SEMINAR WEEK, 2012 for Graduating B Ed Students Presentation/Workshop Description Presenters Joanne is a dynamic, entertaining speaker who will share with you some wonderful stories of her educational relationships with students over the years. These are more than just stories - they reinforce the message of how important student/ educator relationships are in building trust with students and effecting learning and teaching. This session will begin with a showing of the video, The Long Road to justice: The Viola Desmond Story. Discussion will be facilitated by Ramona Jennex, Minister of Education for Nova Scotia. This session will give voice to concerns and necessary support for African Canadian students within our schools. There will be opportunity for questions from the audience. This session involves making blank books as alternative ways for students to show what they know. In this hands -on session you will learn about the origin of the 8 type of notebooks featured as well as take away directions for all 8 types. This session is applicable to both elementary and secondary teachers and students. I have a Story to tell The Long Road to Justice: The Viola Desmond Story Over the past 28 years, Joanne Syms has been a teacher, vice principal, principal and currently a school supervisor with the Halifax Regional School Board. Throughout her career Joanne has always focused on the importance of building strong relationships with students and parents. Her mantra has been that each and every child has a "story" and as educators our job is to listen, to value and embrace each one of them. Viola Davis Desmond (July 6, 1914 1965) was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. She was an African-Canadian who ran her own beauty parlor and beauty college in Halifax. She has been referred to as a Canadian version of Rosa Parks. Viola Desmond's story is one of the most publicized incidents of racial discrimination in Nova Scotia and Canadian history. Panel Discussion: Supporting and Engaging African Canadian Students Panel Moderator: Dr. Susan Brigham, MSVU Panelists: Malik Adams, Adrienne Glasgow, Kesa- Munroe- Anderson, Wendi Poitras, Rosalinde Saunders. Making Notebooks and Journals Dr. Jane Baskwill Jane Baskwill was born in Queens, New York, but has lived most of her adult life in rural Nova Scotia. She has authored many professional books and articles for teachers in addition to a video tape series. Jane has also authored a book of poetry for children and several children s picture books. Jane has been President of the Nova Scotia Reading Association and Nova Scotia's Provincial Coordinator for the International Reading Association. She has been a Featured Speaker and workshop leader at numerous educational conferences. Jane is a six-time recipient of the Education Quality Award from the Nova Scotia Teachers Union and received the Distinguished Achievement Award from the Educational Press Association of America for her series of articles in Teaching K-8 magazine. Jane has spent many years in the public school system as a classroom teacher as well as administrator. She is presently on faculty at MSVU where her teaching and research areas include: practitioner action research; arts-informed research methodologies; gender and educational administration; activism and professionalism; literacy and gender; arts-informed literacy learning; family literacy and parental involvement in education; early childhood literacy; peace and environmental education
Creative Arts/Creative Movement/ Drama in Today s Classrooms I can t imagine teaching without incorporating the Creative Arts in my classroom on a daily basis. As teachers, we should be aware of the meaningful and engaging qualities of the creative arts in our classrooms. Let s explore some of the possibilities as we experience firsthand through small group centre activities. (Susan Oickle- Shano). Using a multi-media approach, this workshop explores the historical aspects of the Holocaust as it unfolded in Europe while examining what was happening simultaneously in Canada. Pedagogical methods for classroom learning are examined. Participants will introduced to age and developmental appropriate educational tools that will assist them in teaching about the Holocaust in a sensitive and age- appropriate manner. Participants will receive a resource booklet to assist them in preparing their own lesson plans for effective Holocaust education. Questions and discussion are encouraged! Holocaust Education, Elementary and Secondary Susan Oickle-Shano, BEd, MEd, has had 37 years of teaching experience in elementary and secondary classrooms as well as many years of facilitating PD workshops. She has attended numerous Children's Literature conferences. She is presently a part-time BEd Faculty instructor, as well as practicum supervisor, at Mount St. Vincent University. Her enthusiasm and passion for teaching are contagious. Erin Tomlinson is a graduate of Mount Saint Vincent University s Bachelor of Public Relations program and Bachelor of Education program. In July 2008, Erin travelled to Germany, Poland, and Israel as a participant in the March of the Living for Educators program. During this two-week tour, Erin and her colleagues from across Canada were immersed in Holocaust studies, visiting sites such as the Wannsee Conference in Berlin, Oscar Schindler s factory, the Warsaw Ghetto, and the killing centres Plaszow and Auschwitz-Birkenau. Erin also attended the International Conference on Holocaust Education at the Yad Vashem in Israel. What made the March of the Living experience unique was that participants were accompanied for the entire journey by Bill Gleid, a Holocaust Survivor, who candidly shared his story of survival with the group. From this incredible experience Erin has a newfound appreciation for the art of storytelling as an effective method for teaching History as well as the importance of networking and sharing resources with young teachers of all disciplines. Cosmic Connections Connecting Students with Astronomy, Elem and Sec Astronomy is a science that can be used to excite kids of all ages from 5 to 99 and give them an insight into the wonders of the universe and the world around them. There are millions of everyday applications of astronomical concepts from the telling of time, to that of using a digital camera. In this session, Sherman Williams, retired teacher and amateur astronomer, will offer practical ideas to help you facilitate outcomes which are relevant to the Nova Scotia Science curriculum. He will show you how you can create concrete astronomical models using every day, accessible materials to engage learners. He will also demonstrate interactive software programs with a focus on astronomical concepts. Can t take a class to a planetarium, then come learn how to bring the planetarium to your class! Sherman Williams has taught at both the elementary and secondary levels. Even though he is retired from the public school system, he is active in creating Galileo moments for people of all ages and is called upon quite frequently to support teachers/students in their classrooms in their learning of astronomical concepts. Sherman has been an active member of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC) and the Minas Astronomy Group (MAG) for many years. Dealing With Homophobic/Transphobic Bullying by The Youth Project This session, facilitated by members of the Youth Project, will focus on how to deal with homophobic and transphobic bullying in our society. The Youth Project is a non-profit charitable organization, based in Halifax, dedicated to providing support and services to youth, 25 and under, around issues of sexual orientation and gender identity. They have a provincial mandate to travel across the province to meet with youth in other communities. They provide a variety of programs and services including support groups, referrals, supportive counselling, a resource library, educational workshops, social activities, and a food bank. They promote and nurture an environment that is appreciative of youth from all races, ethnicities, genders, sexual orientations, abilities and socioeconomic backgrounds.
Project WILD - Environmental and Conservation Education Offered Both Tuesday and Wednesday Maximum 30 This workshop will run all day and will involve lots of hands-on and fun outdoor and indoor activities. Participants will receive a manual containing over a hundred lively, hands-on, diverse and instructionally sound educational activities and a certificate of completion. Suitable for all levels. Course offered according to the new Canadian St John Ambulance national protocol. All handled through Rosaria Fitness Centre. COURSE DETAILS April 16, 9:00-12:00 AND 1 to 4, ALL DAY required St. John Ambulance Emergency First Aid with CPR "C".. covers adult, child and infant, Fee - $60 Register in person at the Mount Fitness Centre or by phone at 457-6420. Payment is required at time of registration. Registration deadline: Thursday, April 12 To insure all students interested on obtaining their First Aid have a spot in the course, pre-registration is required. This will allow time to order books. Dress comfortably. Food and drink are permitted. Bring a pencil/pen. For more information contact the instructor: Joanne.Burns-Theriault@msvu.ca, 457-6369, Rosaria Room 127. Tilak Aurora has worked in many schools and classrooms in the support of children and youth new to our country. In this session he will help you gain an insight into the issues and barriers students face as they try to adapt to their new school community. The session will begin with a brief overview of the syndrome followed by an examination of some of the more common behaviours and learning styles of students with Autism. You will have a look at strategies and approaches that support these students in the classroom. First Aid and CPR Teaching Within A Culturally Diverse Classroom Sandra Fraser is a Program Assistant for the NS Department of Natural Resources and coordinates the Project WILD program for the province. Sandra has a Bachelor of Recreation Management from Acadia University and is passionate about outdoor and environmental education. In addition to working in municipal recreation for several years, Sandra has been involved in a variety of programs including Adventure Based Experiential Learning, the NS Envirothon, NS Outdoor Leadership Program, Mysterious Encounters Earth, and the Sierra Club of Canada's Environmental Education program. She is also an active member of the NS Environmental Network's Environmental Education Caucus. Joanne Burns-Theriault is the Recreation Co-ordinator at MSVU and certified St. John Ambulance Instructor. She holds a Masters of Education from MSVU and a Bachelor of Recreation from Dalhousie. As a First Aid Instructor working in the high risk field of Athletics/Recreation, she sees the importance of ensuring that staff, day camp leaders, instructors and coaches are trained and ready to respond to medical emergencies. She has been training students, faculty and staff at MSVU for the past 18 years. Tilak Aurora is a YMCA School Settlement staff member. The purpose of YMCA Immigrant Programs is to help immigrants to Canada settle into their new homes in the Halifax Regional Municipality, and to help the mainstream population understand the issues and barriers newcomers face while adjusting and adapting to a new language, culture, climate and community, while maintaining their own. With funding from Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) and NSOI, the YMCA offers several programs, one of which is a School Support Program. Autism Learning Styles and the Classroom Susan Jozsa is Autism Consultant for Student Services Division, NS Department of Education. Susan previously was Autism specialist with the Halifax School Board and has an outstanding record of working with students, teachers, and families to support programming and services for students with Autism.
Using Smart Boards and Other Tech Software in Classrooms The CRC now has a SMARTBoard interactive white board (IWB). If you haven t yet had the chance to teach with an IWB in your classroom, this session will give you the opportunity to see an IWB in action, and to experiment with it hands-on. You ll also hear about Mr. McDonald s experiences with a Grade 6 pilot of the SMARTResponse PE interactive response system. The PE system enables teachers to create assessment tools, store and manage the student responses, and provide instant feedback. We ll discuss the implications of IWBs and learning systems for teaching. IWBs are, of course, only one example of technology enrichment. What other classroom technologies have you encountered? Take this opportunity to share your practicum experiences with your colleagues. While the session is intended to be informal and fun, by the end of it, you will have a Technology Wish List for your own classroom! Terri Milton is coordinator of the Curriculum Resource Centre, MSVU. Liam McDonald is 2nd year Elementary Are you confused about the "right" way to teach reading and writing? Do you still have questions such as, "What is the role of phonics?" or "What is the role of spelling?" or "What is the role of assessment?" Beth will address some of the myths and misunderstandings about these topics. There will be lots of opportunity for interaction with the presenter in this session. Many newspapers have a Newspapers in Education (NIE) division for lots of very good reasons. Our own Chronicle Herald Make and Take session is one where John says that the students will do all of the hard work and he will be the director! The most important thing is that you will have Fun Using Newspapers and at the end of the workshop, you will have free handouts and other material for your own newspaper lesson file. Applicable to all grade levels and subjects! Myth Busters- LA ( Language Arts) Beth Charlton s wide -ranging teaching experience has been the foundation of her work as a literacy consultant, literacy assessment coordinator (DOE), and a lecturer at MSVU. She is a popular presenter on professional issues related to education and is also consultant for educational television and several publishing houses. A contributing author to several literacy resources, she is also the author of two children s books and two professional books: Informal Assessment Strategies and Engaging the Disengaged (Pembroke). Newspapers in Education Differentiated Tasks in Math, Grade 4 to 9 Lois will focus on Differentiated Math Tasks that will use large group strategies for differentiated instruction and accommodate students from a larger range of abilities in an inclusive, more manageable way. The tasks will involve multiple representations of conceptual understanding and involve the processes of communication, reasoning and problem solving. John Millett, Newspaper in Education program manager, has been promoting The Chronicle Herald as an education tool in the classroom for 25 years. A graduate of the B.Ed. program at Mount St. Vincent University, he calls himself "a teacher that works for private industry". Lois Boudreau has been a Math teacher for 29 years. She has taught all but one year in Middle level with 23 years at Coldbrook and District School. She is currently the Math consultant and instructional coach for grades 4-9 at AVRSB (past 4 years as Math mentor). She started her undergrad of an integrated BSc/BEd at MSVU and later earned an M. Ed in curriculum studies from MSVU. Yes, we have it: the much in demand session on Power School! This session will encompass an overview of Power School with a focus on Power Teacher, the grade book, the parent portal, and the mobile apps. Areas such as assessment, communication, behaviour tracking, and data collection will be covered during this session. Power School Michael Ouellette is presently Consultant and Regional Project Manager for the Provincial Student Information System Project of the Annapolis Valley Regional School Board but he has, also, had extensive experience as a teacher and principal within the public school system. He knows well the demands placed upon teachers with respect to recording, reporting and communicating with parents. He advocates that technology can help to meet these demands in an effective and efficient manner as well as contribute to effective teaching in the classroom.
A potentially violent situation is an unsettling situation for everyone involved. The person who has "acted out" may run the gamut of emotions from fear to embarrassment. The person who attempts to intervene is subjected to tremendous stress and fear for his/her own personal safety. Non-Violent Crisis Intervention Training will teach you how to prevent an emotionally and physically threatening situation from escalating out of control. The training will teach you practical techniques to help you defuse an explosive situation and feel confident about it. The NVCI techniques emphasize both the staff person and the acting out person. NVCI only recommends physical restraint when all verbal and paraverbal techniques have been exhausted. Non-Violent Crisis Intervention Training will teach you skills which allow you to: identify the potential for violent or disruptive behavior; reduce tensions; prevent violent episodes; intervene safely in violent situations and develop safe humanistic approaches to crisis intervention. This session will provide a brief description of the practice of psychology generally and of the specialty practice of school psychology within the profession. We will provide information about what a school psychologist can do to help you in the classroom, particularly with respect to assisting children with reading difficulties, ADHD, and school refusal behaviour At the center of all NS Museum programs is a belief in the tremendous power of objects to educate; to help people discover things about themselves and their world. As is the case with acquiring some other important teaching skills, it can take time and effort to learn how to use objects effectively in a classroom. The purpose of this presentation will be to introduce teachers to the theories behind object base teaching and demonstrate how the outreach program can help make this instruction possible. ( for all grades/subject levels) Non-Violent Crisis Intervention Maximum 40 Vida Woodworth graduated from the Nova Scotia Teachers College in 1983 as a physical Education teacher and substituted for the Halifax County School Board for 10 years. She worked at Avalon Sexual Assault Centre for 4 years as the Community Education Coordinator, followed by the position of Executive director. Recently, she became a Social Programs Officer at Nova Institution for Women in Truro where she Provides NVCI training for the women. Vida became a Non Violent Crisis Intervention Instructor in 2005. Brenda Putnam is an Instructor with the Institute for Human Services Education in Truro. She teaches various courses for the Child and Youth worker program as well as supervising and coordinating practicum placements for students in the Institute. Brenda has been a NVCI instructor for several years and also is a Master trainer for ASIST suicide intervention training. The Role of Psychology in Schools Teach Yourself to Teach With Objects Dr. Sara King is an assistant professor in the school psychology program at MSVU and a registered clinical psychologist. Dr. King s research interests include social functioning in children with ADHD and chronic illness, developmental disabilities, aggression, and treatment of ADHD. Dr. Melissa McGonnell is an assistant professor in the school psychology program at MSVU and a clinical psychologist (candidate register). Dr. McGonnell s research interests include assessment and intervention for complex learning and behavioural disorders, cross-discipline practice, teacher and physician education, and transition to post-secondary settings. Derek Harrison is Coordinator of Educational Programs and Volunteers for Maritime Museum of the Atlantic
Michelle will give an introduction to what she calls the teacher's most important and most neglected tool - the human voice. The value of voice has nothing to do with knowing how to sing. She will go through the basics of good vocal support, deep breathing for relaxation, vocal warm up. She also offers a section on the good old art of oratory and choral speaking and how you can use this with your students to create dramatic presentations across the curriculum. She positions all of this historically within the traditions of rhetoric and public speaking and brings it into the present with the advent of developmental drama and its cross-curricular practice. She will finish with a short sing-a-long to encourage everyone to bring the homely arts into their classrooms. Please wear loose clothing and bring a towel or mat for stretching out on the floor. Also, all musical instruments are welcome! This session will provide an introduction to chronic and recurrent pain and illness in children, a description of how pain or chronic illness may present in the classroom, and strategies for managing these two conditions in students. Recent empirical evidence, as well as a review of current literature will be presented Having A Voice Michelle Forrest is an Assistant Professor with MSVU and a trained classical singer. Two Portia White Scholarships from the Nova Scotia Talent Trust supported her studies in London, England where she completed performance degrees from the Royal College of Music and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She also sang professionally in opera, oratorio and concert repertoire throughout the South of England. Upon returning to Nova Scotia for family reasons, she furthered her studies of languages before going into teaching. She remains active as a performing artist by participating in fund-raising and other special events, through her research into collaboration through the arts, and by jamming with friends whenever she gets the chance. Working With Children with Chronic Pain and Illnesses Dr. Sara King is an assistant professor in the school psychology program at MSVU and a registered clinical psychologist. Dr. King s research interests include social functioning in children with ADHD and chronic illness, developmental disabilities, aggression, and treatment of ADHD. Come prepared to be active. Games and Activities for Classroom Use Joanne Burns-Theriault is the recreational co-ordinator for MSVU. Her many years of experience in working with students of various ages plus her wealth of ideas coupled with great enthusiasm make her a valuable resource for practicing teachers. The Final Mark: How to calculate a student s grade. This session, will provide participants with an overview of methods to generate a final summative mark/grade for students. We will discuss the current conventions, benefits and drawbacks. As well, we will examine three different case studies of teachers working and struggling with some of the dilemmas that may arise in calculating a final summative mark/grade. Grading: Getting The Final Mark Dr. Saad Chahine is an assistant professor at Mount Saint Vincent University in the faculty of education, specializing in measurement and evaluation. Dr. Chahine teaches classroom assessment courses, quantitative research methods, and specialized courses in school effectiveness and improvement. Dr. Chahine has current research agenda which examines accountability, assessment for learning, and validity theory. He has consulted with school boards on classroom assessment and data use and he is a former high school math teacher. He brings these experiences plus much more to his workshop on grading.
This workshop is designed to support elementary teachers to learn about developing a comprehensive unit of study that encompasses reading and writing in a particular genre. A detailed unit of study in poetry will provide teachers with a framework, and facilitators will highlight essential elements of unit design including selection of curriculum outcomes, learning targets, methods of assessment, explicit instruction, and differentiation. Teachers will leave with a model that can be applied to wide range of units of study (e.g., narrative, research, procedural text, etc.). (This workshop given at a PETA conference in Halifax was very highly recommended by a recent Elementary graduate of MSVU). Developing Units of Study for Grades 4-6 Judy Dauphinee and Erna Fraser are teachers, mentors, and consultants. In brief, they are Educational Leaders of Elementary Literacy within the Annapolis Valley Regional School Board.