CoLab

List of 4 items.

• 2025 Summer Update

  New Projects
  Two new research projects were conducted in the 2024-25 school year - one in fall and one in spring. The first project, “Developing a pedagogy of ambiguity: The value of uncertainty in high school art classroom” was led by Nancy Long, PhD Candidate at Concordia University, in partnership with Laura Douglas, Trafalgar art teacher, and focused on the Secondary V art class at Trafalgar. The second project, “Student Perceptions of Motivational Teaching Practices” was led by Rachael Diamant, Trafalgar learning specialist, in collaboration with Kristy Robinson, Assistant Professor at McGill University in the Faculty of Education, Department of Educational & Counselling Psychology, and focused on teaching styles various all subjects and grade levels at Trafalgar.
  
  

  Returning Projects
  To follow up on her 2023-24 project, “Connecting curriculum, assessment, and pedagogy as a relational approach to transformative climate change education,” Stephanie Leite invited participating teachers to follow up on the study, discuss findings, and review a manuscript for submission to the Canadian Journal on Action Research.
  
  

  Project Sharing and Dissemination
  In August 2024, Stephanie Leite presented to the Trafalgar full staff on a PD day to share a summary, resources, and key takeaways from her transformative climate change education project at Trafalgar during the previous 2023-24 school year. Participating teachers were also encouraged to reflect and share their experiences with colleagues. 
  
  

  In addition, a number of CoLab and adjacent projects that happened over the past few years were highlighted at the CoLab Launch on April 15th. The event boasted seven unique research posters and over 20 researchers, teachers, participants, and students from four different educational institutions to speak about them.
  
  CoLab Steering Committee
  The Steering Committee grew this year with the inclusion of representatives from both the Educational & Counselling Psychology (ECP) and Kinesiology and Physical Education (KPE) departments. Together with the existing members from the Department of Integrated Studies in Education (DISE), the Committee now proudly has representatives from all three departments of the Faculty of Education - a benchmark that the CoLab team intends to maintain going forward.
  
  

  Open Classroom Series
  Since the advent of the Open Classroom Series last year, there have already been six visits between the McGill Faculty of Education and Trafalgar School for Girls classes in 2024-25. Trafalgar welcomed undergraduate students from a BA class on 21st century learning, a BEd methods class for aspiring elementary teachers, and a BEd methods class for aspiring science teachers, and McGill welcomed a teacher and select students from a Trafalgar science class across multiple classes.
  
  

  Each visit provided an opportunity for university and secondary school students to share their experiences, ask questions, learn from each other, and uniquely enrich their understanding of teaching and learning.
  
  CoLab Launch Event
  Approximately 100 guests gathered in the McGill Learning Commons to learn about the CoLab partnership through research posters, keynote speeches, and a bustling Q&A stations. The range of guests was expansive and included Trafalgar Head of School, staff, teachers, students, parents, past parents, board members; McGill Faculty of Education Dean, staff, faculty, researchers, graduate students; CoLab major donors; and special guests such as Suzanne Fortier, former vice-chancellor of McGill University, and Cynthia Price Verreault, Deputy Chancellor of McGill University. Following the event at McGill, around 25 guests came to Trafalgar for a friendly BBQ.
  
  The event was a huge success and met each of its simple yet foundational goals:
  

  • Recognize donors who made the CoLab possible
  • Officially and publicly launch the partnership
  • Gather the communities together

  We look forward to future opportunities for outreach and community-building.

• 2024 Summer Update

  New Research Projects
  There is already one CoLab research project approved for the coming 2024-25 school year, with a second application just submitted. We look forward to learning more and following these projects in the new school year.

  
  Research Deliverables
  As highlighted in the pillars, a main objective of the CoLab is to share research results back into the community so researchers and practitioners can learn and grow together. To this end, we will be welcoming Stephanie and Heather back to the Trafalgar school building in August to share their research and preliminary results back with the Trafalgar faculty. In addition, Stephanie will be writing a Research Brief for the pilot project so we can share the study with interested researchers, practitioners, students, parents, and all members of the larger school community moving forward. 
  
  Open Classroom Series
  In order to share teaching expertise with the aspiring practitioners, the CoLab team is planning to introduce an Open Classroom Series that connects Trafalgar teachers with McGill teachers-in-training. This initiative will help develop mentorship opportunities and meaningful communities of practice in education.

• 2024 Spring Update

  Pilot Project
  In June, the year-long pilot project on Teaching Climate Change Education concluded. The project, led by McGill doctorate student Stephanie Leite, engaged and challenged five Trafalgar teachers to rethink how they teach in the context of climate change. The project was tracked over the course of the year and a survey was sent to all researchers and participants to learn from the successes, challenges, and opportunities of conducting or participating in a CoLab project.
  
  

  3D Printing Project
  In addition to the pilot project, another McGill doctorate student, Heather Pearson, worked with Trafalgar teachers to conduct a CoLab-adjacent project over the course of the school year on 3D printing. While the project was not directly involved in the CoLab, it still provided invaluable insights into the logistics, mutual benefits, and lasting results of school-based research. 

  After the project concluded in June, nearly half of Trafalgar’s teachers signed up to participate in a 2-day workshop led by the McGill researcher to learn how to operate 3D printers, design digital models, and incorporate this technology into their own classrooms.

  
  Information Sharing Strategy
  A unified sharing strategy was developed to outline which stakeholders need to receive what type of information about the CoLab and through what means. This strategy ensures alignment and conformity when introducing the project and sharing development updates. In addition, the exercise allowed us to identify each communication method and map out how they interconnected, ensuring a cohesive and comprehensive communication system.

• 2024 Winter Update

  Research Proposal Workflow
  The CoLab Steering Committee is currently mapping, testing, and refining the entire research selection process from relationship-building and ideation to final project approval.

  
  

  EGSS Conference Workshop
  In March, a Trafalgar teacher and member of the CoLab Steering Committee will be running a workshop at the McGill Education Graduate Students Society (EGSS) conference. This opportunity will further support relationship-building between Trafalgar and McGill and exemplify the opportunity for and benefits of collaboration and learning between researchers and practitioners. 

  
  

  Faculty Profiles
  To promote relationship-building and collaboration between school and university, Trafalgar School for Girls is creating academic profiles for each faculty member to complement the existing online McGill faculty profiles. Trafalgar profiles will include each teachers’ areas of interest and academic backgrounds to help match them with like-minded members of the Faculty of Education interested in joint research opportunities under the CoLab.