP
According to StudioXP’s website, through both experiences and hands-on learning, students explore the curriculum through a lens of curiosity, and are immersed in the content and challenged to create meaningful projects relevant to issues in the community.
The program is centered around Career and Technology Foundations (CTF) which according to Alberta Education, provide students the opportunity to explore their interests within various occupational areas and technologies.
Students are emboldened to plan, design, create, and implement solutions to real-life problems by examining themes and global issues that are relevant to their community. The program is focused heavily on experiential learning and field trips, and many curriculum objectives are woven together with integrated hands-on projects.
One such project includes the participation in Skills Exploration Day, which was hosted by Skills Canada/Skills Alberta on Dec. 1.
"In the spirit of the Olympics, the students were challenged to design sports equipment prototypes that either help athletes perform better or assist athletes with physical disabilities," Klager said.
She added an element of Studio XP's experiential and hands-on education includes access to Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park, providing students access to outdoor learning opportunities on the ridge or in the park.
“Through these experiences, students will be challenged to create new ideas, innovate solutions and build creative confidence so they can connect to their passions, achieve their potential and navigate successfully as global citizens,” read a statement on the program’s website.
Klager said the program began in 2019 when she and fellow instructor Cody Kempster, who is now serving as the school’s assistant principal, were working together and noticed a need to engage middle-school learners – especially at the Grade 7 to 8 level.
"We were inspired by some of the training we had and that included real-life learning experiences and how it so easily integrated the core outcomes that we need to cover, but in a way that was really engaging and had multiple access points,” she said.
Considering the capacity issues faced by RancheView School, which has classes from Kindergarten to Grade 8, she said the team saw StudioXP as an opportunity to make use of alternative learning spaces, including field trips, outdoor classrooms, and labs.
“The dream was to make the learning real for the students – we really wanted to take away some of the barriers that, perceived or real, maybe prevent teachers of this age group from diving in this way,” Klager said.
She said the first year of the program was filled with both successes and uncertainties, as Kempster took on an administration role and Klager took on a new teaching partner to help navigate a group of 60 students.
“We didn’t know what was coming and when you start something, you don’t know what’s ahead, but you do know the people around you, and I was confident in the support I was getting at the school and also in the district,” she said, adding they started out of the gate by taking students out into the field.
Pandemic-induced hiatus
As a result of the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 and the initial lockdowns that came with it, the program was shut down and the dream was “put on the back burner,” according to Klager.
“It was a really hard end to the year because there was no closure, but we had hope for the next year and we decided we’d run it again,” she said.
She added the termination of many proposed field trips as a result of pandemic-related restrictions was a “big blow” to the StudioXP program. At first, the team was not sure if they could carry on as planned or would have to accommodate additional health restrictions imposed by the division, including mandatory masking and social distancing measures.
“The tension of the community, and every classroom – the teacher was navigating that,” she said.
“One thing I didn’t realize is that life is still going on and crises are still going on with COVID. You’re balancing your own plate, navigating through COVID, teaching, and holding it together for the kids.”
Klager said each year, StudioXP begins with the students choosing their own adventure theme for the year.
The 2020-21 school year featured the theme “Through the Storm,” which focused on navigating the changing protocols of the pandemic and trying to see what each student can do as they go through the cycles of the storm and how to cope and be there for one another.
Similarly, she added this year’s theme is “Choosing Divergent,” which focuses on alternative ways of thinking and being creative in the face of challenges to find a solution.
Throughout the last three years of the program, Klager said she has been validated in her belief of the value of alternative learning spaces and making use of technology to help students discover their gifts and skills.
Finally, she added in the future, she hopes to rebuild some of the networks and community connections that were lost during the COVID-19 pandemic, and make use of the assistance and knowledge of those in the field to create an interactive, authentic, and relevant learning experience for students.
“I’m not saying throw out the curriculum, but I am saying we have to be mindful that we don’t get into that loop of just trying to produce and pushing them through [the system],” she said.
“They really need to belong, and we just really need to be together – that's what I’m learning through the pandemic.”
Following the presentation, RVS Superintendent Greg Luterbach, expressed his appreciation to Klager and her team for their efforts keeping the program going throughout the pandemic.
Similarly, Ward 5 Trustee Judi Hunter said it was an “unbelievable presentation” that spoke to her on a personal level.
“What spoke to me was the pressures that political decisions have made on people’s lives, on people like yourself that care about kids, that go over and above and just your passion around your work and still trying to do the best you could,” she said. “I see the emotional impact on you – I would like to say thank you for giving us a very clear picture of what our teachers and kids have gone through.
“For that, I can’t thank you enough.”
