List of 8 items.

• 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.

• 2023 Fall Update

  Pilot Projects
  In September, the CoLab launched its first pilot research project. The study, titled “Connecting curriculum, assessment, and pedagogy as a relational approach to transformative climate change education” is being led by a PhD student at McGill University and six participating Trafalgar teachers. In addition, a second proposed pilot project is currently in the evaluation phase. Pilot projects allow for the testing of the entire research process from start to finish. As the first year-long project continues and a second project looms on the horizon, the CoLab Steering Committee is diligently taking note of all challenges, successes, and questions and using them to inform and improve the CoLab’s development.
  
  Relationship Building, cont.
  To continue building on the foundational strength of its partnership, the CoLab Steering Committee maintains a particular focus on engaging the diverse groups of stakeholders from both Trafalgar School for Girls and the McGill Faculty of Education. It remains important to continue building connections between the two institutions, while simultaneously educating and informing their constituents as the partnership evolves. The CoLab has always been and will always be a collaborative effort. To this end, the Steering Committee is planning additional events, beyond the many meetings throughout the past year, that will bring together these two communities.

• 2023 Summer Update

  Research Structure

  The CoLab’s key function rests in relevant and actionable educational research. To facilitate the connection between research and practice, the CoLab Steering Committee drafted a research proposal application, timeline, and evaluation process that encourages and necessitates collaboration, innovation, and dissemination. The CoLab’s first research proposal was drafted in April, updated in May, and reviewed by a mock evaluation committee in June 2023. Piloting the research proposal process paves the way for future researchers to participate in meaningful and timely projects under the CoLab.

• 2023 Spring Update

  Attended IALS Conference
  In April, three Trafalgar teachers attended the International Association of Laboratory Schools (IALS) conference in Toronto. At the conference, they led a presentation and shared a poster titled “Our Transformational Odyssey in Teaching and Learning,” which documented their professional growth in parallel with and influenced by the development of the CoLab. 
  
  Relationship Building

  While the move to Purvis Hall will physically bring Trafalgar School and the Faculty of Education closer together by proximity, the CoLab Steering Committee kickstarted the process of relationship-building by inviting members from both institutions to come together for community meetings and discussions. The meetings, held multiple times over the last year, have brought together staff and students from both institutions to talk with each other at the same table. Moreover, each meeting focused on a different aspect of the CoLab’s development and led to real-time feedback and discussion from each voice in the room. No matter whether the speaker was a Grade 8 student from Trafalgar or a tenured professor from McGill, each participant had the opportunity to share their unique perspective. Born out of a historic partnership, the CoLab continues to champion and embody the value of inter-institutional collaboration where teachers, researchers, and learners all work together at the same table and prove that the sum is greater than the parts.

• 2023 Winter Update

  Published CoLab Webpage
  In January, the CoLab launched this webpage (trafalgar.qc.ca/colab) to share information, updates, and insight into the development of the partnership. Expect more to come as we move forward!
  
  Developed Research Framework
  The CoLab Steering Committee created a research proposal application and robust evaluation criteria to ensure the relevance, feasibility, and benefit of each research project conducted under the CoLab. This work will be shared with the IALS in the coming year to become a tested and standard framework for applied research in education.

• 2022 Fall Update

  Founding Principles

  The CoLab Steering Committee, which includes representatives from both Trafalgar School for Girls and the McGill Faculty of Education, proudly unveiled their Mission and Vision statements.

  
  

  • Vision: We imagine a world where students, teachers, and researchers collaborate to enact positive change in education.
  • Mission: Through an innovative and collaborative school-university partnership, the CoLab fosters dynamic learning environments and action-oriented research that advance educational practice for a rapidly changing world.

  
  

  While no easy task to synthesize the limitless potential and aspirations of the CoLab down to single statements, the Committee worked directly with over 50 stakeholders from both institutions -- including practitioners, researchers, and students --to finalize the vision and mission of the developing partnership, in addition to the Colab’s three pillars:

  
  

  1. Pillar 1: Connect innovative research and practice
  2. Pillar 2: Cultivate collaborative practice & research hubs
  3. Pillar 3: Create a scalable and sustainable partnership model

  
  

  The establishment of a mutual conceptualization of the partnership’s goals and values provides the CoLab with a firm foundation and direction to guide development forward.