Date Title Presenter Description Learning Points

Sept. 7, Digital Literacy for Derek Rhodenizer This workshop focused on the use I learned to really think about how to use
2018 Teachers: A and importance of integrating technology in the classroom in a way that
Principal’s technology into the classroom from will enhance my lesson plans. I was
Perspective Derek Rhodenizer’s perspective. It reminded to always have a “Plan B”,
provided teacher candidates with a especially when using technology.
base understanding of how Technology can be a fantastic addition to
technology can be used and an the classroom, but can be unpredictable
introduction to the SAMR Model of at times and doesn’t always work. With
Technology Integration. that being said, Derek reminded us to not
be afraid to take risks when it comes to
using technology in lesson plans.
Sept. 7, Using Assistive Nancy Kawaja This workshop was about how to best I learned about various resources such as
2018 Technology to provide a positive learning Book Creator, Showme (an App used to
Create and environment for ALL learners in the create and share lesson plans) and AERO
Environment for classroom through the use of (Alternative Education Resources for
Learning: technology. Nancy provided teacher Ontario). I briefly learned about IEP’s
Challenges and candidates with various ideas and (Individual Education Plans) and how to
Solutions for tools to use in the classroom to help look at them in a positive way, as they are
Welcoming learners with disabilities to be meant to be a friendly document. I also
Diversity in the successful in the learning gained confidence in my abilities to assist
Classroom environment. various different learners within a
classroom.
Sept. 7, Digital Hub: Where Jessica Coleman This workshop helped teacher This workshop helped to guide me in the
2018 to Start? candidate’s gain a better right direction in terms of the Digital Hub.
understanding of what the Digital I learned the basics around how to create
Hub is, why it exists and how my own Hub and how to focus my Hub
students can get started on their own around my values and strengths as a
Hub. Jessica provided various teacher. I was inspired by the examples
resources and examples of Hub’s that we were shown, and personally, I
 created by previous students. learned that I would like my Hub to have
a homepage with various links to other
pages. I learned to really think deeply
about the colours, graphics, content and
pop-out words that I chose to use in my
Hub. My Hub will be an extension of
myself and who I am as a teacher, so these
things are important.
Sept. 13, Federation Day - Diane Dewing Diane provided students with an This was a great introduction into the
2018 OTF overview of the Ontario Teachers OTF. I learned about some of the rights
Federation and the ETFO. and responsibilities that we will have as
associate members (duties to our
students like professional competence,
consistency, looking out for their well-
being and confidentiality). Diane also
opened my eyes to a variety of amazing
teacher resources like the OTF webinars,
OTF Planboard, Safe at Schools,
Edvantage and more.
Sept. 13, Federation Day – Dave Wing This presentation focussed on the In this presentation I learned what to do if
2018 Professional professional boundaries and CAS allegations are made against me. I
Boundaries communication as a member of the was informed of my right to know about
ETFO. Dave went through various violent offenders in my workplace, and
rights and responsibilities of how to report acts of violence. It was
members, and some of the roles of the made very clear that members are not to
Professional Relations Services staff. touch students in any way (including high
fives and hugs), as this is outside of their
professional boundaries and could be
taken the wrong way at any time. I was
also made aware that if for any reason the
 police or CAS contacts me for an
allegation, I am not to comment until I
have spoken to a Professional Relations
Services staff.
Oct. 4, OCT Presentation Nicole van This presentation was for first year This presentation was a helpful look into
2018 Woudenburg teacher candidates. Nicole and her co- the role of the OCT, as well as my role as a
worker Stephon explained the role of future member. I learned about the 4
the Ontario College of Teachers (OCT) buckets under the college’s mandate,
and the ethical standards that including licencing and certifying
members are to abide by. teachers, investigating and resolving
complaints, accrediting the teacher
education program and setting the
standards of practice for members. I
learned that one of their biggest priorities
is to protect the students and be
completely transparent with the public.
We also dove into the core ethical
principals of the OCT being care, trust,
integrity and respect. I was also happy to
be provided with a few more resources
like the OCT YouTube channel and
various posters and resource guides for
free on the OCT website.
Oct. 5, Teaching with Dr. David Smith This presentation was about student- I found that this presentation was a great
2018 Acceptance and teacher relationships and the introduction to SEC’s and the important
Commitment importance of developing social- role that teachers play in teaching,
(Cohort PLC) emotional competencies (SEC’s) in modelling and embodying positive values
order to prevent bullying. Dr. Smith to their students. In order for schools to
really focussed on SEC’s and the prevent bullying, it’s necessary to create a
“burnout cascade” that many teachers positive school climate, classroom
 experience in their career, as well as climate, and warm, caring and supportive
solutions to deal with this burnout. teacher-student relationships. This
presentation was also eye opening to the
importance of mindfulness for students
and teachers. Being able to “unhook” from
difficult thoughts and feelings and
respond in a way that’s important to you
can be difficult, but is a huge part of being
mindful and intentional. I enjoyed the
meditation activity that Dr. Smith had us
do and feel like it could be a good practice
to acquire in my life.
Jan. 12, Get REAL Rachael Harrison This presentation is centred around This was an uplifting presentation that
2019 Workshop (Queen’s and Jonas building acceptance and compassion reminded me that everyone has a story to
Conference on through sharing stories. Get REAL is tell. Rachel and Jonas were brave enough
Education) an organization that focuses on 3 core to share their own personal stories,
values; kindness, uniqueness and particularly related to their experiences
support (including small acts every in school. They stressed the importance of
day). creating safe spaces within the classroom
for students to feel comfortable to be
their authentic selves. They also stressed
just how vital it is to listen and to reach
out if we ever need support.
Jan. 12, Making Room for Shannon Brown This presentation focused on how This was an interesting presentation that
2019 Dreaming in the teachers can honour the dreams of got me thinking about the importance of
Classroom (Queen’s their students and themselves. fostering creativity within the classroom.
Conference on Shannon emphasised that creativity is one
Education) of the top qualities for new hires in the
workforce today. With this being such an
important skill, she believes that
 creativity can be learned and may be
accessed through dreams. As educators,
we must first recognize our own dreams
and see that we are creative individuals.
Then we will be able to encourage our
students to be more creative and think
about their own dreams. I enjoyed this
presentation as it was a new method to
accessing creativity that I had never
thought about before.
Jan. 12, Man Meets Lorne Berger In this workshop, Lorne provided I really loved this workshop and the
2019 Elementary School teacher candidates with his personal personal flair that Lorne put into his
(Queen’s journey as an elementary school presentation. His ‘aha’ moments touched
Conference on teacher. He reflected on the main upon many important points such as
Education) ‘aha’ moments of his teaching career, classroom management, teaching lessons
and tips and tricks that he has that are interesting to your students,
learned over the years. communicating with students, parents
and peers, learning who your students
really are and learning who you are as a
teacher. He taught me to let my classroom
reflect my passions and personality, while
balancing with current trends that
students enjoy. Lorne’s workshop really
spoke to me and reminded me why I want
to become a teacher. He spoke about his
role as a teacher in a realistic yet positive
way and with great passion, which I really
enjoyed and appreciated.

Jan. 13, Gender Identity and Kaeden Seburn This workshop focused on educating Kaeden taught me a lot about gender
2019 Gender Expression teacher candidates on gender diversity and how to create a more
in the Classroom identity, gender expression, and how inclusive classroom environment. They
(Queen’s to support gender diverse and trans provided teacher candidates with
Conference on students in the classroom. resources for teachers, parents and
Education) students, including an OCDSB Gender
Identity and Gender Expression Guide.
Kaeden also expressed a few tips that
might be helpful in the classroom,
including to avoid making assumptions
about student’s identity, to include
gender diverse content and to ask
student’s their preferred pronouns.
Jan. 31, Why All Elementary Jessica MacDonald This workshop provided teacher This was a beneficial workshop for me to
2019 Teachers Should candidates with an introduction to attend as I gained a better understanding
Try “The Daily 5” to “The Daily 5” literacy model. Jessica of the components of “The Daily 5”. The 5
Promote Literacy discussed how to incorporate “The components of this model are: 1) Read to
Development and Daily 5” model into a classroom with self. 2) Work on writing. 3) Read to
Allow Students to English language learners and someone. 4) Listen to reading. 5) Word
Become provided teacher candidates with work. I was happy to hear that the model
Independent first-hand examples of possible could be adapted to any classroom and
Learners. activities. could look different depending on the
students.
Jan. 31, Teaching Fatima Assaf This workshop focused on the This workshop challenged my ideas of
2019 Mathematics to participation of language learners in a how to teach mathematics to ELL
Language Learners mathematics class, and the role that students. Fatima helped me to understand
language plays during such classes. that children don’t always need to know
the language of instruction in order to be
successful at math! I learned to consider
the many resources that ELL students
bring to a math class, rather than
focussing on what they can’t do. As
educators, we must focus on what life
experiences these students have had,
what concrete materials they may be able
to use, what languages they are able to
speak and what experiences they may
have had with mathematics in the past.
We must also step back from our
conventional ways of learning and
teaching math, and try to understand how
individual students come to conclusions
in mathematics.
Date Title Presenter Description Learning Points
September Teachers as Dr. Jim Cummins This presentation by Dr. Cummins Dr. Cummins opened my eyes to the need of
26, 2019 Knowledge kicked off the Educlang Conference a multifaceted approach to second language
Generators: at the University of Ottawa. Dr. teaching. I learned that it can be beneficial
Whole School Cummins spoke about the for teachers to incorporate the French
Approaches to importance of second language language in subjects other than Core French
Revitalizing education and the need for Ontario in order to create a connection between
Language to try something new in order to curriculums. This can reinforce student’s
Education best support students in their learnings and teach for a transfer across
language development. languages. This requires collaboration
between teachers, as well as an expectation
that principals have language training and
can provide scaffolding strategies to
educators. Dr. Cummins stressed the
importance of language friendly schools,
which encourage students to use their full
linguistic repertoire!
September Intentional Paula This workshop was put together in This workshop gave wonderful insight into
26, 2019 Practices in Kristmanson, collaboration with researchers at the workings of a collaborative partnership
Second and Chantal Lafargue, the Second Language Research project. I learned a lot about the immense
Plurilingual Josée Le Institute of Canada, learning amount of work that goes into creating a
Education: From Bouthillier, Karla specialists in second language video series like this, and the benefits of
Research to Culligan, Kathy education, graduate students, and having these educational concepts accessible
Practice Whynot, Sylvie the media services team at the to a wide range of people. By using
Arseneau University of New Brunswick. The animations, this team is able to share
presenters described the process research-based knowledge and visually
they took to put together a series represent concepts in a way that doesn’t
of animated videos for educators date itself like many other educational
to learn more about bilingual and videos do. Many languages are present in
 plurilingual classrooms. This our classrooms today, and these videos
included research, writing scripts,provide educators with the support to foster
drawing sketches, and eventually intercultural competence within their
creating the animations. classrooms.
October 24, Resume, Cover Anthony Daigle This workshop went over the Anthony gave a great overview of resume
2019 Letter and Job process of creating an effective and cover letter writing. I learned that I
Search resume and cover letter. This will should create a 1-page resume to bring to
Workshop be a useful tool to have when career fairs, but a 2-page resume to use
applying to teacher education jobs when applying to job postings. I also learned
in the near future! about the importance of the layout of your
resume, which includes putting your
personal information and summary of
qualifications first. The summary of
qualifications should answer to the job
posting and directly relate to what the
employer is looking for. This will be the first
thing that the employer reads, so it’s
important that it catches their eye and
makes the applicant stand out. Anthony also
provided us with examples of resumes and
cover letters that are tailored to jobs in
education and can be found on the Ottawa U
Career Development website.
October 24, Everything is Terry Kharyati This presentation touched upon Terry was a fantastic presenter who made
2019 Pedagogical the opportunities in the West me even more excited to become a Certified
Quebec School Board, how to apply Teacher. In this workshop, I learned about
to the board, and the strengths of the need for teachers in the WQSB and
the WQSB as a whole. throughout the English school boards in
Quebec. I learned about the process of
working in Quebec as a member of the OCT,
 and the benefits of working for the WQSB.
These include the support that new teachers
are provided with through the Teacher
Induction Program, and the positive
relationships between teachers and
administrators throughout the WQSB.
November Welcoming Alice Te (ETFO) This workshop introduced Alice presented an insightful workshop that
21, 2019 Newcomers and students to some helpful ways in bettered my understanding of equity.
Their Families in which educators can best welcome She reminded me that my future students
Our Schools newcomers into their classrooms. (and everyone we interact with as humans)
Alice defined some important are going to be complex individuals with
terms (such as the difference many different ways of identifying, and that
between refugees, immigrants, it’s important to be aware and
asylum seekers and internally understanding of these intersectionalities.
displaced persons). I am looking forward to continuing to learn
about this topic through the social justice
and equity lesson plans on the ETFO
website.
November Islamophobia: Aasiyah Khan This workshop discussed diversity I really appreciated this workshop and the
21, 2019 Creating Safe (National Council and inclusion, and how these 2 way that the information was presented to
Spaces for All of Canadian constructs identify themselves in teacher candidates. Ms. Khan was well
Students Muslims) our classrooms and country today. spoken and powerful, and I especially liked
In particular, Mr. Khan identified her quote: “Inclusion takes intentionality
some of the many problematic and a lot of work.” Inclusion is something
assumptions that are made about that we discuss so often in this program, so
Muslim people in Canada. it was nice to have a workshop specifically
dedicated to Islamophobia. I’m grateful that
Ms. Khan provided us with some great
resources to help us create safe spaces for all
of our students, such as the TDSB IHM

January 28, Build Our Kid’s Kyla Crocker This training introduced teacher
2020 Success candidates to BOKS, a free physical
activity program built to
encourage fitness amongst
students. The training included
how to facilitate the BOKS
programming as well as many
ideas for bringing DPA into the
classroom.
February 6, Interview Prep – This workshop provided tips on
2020 What Should I the interview process, including
Say? some sample questions and
potential answers.
February Campaign Lee Cameron Lee helped Teacher Candidates
13, 2020 Messengers: (Egale Canada) better understand topics like
Taking a Stand! consent, sexual violence, healthy
relationships and the 4
components of human identity.
They focused this workshop on
Educators Guide Book, Rivers of Hope
Toolkit, and iHistory (Islamic World History
website).
This active training was extremely helpful
and a ton of fun! Kyla provided a ton of great
activities that I will absolutely be using in
the future, both as an occasional teacher and
contract teacher. I especially appreciated the
activities that can be used for DPA, in limited
spaces and without equipment. I will be
using the Triathalon Burst, Thunderstuck
Burpee Challenge, and Head, Shoulder, Knee,
Pylon!
This workshop was extremely helpful in
providing teacher candidates with insight
into a typical interview with an Ontario
public school board. Both presenters made
me feel a bit more at ease about the process
and were extremely supportive. They
provided helpful hits on different ways to
answer questions like “how do you design a
literacy program?”, and informed us of a few
main “buzzwords” to discuss (such as the 6
Global Competencies and growth mindset).
This workshop was vital as I understand the
need for students to feel safe and accepted
for who they are. I believe that providing a
safe environment for students is the first
step as a teacher when it comes to students
learning and being successful. I appreciated
 building confidence in our ability
to build safe spaces and promote
healthy relationships.
February Federation Day Jason Johnston Mr. Johnston gave an engaging
20, 2020 (ETFO presentation on classroom
representative) management strategies,
particularly for Occasional
Teachers. This presentation
included tips on getting students
attention, transition warnings, and
the idea of control within the
classroom. Mr. Johnston also
touched on what to do as an
Occasional Teacher, from the
moment you answer the phone call
to the end of the school day.
that Lee spoke about the 4 components of
human identity: gender identity, gender
expression, assigned sex and attraction. Lee
also taught me about the 4 pillars: respect,
listen, understand and communicate. Lee
helped me feel more confident in my
abilities to respond to issues of equity, and I
loved their quote “when it comes to equity
work, it’s okay to make mistakes…courage is
the acceptance of risk.”
This was a hugely beneficial presentation
and I learned some great tips for when it
comes to supply teaching in the future!
Through the presentation and discussion
with peers, we came up with several
resources to bring into the classroom each
day as a supply teacher, like books, games,
video clips, brain teasers, DPA activities and
more. We also discussed some strategies to
use when you have a challenging student,
like using open body language, giving them
responsibilities, and validating their feelings.
One of Mr. Johnston’s tips was to say “thank
you” to everyone who answers a question, as
well as to introduce yourself with
enthusiasm, being sure to mention how
excited you are to learn together.