Curriculum Framework

Being and Becoming Competent in Collaboration involves the interplay of the cognitive (including thinking and reasoning), interpersonal, and intrapersonal skills necessary to participate effectively and ethically in teams. Ever-increasing versatility and depth of skill are applied across diverse situations, roles, groups, and perspectives to co-construct knowledge, meaning, and content and to learn from and with others in physical and virtual environments. Collaboration is the ability to foster social well-being and inclusivity for oneself and others to establish positive, respectful relationships.

Learners participate in teams by establishing positive and respectful relationships, developing trust, and acting interdependently and with integrity. For example:

• I contribute ideas when working with others for mutual benefit.
• I encourage team members to contribute their perspectives, skills, or knowledge.
• I earn the trust of my team by fulfilling my responsibilities.
• I work with integrity to foster trust.
• I work to trust others and presume positive intentions.
• I do my share and allow others to do theirs.

Learners learn from and contribute to the learning of others by co-constructing knowledge, meaning, and content. For example:

• I foster collaboration through shared leadership, responsibility, or ownership.
• I welcome diverse opinions or contributions to build teams or relationships.

Learners assume various roles on the team, respect a diversity of perspectives, address disagreements, and manage conflict sensitively and constructively. For example:

• I adapt to different roles when working with others.
• I listen with care, patience, and intent to understand others’ interests, perspectives, or opinions.
• I practice respectful communication when disagreeing, compromising, or negotiating in the spirit of cooperation.

Learners network with various communities/groups and appropriately use a range of technology to work with others. For example:

• I foster relationships with diverse people and groups.
• I work with others to collaborate using digital and online tools.
• I integrate technology to collaborate.

Learners foster social well-being, inclusivity, and belonging for themselves and others. For example:

• I am aware of how others may feel and take steps to help them feel included.
• I create a safe space for others to share their experience.
• I foster a welcoming atmosphere when working with others.
• I promote belonging by respecting people, their values, and their opinions.
• I can identify how diversity is beneficial for my community, including online.

Learners create and maintain positive relationships with diverse groups of people. For example:

• I encourage contributions from those with perspectives not currently represented within the group.
• I am kind to others and can work and play cooperatively with people of my choosing.
• I build and sustain positive relationships with diverse groups of people, including people from different generations.
• I practice mutual respect when exploring all ideas and issues.

Learners demonstrate empathy for others in a variety of contexts. For example:

• I try to understand and consider what others are feeling and experiencing.

Fostering & Teaching Collaboration

Collaboration begins with fostering empathy. Creating safe spaces and opportunities for responsive and respectful relationships to grow is integral to collaboration. Opportunities to co-construct knowledge, meaning and content reinforce learners’ approaches to identifying and working out problems. Similarly, opportunities to engage in collaborative play creates authentic situations for learners to raise questions and to act to change inequitable practices that exclude or discriminate. In environments that value collaboration, learners practice fairness, social justice, and democratic decision-making, making choices in matters that affect them.

The learning environment, pedagogies, learning contexts, concepts, and skills support the development of Collaboration. Each of the goals (ECE) and subject areas (K–12) develops this competency in the following ways over time:

EARLY LEARNING FRAMEWORKS

In the early years, the childcare goals work together to provide the foundation to develop this competency; however, the bolded goal is the most aligned.

• Communication and Literacies
• Well-Being
• Play and Playfulness
• Diversity and Social Responsibility

ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS

In English Language Arts, learners work with their peers and teachers to:

• express themselves clearly and negotiate.
• cooperate and work effectively with others.
• interact in both leadership and support roles in a range of situations.

FINE ARTS

In Arts Education, collaboration involves demonstrating versatility in working with others to create, share, or appreciate artistic works. Learners:

• make connections between their own work and other cultural forms around them. This is a vital part of the process.
• create and/or present expressive products in the arts for a range of audiences and purposes.

FRENCH

Learners work with their peers and teachers in French Second Language to:

• interact with the aim of developing language as well as generating ideas.
• exchange ideas and express themselves to participate effectively as a team member.
• use their acquired oral development skills within project-based pedagogy to maximize opportunities for interaction.

IMMERSION FRANÇAISE

La collaboration favorise les traits cognitifs comme penser et raisonner, ainsi que les compétences interpersonnelles et intrapersonnelles pour communiquer de façon efficace en équipe. Les apprenants :

• sont capable de s’exprimer clairement et de négocier de façon efficace.
• coopèrent et travaillent aisément avec d’autres personnes.
• interagissent en rôle de leadership et d’appui.

MATHEMATICS

Mathematics involves working with peers and members of local and international communities to solve mathematical problems. Learners:

• work cooperatively and independently.
• make connections with peers, individuals working within mathematics, and those working outside the field of mathematics.
• engage with others in finding mathematical applications and a variety of strategies for solving problems in context.
• achieve deeper understandings of concepts and principles by collectively clarifying, refining, and consolidating thinking.

PERSONAL WELLNESS

Personal Wellness Education involves the ability to foster well-being and inclusivity for self and others in order to establish positive and respectful relationships. Learners:

• show care and empathy and listen respectfully.
• foster positive relationships by encouraging and valuing the opinions of others.
• demonstrate responsibility, compromise, and leadership.
• use encouragement and praise to model a growth mindset in support of teamwork.
• foster relationships with diverse groups of people.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

In Physical Education, learners contribute to the positive learning environment by engaging in respectful relationships that enhance trust, cooperation, and integrity. Learners:

• listen with care and patience to understand diverse interests, perspectives, or opinions.
• demonstrate emotional and social skills that apply to cooperative learning and performance in physical activity.
• exhibit personal responsibility for the social, physical, and natural environment during physical activity.
• apply appropriate etiquette, rules, and principles of fair play to empower others and contribute positively to teams.

SCIENCE

Science learning experiences provide students with opportunities to participate in learning teams—face-to-face and virtual—to learn from and with others. Learners:

• develop a sense of interpersonal responsibilities, an openness to diversity, and a respect for multiple perspectives while engaging in collaborative activity related to real-life problems.
• realize that cooperative efforts produce quick and effective results for sharing knowledge or skills.

SOCIAL STUDIES

The social studies are by nature a social, collaborative endeavor whereby learners engage with multiple perspectives and worldviews to understand and solve problems. Learners:

• co-construct knowledge and meaning as an integral part of working with evidence such as documents, testimonies, maps, photographs, and videos.
• explore diverse perspectives through respectful engagement.
• make connections with various communities and individuals.
• engage with technologies that support collaboration, connection, and growth.

TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION

Technology education involves working with peers and members of local and international communities to solve problems. Learners:

• work in teams to solve problems.

WABANAKI LANGUAGES

Through the study of Mi’kmaw and Wolastoqey, learners:

• build positive and respectful relationships with peers, teachers, and Elders.
• learn from and contribute to the learning of others by co-constructing knowledge, meaning, and content.
• foster social well-being, inclusivity, and cultural pride for themselves and their communities and Nations.