HOME LEARNING FRAMEWORK

Terms Used

Asynchronous Learning: Students work on their own time and pace, but a teacher is available for consultation during the block or remedial time.

Synchronous Learning: An online learning environment in which everyone participates at the same time usually via videoconferencing.

Modular Learning: Individualized instruction that allows learners to use print or digital formats and other learning resources.

Online Support Resources: Refers to the general use of online resources by teachers. This use of online materials in classrooms is a supplement (not a substitute) to instruction and is not considered a central approach of Home Learning Program.

Learning time: refers to the time allotted for a student to be on task towards achieving the set goals or outcomes set in a unit. Learning time comes in a variety of forms, from watching a video, to reading a reference material, working on a task individually or by group, interacting with peers, completing formative assessment

Preface

Brent International School Subic  is committed to develop individual students as responsible global citizens and leaders in their respective communities, with a multicultural perspective, and equipped not just for entry to universities throughout the world, but for life as well. For the school year 2020-2021, we also continue with our strong commitment to the Brent Education framework: its philosophy of holistic education and ESLRs in innovative and inclusive ways.  We have modified our Home Learning program to better suite the learning needs of our students. The program is a set of inclusive and innovative strategies, approaches, and structures for the school year.

Quality teaching and learning, alongside the Brent community experience, are delivered online.  With the experience and insights gained from nine weeks of the Home Learning Program last school year, it has now been enhanced by strategies, research, schedules and a system of support for students, parents and faculty. It is also a flexible program that will allow for innovation and blended learning (some face to face interaction) when the safety measures allow us to meet again.

HOME LEARNING

FRAMEWORK

An abundance of digital resources to compliment

our Brent Education.

1. Online Grade Reporting System (BASIS) Feedback is an essential part of the learning process. With the Brent Academic School Information System (BASIS), grades are calculated electronically and communicated instantly.

2. Rubicon Atlas With three campuses throughout Luzon, this software helps to ensure all Brent Schools teachers have an aligned, viable and accessible curriculum for students and families.

3. Google Classroom  A platform that makes virtual classrooms accessible to distribute assignments, communicate and stay organized. This streamlines the process of sharing files between teachers and students.

4. Managebac  For Gr. 11 and 12 students, this platform will act as the hub for Internal Assessment work, alongside the CORE programs of the Extended Essay, CAS, and Theory of Knowledge.

5. Seesaw: is a learning management system and digital portfolio that allows students to demonstrate and share their work. Instructions to assignments are available in different formats so that students can refer to them even while doing the work.

6. RAZ Kids is an online differentiated reading program. Students can access over 400 leveled eBooks that they can and interact with, read aloud, and listen to.

7. ThinkCentral As part of our Go Math! Resource, it provides personalized learning with adaptive math support. In Lower School, all students are subscribed to individual accounts that parents and teachers can access.

8. Maia Learning  This college counseling software enhances our services and allows parents to stay involved and informed in the college search and application process. 9. My IB All grade eleven and twelve educators utilize resources here and receive up to date information on the latest methods for design and approaches to teaching and learning.

10. InThinking This IB resource provides high quality educational resources that are updated weekly by IB professional workshop coordinators.

Brent ESLRs

To face the challenges of this new learning and teaching experience, everyone in the Brent community embodies our ESLRs. In doing so we keep learning, thriving and working toward creating effective student learning experiences, and of being a living international community.  Brent’s Expected Schoolwide Learning Results (ESLRs) are aligned with WASC’s Global Competencies, 21st Century Skills, the International Baccalaureate’s approaches to Teaching and Learning, and the IB learner profile.

Responsible citizens

Critical thinkers

Technologically literate individuals

Healthy individuals

Tolerant individuals

Effective communicators

Lifelong learners

Structured and Balanced  

The structure of classes takes into consideration the needs of varying age groups. Using our experience and continuous research on best practices, we will provide a balanced educational experience. The focus will be on students’ learning time, rather than contact time with the teacher.

Homeroom time is set to begin each school day with reminders and for monitoring of teacher and student well-being. Short mindfulness/physical exercises to keep the body and mind active may also be given at this time of the day. 

Learning time - The block schedule offers creative ways to schedule learning time, while considering developmental stages of students. Break times in-between blocks allow for a balanced and manageable learning experience. Learning times include off screen/stretch and break times.

Remedial time - whether by an individual or in small groups , are an essential element of the schedule. These may be initiated by the teacher, student, or parent for academic or non-academic concerns. 

Student Wellness - Each student has a choice to partake in different activities shared by community members. Movement breaks - Breaks scheduled throughout the school day give students time to rest their eyes and reset their focus. Students are encouraged to be off screen, and use this time for physical activities (short exercise, stretching) or play. For younger students, play is a crucial part of learning because it develops creativity and critical thinking. While play can be incorporated during online learning sessions, students can have unstructured play during breaks.

Inclusive and Innovative

Being inclusive and innovative are the underlying and driving forces behind the Brent Subic Home Learning Program. These principles allow for the delivery of units and lessons in a variety of ways bearing in mind the unique needs and contexts of learners and their families. 

Based on our experience from the past school year, we adapted unique approaches to deliver high quality learning experiences through a combination of different distance learning approaches. These include synchronous & asynchronous lessons, modular learning, and email/messaging correspondence with students and parents. It is our intent to reach all our learners and provide them with the support they need.

Holistic  

We believe in the development of the whole person - in mind, body and spirit. In order to optimize the student experience, our holistic approach covers academics, co-curricular activities and chapel/pastoral reflection.  The Brent Education experience begins with the mission, vision, and philosophy. Those are embodied in the Expected Schoolwide Learning Results. The ESLRs are further expressed through the objectives of the academic and co-curricular programs. 

The balance between academic and co-curricular, spiritual, athletic and cultural activities make a living international school community, where young people from different nationalities, cultures, religions and family backgrounds, educate one another by mutual understanding and respect, openness of mind in dialogue, acceptance of the uniqueness and limitations of each, and growth in the spirit of service and the practice of justice and charity.

Expectations

Aid in the development, implementation and communication of the Home Learning program adhering to the Brent mission and vision.

Support the transition to and out of the program as needed.

Support students to engage and become a positive member of our learning community.

Support parents to garner success or their children and support student success in a remote learning environment.

Implement and follow the Brent Curriculum to deliver instruction. Follow the schedule and guidelines set by the school.

Communicate method, criteria and content for evaluation as well as clearly publish assignments and deadlines.

Be available for remedial time and individual student consultation during their office hours. Provide individualized and timely feedback in order to effectively guide student progress. Record all  online delivered instruction and upload this for easy access.

Use the appropriate school approved platforms for all student contact. Provide meaningful, realistic after school clubs and activities.

Put their best effort forward with all program material.

Engage in the digital community each class, being present and engaged during learning time.

Ensure that upon signing into the class platform, will turn their mic on and provide a greeting to the class. Do their best to ensure they are visible throughout each class.

Commit to completing all tasks and activities assigned by their teachers. Respect due dates and class guidelines.

Understand that their work and participation will be assessed and included on academic reports. Find a productive study space at home, removed from distractions.

Dress appropriately to further enforce a strong learning environment.

Leadership Team

The Leadership Team is expected to:

Teachers

Teachers are expected to:

Students

Students are expected to:

Attendance

Attendance will be recorded through BASIS at the beginning of homeroom and each individual subject period through checking during the scheduled video conference. Students who join a video call later than five minutes after the start of the block will be considered tardy for the period. Accumulation of tardy arrivals carries the consequences outlined in the Parent-Student Handbook. Parent communication to the school will help in notifying teachers in the event of unexpected disruptions that prevent students from attending scheduled classes.

Netiquette - the ESLRs online

Remember that students, parents, faculty and staff are part of a learning community. That community is enhanced or undermined by each person’s behavior. Let us help to enhance it and continue to embody the ESLR and Brent Crest values even online! Below are some basic ESLR behaviors online. Teachers are free to customize their own ESLR behaviors online.

Curriculum

Content

Faculty will continue to innovate and evolve curriculum priorities, identifying essential content and unpacking standards and benchmarks that are necessary components for students to progress onward in their education in any given subject. Due to the complexities and strain on the learner in a remote learning environment, content delivery will be chunked and delivered in a way where the learner has a clear understanding of the learning outcomes and enduring understandings of the given lesson. Unit overviews should be provided for students to understand the direction of their learning and desired goals and final assessments. 

Delivery

The delivery of learning experiences will be a combination of distance learning modalities. Approaches to teaching and learning apply throughout all learning modalities.

Authentic/transfer/performance tasks.

Doable within the time frame, with opportunities for formative work, feedback and reflection. Clear Criteria used throughout the process through rubrics and/or checklists

Demonstration/examples

Building online student portfolios to show progress and reflection (beginning PreK- Grade 11)

Goals and educational objectives to attain.

Feedback concerning student progress towards those goals.

Opportunities to gather, record and report information regarding progress to students and parents.

Assessment

At Brent International Schools, the primary aim of assessment is to educate and improve student performance. It is integrated into daily classroom teaching. It is an ongoing process, based on multiple sources of evidence including tests, observations, portfolios, interviews, performances and projects designed to inform the learning of both student and teacher. 

Formative Assessments help students and teachers gauge the extent of their understanding and what needs to be improved. Formative assessments are recorded and reported, but these marks do not factor into the grade. Formative assessments are a means to give feedback regarding progress. 

Summative assessments in an online learning environment will be tasks that embody the following: 1.

2. 3. 4. 5.

In both types of assessments, students are active participants as they take responsibility for their work and to support their growth as lifelong learners.

Assessment involves processes and procedures which provide: 1.

2. 3.

Both summative and formative marks are recorded on BASIS for parents and students to see based on goals and assessments communicated prior.

Citizenship

Citizenship marks are established with the purpose of tracking variables including effort, behavior, attitude, attendance, punctuality, and participation. Citizenship rewarding is not linked to subject specific criteria, but rather is established by subject teachers’ observations and experience with students. Through the duration of the program and overall school year, citizenship marks will continue to be evaluated based on the students self-management skills, social skills, and thinking skills. Of course, descriptors used to determine whether a student is exceeding, meeting, approaching, or not meeting expectations, will factor in the online learning environment and daily interactions between faculty and peers. A citizenship mark is released on a quarterly basis and is evaluated based off of this rubric.

Schedule

LOWER SCHOOL PRE-K-GRADE 5 

For grades 3 through 5 the main avenue of communication is Google Classroom. Lesson objectives and activities will be posted every day. Each day has set goals with a variety of learning activities (formative and summative) to meet the learning objectives and ESLRs. Teachers communicate the learning objectives to students and parents ahead of time.

Class blocks are structured to provide whole class teaching, as well as independent work times. Synchronous learning time with the teachers will be done through Google Hangouts/Meet, and individual instruction and conferences can also be scheduled. For young children, too much screen time is not healthy and their attention span is limited, so they will not be asked to spend the whole class block doing activities online. However for specialist subjects (PE, Music, Art, ICT), you may expect synchronous lessons to go over the specified time below, depending on the set objectives and skills to be learned. 

To help reduce on-screen time, learning packets will be sent home. These packets vary for each grade level, and may include printed materials, books, math manipulatives, etc. During learning time, students can use items in the packet, aside from completing online activities. This can help students to develop their understanding of concepts and to apply their learning in concrete ways. Work done in class will be uploaded either to the Google Classroom or on Seesaw. 

MIDDLE & UPPER SCHOOL

Flexible teaching and learning activities for a unit are communicated ahead of time. Each day has set goals with a variety of learning activities (formative and summative) to meet the learning objectives and ESLRs.

Feedback from students, parents, and teachers

Similar to our approach last year, feedback is essential for the ongoing improvement of the program. Feedback will be sought on a regular basis through online surveys or calls. Opportunities for parent-teacher