Student Learning Articles

…with home learning, your child has their teacher who uses the Profound Learning method and teaches Alberta curriculum. All the learning is a continuation from what was taught in the classroom prior to quarantine, there is a very clear direction and focus, and, most importantly—sigh of relief—you are not the teacher. Your role is to simply support the learning.

…we have always emphasized to students the importance of being an Independent Worker. We have always believed that this habit is one that would set students up for success, both now and in the future. However, neither students nor we could have imagined how this habit’s importance would be emphasized during a global pandemic.

…in the midst of juggling working from home and keeping the normal household functioning, parents are now putting in long hours trying to help their children over the hurdles of learning outside of the classroom. Here’s the good news. You are still the PARENT! The teachers at Master’s are still the TEACHERS. Your role is what has always been – to teach what we call the “soft skills of life”.

On Wednesday November 20, four days before the 2019 Grey Cup Football championship was played this year in Calgary, about 350 Grade 6-12 students watched an athletic assembly in the College gym and cheered insanely for about 20 of their Eagles athletes as they took on CFL athletes in five sports.

At Master’s we believe it is possible for ALL students to reach Mastery in their learning. We believe it so strongly that Mastery is one of the layers of our education model. However, in order to reach Mastery, a culture of empowerment and Ownership must first be established.

Part of our school mission of being Future Ready is for students to have a foundation that goes beyond just academic education and vocational training. It focuses on ‘Who They are Becoming’ and it is a core piece of our learning model. This will include understanding the cultural moments that they live in and how they will work through what is coming at them during their lifetime.

“Top performing results happen, not only when we aim towards owning the classroom together, but also when students feel that their work is valued. Every day, all around the world, students are asked to do or make or create. When the end products are shared with authentic audiences, students see the value of their work.”

At Master’s, we ended the year with a simulated shark tank experience where adrenaline was flowing, risks were being taken, the outcome seemed uncertain and our futures hung in the balance.

“The theatre went dark, and the silver screen lit up as the first film began and the audience noise descended into a kind of anticipative silence. Some of the films were terrifying, others gut-wrenchingly funny, and others just plain disgusting.”

Students now, and in the future, will be facing the demanding challenge of being able to stand out in the crowd. At Master’s, we give our students the best chance to land the careers that will bring personal joy and satisfaction. Let’s help them stand out in the crowd!

Virtually all of the curriculum taught in schools represents knowledge that is already known, and it is all about the past. At Master’s, we want our students to not only learn from the past at a high level of proficiency, we also want them to learn from the future. However, how do you learn from the future?

“[Students] had come to engage in the conversation about what’s happening in our city and province, and to be part of offering it all up to God in prayer. These are the kinds of young people, I thought to myself, who I want to take up the torch as the next generation of leaders. Some maintain that the young people of today are too digital to be adequate leaders of our world—that they are the “disengaged”. But I didn’t see that with our students. They were attentive, caring, and deeply engaged.”

“Learning only happens when the biology of the brain is altered in some way”. Something has to happen in the brain for learning to occur.

“Our program at Master’s College is built on a conceptual approach towards mathematics… When students have conceptual understanding, they are able to apply their thinking to an application problem or to a new situation.”

In a Profound Learning classroom student brains are engaged. They’re definitely not doing “nothing”!

Our focus is on both academic preparation for university as well as on who the student is becoming. Our Imaginal Design program is a one of a kind program that develops the Imaginal abilities of our students to become seers of, learners from, and creators of the future. This alone gives our graduates a tremendous competitive advantage for life beyond school, which is the real objective of education.

A new study by Stanford researchers Carol Dweck and Gregory Walton, among other scholars, suggests that spending effort developing one’s passion is more effective than looking for one’s true passion.

We know that structures for both ownership and empowerment have to be in place to allow students into the learning journey. Seems clear enough! But is it clear enough?

The Master’s College Film Festival was held on March 1st, 2018 at the downtown Globe Cinema on 8th Avenue. It was the third annual film festival in Calgary.

“Put your hand up if you don’t understand and need more help,” says the teacher. Who does that? Who actually raises a hand, and in that vulnerable moment lets the whole class see that they don’t get it? Who will take this risk?

I was on a flight from Sao Paulo to Toronto. Passengers were boarding in a long-tail line as I was