Monday, November 12, 2018

STAO 2018: Science for All



And just like that, the Science Teachers’ Association of Ontario (STAO) Conference wraps up for another year! STAO is an incorporate non-profit organization with the province of Ontario.

I had the honour of presenting at STAO 2017 with Arianna Lambert: Design Thinking in the Junior Grades. This year, we presented again with the focus being within the Elementary Grades! Check out our slide deck here.

Having been there for the day and tweeting about the absolute awesomeness of the many opportunities educators had to access information, resources, meet other educators, to share and learn…. I was approached by Mahfuza Rahman who suggested I consider being a member of STAO and join the promotion committee. A year later, here I am reflecting on my experience, albeit a small part of the entire conference, and all that members and volunteers offer to guests, presenters and business partners.

Simply put, WOW! The passion, energy, time commitment, endless hours of pre-planning and adjustments made during each day to ensure everyone was getting the most out of their professional learning experience was simply WOW! As a photographer, taking a moment to stop and capture photos almost puts a delicate veil on the level of intensity towards the organization, timing and teamwork from all committee members and volunteers throughout the conference.


I also have the privilege to capture a few sessions and live stream them via Periscope and then, Twitter. You can view a few sessions via Periscope scp.tv/staoapso/follow.

A few of the sessions I had the privilege to attend focussed on the environment, Indigenous Knowledge and Science and providing learning experiences for students in a respectful way. Miigwetch to Dr. Niigaan Sinclair for his powerful keynote and continuing to share throughout the day with educators. And, for reminding me that Asemaa (tobacco) is given as a gift; an offering or exchange. Joe Ross for sharing connections to and immersed within our land in his session about Indigenous Themes in Environmental Studies. Also, Haley Higdon for sharing Indigenous Perspective in Children’s Environmental Inquiry and using Natural Curiosity 2nd edition as a resource to integrate Indigenous lenses when designing authentic experiences for students.


Truly it was an honour to offer my small contribution and being part of the promotions team to capture the awesomeness of the day, building and support PLN, and all of the learning and sharing of the annual 3-Day conference!

A shoutout and much appreciation goes out to Racquel Carlow, Mahfuza Rahman, Brennan Caverhill, Christian Cepeda, Heather Theijmeijer, and Sylvia Welke. Thank you for inviting me to be a part of your team!

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Saturday, November 3, 2018

TDSB Google Camp 6.0



“What could I possibly say that would be different than what I have already shared? Well, the awesomeness continues with educators intrinsically motivated with the spirit of life-long learning!” 
-- me :)

The TDSB Google Camp is a conference for TDSB educators by TDSB educators looking to build their Professional Learning Network beyond like-minded peers continues to inspire. Yes, TDSB Google Camp 6.0 has come and gone! 600 educators registered to a SOLD OUT event in less than 12 hours! For me, this means several things… there is a demand for professional development focussed on pedagogy, global competencies and leveraging technology across all panels and at varying points of entry for educators in the TDSB. Educators across our school board came out on a Saturday to connect, learn and share… and build or strengthen relationships with colleagues within school communities and across the board. Check out all the resources at bit.ly/CampG6

Keynote Speaker Dean Shareski @shareski stayed true to form! His Keynote “What’s Joy Got To Do With It?” has us thinking about getting deep into learning and what it is all about. His hope was that we would leave with a take-away:
  • Help you Smile
  • Help you Think
  • Help you Act
Through all of this, questioning ourselves around ‘what we do about things that concern us’; more importantly our students. Dean quotes Malcolm Gladwell, “Ideas and dissonance are supposed to bring you joy”. The status quo is limiting for both teachers and students, igniting negative perceptions that school is boring and non-relatable. Learning needs to be engaging, fun and open with opportunities for students’ choice. While building a community of learners in you class communities consider ‘What do schools focus on to support students in the school community?’ and moving aware from one-off spaces. When connecting or conferencing with a student; focus on their successes/ strengths over their challenges, ‘free of bias and full of potential’! How might we better support our students’ well-being and achievement; consider moving from “What’s the matter?” to “What matters to you?” Building and strengthening relationships with our students, we need to be comfortable with relinquishing part of our control and role; being facilitators and connectors to create a community of learning. Knowing when to be Sage-on-the-Stage or Guide-on-the-Side and considering Meddler-in-the-Middle, as we are learning alongside our students. This!


Student agency and voice continues to be an invaluable part of our class community! Kamla Rambaran @kamla_sharbear and I take pride in sharing, and at times, stepping aside as students present their story/perspective of their learning journey. Today was no different! Thank you for our former Grade 4 & 5 students for joining us today and speaking to educators about being entrepreneurs, philanthropists and changemakers. Students highlighted the Design Thinking process as it guided their learning, iterations of ideas and products; the inquiry process to question and seek evidence to support their ideas; as well as reflecting on their learning and its impact on a global citizen they may never meet. Check out our slide deck bit.ly/entrepreneurshipGC18


To go through the sessions I attended today would be limiting that awesomeness of the day because I was only able to be in a small part of the learning community. Definitely check out the twitter discussions via #TDSBcamp and give yourself some time to watch a few sessions captured via @periscopeco. Thank you Spencer Shawn, Tim Barker and Navdeep Aujla for giving a window into the day for those #NotAtTDSBcamp! Check all this out https://www.pscp.tv/TDSB_TLT/follow



Robert Dunlop @dunlop3339 wraps up our high-energy, mind full of ideas and new relationships forged with a focus on “How happy are you as an educator?” Asking us to look at the peaks and valleys of our career happiness timeline; and that our ‘perceptions create our reality!’ Our happiness is unique to us, our position, our personality and experiences and that ‘teaching is the best career, if you can see it that way’. He challenges us to figure out the 40% of what we can control to strive towards happiness. And, sometimes we need a reminder or to just give ourselves permission for self-care so that we can go on being our best selves for our family and our students. Additionally, Robert encourages us to take action through Random Acts of Recognition: act immediately on an authentic thought, appreciation or gratitude and send a shoutout (email, text, tweet) to connect with that person(s) and let them know. You might be surprised at how much that moment will improve not only your happiness but theirs too.


Thank you Kevin Bradbeer, Carlo DiFelice, Shelley Lowry, Marlena Rivett, Peter Singh, Manon Gardner, Kathy Withrow, Ron Felson, Zorica Prekajski, Wayne Loo and TDSB_IT Services for the opportunity to be a part of the Google Camp crew along with #TDSBdll and #TDSBhybrid.

A shout-out to the TDSB Google Camp Committee and volunteers for making the day even more special with your support, attention to detail and all of the awesomeness that made this day great. TDSB Google Camp 7.0 can’t get here soon enough!


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