Foundational Frameworks
Literacy, Numeracy, Technology, & Well-Being
The Golden Hills Literacy and Numeracy Foundational Frameworks are intended to ensure that students acquire basic skills and knowledge, so they can move to higher levels of thinking and application. These foundational frameworks support Powerful Learning and provide common guidelines for practices in all classrooms. They are research-based and describe the key assumptions/ philosophies, high impact strategies and practices, and assessment approaches identified as best practices in Golden Hills.
Technology is integrated into the learning environment as the tool to gather information, construct new learning, document learning and extend learning to creations and innovations. Technology is used to facilitate the creation and communication of learning with others. Galileo Learning Network identifies characteristics of strong inquiries and tasks that permit students to select appropriate technologies to create, contribute, connect and collaborate with others.
Literacy Foundational Framework
Literacy is the ability to understand, respond to and use language to share information and interact with others. It involves the lifelong intellectual process of constructing meaning from text and the world.
Golden Hills acknowledges that literacy is defined as more than reading and writing and has expanded to include multimodal, digitally rich contexts where students have “anytime, anywhere” access to information. The 21st Century demands that a literate person possess a wide range of abilities and competencies. This necessitates that students in Golden Hills be explicitly taught strategies to navigate all forms of literacy such as visual literacy, digital literacy and media literacy. For our students to be well prepared for their future they need to be able to process a wide variety of sources of information critically and with confidence and be equipped with the tools and support they need to be successful, innovative thinkers. In addition, our students need to be able to use information and insights from text as the basis for informed decisions and creative thought within a global environment. As noted by Alberta Learning, literacy is socially and culturally based and as such, individuals create meaning based upon their language, culture and ways of knowing.
Golden Hills recognizes the devastating impact of failure to acquire literacy skills and the high correlation between high school dropout rates and low literacy levels. Poor acquisition of literacy skills is a barrier in all aspects of schooling. It is with this in mind that Golden Hills has developed an action plan to continue to ensure maximum literacy growth for all students.
“Literacy is at the heart of sustainable development…Acquiring literacy in an empowering process, enabling millions to enjoy access to knowledge and information which broadens horizons, increases opportunities and creates alternatives for building a better life” (Kofi Annan, 2001 Nobel Peace Prize Winner).
Download the GHSD Literacy Framework 2021.
Numeracy Foundational Framework
Numeracy is foundational to student learning. Being numerate means going beyond the acquisition of basic skills and solving simple arithmetic problems to being able to acquire, create, connect, understand and communicate information.
Golden Hills School Division strives to engage all learners with varied abilities and unique experiences to reach a deep understanding of numeracy across all curriculum areas. A deep understanding of math is based on a
strong foundation that includes mastery of basic facts/mental mathematics strategies as outlined in the Alberta Mathematics Program of Studies.
In order to improve achievement, it is vital that we increase the math confidence levels in our students. This framework is designed to help teachers understand the importance of determining the entry level of each student and to facilitate student success through carefully created tasks and activities. To accomplish this, the student and teacher work together setting math goals/targets and continuously reflect on student progress as they move towards these goals and mastery of numeracy concepts.
Download the Golden Hills Numeracy Framework.
Technology Foundational Framework
Technology is inherent throughout Powerful Learning, as a part of achieving Deep Understanding. Being digitally literate means going beyond the acquisition of basic computer skills to being able to acquire, create, connect, understand and communicate information through digital systems and technologies. Students can navigate independently any digital platform at any point in time to achieve their goal, utilizing multiple Core Competencies. The internet is used as a place to store, locate, and share knowledge, regularly for students. Although this trend makes accessing content easier, it also increases the need for students to analyze information through critical thinking and investigative practices. The teacher now needs to support students in being able to discern, critically assess, discover and create new understanding (Fullan, Quinn, and McEachen, 2018, p. 82).
Furthermore, the increasing dependence on digital devices for knowledge storage and acquisition carries the possibility for all students to actively participate in the sharing of their constantly developing knowledge and understanding of concepts. Effective technology integration in educational experiences will better prepare Golden Hills students to be contributing global citizens. Similar to numeracy and literacy, digital literacy is essential for the success of our students. Furthermore, digital literacy can be the vehicle to enhance conceptual understanding of numeracy and literacy. According to the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research, 2006 and the Welsh Government in 2015 and 2016, digital literacy is as important to students as numeracy and literacy.
Click here to download the Golden Hills Technology Framework.
Well-Being Foundational Framework
The Well-Being framework is designed to assist GHSD teachers in fostering the well-being of
all students. It assists teachers in understanding the importance of creating positive
learning environments where students feel connected and valued and to understand the
role this plays in learning. The conditions necessary for optimal learning and how to
increase the social-emotional functioning of all students are articulated, as part of the
Powerful Learning Initiative.
