Learning in Depth Project
Social Studies Classes at North In 2013-2014 I started a Learning in Depth Pilot Project with my Social Studies 8 class. All of my socials 8 students were given a learning in depth topic that they researched all year along with their partner. During their LiD time, they explored their topic, connected it to their interests, the curriculum, and shared with their peers. This was an enrichment opportunity that helped students engage in their curriculum material, learn inquiry-based research, and delve further into a topic that has huge historical significance for any socials course. This was an amazing year and the students did amazing work and truly understood their topics. For the 2014-2015 school year we offered this as an enrichment piece for the Social Studies Honours courses here at Burnaby North. With great success in the honours classes, we decided as a department to keep the momentum going for the upcoming school year. This coming year Honours and Regular classes will have the opportunity to work with Learning in Depth ideas in their classes. In previous years, each student worked with a partner and was given a topic that is curriculum related that they would have for the year to research and learn about. They would then have to complete a series of activities, research, portfolio assignments, and teacher-specific work throughout the year. In term 3 they created a final LiD Showcase piece showcasing what they had learned all year. This LiD Showcase was a final representation of their inquiry work for the year. (our Socials Dept website has a link with images from the 2015 Showcase!) I allowed my class to choose their own topics from the list I have generated. I am doing ongoing action research to see how this will best impact student learning and curiosity, intrigue,engagement with their own learning. For this year 2016-2017, I will be implementing it in my Geography 12 classes for the first time using bigger topics like Fisheries, Oceans, Forestry, Climate Change, Mining, Recycling, Urban Planning, Physical Landscapes, etc.... Stay tuned. How Did I Start Learning in Depth? I spent a lot of time during my masters thinking about how I could work LiD into my social studies classroom and then began an Action Research Project with my class. I have attached some downloads on Learning in Depth that may help get you started. Other things I did... * Created Curriculum related Topic Cards * Created the LiD Starter Packages that included the topic card, note books, pictures, LiD Card Activity ideas, and stickers. * I planned how it would work in Terms 1 -3 and what my final -year end Showcase would look like. Please see my presentation in the next column or email me if you have any questions. For more information regarding LiD or Imaginative Education, please check out the IERG website: www.ierg.ca or email me anytime at corine.carey@burnabyschools.ca RESOURCES: The school Library now has a LiD Kit Available for teachers to borrow and has the Learning in Depth book by Kieran Egan. I also have a few copies left of the LiD kit if anyone is interested in purchasing a copy. ($50) 
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LiD Packages:
This includes all student work they research and collect all year including their notebooks for written research and reflections. 
Kieran Egan's book:
Learning in Depth: A Simple Innovation That Can Transform Schools * I tweaked his 12 year theory to work within the one year of Social Studies I spend with my students. | ||