PDTCA 2025

Assessment in CTS/CTF programming and performance based programs can be complex in multi-level classrooms. This is a discussion based session geared to making our programs stronger. bring your ideas, lessons, assessment examples - we'll work together to improve what we're doing for our students.

With the high demands and constant daily pressures that teachers face, differentiating instruction seems a dream of the ideal world!
Providing proven strategies, tools and resources to support teachers in differentiating learning to meet all
students’ needs, this session turns the ideal world into the reality. From research studies to personal experience, teachers will truly understand the importance and the benefits of delivering a differentiated curriculum. Above all, teachers will be able to transfer their knowledge and experience from the session, to make positive changes in the classroom and ultimately improve their students learning and performance.

Discover how to:
• Plan differentiated lessons;
• Use assessment data to inform your differentiated plans;
• Differentiate learning through ability groups;
• Manage differentiation in the classroom;
• Seek personalized support to successfully implement differentiated instruction.
Learn how to deliver a curriculum that challenges and progresses the learning for all students, regardless
of their ability so that every learner reaches their true potential!

You just got a new student, and you heard they don’t speak English! Whether you are a generalist, math teacher, administrator, or anything else, you want to give them a great learning experience and this session can help you do it.

In this engaging and interactive session, we will explore the powerful role of play in supporting English as an Additional Language (EAL *AKA: ESL/ELL/ML) students and benefiting learners of all backgrounds. By tapping into the innate curiosity and natural inclination towards play, educators can create dynamic learning environments that foster language acquisition, promote social interaction, and enhance overall learning outcomes.

During this session, we will delve into a variety of practical strategies and innovative approaches that leverage play as a vehicle for language development. Through hands-on activities, group discussions, and real-world examples, participants will gain valuable insights and actionable ideas to implement in their classrooms.

Key topics covered in the session include:

Understanding the Benefits of Play: Discover the cognitive, social, and emotional benefits of play for EAL students and all learners. Explore how play enhances language acquisition, promotes critical thinking, and nurtures creativity.
Integrating Play into the Curriculum: Learn how to seamlessly incorporate playful learning experiences into existing lesson plans and curricula. Explore strategies for incorporating play across subject areas, fostering vocabulary development, and promoting communication skills.
Role-Playing and Drama: Explore the power of role-playing and drama as effective tools for language development. Discover how to engage EAL students in interactive role-play activities that build vocabulary, improve fluency, and enhance social skills.
Games and Gamification: Experience a range of language-based games and gamification techniques that captivate students' attention while reinforcing language skills. Learn how to adapt traditional games and digital tools to create meaningful learning experiences for EAL students.
Multilingual Approaches: Explore how to leverage the diverse linguistic backgrounds of EAL students to create a rich multilingual learning environment. Discover strategies for promoting language exchanges, celebrating cultural diversity, and fostering peer collaboration.
Creating Playful Learning Spaces: Explore practical ideas for designing a playful learning environment that engages EAL students and all learners. Learn how to set up play centers, utilize props and manipulatives, and create opportunities for open-ended exploration.
Assessment and Reflection: Discuss effective ways to assess language development through playful learning experiences. Explore strategies for providing constructive feedback and promoting self-reflection among EAL students.
Join us in this session to unlock the transformative power of play and witness how it can create a vibrant and inclusive learning environment that benefits EAL students and all learners. Walk away with practical ideas and strategies to enrich your teaching practice and empower your students on their language learning journey.

Note: This session is suitable for educators working with EAL students at various grade levels and across different subject areas. No prior experience with playful learning approaches is required.

Teaching Spanish, French, American Sign Language, or any other world language? This session is the perfect place to be! Welcome to an engaging and interactive discussion where two passionate teachers will share their love for language education. Lauren and Sheldon have successfully developed and expanded language programs at their high school, ensuring that their students are actively involved, making connections, and enjoying the process of learning a new language. Join us for a session filled with learning, collaboration, and idea sharing. Prepare to be inspired and equipped with practical takeaways that you can implement in your own classroom next week!

Is your convention leaving you feeling stiff, sore but still ready for more? Perhaps it is time to give yoga a try? This session is for teachers who are new to the practice to find a way to get ACTIVE within their day. The session will lead through some basic postures as well as integrate ways that you can incorporate some movement into your classroom environment. Please wear active attire, bring a water bottle and a mat to this one-hour session. Prepare to laugh, move and leave feeling recharged to take on convention.

Have you ever wondered, “What was I thinking when I hired this guy?” His on-the-job performance doesn’t match what his resume and interview promised. What went wrong? It’s tempting to attribute hiring decisions that don’t work out to “just being unlucky.” Turns out that luck has little to do with it. Most bad hires can be traced back to mistakes that could easily have been avoided. By the end of this session, participants will understand the 13 reasons administrators are “unlucky” when hiring and how to avoid these missteps.

This interactive, hands-on session will introduce teachers to a number of classroom-ready activities that encourage students of all ages to think like scientists as they collaborate and communicate to answer curiosity-driven questions. The focus of the activities is to model the Nature of Science: making observations, drawing inferences, testing models, modifying models, and extending models to make test-able predictions. All the resources used in the session will be available in English and in French, although the session will be presented in English. The resources are available from the Perimeter Institute.

Want to start some more student projects but concerned about that "magic sauce"? Right students, right teacher, right time? Come learn about our community greenhouse and the continuum of student projects involved in its construction. An off-grid solar PV system, permaculture landscape, climate battery, vermicomposting and so much more. Every project has been tackled by SHS students in collaboration with community members.  Some projects have been totally student led and others have been teacher led but the common theme has been everyone walks away fulfilled.

Learn about ways to fund your own project, potential pitfalls, and how to leverage your story into something that can potentially grow over time all while learning about the amazing space that is the Strathmore High School Community Greenhouse.

War is a complex and emotionally difficult subject to cover deeply and effectively in class, but it can be done in a caring, engaging, and inspiring manner that promotes enduring lessons learned.
During this Canadian military history education session hosted by Valour Canada, attendees will observe different strategies and tactics teachers can employ in their classroom to increase student buy-in and more effectively educate about Canada's military history. Pedagogically speaking, the audience will see how hands-on, experiential learning (using scenarios presented to the students) can be used to elicit deeper critical thought from participating students. Methods for integrating discussion about positive citizenship will also be explored during this session.
At least two of the following activities will be demonstrated for the audience: The Sinking of Llandovery Castle (WW1; Gr. 4 and up), The Battle of Vimy Ridge (WW1; Gr. 4 and up), and D-Day: Operation Neptune (WW2; Gr. 8 and up). All resources referenced during this presentation are freely available online.

This poster display created by pre-Service teachers from the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary will provide opportunities for both conference delegates and pre-service teachers to engage in a professional dialogue around current trends and issues in education. This session will be of interest to current professionals, to view examinations on relevant issues that offer an opportunity to re-conceptualize teaching and learning as a collaborative, interdisciplinary practice focusing on real world problems and/or issues that impact students in schools.

During this FULL DAY Workshop held at the Fish Creek Environmental Learning Center, teachers will rotate through 3 different outdoor learning sessions. Presented by Alberta Parks and the Calgary Regional Consortium, you'll experience:
1. Winter OUTDOOR Learning Inspiration
2. Literacy and Numeracy OUTSIDE
3. Take the New Science Curriculum OUTDOORS
FISH CREEK ENVIRONMENTAL LEARNING CENTRE 15931 Woodpath Rd SW, Calgary

Sleep can be defined as a relatively stationary and recurrent state of being where rest and relaxation replenish the mind and body from the preceding stretch of wakefulness (Caia et al., 2018). The past decade has seen numerous studies that have advanced our understanding of the function of sleep (Phillips, 2018). Sleep is essential for healthy brain functioning and energy balance maintenance. Beyond the brain, every other body system also benefits from quality sleep. During sleep, physiological systems are maintained and improved (Phillips, 2018). Also, research has shown that sleep is important for physical health through sustained bone and growth repair and the promotion of normal cardiovascular, metabolic, and immune functioning. Accordingly, sleep studies are essential for both our current and future knowledge about the necessity of sleep for human function.

Decades of research have explored the basis of sleep and its effects on human health. However, much less research has looked at how sleep affects athletic performance, particularly in young athletes. This presentation will share a review of the literature which focuses on the relationship between sleep and athletic performance in young athletes, aged 15-24. A systematic search of the literature in four databases was performed, and retrieved articles were screened and either excluded or selected based on specific eligibility criteria. Upon synthesizing the data, three themes related to sleep and athletic performance emerged. These were physical performance, cognitive performance, and illness and injury. In general, the trends displayed an association between a better quantity and quality of sleep and improved physical and cognitive performance, as well as a reduced occurrence of illness and injury. These findings suggest that athletic performance in young athletes can be significantly improved by better sleep hygiene due to the associated improvement in the areas of physical performance, cognitive performance, and illness and injury.

Attendees of this presentation will leave with a much stronger understanding of how sleep affects the body and specifically, how young athletes can use sleep to gain a competitive edge and fully benefit from the power of quality sleep.

We’ve all had those ADHD brains in our classroom who can’t motivate themselves to work without a significant fire under their butt. But we don’t have the time to stand over a child or the energy to intimidate them into finishing their work.
Stop taking away recess, begging or pleading, or sending work home (where it never gets finished anyway). Lean into what actually motivates the ADHD brain to complete tasks. We’ll discuss ways to work with the ADHD brain instead of fighting against it. You’ll empower kids to leverage the skills they do have without adding hours to your own workload.

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) affects approximately 4% of Canadians and is Canada’s leading developmental disability (CanFASD, 2023). Since FASD is more prevalent than Cerebral Palsy, Down syndrome, and Autism Spectrum Disorder, educators can expect to have at least one student with FASD in their classroom dynamic (ibid). Students with FASD bring many positive assets to the classroom; however, educators often report being unprepared for the various needs and challenges of the developmental disability. This presentation aims to support educational professionals to improve their classroom practice through research-driven instructional strategies and approaches for students with FASD. These practical ideas are presented within an RTI framework that both honours restorative justice and trauma-responsive approaches. Educators curious about FASD are also encouraged to attend as the strategies presented will be beneficial and appropriate to a wide range of students.

Providing educators with concrete examples on how to create authentic real world projects that are directly connected to the high school curriculum. This session will also refer to outcome based assessment and how real projects can be assessed in this manner.

Do you ever feel like the world is just upside down? Perhaps some handstands and backbends may help you align your perspectives? This ACTIVE session is for the intermediate/advanced yoga practitioner ( or just someone who is confident in their range of motion and likes to test their edge). We will have a vigorous warm up followed by some partner inversion play as well as looking at how play and safe-risk can be a part of our physical education classes. This session is mainly for participants to have an opportunity to focus on their own physical health within convention time. Please wear active attire, bring a water bottle as a mat to this one-hour session. You have been looking for an excuse to feel great- this may be it.

This session will involve participants completing classroom-ready activities designed for Physics 20-30 that encourage students to struggle with difficult concepts and develop understanding through collaboration with others. Participants will discuss implementation of peer-driven formative assessments, adapting existing materials to suitable formative activities, and creating outcome-based formative assessments.

Brain Games!
The Brain, Body, Behavior Connection.
Join Danna in understanding how our brain and body functioning affects our behavior in school environments. Through activities designed to promote empathy and understanding about how our brains work, participants will leave the session inspired to be creative responders to those whose behavior is challenging and difficult to understand.
The Brain Games workshop has been presented in many conferences and recently has been facilitated as a seven week session for the Calgary Regional Consortium. It has been chosen for the Palliser School Division conference and the Calgary Teachers Convention and has been a Professional Learning session in individual schools across southern Alberta.

Why Grasslands CAN and WILL save the world! 

Alberta's grasslands provide gifts of vast biodiversity, rich cultural connection and essential ecosystem services. And yet, less than 2% of this amazing natural region is protected. What gives??? And how and why should you and your students care? Join CPAWS Southern Alberta to unearth how relationships lie at the heart of ‘why grasslands’ matter – now and forever...

Dive into the soul of your prairie home with CPAWS, OUTSIDE at Nose Hill Park (Calgary Winter Club Parking Lot) and experience how our acclaimed Why Grasslands? program engages all eight Alberta Education’s core competencies – from critical thinking to cultural and global citizenship. Come out and discover for yourself how grasslands CAN and WILL save the world!

LOCATION: Nose Hill Park – Calgary Winter Club Parking Lot: 4611 14 St NW; Calgary; T2K 1J7 

Meet at the Nose Hill Park parking lot located behind the Calgary Winter Club. CPAWS will be on-site 30 minutes ahead of session start time to welcome and gather everyone together. You will need to arrange your own transportation. If you are late, lost, or cannot make it, please text or call Sheri at 403-921-2314. 

What to Bring: 
As detailed in the safety section below, please come prepared to be active outside for 2.5 hours – i.e., wearing appropriate clothing & footwear, and outfitted with water & snacks.

Safety: 

• Please consult local weather forecasts and come equipped with wind & temperature appropriate clothing and footwear, i.e. comfortable winter boots, ice cleats, gloves, mittens, hats, scarves and instant handwarmers/heat packs.
• If there are any medical concerns (allergies/injuries) that CPAWS should be aware of, please be in-touch with Sheri via text @ 403-921-2314 in advance of the program’s start time. This will ensure that she can customize the route and activities for everyone’s needs. 
• All participants that require medical equipment/medication such as an EpiPen & inhaler are expected to have these with them during the program in accordance with our risk management policy. 

Waivers: 

• CPAWS has a master agreement with RockyView Schools. So, if you are a RockyView Schools teacher you DO NOT need to sign a waiver.
• If you are NOT a RockyView Schools employee, please download the PDF waiver below and bring along your completed waiver. I will collect them at the start of our session. Extra blank waivers will be available the day of, just in case!

Looking forward to learning on the land with you!

P.S. If you would like to learn on the land with us all day, join our afternoon session too! PDTCA 2024: (Pre-Reg 30 OFFSITE) Journey to the Hear... (sched.com)

In today's rapidly evolving educational landscape, it is imperative that we critically examine traditional power structures within the classroom and foster an environment that promotes equity and progressive educational practices. This session aims to engage educators in a transformative experience that explores decentring the teacher and reimagining hierarchical structures in the classroom while centring pedagogical approaches rooted in radical love, emotional intelligence, and anti-oppression. By embracing these principles, we can embark on a journey toward reimagining the educational experience and empowering our students to become active participants in shaping their own learning journey.

The proposed session seeks to ignite a paradigm shift within education. By engaging in this session, participants will gain valuable insights, practical strategies, and inspiration to reimagine their classrooms and become catalysts for positive change in the educational landscape. Together, we can create inclusive, empowering, and transformative learning spaces that nurture the potential of every student and unlock a brighter future.

What is neurodiversity, and how do we support our neurodiverse students?

Creating a neurodiverse-affirming classroom encourages students to work with their brain instead of working against it. When we facilitate neurodiverse-affirming classrooms, we create environments that include neurodiverse students instead of alienating them. Accommodations and modifications can become the norm without adding to our already significant workloads.

Learn easy changes you can make to your classroom next week to help support and encourage your neurodiverse students.

Efficient time and task management is often confused with "just work faster." Your time is precious. Learn how to invest a little effort into time planning and get a huge payoff! This session is applicable to both A-type personalities who try to do it all, and those who feel scattered or overwhelmed with a disorganized to-do list.

The staff retention message is simple. People stay where they feel respected, valued for who they are and appreciated for what they achieve and how they contribute. Organized around themes from Thanks, Again! More Simple, Inexpensive Ways for Busy Leaders to Recognize Staff, this program is filled with simple ways to create a workplace where staff members feel they belong. When you feel you are where you belong, why leave?

At the core of powerful reading communities are habitual readers with strong reading identities. With click-and-go reading on the rise, protecting instructional time for deep reading in our classrooms is more important than ever. In this session, we will explore approaches to cultivate joyful reading practices, discover opportunities for students to develop positive reading identities, and consider instructional decisions required to develop depth, stamina, and passion in adolescent readers.

Have you noticed in discussions on Misinformation, how the Misinformed are usually “Others”, not Us? And the Misinformers… well they are not Our Media, Our Corporations or Our State. This presentation investigates that phenomenon with a quiz. Perhaps we will find that even some among Us see the world through Received Misinformation (not Us of course 😊). The Questions will seem uninteresting… but the Answers… I think will challenge many Received World Views. OK I relent, here is one Question… spoiler alert: You are probably aware of criminal gangs, corruption, drug running, violence and kidnappings in Haiti. In 2004 the highest-level Haitian official ever was kidnapped to install corrupt, drug running, violent leaders. A) what was the official’s name and position? B) name the three organizations responsible for the crime. One more? OK, “Who established the International Rules Based Order and what rules have they defended?” Bring your answers to the convention. The Quiz will include, Foreign Policy, The International Situation, War Crimes, Economics, Food, Health and The Environment.

This simulation tool allows students to time travel back to 1910 and forward to 2050 to see what their local landscape looked like in the past and may look like in the future. Using Indigenous Map Overlays and Traditional Knowledge Indicators, we bring a TWO EYES SEEING MODEL to understanding environmental and climate change. Indigenous overlays and videos of Elders allow students to explore whose land this was, how it has changed, and how we need to think differently about using it in the future. Students can look at watersheds or Traditional Territories with a Western Science or Indigenous Lens and help Indigenous and Non-Indigenous students gain an understanding of how Traditional Knowledge can be integrated into Land Use Planning.

The platform is FREE and provides the software, videos, 360 VR Tours of the Bow River Watershed and Alberta’s Natural Regions, challenges and lesson plans linked to the Alberta Programs of Study Grades 3-12 in Science, Social Studies and CTS. Works on tablets or computers (phones work but are a bit small).Check it out at www.albertatomorrow.ca

This session looks at Neurographic art through the lens of water colour. Neurographic art is a simple way to work with the subconscious mind through drawing. While this concept certainly falls within the realm of soft science the experiences and art pieces my students have created over the years have made this a staple in my water colour unit for grades 7-12. This style of art creation can have a calming effect on the artists and is a great project to inject within exam time, pre-vacation and as a simple introduction to how water colour as a medium responds to layering.

Grab your work buddy and come on in!

This session is designed to establish a vibrant and supportive community of English teachers, aimed at fostering professional growth, collaboration and ideas. This is a community of learners who, through participation in the session, can connect, share resources, discuss pedagogical approaches and support each other in their professional development. Educators are encouraged to form connections, engage in meaningful discussions, and share success stories, challenges and best practices to further promote a sense of camaraderie and professional collaboration. Our goal is to enrich the professional lives of educators and also have a positive impact on the quality of English language education.

In the last two decades, a tabletop gaming revolution has occurred. From Dungeons and Dragons, to hundreds of Euro-Style games, like Settlers of Catan. People are more commonly coming together to socialize through tabletop games. These games engage students in higher level thinking, collaboration/competition, and literacy/numeracy skills. But with the number of games out there, teachers who casually game (or don't) may find looking for the right game for their classes overwhelming. In this session, we will be introducing various board games that can engage students in the classroom. Be prepared to step outside of your comfort zone, and try a game that's not Monopoly.

No time here for theory! Just 97—or more—simple, cost-effective tips, tools and techniques to recognize staff. Guaranteed! There will even be a few minutes left over to answer your questions (and maybe, to glean just a little bit of theory).

Inclusion in the regular classroom for students with disabilities is viewed as important for equality in education. Alberta Education provides resources for teachers on how to collaborate with parents and how to provide quality supports and accommodations for students. Educators work hard to support students, yet we know little about how parents in Alberta perceive the process of accessing supports and the school-home collaboration. We interviewed parents of school-aged children about their experience of accessing special education services to find out what is working, what is not working, what would help parents during the process. The goal of this session is to share the parent perspective.

In the year 1974 TSR created a table-top game called Dungeons and Dragons. The game incorporated story-telling, probability, cartography, art, collaboration, improvisation and most of all adventure with your friends. It has grown through the years as a hub for pop culture. Popular TV shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Stranger things have jumped on its success. The creation of a character and the desire to obtain experience and ascend in levels provides a great basis for a classroom theme, where youth can take their character sheet and journey through the curriculum, completing quests and battling major opponents (exams). Come and learn how you can Gamify your classroom and set you students on their individual adventure.

How do you create a learning environment that not only honours the loudest voice in the room but also encourages the softest? How do we create classrooms that cultivate confidence, courage and community? Ensuring each voice has a place where they are celebrated. Where we learn through the failures and uncertainty. To take a risk and learn through the hurdles. This session will take the principles of process-based theatre and give you the tools needed to bring it into your classroom. This session will work as a powerful resource for teachers to support their students to express, learn, and create - courageously.

In this session you will walk away with a greater understanding of how to create courageous learning environments in your classroom. Environments that encourage engagement and buy-in from the students whether they are more quiet or bold. This session will teach skills of recognizing behaviour, allowing choice/autonomy and developing collaborative leadership skills as an educator that allows for kids to advocate for what they need. We will talk about how process-based approaches can create an environment that helps students build community in the classroom while feeling empowered to embrace their own individuality. This session will pair well with the discussion of Growth Mindset and how students can apply it to their own learning with the support of their teachers.

It isn’t easy to be a teacher these days. Now more than ever, your wellness at work matters! In this session, we will have honest and insightful conversations about school staff health and well-being. Find out how your mental wellness affects students and the overall climate at your school, then get practical tips to create a healthier workplace. We’ll discuss promising practices and help you reflect on the little things that can make a big difference for you and the people you work with.

Getting ready to retire? Then join us as we explore a retirement financial literacy program specifically designed for teachers. As we recognize the valuable contributions of our educators, it is imperative that they are equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills to make informed decisions about their retirement planning and financial well-being. The primary objective of this session is to provide comprehensive support and education to teachers, enabling them to make decisions about retirement planning, investment strategies and financial management. By empowering teachers with the knowledge and tools to navigate their retirement options effectively, we aim to enhance their financial security and overall well-being during their post-teaching years. This session will cover essential retirement topics such as pension plans, retirement savings accounts, tax implications and investment strategies. Through the course of this presentation, we will address teachers’ unique circumstances, including their current financial situations, retirement goals and helping them understand their financial needs.