PDTCA 2025

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.

Purposeful play, risky play, and free play are basic childhood needs. But play is more than just fun and games and should be part of any well-planned, quality physical education program. Through play, students in any physical education program learn societal roles, norms, and values and develop physical and cognitive skills, creativity, self-worth, independence, and competency.
Children's opportunities for outdoor play and acquiring the skills associated with being resourceful and inquisitive in outdoor spaces have been reduced significantly over the past generations. One of the reasons for this is the view that outdoor play and learning in the outdoor environment can be too dangerous or that it is not as important as other activities. Reversing this trend requires both a societal shift and a commitment by physical education teachers to utilize the outdoors more in both meaningful and pedagogically purposeful ways.
This session will inform all attendees about the benefits of 'being' and 'learning' in the outdoors as well as share current research related to risky play and how the outdoors is beneficial to students' physical and mental health and social well-being. It is hoped that all attendees will reflect on their own teaching practices and consider what changes they could make to include more outdoor learning and exposure to outdoor environments for their students.

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

We all know the serious side of creative writing, but what about the lighter side of the literary arts? This workshop will hit the funny bone of disengaged students with laugh out loud examples of personification, simile, metaphor, hyperbole, and more! Add in some activities that allow students to practice these devices, and get ready to see some beautiful and hilarious results. Regardless of the outcome, it will be seriously good writing!

Computational thinking is at the foundation of problem solving and students who can apply these principals are more successful. Explore computational thinking as it relates to the creativity, design, and the new Alberta curriculum. This session provides a gentle introduction to decomposition, pattern recognition, abstraction, generalization, and algorithms. Discover how these principles can be applied and taught in your classroom, regardless of subject or grade level. No experience teaching computer science needed!

Strengthen your students’ problem-solving skills and engage creatively with the curriculum by creating games in Microsoft MakeCode Arcade! This session will provide you with the foundational knowledge to help your students design their own video games, then bring those games to life through block-based coding. Learn how computational thinking skills such as pattern recognition, algorithm design, and debugging are necessary when coding and how to connect games to curricular concepts in any subject.

Les simulations en ligne Gizmos peuvent inciter vos élèves à penser comme des mathématiciens. Découvrez comment l'utilisation de ces simulations peut favoriser la compréhension conceptuelle des mathématiques chez les apprenants grâce à la modélisation et à l'enquête. Vous participerez à une leçon de mathématiques durant laquelle un Gizmo sera utilisé. Vous découvrirez ainsi comment les insérer dans vos leçons. Nous visiterons les ressources qui accompagnent les Gizmos afin que vous puissiez les utiliser immédiatement en classe ! Les enseignants de M à 6e année ont accès à plusieurs Gizmos grâce à Alberta Education. Si possible, les participants à cet atelier devraient apporter un appareil numérique.

Data analysis skills are vital for everyone! Collect data using devices such as Micro:bit and Adafruit Circuit Playground express, then analyze that data using Common Online Data Analysis Platform (CODAP), a simple yet powerful FREE data analysis tool. Whether you teach math, science, ELA, or social studies, you can use data in your classroom – and with a little help from Northern Coding Academy, you will!

Explore foundational coding concepts in your elementary classroom with the new Alberta curriculum! This presentation will discuss storytelling and writing as it relates to computational thinking, explore how coding and computer science themes can exist in nature and art, and delve into a variety of activities – both plugged in and unplugged. Attendees will leave with newfound confidence in teaching computer science topics and integrating computer science across curriculums.