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This article describes how "learning to be", with a specific focus on social-emotional competencies, has become part of the educational mindset--and educational policy--in British Columbia, Canada. The development of a set of learning progressions for social responsibility, an emphasis on social emotional learning in the new curriculum framework, the recognition of the importance of the First Peoples Principles of Learning and a disciplined approach to inquiry through school-to-school networks are strengthening the focus on "learning to be" across schools and communities.

Over a 15-year period, one Western Canadian province, British Columbia, has been exploring the potential of inquiry learning networks to deepen teacher professional learning and to influence the system as a whole. During this time, we have learned a great deal about shifting practice through inquiry networks. In this article, we provide a description of the key features of the inquiry framework that has evolved through this work, offer suggestions for creating and sustaining influential educator networks and provide some observations about how this approach is shifting practices at the classroom, school, university and policy levels.

Observations in many intermediate and secondary classrooms and interviews with learners indicate that many young people are under-engaged or disengaged with the learning opportunities in their schools. This disengagement of adolescent learners underlines the need for a shift from systems focused on sorting to systems passionate about deep learning. In their research, the authors of this article have seen learner engagement increase as schools become more innovative and responsive--and as new forms and uses of technology, greater personalization, imaginative forms of learning engagement, the use of "learning how to learn" strategies, deep and supportive relationships, and new forms of learning-oriented structures are being developed. In this article, the authors identify the four major shifts needed to move from a sorting system to a learning system. (Contains 8 notes.)

In an effort to intentionally create the level of deep learning necessary for practitioners to make meaningful changes in their classrooms, professional networks are increasingly being promoted as mechanisms for knowledge creation that can make a difference for students. This paper explores the way networks function by testing a theory of action within the Network of Performance Based Schools (NPBS) in British Columbia, Canada. It presents networks as collaborative systems that support particular ways of working and find expression within two distinct organizational units--the network itself and its participant schools. (Contains 1 figure and 3 tables.)

In the Network of Performance Schools, 75 British Columbia schools conduct action research on school improvement. Among their findings: a sense of identity around a common goal was key to successful networking, assessment information generated from classroom work provided meaningful data and supported school learning communities, and network schools displayed a willingness to experiment with new ideas for improvement. (TD)