Learning at West Dover School

Personalization of Learning

Our learning program embraces the CBE's Personalization of Learning Framework.   Each child's starting place, pathway, and destination is unique.  At the center of personalization is differentiated learning and assessment that reflects student interest and passion, teacher expertise in curriculum, and the co-designing in learning tasks and assessment.  We start where each student is at and move them forward using frameworks such as the CBE Literacy and Numeracy Frameworks.

Construction of Knowledge

At West Dover School learning is constructivist in nature and is based on leading educational researchers such as Fisher, Frey, and Hattie that grounds the strategies and interventions that we use in those that research shows has at least a full year of positive impact on student achievement.  Our goal is close the gap for each student between where assessment information shows us they are at in their learning and where we want to be - achieving at or above grade level.  We ground our work in education researchers such as Willams and Leahy, using formative assessment to identify the next best steps in learning for each student.  Our learning program utilizes a variety of learning frameworks such as experiential learning, distributed learning, direct instruction, and inquiry based learning using guiding documents such as Focus of Inquiry by Clifford and Friesen from the University of Calgary.  We aim to provide rich, recursive, rigorous, and relational learning experiences guided by the work of Ted Aoki.

Indigenous Ways of Knowing and Learning

We embrace the CBE Indigenous Education Lifelong Learning Framework and value oral practices and land based learning of indigenous people.  We want all of our students to build a strong academic foundation that embraces learning connected to:

the body - to do

the mind - know

the spirit - to be

the heart - to belong