GETCA 2025

Creating a neurodiverse-affirming classroom encourages students to work with their brain instead of working against it. When we facilitate neurodiverse-affirming classrooms, we create environments that include neurodiverse students instead of alienating them. Accommodations and modifications can become the norm without adding to our already significant workloads. This session will combine opportunities to learn about what it means to create a neurodiverse-affirming classroom and opportunities for discussion around how we can do this in our classrooms practically and realistically.

We’ve all had those ADHD brains in our classroom who can’t motivate themselves to work without a significant fire under their butt. But we don’t have the time to stand over a child or the energy to intimidate them into finishing their work. Stop taking away recess, begging or pleading, or sending work home (where it never gets finished anyway). Lean into what actually motivates the ADHD brain to complete tasks. We’ll discuss ways to work with the ADHD brain instead of fighting against it. You’ll empower kids to leverage the skills they do have without adding hours to your own workload.

Global crisis’, rights and equity issues are entering, and sometimes disrupting, classrooms within increasing frequency, leaving both students and educators feeling overwhelmed and hopeless. In this hands-on session, participants will explore approaches and lessons that create environments where they can explore complex topics and equip students with tools to address injustice. Participants will also examine how classroom culture, courage to engage in complex conversations and project-based learning, can be used together to help students find hope and equip them with skills to take action. Spend a half day with us learning how to invigorate your teaching and knowledge surrounding human rights in the classroom. Register to save your spot in this hands-on experience with staff from the Canadian Museum for Human Rights!

The Educational Leadership at the Intersections of Gender is a bilingual project funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, and co-led by academics (UofA) and professional bodies (ATA, CASS). This research project aimed to investigate the effect of factors such as leaves and care taking roles and the impact of gender and intersectionalities on the career progression of women educators. We first gathered data through an anonymous online survey and then through focus groups. Our data confirmed what we have long known, the progression of women through the teaching profession is significantly different than men and reinforced the importance of bringing women to the policymaking process. As the late justice Ruth Baden Ginsburg said, "Women belong in all places where decisions are being made. It shouldn't be that women are the exception." With that in mind, our workshop will be dedicated to both presenting our research findings in an interactive manner, and to hosting a collaborative dialogue around policy-oriented questions and personal experiences with career progression. The Alberta based research is the first step to what we hope becomes a nation-wide project, which will improve the live experiences of women as they move through the teaching profession.

Much of the work on trauma informed practices seems to focus on elementary students; however, the bigger kids feel the effects of trauma just as much...they just show it differently. Changing classrooms, large class sizes and increasing demands on teachers make identifying and supporting students affected by trauma very difficult in Junior High and High School. This session is focused on providing teachers with concrete strategies and approaches to make our classrooms a safe place where students feel supported and can be successful.

This session will deliver pragmatic recommendations and pedagogical methods on how to create a high-impact school-based mentoring program that addresses social, academic, and behavioral needs that teachers can implement immediately in their respective schools. Attendees will also gain insights into addressing the unique challenges faced by students of color with targeted, practical solutions. Move beyond broad, ideological approaches and discover actionable methods to tackle the diverse issues impacting your students’ educational experiences.

At the peak of the pandemic, forty educational leaders from across Alberta united virtually with a common purpose: to foster hope. Through reflection, connection, and the power of story, we uncovered themes of Courage, Connection, Compassion, Curiosity, and Creativity. Join us to hear a metissage of excerpts from our recently-published anthology, Weaving Hope Through Our Education System, listen to a panel discussion, and participate in a sharing circle responding to the question: How do we foster hope in our education system?

The session will provide an overview on seizures and epilepsy and showcase a wide range of educational resources for all grades, when supporting students with epilepsy. A wide range of examples of teaching materials and ideas will be illustrated, and free resources provided to all who attend.

AI tools like Gemini, Diffit, ChatGPT, and Magic School offer incredible potential, but responsible use requires a critical eye. Educators need to understand how these biases manifest and, more importantly, how to challenge and disrupt these biases when using AI for learning.This session empowers you to identify and mitigate bias in AI, ensuring equitable outcomes for all students. We'll explore how societal biases infiltrate AI systems, examine real-world examples (gender bias in images, racial bias in facial recognition, skewed language outputs), and introduce anti-oppression frameworks to guide ethical AI integration. Learn to: -Understand the sources of AI bias. -Critically evaluate AI-generated content. -Apply anti-oppression principles to AI use. -Use prompting techniques to reduce bias. -Verify information and incorporate diverse perspectives. -Move beyond AI fluency and develop critical thinking skills needed to leverage AI effectively and ethically in your teaching.

My presentation introduces the stories of international, ESL, and immigrant students, often referred to as 1.5 generation, Third Culture Kids, and global nomads. It highlights their challenges in academics, relationships, and mental health and provides suggestions for teachers on how to support these students effectively in the classroom.

On an ordinary night in August 2023, two police officers appeared at my door to say 15 year old Corinne and her friends had been in an accident and ejected from the vehicle. In this presentation, my daughter and I tell the story of what happened after that moment, and how Corinne defied what the brain scans predicted. Told with humour and authenticity, we will share the lessons we learned from our worst moments that are applicable to every day life. You will leave inspired by the courage and bravery shown by a teenage girl as she overcame significant physical injuries and a major stroke that left her unable to speak, visually impaired and loss of feeling on her right side. We will also share the critical role her teachers and school continue to play in her recovery and how incredible teachers and creative accommodations will allow Corinne to graduate as planned.

Often the focus is placed on how we can “fix” Black male students rather than how we can equip schools and teachers to better meet the educational needs of Black males. Rather than providing teachers with broad, complex, ideological approaches for addressing the needs of Black male students, this presentation offers teachers with salient, visceral, and first hand details regarding young black males’ schooling experiences in which teachers can immediately reflect upon and use in their teaching pedagogy.

Lisa has a passion for sharing her experiences as an amputee, overcoming adversity and breaking down stereotypes around disability. Using humor and engaging her audience in open conversation, Lisa’s presentation is like no other! Educating teachers on disability and providing a safe space of open discussion is important. She loves to keep her presentation interactive; allowing everyone the chance to pass around her prosthetic sport leg and “ask anything.”