Education Undergraduate Society

University of Lethbridge (TH368)

4401 University Drive West
Lethbridge, Alberta
T1K 3M4
403-329-2442

April 27, 2020

To Whom It May Concern:

Each semester the Education Undergraduate Society hosts a variety of Professional Development
seminars for the Faculty of Education students. Thanks to our invaluable speakers, these seminars offer
meaningful learning opportunities for aspiring educators. This letter is written to acknowledge
Jodi Thompson, who attended the following seminars during the Spring 2020 semester:

“Hard to be Humble: Generating Relationships” was presented on January 21, 2020, by Jana
Boschee. In this session, Jana discussed the importance of forging generative relationships with
peers, colleagues, mentors, support staff, and students. To facilitate this discussion, participants
engaged in personality inventories to better their understanding of themselves, and the things that
drive their professional relationships.

“E-Liability” was presented on January 23, 2020, by Ian Stewardson from the Alberta Teacher’s
Association. This session was an invaluable source of information regarding professional
expectations for teachers in the digital age. With a plethora of examples of what not to do, he
explained many possible scenarios, and how to keep yourself from crossing any professional
boundaries online. In addition to tips on personal conduct, he provided practical advice for ensuring
digital safety.

“Creating Reading Culture in the Classroom” was presented on January 28, 2020, by Rhona
Harkness. Rhona is an instructor for the Faculty Education, who is best known for her amazing taste
in books. In this session, she shared hundreds of titles that will capture young readers, as well as
providing fantastic ideas for how to use them in a classroom. This session was creative, inspiring,
and full of useful teaching strategies for all ages.

“The Professional Code of Conduct is in Order” was presented on February 6, 2020, by Ian
Stewardson from the Alberta Teacher’s Association. He provided valuable information about the
ATA’s Professional Code of Conduct, providing actual examples of violations, and the disciplinary
actions that followed. This session offered a deeper understanding of the legal and professional
expectations that teachers are bound by.
 “Callysto in the Classroom” was presented on February 25, 2020, by PSII students: Raeesa
Shivji, Kaisa Roggeveen, Joyce Huynh, Rebecca Lindquist, Ashley Berreth, and Ethan Pullan. In
our first student-led professional development seminar of the academic year, this session introduced
participants to an excellent online resource called Callysto. In this hands-on seminar, participants
were able to learn how to utilize this interactive tool to introduce computational thinking and coding
into the classroom.

If you have any questions or comments, please contact Jenn Pellerin at edu.eus@uleth.ca

Jenn Pellerin Ben Beland

Director of Professional Development President
Education Undergraduate Society Education Undergraduate Society
University of Lethbridge University of Lethbridge