PDTCA 2025

Understanding extended disability and long-term disability benefits can be challenging. The session provides an overview of this benefit and its eligibility, a review of best practices on applying for the benefit and outlines supports the Association offers to members during the application and, potentially, the appeal process.

Adapting a process for collecting data on hours of work, both instructional and assignable, defining assignable time, and monitoring time assignments.

Do you feel overwhelmed? How does a new teacher keep up with lesson preparation, engaging and managing students, grading, progress reports, parent conferencing, meeting diverse learning needs, not to mention evaluations and dealing with school administration? How can one remain enthusiastic, happy, and well-balanced when overwhelmed by these responsibilities? This hopeful session introduces principles of survival in the classroom and a medley of practical strategies for dealing with challenges. Come laugh, decompress, and learn some self-care. These tried-and-true, evidence-based tips will provide hope and make your job easier.

Discover how to harness the power of AI chatbots like ChatGPT to enhance your teaching practice! In this hands-on professional development session, you’ll learn how to craft effective prompts to get tailored, high-quality results including generating engaging lesson plans, creating differentiated instructional materials, or brainstorming new pedagogical strategies. Perfect for beginners and seasoned tech users alike, this session will equip you with practical skills to use AI as a creative collaborator and thinking partner. Leave with ready-to-use examples, prompt templates, and confidence to make AI work for you in the classroom.

Whether you are a new covered member or not, this session can help you learn about the wide range of benefits, programs and services we offer.
In this presentation you will discover how to get the most from your coverage, our different tools and platforms, the benefits of spending accounts and more!

How does hope play a role in our teaching and learning? Potential does not get reached. A student falls through the cracks. A teacher battles family and personal issues. Each one of us face hardship through our journey of life. When life hits us hard, it brings out one of two responses: we either give up, or fight through. It is when we fight through that growth and potential are reached. Hope enables us to fight. Building resiliency is paramount to push through hardship, and harbouring hope in our lives is vital to resiliency.

Why is it crucial to prioritize our financial well-being? Being financially prepared is essential because it's not just about money; it's a fundamental aspect of overall wellness. Neglecting financial health can lead to stress and affect mental well-being, making it harder to navigate life's challenges.

For educators, who often prioritize the needs of others over their own, focusing on personal wellness, including financial wellness, is imperative. Studies show that 40% of financially unstable Canadians experience stress related to their finances. This stress permeates their work life, with 88% reporting frequent worries and 49% admitting it affects their job performance.

But what if there were simple tools that could alleviate this stress? This session aims to provide such tools, offering practical steps that can be implemented easily.

In this session, you will learn how to take charge of your financial wellness, including setting up emergency funds and saving for the future. We'll explore investment strategies, understanding market dynamics, and making informed decisions. Budgeting tips will address common dilemmas like balancing debt repayment with savings. Additionally, we'll delve into mitigating major financial risks, such as the escalating costs of long-term care and the financial impact of unexpected illnesses.

Being financially prepared isn't just about avoiding financial pitfalls; it's about building resilience and securing peace of mind in the face of life's uncertainties.

If you are considering retirement within the next five years, then you’ve got some big decisions just around the corner. Make sure you’re ready for them! This presentation will go over everything you need to know about the Alberta Retired Teachers’ Association (ARTA), including programs and perks available to members and, of course, the nationally acclaimed Health Benefit Plans, complete with information on all the health, travel, and dental benefits ARTA offers. A current retired teacher will provide important points to consider before making the leap into retirement and will touch on some retirement lessons they’ve learned from experience. Join us to discover how ARTA can give you the support you need to begin this new, exciting adventure.

We all want to be heard. We want to know someone cares about what we have to say. As teachers, this may be one of our most important roles in the profession – showing those around us that we are listening. These communication skills are often hard to find in the middle of the noise of life around us, and yet vital for the healthy functioning of a school. Peter takes a look at some of the fundamental principles of communication. Examples, stories, and role playing with one another will help us all sharpen these vital skills.

Maybe you’ve always known about your ADHD, or maybe you’ve just been diagnosed. Maybe you don’t even have a formal diagnosis yet—the fact remains that having ADHD is hard. Having ADHD as a teacher can be especially challenging.

Learn how to unlock your brain’s natural teaching superpowers and gather strategies to face your most common challenges (like the mounds of papers stacked on your desk).

Over many years the Association has been able to construct a safety net for teachers and their families. This presentation provides an overview of what teachers have in regard to sick leave and other leaves through the collective agreement, extended disability, life insurance, other benefit plan provisions, as well as pension and death benefits. This is a light-hearted presentation that is intended to be presented to local teachers in order to provide very relevant and necessary information on existing entitlements.