MacLachlan’s
Remote Learning Approach

MacLachlan’s Remote Learning Plan continues to address, relevant to each division, IB and Ontario Ministry of Education curriculum and learning objectives.

General Guides and Expectations for Faculty

MacLachlan’s Remote Learning Plan allows and encourages teachers to think differently about the opportunities
and possibilities that may result from the challenging circumstances associated with a school closure. Teachers,
along with support from administration and department leads, use their expertise to determine how to best design
or redesign their units, lessons or courses and take the following into consideration:

• Leverage digital platforms to provide learning experiences rich in engagement, social interaction and facilitate feedback.

• Determine the key understandings, skills and habits of learning identified in original in-class experiences that can be transferred to a remote experience.

• Design learning experiences that address the needs of different types of learners who need various kinds of support and guidance.

• Provide a variety of ways to assess student learning in meaningful ways.

• Provide assessments, grades and specific feedback related to student learning.

• Help students manage the worry, fear, or isolation they may be experiencing.

MAC Remote Learning Guidelines
IB PRIMARY YEARS PROGRAMME (PYP)

MAC Remote Learning Guidelines – Lower School

Kindergarten Program Overview (Pre-K, JK, SK)

MacLachlan’s Kindergarten Remote Learning includes both on-screen (synchronistic) and off-screen (asynchronistic) learning experiences. The subject specific detailed program is posted weekly on MPAC and will outline tasks and daily checklists for the students to explore.

Kindergarten teachers are using three online vehicles as part of the Remote Learning platform:

WE ENCOURAGE PARENTS AND STUDENTS TO EMBRACE OUR ONLINE ESSENTIAL AGREEMENTS WHICH INCLUDE:

• Pay attention just like you would in the classroom.
• Make eye contact.
• Be a risk-taker and don’t hesitate to ask questions.
• Bring your book, pencil and eraser for each lesson.
• Let’s have fun learning together!

SPECIALIST TEACHERS

PYP specialist teachers (French, Music, PSPE) provide activities and live lessons on the posted weekly schedule and will have daily office hours available for parents to contact them with any questions. Office hours refer to dedicated blocks of time where the teachers are not teaching another class or in a scheduled meeting with colleagues, parents or other students. Instead, they have set aside time to be available to answer questions, video chat or voice call with students, assist with uploading assignments, clarify instructions, etc. You can expect a response during this time from the teacher you are contacting (unless they are already helping another student). You are still welcome to send a message through TEAMS or an email to a teacher at other points throughout the day, but the teacher may not be able to answer you right away.

Kindergarten Parent Roles and Responsibilities

• Help to provide a learning space and environment with age appropriate supervision and use technology in public areas of your home.

• Develop a daily learning routine and include time for physical activity, reflection time and playtime.

• Support attendance as much as possible with group and 1:1 meetings, however, if you missed a lesson they will be posted on the Topics section of MPAC.

• Encourage a growth mindset and support your child in overcoming any obstacles with a remote learning format.

• Provide feedback to your child’s teacher, regarding successes, challenges, workload, etc.

MAC Remote Learning Guidelines
Remote Learning Overview (Grades 1 – 6)

Students in Grades 1 to Grade 6 continue with subject specific lessons and will engage in both a synchronistic and asynchronistic learning framework as a balanced approach to their remote learning.

Flexibility is provided for students to personalize the Remote Learning Plan to suit their learning needs. Teachers provide specific guidance as to the amount of time activities/assignments might require as well as the level of parent involvement. MPAC continues to be the communication hub regarding curriculum, weekly updates and lessons. Teachers provide customized schedules and lessons weekly to ensure all curriculum requirements are covered. Student lessons and learning experiences are designed to be completed independently or in collaboration with other students depending on the subject or assignment.

Teachers provide group learning opportunities as well as 1:1 student/teacher engagements and office hours where students can contact teachers if they have specific questions. Please note that mental, emotional and physical health are also our priorities. We encourage students to seek out social interactions with their peers, even if this needs to be in a remote way.

Primary Remote Learning Weekly Overview  (Grades 1-3)

Junior Remote Learning Weekly Overview  (Grades 4-6)

Homeroom and subject specific teachers will be using the following online vehicles as part of the Remote Learning platform:

SPECIALIST TEACHERS

PYP specialist teachers (Innovation, French, Music, PSPE, Art) provide activities and live lessons posted on the weekly schedule and have daily office hours available for students and parents to contact them with any questions. Office hours refer to dedicated blocks of time where the teachers are not teaching another class or in a scheduled meeting with colleagues, parents or other students. Instead, they have set aside time to be available to answer questions, video chat or voice call with students, assist with uploading assignments, clarify instructions, etc. You can expect a response during this time from the teacher you are contacting (unless they are already helping another student). You are still welcome to send a message through TEAMS or an email to a teacher at other points throughout the day, but the teacher may not be able to answer you right away.

Student Roles and Responsibilities (Grades 1 – 6)

• Establish daily routines for engaging in the learning experiences (follow daily class schedule provided on MPAC).

• Identify a comfortable, quiet space in your home where you can work effectively and successfully with minimal distraction.

• Ensure you have the appropriate learning tools available (i.e. pencils, rulers, colouring tools, headphones, workbooks, paper, calculator).

• Regularly monitor MPAC and TEAMS to check for learning tasks and feedback from your teacher.

• Attend the synchronous lessons as much as possible. Be sure to review video recordings of any you missed.

• Continue to be a risktaker and utilize a growth mindset when faced with new challenges in the remote learning format.

• Be a principled learner using the traits of the IB Learner Profile.

• Submit all assignments by the due dates given by your teacher.

• Adhere to MacLachlan’s Information Technology Acceptable Use Policy.

• Complete assignments with integrity and academic honesty, doing your best learning.

• Communicate proactively with your teachers if you require additional support and self-advocate when you do not understand something.

• Collaborate and support your peers in any assigned group activities/learning.

• Try to incorporate balance into your daily routines. In addition to academics, be sure to take care of your physical and emotional wellbeing. Eat healthy, practice mindfulness and relieve feelings of anxiousness by getting fresh air and exercise. It’s okay to take a “brain break”.

Parent Roles and Responsibilities (Grades 1 – 6)

• Create a learning environment for your child with easy access to the tools that they will need for their day with age appropriate supervision.

• Establish routines and expectations.

• Ask your child questions about lessons and assignments and monitor communications from your child’s teachers.

• Support attendance of synchronous opportunities as much as possible.

• Take an active role in helping your child process their learning through a guidance approach.

• Establish times for quiet and reflection and provide time for your child to have ownership over their own use of time and activity.

• Create opportunities for your child to interact with peers to maintain connections with their school community.

• Encourage physical activity and/or exercise.

• Remain mindful of your child’s stress or worry.

• Monitor how much time your child is spending online.

• Provide feedback to your child’s teacher(s) regarding questions or concerns).

MAC Remote Learning Guidelines
Upper School (Grades 7 – 12)

Remote Learning Overview

Students in Grades 7 to 12 continue following their daily class timetables and participate in a balanced approach involving synchronistic and asynchronistic learning. Students are provided clear guidance and expectations with regards to daily and weekly learning targets. In addition, any group work collaboration is coordinated through the subject specific teacher where applicable. Homework, assignments and deadlines are clearly communicated to students by their teachers along with evaluation expectations.

• Upper School students and teachers will primarily use Microsoft Teams, however daily check-in on subject MPAC pages and the student’s assignment calendar is required, as well as checking for additional school-wide information updates.

• Teachers provide success criteria for all graded assignments/tasks and will provide well ahead of time any additional materials students will need for a particular class/lesson..

Student Roles and Responsibilities (Grade 7 – 12)

• Plan to dedicate comparable and appropriate time for each of your classes and follow the daily class schedule to the best of your ability.
• During live virtual lessons, ensure that your camera is activated to ensure full engagement and class participation.
• Check online platforms daily (MPAC and Microsoft Teams) for information on courses, assignments and to check for additional resources made available by your teacher(s).
• Create a comfortable and quiet space to study/learn.
• Submit all assignments by the due dates as outlined by your teacher(s).
• Review assignment expectations and evaluation frameworks as outlined by your teacher(s).
• Dedicate time in your day to take care of your physical and emotional wellbeing. Eat a healthy balanced diet, get enough exercise, practice mindfulness, keep in touch with friends.<

• Always adhere to MacLachlan’s Information Technology Acceptable Use Policies.

Parent Roles and Responsibilities (Grade 7 – 12)

• Check-in with your child daily about their learning tasks, activities and assessments they are working on.

• Designate a quiet working space where they can work independently.

• Assist your child as needed to stay on track so they are able to meet deadlines.
• Encourage your child to connect with their teacher(s) if they are in need of extra help and support.

Upper School Assessment Tools

• Teachers use a variety of assessment tasks to inform instruction, improve learning, and report on student achievement.
• Teachers design assessment instruments and create environments that assist students in making good choices related to issues of integrity. This could include:
  • • Using an assessment monitoring systems such as turnitin.com;
    • Establishing clear expectations and guidelines for use of sources and collaboration and including them as part of the assessment task;
    • Post-assessment authentication through student reflection or teacher/student dialogue;
    • Creating assessments that allow for student choice and development for how they will demonstrate learning;
    • Assessments by conversation.

Formative and practice tasks:

• Students must complete assigned non-graded assessments that provide a check for understanding. These may include (but are not limited to) discussions, forms, polls, and reflections.
• Teachers monitor student progress with ongoing and regular feedback.
• Teachers will determine when summative assessments are administered based on the data collected from formative assessments.
• Teachers will actively engage with the student, parents, advisors to support students who are not producing evidence of learning during a unit of study.

Evaluated tasks:

• Students must complete assigned evaluations to measure progress against learning targets. These may include (but are not limited to) electronic portfolios, electronic quizzes/tests, writing assignments, and submitted tasks.
• Graded summative tasks that are performance-based will include a rubric and/or other forms
  of scoring criteria shared with students as part of the task overview.
• Clear instructions on where/how to turn in assignments will be provided to students.