Unlock the innovation of English Language Arts (ELA) program in Quebec’s Anglophone schools as we sit down with passionate educators Kathleen Murray (LBPSB) and Melinda Clifford (MEQ). Ever wondered how ELA differs from its French counterpart? Discover the unique, literacy-based approach in classrooms across Quebec, rooted in constructivist learning and enriched by metacognitive strategies. Through the inspiring narratives of Kathleen and Melinda, we unveil the dedication and innovation driving this program, challenging the notion that language instruction is a one-size-fits-all endeavor.
Join us as we trace the origins and profound impact of the 2024 Summer Literacy Symposium, a groundbreaking professional development initiative birthed from collaboration between the DEEN Languages Network and the Ministry of Education. Drawing on the expertise of academic luminaries like Dr. Sandra Martin-Chang and Dr. Helene Deacon, this symposium inspires educators with its central theme: "Teacher knowledge: You're the best resource in your class." Listen in to hear how this event fosters educator empowerment and enthusiasm, setting a new standard for teaching excellence.
Finally, explore the intricate structure of the Summer Literacy Symposium designed to cultivate collaboration and bridge educational divides. By gathering educators from diverse regions, this initiative encourages ongoing dialogue and shared learning experiences, underpinned by continuous professional development opportunities led by experts such as Karen Filowich and Dr. Larry Swartz. As we reflect on this transformative gathering, excitement builds for future cohorts eager to engage and innovate in the world of ELA education. Don’t miss this chance to connect with the voices shaping the future of teaching English language arts in Quebec.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:12):
all right, here we are another episode of shift ed
podcast.
I'm coming uh to you guys uhout of uh quebec today and I'm
really excited about thispodcast.
I've been thinking about it alot and I have two amazing
educators here and we're goingto talk about ELA in Quebec.
(00:34):
In our Anglo communities, thereis a summer literacy symposium
that was just put together.
It happened this past summerand that's really going to be
our focus, kind of what informedthat symposium that was just
put together.
It happened this past summerand that's really going to be
our focus, kind of what informedthat symposium and what
happened, what people thoughtand what the next steps are.
So I have Kathleen Murray and Ihave Melinda Clifford coming in
(00:56):
with us.
So thanks so much, guys, forhopping on here and sharing your
stories behind this prettyamazing PD that's happening.
Speaker 2 (01:07):
Thanks for having us.
Thanks for having us, Chris.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
Really good to see you Well, kathleen.
We've crossed paths many atimes.
It's always a pleasure.
Melinda, it's great that we'vemade these connections as well.
Before we jump into all of thatstuff, kathleen, where did it
all start?
For you education, why do youlove it?
Speaker 2 (01:37):
so much and give us a little Cole's notes on
Kathleen's educational journey.
Wow, I love that question.
It starts with the kids and andespecially the little ones.
That's where it started for me,and I've always gone into the
classroom saying I want them tobe good, kind, contributing
citizens of society.
That's the number one.
We're going to learn how toread, we're going to learn math,
(01:58):
we're going to do all thosethings.
It's super important, but we'reall going to go off in our own
different ways.
What matters most is are you?
Are you going to know how tocontribute and be giving and
selfless and kind?
And that's that's the heart ofeducation.
It's the community.
Oh, I love that question.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
We could stop this podcast right now.
Boom, perfect, amazing.
Thanks Kathleen for that.
Like I feel that too.
Like, well said, well said.
What about you?
Where did your?
Speaker 3 (02:31):
educational journey begin.
My educational journey began onthe other side of the world,
halfway around the world, fromhere in Sydney, Australia, which
is where I started my degree ineducation and then ended up
moving here and finishing mydegree at Bishops.
So I did all my stages andstarted my career in secondary
education here and again, sameas Kathleen and I think it's the
(02:55):
same for teachers across theprovince Teachers do it for the
kids.
So I've been very lucky in mycareer to have had wonderful
students all the way from Sec 1through to Sec 5.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
Amazing.
Well, thanks for that.
It is All this is about thekids, right, the lens we look
through continuously.
Is this going to benefit ourkids and increase their chance
of success in this crazy worldthat we live in?
Chance of success in this crazyworld that we live in?
(03:27):
So, as we kind of like, focusin on our conversation again,
great to have you guys here.
There's this myth and I'd liketo debunk it a little bit.
We have a dual language here inQuebec.
I mean, french is definitelythe main language here in Quebec
.
I mean French is definitely themain language here in Quebec,
and I always had this assumptionthat our programs were just
(03:49):
mirrors of one another.
However, there's a nuance, Ithink, between our English
program of language instructionand our French program of
instruction that they're not.
They're not um, similar orthey're a little bit different.
Um, is that?
Is that a myth, or is thatsomething that exists?
(04:13):
Maybe?
Uh, melinda, I'll throw that toyou sure I can take this one.
Speaker 3 (04:19):
so, even though they were created at the same time,
uh, french language ofinstruction was created as the
language of instructioncurriculum for the francophone
sector, whereas ELE EnglishLanguage Arts is a little bit
different.
It's a literacy-based program,so it's not termed English
Language of Instruction.
(04:40):
It's really English Languagearts.
So, while they were conceivedaround the same time, english
language arts was conceived as aliteracy-based program with a
focus on learning the language,so learning the word and
learning the word in order tolearn the world around us.
So it's really.
(05:01):
This idea of language is our into the rest of the world, so it
allows us to verbalize ourideas, our beliefs, our culture.
All of that happens throughlanguage.
So I think the philosophy ofthe program at its conception
was a little bit different andit was created really for the,
(05:25):
the english anglophone networkcool, cool.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
So there are there are um differences in in in the
anglo programs it was veryavant-garde at the time.
Speaker 3 (05:37):
So the elementary curriculum was published in 2001
and it was really focused onthe constructivist view of
learning.
There was a lot of focus onmetacognition, which was really
avant-garde at the time.
There were help me out here,kathleen.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
Well, I love how our program embeds portfolios, which
was a really important shift inthe reform and unfortunately
didn't hold as much as we wouldhave liked it to.
But in terms of children reallybeing involved in reflecting on
what they choose to put intheir portfolios and how they
(06:20):
reflect on why that's there,because they're progressing,
because they're proud of it,because they're able to identify
what they've achieved you knowwhat they've learned and then
they can identify their goalsand where they're going next.
That philosophy is still triedand true.
That is still, we know,incredibly effective.
Speaker 3 (06:39):
I think there was a realization at the time too that
all of the competencies in theprogram are really equal.
So we're looking at reading andwriting and oral communication
or talk, talk to learn, as it'sin the program, and they play
out sort of like on a 33, 33, 34level in the framework for the
(07:02):
evaluation of learning.
So there was a recognition evenover 20 years ago that talk was
just as important as readingand writing, and I think just
that is avant-garde for morethan 20 years ago.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
Absolutely yeah, and and, and, basing it on the
constructivist model as well.
I mean, that's pretty cool,pretty cool.
So we, you guys, came togetherright Kathleen, you're on a loan
right now right To the ministryand what was, what's your main
(07:39):
kind of crux of this loan ofservice that you're on right now
?
Speaker 2 (07:46):
Gosh.
I mean it was such an excitingopportunity to get to come and
work up at the ministry, knowingthat we had just finished a
project that I was welcomed inon for Oracy, the Oracy Toolkit.
So, again, that focus on talkand how Melinda uses the term,
the expression help me with thequote reading and writing float
(08:11):
on a sea of talk.
And so that was the projectthat I was invited in on, first
as a consultant and from there,knowing that we were going to
move into looking at what arethe foundational skills for
learning how to read thosepieces that teachers talk a lot
about and want to know moreabout and that aren't currently
(08:33):
explicitly present in ourprogram.
We know, in order to get to theskills, the literacy skills
that we want kids to have, thatwe need that there, but it's not
explicitly in that, and so weknew that we were going to be
looking at that, and to me thatwas just incredibly exciting.
What could be more important,right?
Speaker 1 (08:53):
So it's been a fun couple of years collaborating,
kind of looking at it as well,which I found pretty interesting
.
What was the seed that startedit all?
(09:16):
I know that there was aresearch that came out around
reading in our schools that theLanguage Network had worked on.
Was that something of a seedthat kind of started this idea
that we would start doing a PDthat would have a life to it,
meaning that it would have manyyears that it would be over this
(09:38):
professional development thatyou guys have been working on?
Speaker 3 (09:42):
well, certainly, certainly, the summer literacy
symposium grew from that work.
So, if I can backtrack a littlebit, back in 2022, the Dean
Languages Network reached out toour team, so the ELA programs
team at the Ministry ofEducation, to collaborate on a
project that would look at howreading translates from the
(10:06):
curriculum into practice andinto the classroom.
And so we collaborated with theELE consultants from across the
province, including Katavik andLittoral, as well as the
private sector, and there werejust over maybe 12 of us.
So we worked in threesubcommittees.
(10:26):
And one subcommittee looked atcurricula from Canada, so we
looked at curricula from acrossthe country, as well as some
international ELA curricula.
We looked at New Zealand andAustralia.
And another subcommittee waswell, it was essentially the
(10:46):
survey subcommittee, so theysurveyed teachers from across
the province, elementaryteachers as well as university
professors, to gatherinformation on how reading was
being taught across the province.
And the third subcommitteelooked at the research.
(11:07):
So what research had come outin the past 20 years since the
program was originally publishedon reading instruction?
Uh, and that culminated in theresearch into reading report
which the dean languages networkpublished last may, if I'm not
mistaken, um, which was sharedwith us and with our director
(11:29):
and the suminist I'm looking forsuminist in French.
Speaker 1 (11:37):
With the suminist, suminist.
Speaker 2 (11:38):
Yeah, you're looking for it in English, but we don't
know Suminist.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
We understand.
Speaker 3 (11:45):
So, and there were recommendations in that report
that focused on two things, soessentially what the Dean
Languages Network recommendedbetter teacher reading in the
classroom and so the symposiumwas something that we could move
forward with through EntenteCanada, quebec, and we were
inspired for the most part bythe Summer Math Institute that's
(12:08):
been running for the last 10years or so through LCEQ, which
is the Leadership Committee forEnglish Education in Quebec, and
they've been working on theSummer Math Institute.
It's a model of a residentialmodel where teachers go away for
three days in the summer andthey really focus on some skills
(12:30):
that they can take back andimplement following the summer
straight away in September, andso we decided that we would try
and follow this model because itwas so successful.
So we based our proposition onthat and we reached out to LCEQ
to see if they would beinterested in collaborating with
(12:51):
us to bring the project tofruition, and they're wonderful.
I have only good things to sayabout LCEQ, and the rest is
history, and last year was ourfirst summer literacy symposium,
and we've got a fabuloussteering committee that we
worked with for a year to puteverything together, and we were
(13:17):
able to reach out to somefabulous researchers from across
the country who presented lastAugust.
And that's it.
That's how it came about.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
Yeah, that's amazing.
And Kathleen tell us a littlebit about, like, who are some of
the keynotes and like peoplethat you had come in to kind of,
you know, work with you guysand during this first symposium.
Speaker 2 (13:38):
So, honestly, it's really a dream come true, Like
this is something you knowMelinda already alluded to it.
It's a conversation that hadbeen happening at the Language
at Table for a while.
How can we English languagearts consultants put together
something like what the mathconsultants have?
So to watch this happen isamazing.
And I said, well, who, who arewe going to get involved?
(14:00):
And as a teacher, I wouldreceive stagiaire from Dr Sandra
Martin Chang from ConcordiaEducation Department and I'd
only heard amazing things abouther and we knew we had to go and
get her.
And we found her and she was onboard and so it started with
her and then from there reachedout to Jean Ouellette, who works
(14:22):
out in New Brunswick at MountAllison, and then we also
reached out to Dr Helene Deacon,who's at Dalhousie in Nova
Scotia.
So we're really looking at.
We've got East Coast andprofessors who have had a huge
impact already on curricula.
(14:43):
Gene's role is vocabulary andhe participated in New Brunswick
updating of their curriculum,so we've got someone who really
knows their stuff.
Helen Deacon is Dr.
Helen Deacon is the, themorphology person, and we can
get into how exciting morphologyis later on in this podcast it
(15:04):
could be a whole podcast untoitself.
So that was our core, our coreexperts that we brought in, not
to mention, of course, theamazing consultants that we're
working with throughout theprovince, from all the boards,
but that was year one.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
Quite a few participants too.
This first kick at the canright.
I mean I saw the big picture onLCEQ and the write-ups and I
mean it looks like it was afabulous experience that
everybody's.
You know, we're, we're glowing,it seemed from the photo.
Um, I imagine I was taken atthe end or was that more?
Speaker 2 (15:39):
Yeah, and people were enthusiastic.
We need a picture before we go.
And yeah, you see the joy inthat photo there was.
There was a lot of excitementas people headed off.
Speaker 1 (15:49):
It was palpable, yeah , great.
So, linda, you were saying thatthere were three aspects that
that research had looked into.
Was there one in particularthat you guys wanted to address
with this symposium this year?
And let me get the title of itTeacher knowledge.
You're the best resource inyour class, right?
(16:09):
So that was your theme that youguys had.
Was that based on?
Did that?
Did the research inform thattheme and what does that mean?
That that title, like, couldyou dive a little bit deeper
into what?
What are behind, what's behindthat theme?
Speaker 3 (16:35):
that theme Sure.
Well, we truly believe thatteachers play such a critical
role in student learning, andthe more knowledge teachers have
, the better they're able toteach, and we found that out
through the survey that we didin the Research into reading
project, too, is that teachersreally wanted to focus on the.
What's the word that I'mlooking for?
Speaker 2 (16:57):
Well, the mechanics right, the foundational, the
pillars right, Foundationalskills of reading.
Speaker 3 (17:04):
We wanted to empower educators to with the tools and
the confidence that they need tobe better teachers, better
teachers of reading in theclassroom.
Speaker 1 (17:14):
Interesting.
And what is the difference?
Because I ran across these twoterms and we sometimes get hung
up in education with terminology.
But there was foundationalliteracy skills and then there's
the five pillars of reading.
(17:35):
Are those connected?
Is there a thorough linebetween those two?
Like I mean foundationalliteracy skills, you have
metacognitive self-efficacy,word recognition, etc.
The pillars of reading you havephonics, fluency, vocabulary
comprehension.
Could you guys paint a pictureof how those can work together
(17:58):
or are they kind of uh, do theysmash into one another?
Speaker 2 (18:05):
well, I think it's a good opportunity to talk about
the active view of reading um,because there's so much research
out there, there's so much workthat's been done and there's so
much language around it.
And you're right, people canget hung up on.
Speaker 1 (18:17):
You know the words that we use the flavor of the
week.
Speaker 2 (18:19):
Yeah, but what we, what we did is we looked at what
Nell Duke and Kelly Cartwrightcame out with the active view
and it just beautifully marriesall of it into something that we
can really visualize in aconcrete fashion.
And we thought, if we use thisas our framework for the three
years, then that's a reallygreat compass, right, a great
(18:41):
way to really and part of whatwe really wanted to be careful
about.
We know, we know they need thephonics, they need all that
really core basic, the decodingskills.
We need those decoding skills,but not at the cost of
comprehension, right, it stillall happens together
simultaneously and we didn'twant anyone to lose sight of
(19:02):
that.
So we thought, knowing thatwe're going to go into year one
and we are going to look atthose pieces, those really what
are the first steps of learninghow to read, but it's never at
the cost of comprehension.
But you know what?
We're not going to zoom in onthat in year one and we don't
want anyone to think that thatwe're, that we're neglecting
that.
Right, there's still a wholepicture of the reader and the
(19:23):
active view just does such abeautiful job of showing where
the metacognition and theself-efficacy and the language
skills and the comprehension andthe fluency and it all comes in
together as the outcome of areader you are reading.
Speaker 1 (19:35):
When you get through all of that, um interesting,
yeah, so, yeah, yeah, I cameacross the active view of
reading and I was curious, likeit, it seems, and in the end,
you guys used that research fora lot of what you were going to
deliver during the symposium.
Speaker 3 (19:55):
Yeah, it's the theoretical model really that
underpins the learning that'shappening at the symposium and
really what it does, I mean itjust sort of it builds on the
simple view of reading and thenwe had Scarborough's Rope and
then now we have the Active Viewof Reading and we really liked
the Active View because it's gotthat active self-regulation
(20:15):
piece which is already presentin a lot of the program that we
have.
Like, we find that piece onmetacognition and engagement and
motivation and I think that'salways been a part of our
program.
But the word recognition thatKathleen was talking about
before is something that wereally need to be more explicit
(20:36):
about.
So we felt that that was a goodmodel to help us and it really
sort of outlines those bridgingprocesses too and it's not
terribly different from the fivepillars that came out of the
national panel, I think.
I mean you've got fluency inthere as part of the bridging.
It bridges the, the wordrecognition and the
(20:57):
comprehension, um.
So that's where the fluencysits and the morphology and that
kind of thing.
So we've used that model toreally structure the learning
that's happening throughout thesymposium over the three years
amazing and walk us through um aday throughout the symposium
over the three years.
Speaker 1 (21:11):
Amazing, and walk us through a day at the symposium.
Like, what kind of workshopswould I run into?
What kind of breakout sessionsmight I see?
Like what, how did you guysassemble all this?
Like I'm sure it was a puzzle,but like what, what would
somebody experience going intothe Summer Literacy Symposium?
Speaker 3 (21:34):
I'm going to allow Kathleen to fill this one, but I
would be remiss not to thankour steering committee and all
of the work, because Kathleenand I did not do this alone.
There were, you know, a numberof us working on putting the
pieces of the puzzle together,so you can speak to that if you
like.
Speaker 2 (21:51):
Yeah, no, I'm so glad you're mentioning that because,
100%, we were building theplane while flying it right For
year one, because it is socomplex and there's so much that
we want teachers to know andwhat is the most important
things, for the first three anda half days out of the three
years right In total.
(22:13):
So that was really tricky andlots of back and forth, but
that's the beauty.
I have to also um underline thefact that the steering
committee is built up of theconsultants from across the
province, right, so we made surethat we've had perspectives
that are coming in um from allcorners, which I think is really
important, great collaboration,right like.
Speaker 1 (22:33):
It seems like this whole intent, too, was like
really to get people talking toeach other and building
relationships and sharingexperiences, and like I mean
there's the magic right there.
Right Like, regardless of whatbreakouts or workshops offered,
right Like just having all those, that, those brains, together,
in over a 3D period.
Speaker 2 (22:56):
And that, and that's why it's in-house, absolutely.
That's why it's in-house,absolutely.
That's why it's a residencyprogram, because you need to
have teachers talking.
They're talking before, they'retalking after, and so a day is,
it's wonderful.
You wake up, you have breakfastwith new people that you've
just met, you get to know eachother, and then you go for a
(23:17):
session where it's going to beall grade levels together, from
grades one through to seven, allin one room, learning about
things that we all need to knowshared knowledge, basic
foundations and our differentleaders, our different
professionals, are going andthey're zooming in on that, and
then we go to our breakouts.
Well, that's when we get to getsomething a little more
(23:37):
tailored to our specific needs.
So our groups are either gradesone to three, four to five or
six to seven, and doing thecross cycle was also intentional
, right, so that we can reallybuild those bridges.
A lot of it was about bridgebuilding, but also recognizing
that in our particular landscapeof how we learn to read, we
(24:02):
have such a wide spectrum ofwhether it's Anglophones
learning to first read in Frenchand then they first get English
language arts in grade three.
So how do we bridge that gap?
Where do we tie things togetherthere?
Or maybe they're only gettingtheir English language arts in
grade five for the first time,or then maybe we've got some
Francophone children who arelearning to read in English
(24:23):
first.
So just the plethora of that,right?
So it's one of the reasons wedid this crossing over, to try
to, like, mix people up to sharetheir experiences.
Um, some cross pollination,right.
So?
So that's it.
So the breakouts zoom in onwhatever it was that we all
received in large group, um, andand so on and so forth.
That's pretty much the.
Speaker 1 (24:43):
The wheel turns like that throughout the day right,
right, and so the initial kindof all together and then you
kind of like zoom down intosomething more specific that
touches whoever wants to go intothat breakout yeah, yeah, well,
hopefully something practical.
Speaker 2 (24:59):
Practical that then they know how do I apply this in
my grade six classroom, or howdo I apply this in my grade two
classroom, so they get ittailored a little bit more to
their needs.
Speaker 1 (25:07):
Amazing, that's cool.
That sounds like a finely tunedmachine as you're flying the
plane.
Speaker 2 (25:15):
Well, and so, if I may, if I may, you know, maybe
I'm jumping ahead ahead, but wegot lots of feedback on that and
we did our absolute best inyear one to try to get those
breakouts just right, but weknow that teachers wanted even
more time for talking, even moretime for collaboration.
You know what we felt to twolike.
You know what we tried to packin a lot in year one.
It might have been.
(25:37):
We thought we did less is more,but I think we were still
biting off an awful lot.
So we went back to the drawingboard and have tweaked things in
such a way that there's goingto be even more of that time for
collaboration and we've pulledback on a few things and we've
nipped here and nipped there totry to make it even more.
Basically, we know our 1.0, itwas a success and we're really
(26:01):
proud.
But we're super excited about2.0.
And we're grateful to all theparticipants who said we'll show
up, we'll be your guinea pigs,that's amazing.
Speaker 1 (26:10):
We're so grateful to them so many participants, like
in the summer too, right, you'dthink, oh, everybody's on
vacation, their minds are offschool, but they're like no, no,
kids value, they're important.
I mean, it's really quite.
I wanted to ask you, too, whatwere your most surprises about
this whole experience.
(26:31):
What are some of the thingsthat really stuck out to you as
wow, I never imagined this wouldhappen, or that were unexpected
, that just happen when youbring a bunch of people together
that have a shared passion sowe've got some wonderful
surprises and I think we can letpeople in on our surprises.
Speaker 3 (26:51):
Yeah, absolutely go for it, yeah, so, um, we have
adrian here, who's an educatorin bc and a lot of our teachers
are familiar with her.
She's presented online to acouple of the school boards in
the province already.
She'll be coming in in personand presenting the keynote and
(27:12):
she'll be doing a little bit ofuh, powerful thinking and that
that critical thinking piecewith teachers.
We'll be welcoming KarenFilowich.
She's a practitioner fromAlberta.
She was an elementary schoolteacher.
She was a principal and aconsultant.
She's now an author and thewonderful thing is, too that
(27:34):
we're bringing her in in thewinter.
Winter she'll be presentingonline to principals, because
part of what we want to do is,in order to make this work, I
think we've got to go outsidethe classroom too and ensure
that principals in the schoolsare helping support their
teachers.
So principals need to know whatPD their teachers are getting
(27:58):
so that they can support them inthe classroom.
So we're offering that thiswinter.
We have Dr Larry Swartz, who isfrom Ontario.
He'll be coming in next year aswell, and we'll be thankfully
welcoming back Dr SandraMartin-Chang, dr Jean Ouellette
and Dr Helen Deacon from lastyear as well, and on top of that
(28:19):
we've got some wonderfulconsultants who will be running
the breakouts as well.
Speaker 1 (28:25):
So we're building capacity.
We've got the best consultantsin.
Quebec, you know, hands downthe best.
I mean, you can't find a bettergroup of people.
So the symposium happens in thesummer summer, and you kind of
alluded to some winter stuff.
How do you keep that continuumgoing so that what they've, what
(28:47):
they've captured in in thesummer, feeds their practice?
But you're still, they stillfeel like they're, they're
supported as they're goingthrough, maybe shifting practice
or tweaking certain things.
What's the continuum with thisinitiative?
Speaker 2 (29:06):
I'm glad you're asking that because it speaks to
the structure and the intent,the proposal of the project in
and of itself.
Right, because the idea isbuild capacity and we know we're
not going to get every singleteacher coming up in the summer.
It's not possible, right, itwon't be feasible.
So, on top of getting theteachers as participants, we
also make sure that we'regetting the consultants in and
(29:30):
the ones we didn't catch in thefirst year just because of
limitations of numbers, they'recoming up by year two and if
we've got any new ones oranybody else, there's a year
three.
So they participate asparticipants, right?
So the only thing that they endup leading and this is
answering your question in sortof roundabout way, what they end
(29:50):
up leading is on the last daybefore everybody goes home, they
do a reflection session withtheir people, with their school
boards and, for the reallysmaller boards, well, they get
together and they support oneanother as well to make sure
that networking is happening andthat support.
So it's the building ofcapacity, so that the
consultants are matched withtheir teachers and then they
(30:12):
know that we're still there tosupport them.
They can reach out to us andthere is an expectation of you
know, touch base with yourteachers, see what questions
they have.
You know they were all handed areflection journal right off the
bat and it was referencedthroughout the entire symposium
and it will be continued to beused as their tool of where am I
(30:36):
, where am I headed, where haveI arrived, where was I Right?
Just, I don't have to tell youwhat a reflective journal is,
but I mean it's really fun andreally exciting.
So everybody's on board.
It's the collaboration pieceand we just keep checking in
with one another.
We get to speak with thelanguage network to see how, and
so we follow up with them, theyfollow up with us to see how,
(31:01):
so we follow up with them, theyfollow up with us.
Um, so it's.
It really is on a, on acontinue continual um cycle.
Speaker 1 (31:04):
If you will, yeah right, well, this airplane looks
like it's going to be, um, asupersonic airplane eventually,
um, with all the bells andwhistles attached to it.
Um, how would somebody thathears this get involved if?
If they're like teaching, youknow, and they're like, hey,
that sounds like something thatI would like to be involved in.
(31:25):
What, what, what's the processfor for new cohorts?
Speaker 3 (31:31):
the first thing would be to reach directly out to
your consultant, your elaconsultant, at your school board
, and let them know that you'reinterested.
Speaker 1 (31:40):
It's as simple as that.
Speaker 3 (31:44):
I mean there's a certain number of spots that are
allotted.
So I would say, if you'reinterested contact your
consultant, the sooner thebetter indeed.
Speaker 2 (31:55):
Yeah, it's probably worth saying Registration is
already underway.
Most people talking to theirconsultants right now would wind
up on a wait list, but theremight be a few spots still
available for some school boards, so it's worth checking.
And if you don't make this year.
Well, like we said, there'sgoing to be a third cohort, so
get your name on the list nowfor next year.
Speaker 1 (32:17):
Cool, well, and it's a great way to kind of, if
you've never talked with yourELA consultant, to reach out and
say, hey, all right, well, thatmight not be available this
year, but so what else are youup to like?
Start those conversations, um,because we're all in this
together.
Right, it's a it's, it's.
It is a big, happy family and weall want the best for our
children and I think that someof these things, these
(32:40):
initiatives that we, that weorganize, particularly these
ones that last over time, right,so the teacher knows that this
supports there and that this isa growth and that it's going to
require, uh, reflection and andand change a little bit.
Speaker 2 (32:54):
Um, yeah, kathleen well, and that's the idea, right
, chris, is that is that it'sover.
So we're building something andit's really exciting and, like
I said, now we've got our twopoint and we're coming out and
it's only going to get better.
And the consultants are part ofthe process, and so for the
teachers who say you know, Ican't make it in the summer,
that's okay, because yourconsultants are learning what to
do and they're going to beputting things together bit by
(33:16):
bit, one thing at a time.
We all just get stronger andbetter together, so it's never
going to be too late right toget on the bus, so it's exciting
.
Speaker 1 (33:26):
Get on the bus, get on the plane, just do it.
Your kids deserve it, Ourprovince deserves it, we all
deserve it.
Anyway, this has been really,really a great chat, guys.
Thanks so much too.
Like I feel like these kinds ofconversations where we're
talking about you know she knewit's they're important to have
(33:47):
and it's good to get our voicesout there where we can share
these really cool innovativeprojects that are going on and
the intent behind and it seemsto be super well-informed as
well, and I'm excited for youguys.
I'd love to have a chat afterthe three years to kind of maybe
a synopsis or a reflectivereview of, and then the next
(34:09):
steps, Because, like you said,it never ends so thanks so much
guys for hopping on here andsharing your projects and your
ideas and your thoughts Superentertaining and I hope to talk
to you guys again soon.
Speaker 2 (34:25):
Well, thank you for reaching out for the invitation
and giving us that opportunity.
We really appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (34:30):
Awesome, thank you.
all right, here we are another episode of shift ed
podcast.
I'm coming uh to you guys uhout of uh quebec today and I'm
really excited about thispodcast.
I've been thinking about it alot and I have two amazing
educators here and we're goingto talk about ELA in Quebec.
(00:34):
In our Anglo communities, thereis a summer literacy symposium
that was just put together.
It happened this past summerand that's really going to be
our focus, kind of what informedthat symposium that was just
put together.
It happened this past summerand that's really going to be
our focus, kind of what informedthat symposium and what
happened, what people thoughtand what the next steps are.
So I have Kathleen Murray and Ihave Melinda Clifford coming in
(00:56):
with us.
So thanks so much, guys, forhopping on here and sharing your
stories behind this prettyamazing PD that's happening.
Speaker 2 (01:07):
Thanks for having us.
Thanks for having us, Chris.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
Really good to see you Well, kathleen.
We've crossed paths many atimes.
It's always a pleasure.
Melinda, it's great that we'vemade these connections as well.
Before we jump into all of thatstuff, kathleen, where did it
all start?
For you education, why do youlove it?
Speaker 2 (01:37):
so much and give us a little Cole's notes on
Kathleen's educational journey.
Wow, I love that question.
It starts with the kids and andespecially the little ones.
That's where it started for me,and I've always gone into the
classroom saying I want them tobe good, kind, contributing
citizens of society.
That's the number one.
We're going to learn how toread, we're going to learn math,
(01:58):
we're going to do all thosethings.
It's super important, but we'reall going to go off in our own
different ways.
What matters most is are you?
Are you going to know how tocontribute and be giving and
selfless and kind?
And that's that's the heart ofeducation.
It's the community.
Oh, I love that question.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
We could stop this podcast right now.
Boom, perfect, amazing.
Thanks Kathleen for that.
Like I feel that too.
Like, well said, well said.
What about you?
Where did your?
Speaker 3 (02:31):
educational journey begin.
My educational journey began onthe other side of the world,
halfway around the world, fromhere in Sydney, Australia, which
is where I started my degree ineducation and then ended up
moving here and finishing mydegree at Bishops.
So I did all my stages andstarted my career in secondary
education here and again, sameas Kathleen and I think it's the
(02:55):
same for teachers across theprovince Teachers do it for the
kids.
So I've been very lucky in mycareer to have had wonderful
students all the way from Sec 1through to Sec 5.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
Amazing.
Well, thanks for that.
It is All this is about thekids, right, the lens we look
through continuously.
Is this going to benefit ourkids and increase their chance
of success in this crazy worldthat we live in?
Chance of success in this crazyworld that we live in?
(03:27):
So, as we kind of like, focusin on our conversation again,
great to have you guys here.
There's this myth and I'd liketo debunk it a little bit.
We have a dual language here inQuebec.
I mean, french is definitelythe main language here in Quebec
.
I mean French is definitely themain language here in Quebec,
and I always had this assumptionthat our programs were just
(03:49):
mirrors of one another.
However, there's a nuance, Ithink, between our English
program of language instructionand our French program of
instruction that they're not.
They're not um, similar orthey're a little bit different.
Um, is that?
Is that a myth, or is thatsomething that exists?
(04:13):
Maybe?
Uh, melinda, I'll throw that toyou sure I can take this one.
Speaker 3 (04:19):
so, even though they were created at the same time,
uh, french language ofinstruction was created as the
language of instructioncurriculum for the francophone
sector, whereas ELE EnglishLanguage Arts is a little bit
different.
It's a literacy-based program,so it's not termed English
Language of Instruction.
(04:40):
It's really English Languagearts.
So, while they were conceivedaround the same time, english
language arts was conceived as aliteracy-based program with a
focus on learning the language,so learning the word and
learning the word in order tolearn the world around us.
So it's really.
(05:01):
This idea of language is our into the rest of the world, so it
allows us to verbalize ourideas, our beliefs, our culture.
All of that happens throughlanguage.
So I think the philosophy ofthe program at its conception
was a little bit different andit was created really for the,
(05:25):
the english anglophone networkcool, cool.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
So there are there are um differences in in in the
anglo programs it was veryavant-garde at the time.
Speaker 3 (05:37):
So the elementary curriculum was published in 2001
and it was really focused onthe constructivist view of
learning.
There was a lot of focus onmetacognition, which was really
avant-garde at the time.
There were help me out here,kathleen.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
Well, I love how our program embeds portfolios, which
was a really important shift inthe reform and unfortunately
didn't hold as much as we wouldhave liked it to.
But in terms of children reallybeing involved in reflecting on
what they choose to put intheir portfolios and how they
(06:20):
reflect on why that's there,because they're progressing,
because they're proud of it,because they're able to identify
what they've achieved you knowwhat they've learned and then
they can identify their goalsand where they're going next.
That philosophy is still triedand true.
That is still, we know,incredibly effective.
Speaker 3 (06:39):
I think there was a realization at the time too that
all of the competencies in theprogram are really equal.
So we're looking at reading andwriting and oral communication
or talk, talk to learn, as it'sin the program, and they play
out sort of like on a 33, 33, 34level in the framework for the
(07:02):
evaluation of learning.
So there was a recognition evenover 20 years ago that talk was
just as important as readingand writing, and I think just
that is avant-garde for morethan 20 years ago.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
Absolutely yeah, and and, and, basing it on the
constructivist model as well.
I mean, that's pretty cool,pretty cool.
So we, you guys, came togetherright Kathleen, you're on a loan
right now right To the ministryand what was, what's your main
(07:39):
kind of crux of this loan ofservice that you're on right now
?
Speaker 2 (07:46):
Gosh.
I mean it was such an excitingopportunity to get to come and
work up at the ministry, knowingthat we had just finished a
project that I was welcomed inon for Oracy, the Oracy Toolkit.
So, again, that focus on talkand how Melinda uses the term,
the expression help me with thequote reading and writing float
(08:11):
on a sea of talk.
And so that was the projectthat I was invited in on, first
as a consultant and from there,knowing that we were going to
move into looking at what arethe foundational skills for
learning how to read thosepieces that teachers talk a lot
about and want to know moreabout and that aren't currently
(08:33):
explicitly present in ourprogram.
We know, in order to get to theskills, the literacy skills
that we want kids to have, thatwe need that there, but it's not
explicitly in that, and so weknew that we were going to be
looking at that, and to me thatwas just incredibly exciting.
What could be more important,right?
Speaker 1 (08:53):
So it's been a fun couple of years collaborating,
kind of looking at it as well,which I found pretty interesting
.
What was the seed that startedit all?
(09:16):
I know that there was aresearch that came out around
reading in our schools that theLanguage Network had worked on.
Was that something of a seedthat kind of started this idea
that we would start doing a PDthat would have a life to it,
meaning that it would have manyyears that it would be over this
(09:38):
professional development thatyou guys have been working on?
Speaker 3 (09:42):
well, certainly, certainly, the summer literacy
symposium grew from that work.
So, if I can backtrack a littlebit, back in 2022, the Dean
Languages Network reached out toour team, so the ELA programs
team at the Ministry ofEducation, to collaborate on a
project that would look at howreading translates from the
(10:06):
curriculum into practice andinto the classroom.
And so we collaborated with theELE consultants from across the
province, including Katavik andLittoral, as well as the
private sector, and there werejust over maybe 12 of us.
So we worked in threesubcommittees.
(10:26):
And one subcommittee looked atcurricula from Canada, so we
looked at curricula from acrossthe country, as well as some
international ELA curricula.
We looked at New Zealand andAustralia.
And another subcommittee waswell, it was essentially the
(10:46):
survey subcommittee, so theysurveyed teachers from across
the province, elementaryteachers as well as university
professors, to gatherinformation on how reading was
being taught across the province.
And the third subcommitteelooked at the research.
(11:07):
So what research had come outin the past 20 years since the
program was originally publishedon reading instruction?
Uh, and that culminated in theresearch into reading report
which the dean languages networkpublished last may, if I'm not
mistaken, um, which was sharedwith us and with our director
(11:29):
and the suminist I'm looking forsuminist in French.
Speaker 1 (11:37):
With the suminist, suminist.
Speaker 2 (11:38):
Yeah, you're looking for it in English, but we don't
know Suminist.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
We understand.
Speaker 3 (11:45):
So, and there were recommendations in that report
that focused on two things, soessentially what the Dean
Languages Network recommendedbetter teacher reading in the
classroom and so the symposiumwas something that we could move
forward with through EntenteCanada, quebec, and we were
inspired for the most part bythe Summer Math Institute that's
(12:08):
been running for the last 10years or so through LCEQ, which
is the Leadership Committee forEnglish Education in Quebec, and
they've been working on theSummer Math Institute.
It's a model of a residentialmodel where teachers go away for
three days in the summer andthey really focus on some skills
(12:30):
that they can take back andimplement following the summer
straight away in September, andso we decided that we would try
and follow this model because itwas so successful.
So we based our proposition onthat and we reached out to LCEQ
to see if they would beinterested in collaborating with
(12:51):
us to bring the project tofruition, and they're wonderful.
I have only good things to sayabout LCEQ, and the rest is
history, and last year was ourfirst summer literacy symposium,
and we've got a fabuloussteering committee that we
worked with for a year to puteverything together, and we were
(13:17):
able to reach out to somefabulous researchers from across
the country who presented lastAugust.
And that's it.
That's how it came about.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
Yeah, that's amazing.
And Kathleen tell us a littlebit about, like, who are some of
the keynotes and like peoplethat you had come in to kind of,
you know, work with you guysand during this first symposium.
Speaker 2 (13:38):
So, honestly, it's really a dream come true, Like
this is something you knowMelinda already alluded to it.
It's a conversation that hadbeen happening at the Language
at Table for a while.
How can we English languagearts consultants put together
something like what the mathconsultants have?
So to watch this happen isamazing.
And I said, well, who, who arewe going to get involved?
(14:00):
And as a teacher, I wouldreceive stagiaire from Dr Sandra
Martin Chang from ConcordiaEducation Department and I'd
only heard amazing things abouther and we knew we had to go and
get her.
And we found her and she was onboard and so it started with
her and then from there reachedout to Jean Ouellette, who works
(14:22):
out in New Brunswick at MountAllison, and then we also
reached out to Dr Helene Deacon,who's at Dalhousie in Nova
Scotia.
So we're really looking at.
We've got East Coast andprofessors who have had a huge
impact already on curricula.
(14:43):
Gene's role is vocabulary andhe participated in New Brunswick
updating of their curriculum,so we've got someone who really
knows their stuff.
Helen Deacon is Dr.
Helen Deacon is the, themorphology person, and we can
get into how exciting morphologyis later on in this podcast it
(15:04):
could be a whole podcast untoitself.
So that was our core, our coreexperts that we brought in, not
to mention, of course, theamazing consultants that we're
working with throughout theprovince, from all the boards,
but that was year one.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
Quite a few participants too.
This first kick at the canright.
I mean I saw the big picture onLCEQ and the write-ups and I
mean it looks like it was afabulous experience that
everybody's.
You know, we're, we're glowing,it seemed from the photo.
Um, I imagine I was taken atthe end or was that more?
Speaker 2 (15:39):
Yeah, and people were enthusiastic.
We need a picture before we go.
And yeah, you see the joy inthat photo there was.
There was a lot of excitementas people headed off.
Speaker 1 (15:49):
It was palpable, yeah , great.
So, linda, you were saying thatthere were three aspects that
that research had looked into.
Was there one in particularthat you guys wanted to address
with this symposium this year?
And let me get the title of itTeacher knowledge.
You're the best resource inyour class, right?
(16:09):
So that was your theme that youguys had.
Was that based on?
Did that?
Did the research inform thattheme and what does that mean?
That that title, like, couldyou dive a little bit deeper
into what?
What are behind, what's behindthat theme?
Speaker 3 (16:35):
that theme Sure.
Well, we truly believe thatteachers play such a critical
role in student learning, andthe more knowledge teachers have
, the better they're able toteach, and we found that out
through the survey that we didin the Research into reading
project, too, is that teachersreally wanted to focus on the.
What's the word that I'mlooking for?
Speaker 2 (16:57):
Well, the mechanics right, the foundational, the
pillars right, Foundationalskills of reading.
Speaker 3 (17:04):
We wanted to empower educators to with the tools and
the confidence that they need tobe better teachers, better
teachers of reading in theclassroom.
Speaker 1 (17:14):
Interesting.
And what is the difference?
Because I ran across these twoterms and we sometimes get hung
up in education with terminology.
But there was foundationalliteracy skills and then there's
the five pillars of reading.
(17:35):
Are those connected?
Is there a thorough linebetween those two?
Like I mean foundationalliteracy skills, you have
metacognitive self-efficacy,word recognition, etc.
The pillars of reading you havephonics, fluency, vocabulary
comprehension.
Could you guys paint a pictureof how those can work together
(17:58):
or are they kind of uh, do theysmash into one another?
Speaker 2 (18:05):
well, I think it's a good opportunity to talk about
the active view of reading um,because there's so much research
out there, there's so much workthat's been done and there's so
much language around it.
And you're right, people canget hung up on.
Speaker 1 (18:17):
You know the words that we use the flavor of the
week.
Speaker 2 (18:19):
Yeah, but what we, what we did is we looked at what
Nell Duke and Kelly Cartwrightcame out with the active view
and it just beautifully marriesall of it into something that we
can really visualize in aconcrete fashion.
And we thought, if we use thisas our framework for the three
years, then that's a reallygreat compass, right, a great
(18:41):
way to really and part of whatwe really wanted to be careful
about.
We know, we know they need thephonics, they need all that
really core basic, the decodingskills.
We need those decoding skills,but not at the cost of
comprehension, right, it stillall happens together
simultaneously and we didn'twant anyone to lose sight of
(19:02):
that.
So we thought, knowing thatwe're going to go into year one
and we are going to look atthose pieces, those really what
are the first steps of learninghow to read, but it's never at
the cost of comprehension.
But you know what?
We're not going to zoom in onthat in year one and we don't
want anyone to think that thatwe're, that we're neglecting
that.
Right, there's still a wholepicture of the reader and the
(19:23):
active view just does such abeautiful job of showing where
the metacognition and theself-efficacy and the language
skills and the comprehension andthe fluency and it all comes in
together as the outcome of areader you are reading.
Speaker 1 (19:35):
When you get through all of that, um interesting,
yeah, so, yeah, yeah, I cameacross the active view of
reading and I was curious, likeit, it seems, and in the end,
you guys used that research fora lot of what you were going to
deliver during the symposium.
Speaker 3 (19:55):
Yeah, it's the theoretical model really that
underpins the learning that'shappening at the symposium and
really what it does, I mean itjust sort of it builds on the
simple view of reading and thenwe had Scarborough's Rope and
then now we have the Active Viewof Reading and we really liked
the Active View because it's gotthat active self-regulation
(20:15):
piece which is already presentin a lot of the program that we
have.
Like, we find that piece onmetacognition and engagement and
motivation and I think that'salways been a part of our
program.
But the word recognition thatKathleen was talking about
before is something that wereally need to be more explicit
(20:36):
about.
So we felt that that was a goodmodel to help us and it really
sort of outlines those bridgingprocesses too and it's not
terribly different from the fivepillars that came out of the
national panel, I think.
I mean you've got fluency inthere as part of the bridging.
It bridges the, the wordrecognition and the
(20:57):
comprehension, um.
So that's where the fluencysits and the morphology and that
kind of thing.
So we've used that model toreally structure the learning
that's happening throughout thesymposium over the three years
amazing and walk us through um aday throughout the symposium
over the three years.
Speaker 1 (21:11):
Amazing, and walk us through a day at the symposium.
Like, what kind of workshopswould I run into?
What kind of breakout sessionsmight I see?
Like what, how did you guysassemble all this?
Like I'm sure it was a puzzle,but like what, what would
somebody experience going intothe Summer Literacy Symposium?
Speaker 3 (21:34):
I'm going to allow Kathleen to fill this one, but I
would be remiss not to thankour steering committee and all
of the work, because Kathleenand I did not do this alone.
There were, you know, a numberof us working on putting the
pieces of the puzzle together,so you can speak to that if you
like.
Speaker 2 (21:51):
Yeah, no, I'm so glad you're mentioning that because,
100%, we were building theplane while flying it right For
year one, because it is socomplex and there's so much that
we want teachers to know andwhat is the most important
things, for the first three anda half days out of the three
years right In total.
(22:13):
So that was really tricky andlots of back and forth, but
that's the beauty.
I have to also um underline thefact that the steering
committee is built up of theconsultants from across the
province, right, so we made surethat we've had perspectives
that are coming in um from allcorners, which I think is really
important, great collaboration,right like.
Speaker 1 (22:33):
It seems like this whole intent, too, was like
really to get people talking toeach other and building
relationships and sharingexperiences, and like I mean
there's the magic right there.
Right Like, regardless of whatbreakouts or workshops offered,
right Like just having all those, that, those brains, together,
in over a 3D period.
Speaker 2 (22:56):
And that, and that's why it's in-house, absolutely.
That's why it's in-house,absolutely.
That's why it's a residencyprogram, because you need to
have teachers talking.
They're talking before, they'retalking after, and so a day is,
it's wonderful.
You wake up, you have breakfastwith new people that you've
just met, you get to know eachother, and then you go for a
(23:17):
session where it's going to beall grade levels together, from
grades one through to seven, allin one room, learning about
things that we all need to knowshared knowledge, basic
foundations and our differentleaders, our different
professionals, are going andthey're zooming in on that, and
then we go to our breakouts.
Well, that's when we get to getsomething a little more
(23:37):
tailored to our specific needs.
So our groups are either gradesone to three, four to five or
six to seven, and doing thecross cycle was also intentional
, right, so that we can reallybuild those bridges.
A lot of it was about bridgebuilding, but also recognizing
that in our particular landscapeof how we learn to read, we
(24:02):
have such a wide spectrum ofwhether it's Anglophones
learning to first read in Frenchand then they first get English
language arts in grade three.
So how do we bridge that gap?
Where do we tie things togetherthere?
Or maybe they're only gettingtheir English language arts in
grade five for the first time,or then maybe we've got some
Francophone children who arelearning to read in English
(24:23):
first.
So just the plethora of that,right?
So it's one of the reasons wedid this crossing over, to try
to, like, mix people up to sharetheir experiences.
Um, some cross pollination,right.
So?
So that's it.
So the breakouts zoom in onwhatever it was that we all
received in large group, um, andand so on and so forth.
That's pretty much the.
Speaker 1 (24:43):
The wheel turns like that throughout the day right,
right, and so the initial kindof all together and then you
kind of like zoom down intosomething more specific that
touches whoever wants to go intothat breakout yeah, yeah, well,
hopefully something practical.
Speaker 2 (24:59):
Practical that then they know how do I apply this in
my grade six classroom, or howdo I apply this in my grade two
classroom, so they get ittailored a little bit more to
their needs.
Speaker 1 (25:07):
Amazing, that's cool.
That sounds like a finely tunedmachine as you're flying the
plane.
Speaker 2 (25:15):
Well, and so, if I may, if I may, you know, maybe
I'm jumping ahead ahead, but wegot lots of feedback on that and
we did our absolute best inyear one to try to get those
breakouts just right, but weknow that teachers wanted even
more time for talking, even moretime for collaboration.
You know what we felt to twolike.
You know what we tried to packin a lot in year one.
It might have been.
(25:37):
We thought we did less is more,but I think we were still
biting off an awful lot.
So we went back to the drawingboard and have tweaked things in
such a way that there's goingto be even more of that time for
collaboration and we've pulledback on a few things and we've
nipped here and nipped there totry to make it even more.
Basically, we know our 1.0, itwas a success and we're really
(26:01):
proud.
But we're super excited about2.0.
And we're grateful to all theparticipants who said we'll show
up, we'll be your guinea pigs,that's amazing.
Speaker 1 (26:10):
We're so grateful to them so many participants, like
in the summer too, right, you'dthink, oh, everybody's on
vacation, their minds are offschool, but they're like no, no,
kids value, they're important.
I mean, it's really quite.
I wanted to ask you, too, whatwere your most surprises about
this whole experience.
(26:31):
What are some of the thingsthat really stuck out to you as
wow, I never imagined this wouldhappen, or that were unexpected
, that just happen when youbring a bunch of people together
that have a shared passion sowe've got some wonderful
surprises and I think we can letpeople in on our surprises.
Speaker 3 (26:51):
Yeah, absolutely go for it, yeah, so, um, we have
adrian here, who's an educatorin bc and a lot of our teachers
are familiar with her.
She's presented online to acouple of the school boards in
the province already.
She'll be coming in in personand presenting the keynote and
(27:12):
she'll be doing a little bit ofuh, powerful thinking and that
that critical thinking piecewith teachers.
We'll be welcoming KarenFilowich.
She's a practitioner fromAlberta.
She was an elementary schoolteacher.
She was a principal and aconsultant.
She's now an author and thewonderful thing is, too that
(27:34):
we're bringing her in in thewinter.
Winter she'll be presentingonline to principals, because
part of what we want to do is,in order to make this work, I
think we've got to go outsidethe classroom too and ensure
that principals in the schoolsare helping support their
teachers.
So principals need to know whatPD their teachers are getting
(27:58):
so that they can support them inthe classroom.
So we're offering that thiswinter.
We have Dr Larry Swartz, who isfrom Ontario.
He'll be coming in next year aswell, and we'll be thankfully
welcoming back Dr SandraMartin-Chang, dr Jean Ouellette
and Dr Helen Deacon from lastyear as well, and on top of that
(28:19):
we've got some wonderfulconsultants who will be running
the breakouts as well.
Speaker 1 (28:25):
So we're building capacity.
We've got the best consultantsin.
Quebec, you know, hands downthe best.
I mean, you can't find a bettergroup of people.
So the symposium happens in thesummer summer, and you kind of
alluded to some winter stuff.
How do you keep that continuumgoing so that what they've, what
(28:47):
they've captured in in thesummer, feeds their practice?
But you're still, they stillfeel like they're, they're
supported as they're goingthrough, maybe shifting practice
or tweaking certain things.
What's the continuum with thisinitiative?
Speaker 2 (29:06):
I'm glad you're asking that because it speaks to
the structure and the intent,the proposal of the project in
and of itself.
Right, because the idea isbuild capacity and we know we're
not going to get every singleteacher coming up in the summer.
It's not possible, right, itwon't be feasible.
So, on top of getting theteachers as participants, we
also make sure that we'regetting the consultants in and
(29:30):
the ones we didn't catch in thefirst year just because of
limitations of numbers, they'recoming up by year two and if
we've got any new ones oranybody else, there's a year
three.
So they participate asparticipants, right?
So the only thing that they endup leading and this is
answering your question in sortof roundabout way, what they end
(29:50):
up leading is on the last daybefore everybody goes home, they
do a reflection session withtheir people, with their school
boards and, for the reallysmaller boards, well, they get
together and they support oneanother as well to make sure
that networking is happening andthat support.
So it's the building ofcapacity, so that the
consultants are matched withtheir teachers and then they
(30:12):
know that we're still there tosupport them.
They can reach out to us andthere is an expectation of you
know, touch base with yourteachers, see what questions
they have.
You know they were all handed areflection journal right off the
bat and it was referencedthroughout the entire symposium
and it will be continued to beused as their tool of where am I
(30:36):
, where am I headed, where haveI arrived, where was I Right?
Just, I don't have to tell youwhat a reflective journal is,
but I mean it's really fun andreally exciting.
So everybody's on board.
It's the collaboration pieceand we just keep checking in
with one another.
We get to speak with thelanguage network to see how, and
so we follow up with them, theyfollow up with us to see how,
(31:01):
so we follow up with them, theyfollow up with us.
Um, so it's.
It really is on a, on acontinue continual um cycle.
Speaker 1 (31:04):
If you will, yeah right, well, this airplane looks
like it's going to be, um, asupersonic airplane eventually,
um, with all the bells andwhistles attached to it.
Um, how would somebody thathears this get involved if?
If they're like teaching, youknow, and they're like, hey,
that sounds like something thatI would like to be involved in.
(31:25):
What, what, what's the processfor for new cohorts?
Speaker 3 (31:31):
the first thing would be to reach directly out to
your consultant, your elaconsultant, at your school board
, and let them know that you'reinterested.
Speaker 1 (31:40):
It's as simple as that.
Speaker 3 (31:44):
I mean there's a certain number of spots that are
allotted.
So I would say, if you'reinterested contact your
consultant, the sooner thebetter indeed.
Speaker 2 (31:55):
Yeah, it's probably worth saying Registration is
already underway.
Most people talking to theirconsultants right now would wind
up on a wait list, but theremight be a few spots still
available for some school boards, so it's worth checking.
And if you don't make this year.
Well, like we said, there'sgoing to be a third cohort, so
get your name on the list nowfor next year.
Speaker 1 (32:17):
Cool, well, and it's a great way to kind of, if
you've never talked with yourELA consultant, to reach out and
say, hey, all right, well, thatmight not be available this
year, but so what else are youup to like?
Start those conversations, um,because we're all in this
together.
Right, it's a it's, it's.
It is a big, happy family and weall want the best for our
children and I think that someof these things, these
(32:40):
initiatives that we, that weorganize, particularly these
ones that last over time, right,so the teacher knows that this
supports there and that this isa growth and that it's going to
require, uh, reflection and andand change a little bit.
Speaker 2 (32:54):
Um, yeah, kathleen well, and that's the idea, right
, chris, is that is that it'sover.
So we're building something andit's really exciting and, like
I said, now we've got our twopoint and we're coming out and
it's only going to get better.
And the consultants are part ofthe process, and so for the
teachers who say you know, Ican't make it in the summer,
that's okay, because yourconsultants are learning what to
do and they're going to beputting things together bit by
(33:16):
bit, one thing at a time.
We all just get stronger andbetter together, so it's never
going to be too late right toget on the bus, so it's exciting
.
Speaker 1 (33:26):
Get on the bus, get on the plane, just do it.
Your kids deserve it, Ourprovince deserves it, we all
deserve it.
Anyway, this has been really,really a great chat, guys.
Thanks so much too.
Like I feel like these kinds ofconversations where we're
talking about you know she knewit's they're important to have
(33:47):
and it's good to get our voicesout there where we can share
these really cool innovativeprojects that are going on and
the intent behind and it seemsto be super well-informed as
well, and I'm excited for youguys.
I'd love to have a chat afterthe three years to kind of maybe
a synopsis or a reflectivereview of, and then the next
(34:09):
steps, Because, like you said,it never ends so thanks so much
guys for hopping on here andsharing your projects and your
ideas and your thoughts Superentertaining and I hope to talk
to you guys again soon.
Speaker 2 (34:25):
Well, thank you for reaching out for the invitation
and giving us that opportunity.
We really appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (34:30):
Awesome, thank you.
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