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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