By Mary-Ann Mitchell-Pellett, PhD
Learning Commons and Wisdom Circles: Supporting Reconciliation of Self and Others
Abstract
This paper details the journey of a school administrator in successfully implementing a school wide framework of connection between holistic learning and learning commons development. The author provides background and examples of student projects based on the approach created as the “Wisdom Circles”, a cross-cultural framework offering a holistic perspective on effective academic and social/emotional learning based on the needs of a given school culture. Implementing the framework and process again as principal of a K-8 school in Manitoba, Ms. Mitchell-Pellet begins the documentation of connecting the “Wisdom Circles” with the learning commons model development.
TMC5_2017_Mitchell-Pellett.pdf
Mary-Ann Mitchell-Pellett, PhD is currently a new principal with Park West School Division in rural Manitoba. Previously, she was a guidance counsellor, Learning Support Teacher, Assistant Principal, and Principal with the Calgary Board of Education, Rocky View Schools, and she worked in several other school boards in Manitoba such as River East Transcona and St. James Assiniboia School Divisions. During the past three years she has been an instructor in both the graduate and undergraduate programs with the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary. She is also passionate about supporting personal and community wellness and has been an addictions counsellor and yoga/meditation instructor for the past several years.