PDTCA 2025: Full Schedule

The PDTCA Board hopes you have an amazing Convention 2025!
Emergency Procedures Calgary Telus Convention Centre
Emergency Procedures Hyatt
Human Rights Statement
Land Acknowledgement

CALGARY TELUS CONVENTION CENTRE (CTCC) and HYATT - address

Adding the session to your Sched schedule does not mean you are pre-registered.
Pre-Registration will OPEN February 1, 2025 at 10:00 a.m. and CLOSE February 16, 2025 AT 8:00 p.m.

How to pre-register - Check the infographic For Pre-Registered sessions please use the pre-registration link in the session description.

Reason to Create a Profile in Sched
You do not need to create a profile and log in to see sessions in Sched. However, if you want to add yourself to a session to create a schedule or evaluate a session you must be logged in.

Convention at a Glance Link

Professional Responsibility
“On the two school days of your assigned teachers’ convention, you have a legal and professional responsibility to attend convention. If you are not able to make it safely to your assigned convention, however, your collective agreement may include impassable roads or inclement weather clauses that you can access. If your collective agreement does not include language specific to road conditions or weather, you may make use of the personal leave clauses of your agreement in most cases. Please be aware that using any of these types of leave may require you to pay substitute costs, forego a portion of your salary and benefits, or report to your school or another work location in your district. Refer to your collective agreement for more information. Should you require any additional information or if you need assistance interpreting your collective agreement, please contact Teacher Employment Services at 1-800-232-7208 or 780-447-9400.”
This information is also found on the Frequently Asked Questions page on the www.ataconventions.ca website. If you have any further questions regarding this, please contact Daniel.Maas@ata.ab.ca.

10:20 MST

Keynote 2024 Recap: Your Brain, Your Life - How Our Stories Drive Our Learning

Thursday February 20, 2025 10:20 - 11:20 MST

Macleod Hall A - CTCC

How does the brain work to make sense of reality, and what impact does this have on teaching & learning? During this engaging and interactive session, we will explore the often counter-intuitive foundations of thinking, the power of stories to drive perception, the role errors play in comprehension, and consider how these three concepts tie together to drive student learning. Buckle in - here's where things get real!

Speakers

Dr. Jared Horvath

Jared Cooney Horvath (PhD, MEd) is a neuroscientist, educator, and author of the best-selling book Stop Talking, Start Influencing: 12 Insights from Brain Science to Make Your Message Stick. He has conducted research and lectured at Harvard University, Harvard Medical School, the... Read More →

Thursday February 20, 2025 10:20 - 11:20 MST
Macleod Hall A - CTCC

Keynotes and Special Events, Div1 (Gr 1-3), Div2 (Gr 4-6), Div3 (Gr 7-9), Div4 (Gr 10-12)

Session has participant fee No
Level of content General overview for novice learners
Presentation Language English
Is Pre-registration required No

11:40 MST

The Allure of Genius: Skills, Talents, and How The Brain Truly Learns

Thursday February 20, 2025 11:40 - 12:40 MST

Macleod Hall A - CTCC

Are geniuses born or made? Are some people simple ‘better’ at things than others, or are we all playing the same game? Is the ability to ‘learn’ a skill some students are born with, or is it a skill everyone can improve and hone? During this session, we will take a look at the brain to determine if abilities are born or created. From there, we will look at the learning process that drives 'genius' and consider what that means for us, our students, and our teaching.

Speakers

Dr. Jared Horvath

Thursday February 20, 2025 11:40 - 12:40 MST
Macleod Hall A - CTCC

Educational Research (TQS/LQS 2), Div1 (Gr 1-3), Div2 (Gr 4-6), Div3 (Gr 7-9), Div4 (Gr 10-12)

Session has participant fee No
Level of content General overview for novice learners
Presentation Language English
Is Pre-registration required No

13:00 MST

Memory & Attention Pt. 1: Turning Science into Strategies

Thursday February 20, 2025 13:00 - 14:00 MST

Macleod Hall A - CTCC

Far from being unknowable and fickle, human memory and attention are very predictable and rule-bound systems. During this session, we will start by exploring the 9 key principles of memory and consider how each can be adapted for teaching/learning practices. From there, we will move into the three levels of human attention and consider what this means for both classroom practice and at-home studying. Perfect for any teacher who has ever wondered why so many students forget so much material (and wishes to consider how to combat this!).

Speakers

Dr. Jared Horvath

Thursday February 20, 2025 13:00 - 14:00 MST
Macleod Hall A - CTCC

Educational Research (TQS/LQS 2), Div1 (Gr 1-3), Div2 (Gr 4-6), Div3 (Gr 7-9), Div4 (Gr 10-12)

Session has participant fee No
Level of content General overview for novice learners
Presentation Language English
Is Pre-registration required No

14:20 MST

Memory & Attention Pt. 2: Continuing the Journey

Thursday February 20, 2025 14:20 - 15:20 MST

Macleod Hall A - CTCC

During this session, we will continue our exploration of the 9 principles of human memory and 3 levels of human attention. Perfect for any teacher who has ever wondered why so many students find it difficult to sustain focus in the classroom (and wishes to consider how to combat this!).

Speakers

Dr. Jared Horvath

Thursday February 20, 2025 14:20 - 15:20 MST
Macleod Hall A - CTCC

Educational Research (TQS/LQS 2), Div1 (Gr 1-3), Div2 (Gr 4-6), Div3 (Gr 7-9), Div4 (Gr 10-12)

Session has participant fee No
Level of content General overview for novice learners
Presentation Language English
Is Pre-registration required No

09:00 MST

President Schilling: Unplugged

Friday February 21, 2025 09:00 - 10:00 MST

Macleod Hall A - CTCC

Update on ATA.

Speakers

Jason Schilling

President, ATA

Jason Schilling (he/him) was re-elected president of the Alberta Teachers’ Association in 2023, following four years of service as president, two years of service as vice-president and more than eight years of service as district representative for South West. As vice-president... Read More →

Friday February 21, 2025 09:00 - 10:00 MST
Macleod Hall A - CTCC

Professional Issues (TQS 6) [emerging topics - teacher career, ECE (Pre K-K), Div1 (Gr 1-3), Div2 (Gr 4-6), Div3 (Gr 7-9), Div4 (Gr 10-12) | retirement, ECE (Pre K-K), Div1 (Gr 1-3), Div2 (Gr 4-6), Div3 (Gr 7-9), Div4 (Gr 10-12) | wellness], ECE (Pre K-K), Div1 (Gr 1-3), Div2 (Gr 4-6), Div3 (Gr 7-9), Div4 (Gr 10-12)

Session has participant fee No
Level of content General overview for novice learners
Presentation Language English
Is Pre-registration required No

10:20 MST

The Transfer Dilemma: Why Is It So Hard To Move Knowledge & Skills Between Contexts?

Friday February 21, 2025 10:20 - 11:20 MST

Macleod Hall A - CTCC

Why do some students who successfully perform math with numerals struggle with word problems? Why do some students who ace concepts on homework struggle with the same concepts on exams? Why are skills and knowledge so difficult to move between different contexts? During this session, we will dive into the issue of transfer, consider what is required for effective transfer, and discuss what this means for the modern 21st Century Skills movement in education. Furthermore, we will explore the only truly future-proof skill research has ever found.

Speakers

Dr. Jared Horvath

Friday February 21, 2025 10:20 - 11:20 MST
Macleod Hall A - CTCC

Educational Research (TQS/LQS 2), Div1 (Gr 1-3), Div2 (Gr 4-6), Div3 (Gr 7-9), Div4 (Gr 10-12)

Session has participant fee No
Level of content General overview for novice learners
Presentation Language English
Is Pre-registration required No

11:40 MST

The Learning Trajectory: From Surface to Deep Learning

Friday February 21, 2025 11:40 - 12:40 MST

Macleod Hall A - CTCC

Following on from the previous session, we will dive deeper into the learning process and consider how do human beings take in, embody, and utilize new information and ideas. Using Learning Objectives as a through line, we will consider how to walk students from Shallow into Deep learning, and consider what differentiates learning at the Novice and Expert levels. Furthermore, we will begin to align pedagogies with different stages of the learning process to determine which strategies work best for learning and when.

Speakers

Dr. Jared Horvath

Friday February 21, 2025 11:40 - 12:40 MST
Macleod Hall A - CTCC

Educational Research (TQS/LQS 2), Div1 (Gr 1-3), Div2 (Gr 4-6), Div3 (Gr 7-9), Div4 (Gr 10-12)

Session has participant fee No
Level of content General overview for novice learners
Presentation Language English
Is Pre-registration required No

13:00 MST

Are Schools Really Killing Creativity? Demystifying the Creative Process

Friday February 21, 2025 13:00 - 14:00 MST

Macleod Hall A - CTCC

How do the concepts of transfer and the learning trajectory play out in real-life? During this session, we will take a deep dive into creativity to find out. Ever since Ken Robinson famously claimed that education kills creativity, schools have been increasingly pressured to engender creative growth amongst students. We will start by clearly exploring what creativity is and how it functions. From there, we will debunk the 5 most prevalent myths of creativity (good news: you don't lose creativity as you age!) then consider what this all means for engendering creativity within schools. Together we will attempt to answer the question: are schools really killing creativity?

Speakers

Dr. Jared Horvath

Friday February 21, 2025 13:00 - 14:00 MST
Macleod Hall A - CTCC

Educational Research (TQS/LQS 2), Div1 (Gr 1-3), Div2 (Gr 4-6), Div3 (Gr 7-9), Div4 (Gr 10-12)

Session has participant fee No
Level of content General overview for novice learners
Presentation Language English
Is Pre-registration required No