ENCOMPASS Conference

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Morning - AM sessions

No need to pre-register for your session (except Kagan's session). First-come, first-served until the room is full

Introduction of Emotional Literacy for Educators

Presenter: Miriam Miller
All Grades (K-12)
This highly interactive workshop allows teachers to learn how emotions impact student learning and performance, decision making, relationships, and engagement. Teachers learn to leverage the power of emotions through the immediate use of the Mood Metre tool resulting in a supportive and engaging learning environment.


Thirsty for Change: The Global Water Crisis

Presenter: Shannon Laneway
Secondary (8-12)
Examine the issue of water, locally and globally, with a particular focus on the world's dwindling supply of drinking water, and its impact on women and children.


From Silence to Action

Presenter: Greg Laing
Secondary (8-12)
Addressing concerns that many secondary teacher have when trying to address LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning) issues.


Empowerment to Social Responsibility

Presenter: Julie Rempel
All Grades (K-12)
Imagine the change young people could make across Canada given the opportunity.  Imagine the values they would learn, and the empowerment they would take with them all their lives.  MakeChange, The Ladybug Foundation Education Program is a multi media resource. It incorporates values and attitudes that are at the core of what the young founder of The Ladybug Foundation, Hannah Taylor has used to make a difference in the lives of Canada's hungry and homeless. Discover the inspiring stories and effective teaching materials, of how empowering a generation can lead to an incredible social action movement.


Stress of Adolescent Development and Its Ramifications

Presenter: Brenda Laface
Intermediate (4-7)
From puberty onward young people face a multitude of developmental stressors prior to achieving the confidence and stamina required to become responsible successfully independent individuals.  Not only are their bodies ontologically pressing them toward sexual maturity, developing cognitive processes are pointing out moral, ethical, and behavioural inconsistencies, and increasing self-conscious insecurities are urging them toward emotional maturity.
     The maturation process is stressful.  Emotional stamina develops as does physical stamina.  Its builds upon itself incrementally.  Stress, as we are becoming evermore aware, is the human body's physiological response to unprocessed emotion.  Emotions, as we are becoming ever more aware, are nature's way of alerting us to impending danger, be it physical, mental or emotional.  Our emotions are what alert us to problems we need to solve and adolescents have many physical, mental and emotional problems to solve in their ascent to maturity.  
     In more fully understanding the stressors inherent in adolescent development, the session will provide strategies helpful in mitigating the desire to seek relief or numb out through the use of various psychoactive substances.


Resilience - classroom strategies to help kids through anxiety and anger K-7

Presenter: Erin Switzer
Elementary (K-7)
A brief description of social/emotional learning will be discussed. Six simple strategies will be presented that can be taught in the classroom to help children become aware of and self regulate their emotions.  Accompanying resources will be provided in the form of a pdf document.  Resources will be available to purchase if desired.


Practical Mindfulness (Mind-Up)

Presenter: Zofia Higo
Primary (K-3)
This workshop will present one primary classroom's "transformational experience" as a result of introducing the Mind-Up Program (The Hawn Foundation). The program focuses on stress reduction and self awareness in order to reduce anxiety, conflict, and increase attention span. It produces internal benefits for children and creates a positive classroom learning environment. Children learn optimism, gratitude, kindness, and most importantly how to live in the moment. You will leave with many practical examples of how you can integrate mindfulness education with existing curriculum (with a focus on Social Emotional Learning), so that SEL becomes embedded in classroom practice and a "way of being" for the students. Note: This session is NOT a Mind-Up Training program.


Teaching Social Justice 12

Presenter: Ken Ipe
Secondary (8-12)
This session will give aspiring Social Justice 12 teachers or provide current Social Justice 12 teachers curriculum and teaching tools around this course.   As a pilot teacher for the class, I will provide an overview of the course and outline potential strengths and pitfalls to a course marred by controversy.


Points of Inquiry - Engaging Students in Meaningful Literacy

Presenter: Julie Robinson
All Grades (K-12)
In this age of expanding information, digitizing of text and new and emerging technologies there is an increasing urgency to engage our students in literacy-related learning that is meaningful and foundational.  Many of us continue to focus on teaching skills: skills of reading, skills or research.  It is important to anchor our teaching in the deeper cognitive processes that children need to build in order to become lifelong literate learners and critical thinkers.
The BCTLA Information Literacy Task Force has developed an inquiry model based on 5 Points of Inquiry: Connect and Wonder, Investigate, Construct, Express and Reflect, to guide teachers as to the needs of students from K-12. Underpinning principles include the active engagement of the student as learner and teacher, the teacher as guide, and the context for learning being both social and collaborative. The model is not linear, nor circular - rather it recognizes that learners will move back and forth within the points of inquiry. The model is organized around 4 benchmarks that mark natural transitions in school: K-grade 3, grade 4-7, grade 8-10 and grade 10-12.


Exploring the Link Between Social Responsibility and Assessment for Learning

Presenter: Jane Chabot & Holly Stibbs
All Grades (K-12)
We will share how we use assessment for learning (self-assessment) to authentically thread and embed social responsibility throughout the curriculum.  Using simple cooperative learning structures, learners work as learning/teaching resources for each other.  Self-reflection provides immediate feedback that moves learners forward in the area of social responsibility.  There are handouts and ready-to-use ideas!


Global Education and UNICEF Canada: Engage your students and transform your school

Presenter: Carissa MacLennan & Lesley Stewart
Elementary (K-7)
Join us at this interactive and creative workshop, where you will learn how incorporating a global education perspective in your classroom will provide your students with the skills and the desire to ‘make their world a better place.’ This will be done through the lens of children’s rights, with a participatory exploration of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) through a variety of classroom-ready and cooperative activities. These activities have been developed and piloted as part of UNICEF Canada’s partnership with Faculties of Education across Canada, and can be used in your classroom to promote a socially responsible learning community and to engage students in meaningful ways. In the take-home package, we will include an elementary resource package and grade level overview that provides links to subject area curriculum connections, specific rights from the CRC, and the British Columbia Performance Standards for Social Responsibility. You will also receive information to connect with our online national professional learning community.


Global Education and UNICEF Canada: Engage your students and transform your school

Presenter: Dina Desveaux & Marie-Helen Gratton
Secondary (8-12)
Join us at this interactive and creative workshop, where you will learn how incorporating a global education perspective in your classroom will provide your students with the skills and the desire to ‘make their world a better place.’ This will be done through the lens of children’s rights, with a participatory exploration of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) through a variety of classroom-ready and cooperative activities. These activities have been developed and piloted as part of UNICEF Canada’s partnership with Faculties of Education across Canada, and can be used in your classroom to promote a socially responsible learning community and to engage students in meaningful ways. In the take-home materials, we will include a secondary resource package with ready to use classroom lessons in French and English. You will also receive information to connect with our online national professional learning community.


SHIFT:  Prometheus and the Great Race

Presenter: Allison Kerr & Luke Modder
Secondary (8-12)
Prometheus Shift 365 simply challenged students and staff at King George to live life a little different each day – physically and mentally. Their kick off to this shift in culture though was not at all small . . .
On April 13, 2010, King George Secondary took their innovative “Prometheus Shift 365” to the streets with a “Great Race” around the sculptures of the International Vancouver Biennale!
This cross-curricular, multi-grade, inquiry based race challenged and strengthened students understanding of what is really needed to be able to authentically shift. If we were to consider shifting as a school, students and staff needed tools to assist them in their challenge.  The MindUP program, coupled with an understanding of an open and reflective point of view, gave students and staff an incredible foundation for success within this shift. 
From this initial kick-off, workshop presenters Tiana Blouin and Jessica Eguia developed a complete set of curriculum guides for ten Biennale installations in collaboration with the staff and students of King George Secondary and Biennale Vancouver. It became clear that the Vancouver Biennale (VB) offered an invitation to explore our lived world while developing BC PLOs and curriculum standards that are fully inclusive, cross curricular, and inquiry based – an accessible entry point for all schools within the lower mainland.
“Prometheus Shift 365” is named after the Greek God Prometheus. According to the Greek legend, Prometheus stole fire from Mount Olympus to save mankind.  The ancient symbol of fire represents wisdom and knowledge.


We Can Make Miracles - Building Community Book by Book

Presenter: Vancouver KidsBooks - Leslie Buffam
All Grades (K-12)
Vancouver KidsBooks will present the latest and best books (picture, nonfiction and novel) that incorporate the themes of social responsibility and social justice.


Adventure in Social Emotional Learning

Presenter: Sheldon Franken
All Grades (K-12)
Have you thought about adventure education? It’s not as scary as you may believe. You don’t have to take kids backpacking in the woods. Come ready to play, we’ll give you the research and 10 activities that will enable you to bring adventure education into your school next week.
Richard Louv coined the phrase “nature deficit disorder” and researched the connections between lack of fee play and adventure and the rise in children’s mental health and social disorders. Adventure education can be viewed as the start in bringing back active experiences as a means for facilitating social and emotional learning.
Come ready to be active, participate, and engage in a variety of adventure activities. Collectively we will transform these activities into social and emotional educational tools. We will encourage delegates to share connections and explain how these activities and tools can fit into your specific school or classroom.
“Adventure is not outside man; it is within.”- George Eliot


Value Based Leadership Programs

Presenter: Kristi Blakeway & Darren Stewart
Secondary (8-12)
This year, at Dr. Charles Best Secondary, over 100 students volunteered their time hoping to make a positive difference in their school and the community. The students started the year at camp identifying their core values and leadership styles.  Rather than setting an agenda for the year, this leadership club decided to let their core values guide their decisions.  As a result, project HELLO (Helping Everyone Locate Loved Ones) flourished, where the students worked in homeless shelters and on the downtwon eastside, helping the homeless reach out and reconnect with their families through greeting cards, phone calls and a face to face reunion.  In total, 74 families were reconnected over the Christmas holidays and Mother's Day.  Come hear how the program developed, listen to students reflect on the inspiring and heart warming stories and take away some ideas on how to build a value based leadership program within your school.


Cooperative Learning Made Easy: Drop-of-the-Hat Structures

Presenter: Dr. Spencer Kagan
K-12
Come experience a range of simple, powerful, research-proven cooperative learning structures that dramatically enhance outcomes in any lesson. These simple structures involve no special preparation, no change in the academic content, and can be used with any curriculum! Whether you teach adolescents, or younger children, come prepared to interact, learn, and leave with new tools to transform any lesson. Experience and analyze the functions of a number of simple cooperative learning structures. Learn to use Timed Pair Share, Pair Share, RallyRobin, RoundRobin, Timed RoundRobin, Three-Step Interview, Instant Star, Quiz-N-Show and Traveling Quiz-N-Show drop-of-the-hat. Learn the brain science behind structures — how we change brain chemistry by the ways we have our students interact. Derive the functions of these structures — when to use them and when not to use them. You will generate applications for your own settings and leave with a toolbox full of ready-to-use structures for your very next lesson!

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