Professional Learning Record
Name: Tassanie Gibson
Part of your development as a professional is to engage in learning beyond your coursework and your CSL/practicum experiences. One of the Standards of
Practice is the “Commitment to Ongoing Professional Learning”. After attending a professional learning community session at the Faculty or in your schools and
the community, take a moment to reflect on the learning that took place.
Date Title Location/Presenter Description
Sept 19/23 OPHEA Virtual OPHEA has a range of
Andrea Haefle teacher resources and
professional learning for
supporting healthy
schools and the physical
education and health
education curriculum.
Oct 3/23 Non-Fungible CRX 140 In this keynote talk, Dr.
Teachers (NFTs) Dr. Michelle Shira Michelle Schira
Hangerman Hagerman will situate the
importance of teachers as
critical, irreplaceable
human actors at a time of
significant social,
environmental,
economic, and digital
disruption. With the
launch of the new
Ontario K-8 Language
Curriculum and the
insertion of digital
literacy expectations in
the front-matter of our
foundational policy
Learning: Key points
 Elementary and secondary resources
 Tabs: planning, resources, tools and templates, programs, and
professional learning
 Lessons on healthy eating, human development and sexual health,
mental health and well-being, physical activity, and substance use
 Ontario Physical Activity Safety Standards in Education (OPASSE):
procedures to help minimize the risk of accident or injury
 Inquiry-based learning: online resource guide for the
implementation of health and physical education curriculum, grades
1-12
 Non-fungible
o Irreplaceable
o Unique value
 Distributions
o AI
o Virtual reality
o False information in media
 Role of technology in education
o Enables educators to extend and enrich their instruction
o Allows educators to tailor their instruction to suit the
interests and strengths of their students
o Enhanced the ability to connect with communities outside
the school
o Digital literacy: an essential transferable skill
 Questions to ask self about use of technology in class:
o Does the tech support social inclusion, collaboration,
and/or culturally significant activities?
 documents, she provides o Does the tech enable students to practice problem solving
Year 1 students with or to overcome barriers to participation and learning?
frameworks for sorting o Does the tech enable students to create and to be creative?
spam from substance. In o Does the tech encourage movement or wellness?
a context that often
hypes the potential of
tech without serious
critique, she offers
students strategies for
knowing their
irreplaceable value and
for centering what
matters most in their
teaching practices.
Oct 3/23 Virtual Reality with CRX 410 This workshop for the  VR vs AR (augmented reality)
CoSpaces secondary teacher o AR: things like Pokémon Go, snapchat
candidates. In this o VR: fully immersive experience
workshop, you will create  How to use in classroom
a virtual reality o Enhance learning
simulation of a roller o Train for jobs
coaster on CoSpaces. You  CoSpaces
will learn to work in a 3D o A VR program
environment, program o Can add an environment, objects (i.e. animals, vehicles,
objects, and understand buildings), a mood, a background sound, etc.
the various, real-world
applications of VR
Oct 17/23 OSSTF Boundary CRX 140  Secrets
Issues for Educators o Never guarantee you can keep a secret
o Duty to report i.e. if disclose suicidal thoughts
 Gift giving
o Avoid giving and receiving
o Can be misinterpreted
o Can also make other students who can’t afford to give a gift
feel bad
 Physical touch
o Avoid at all costs
o Even if student asks to be touched aka hugged. They don’t
 understand professional judgement – you do
o Always try to use words to show sympathy
o Are you touching the student for yourself or for the other
student? I.e. did you see a cute first grader and choose to
hug them, or did they ask to be hugged because they fell
and you give them an “acceptable” hug like a small pat on
the back?
 Transportation
o Avoid at all costs
o Don’t have to
 Word choice
o Students can twist word choice, especially high school
students
o Avoid sarcasm
 Extortion
o Forcing a person to give up property or do anything
through the use of fear, violence, or under the peretense of
authority
o Don’t even take away fidget spinners, etc. Maybe phone
rules school to school so follow those, but make sure
specific
 Communicating
o Use platforms that are board owned
o Do not use personal phone number
o Do not be replying to emails at like 2am
 Sexual abuse
o No tolerance – teacher immediately loses license
o Sexual intercourse, but also touching or remarks
o Not about intent, it is a fact. “I didn’t mean it like that” but
the person felt uncomfortable so must be dealt with
o Grooming: a pattern
Oct 17/23 The 4 Seasons of Bruce Hoey Different parts of the  September
Behaviour LMX 390 school year present o When students first walk in, have chairs in a circle in the
different challenges. Many center. No desks
times, these challenges o Throws them off a bit, snaps them out of summer mode,
force Educators to work into learning mode
from behind when o Do introductions. Get to know them. Get them to know
 controlling student
behaviour. During this
workshop, various
challenges facing
Educators throughout the
school year will be
discussed. What you do in
September will be
different from what you
do in April. Strategies will
be provided to help
Educators stay ahead of
negative behaviour. All
strategies focus on
relationship building and
promoting positive
behaviour.
Oct 31/23 Practicum CRX140 Various presentations
presentation Various educators – from educators about
teachers, principals, expectations as teacher
administrators candidates, interview tips,
YOU. Set expectations
o Coin thing?
 Building clear expectations
o You decide: lining up, raising hand, keeping area tidy, work
quietly?
o No right or wrong
o “Post expectations, not rules”
o If you post them, refer to them every day. If they hear it
enough, it starts to be a part of them
 Transitions
o Should always be treated as a separate activity
o Give warnings (aka in 5 minutes we will…) and CLEAR
expectations
o Follow through with the transitions
o Give feedback
 Physical environment
o An external factor for behaviour
o Sometimes less is more – too much/too many colours in a
room is overstimulating
o BLACK BULLETIN BOARDS so the content pops out. Colorful
boarder to highlight it
o Display students work: sense of pride, remember what
they learned
o Mantras: refer to them often
 Holidays
o Tough on students. Transitioning between
o Week before March Break is hardest
o Try to have them come back to something new: new
seating arrangement, like the introduction circle thing at
the start of Septmeber
 May: start planting seeds with students from younger years so they
are comfortable with you next year
 June: don’t take your foot off the gas, or you will lose them
 Research school beforehand
o Look at course codes
o Keep reviewing curriculum
 Introduce self to principal and other teachers
 advice for the career  If your AT is on duty, you're on duty
 Document occurrences w students
 Important to get to know office admin (OA)
 Keep documentation factual. No opinions/emotions
 Have hard copies in your backpack for emergencies. Something that
works for all grades
 Quote board in classroom?
 "We are in the relationship business"
o Build relationships. Ask how the hockey game was. Show
you care
o Children, parents, aunts/uncles, mentors, students, etc.
 AQs
o TELL1 (teaching english language learners)
o Spec Ed 1
o Save Coop/guidance for later…
Nov 14/23 Learning While CRX 140 Anti-Black racism is a  Talks about being “not racist” versus anti-racist
Black: Addressing Matthew Sinclair problem that can’t be  “The greatest threats to justice are not the people burning crosses
Anti-Black Racism in (ETFO) solved by broad equity and otherwise being overtly racist, it’s the white moderates people
Canada plans and needs to be who are well-meaning but whose actions perpetuate inequitable
addressed specifically systems.” – MLKJ
within a Canadian  1607: Mathieu DaCosta
educational context. o First black person known in Canada
Participants will explore o Was a linguist – knew lots of languages, probably brought
how anti-Black racism is home lots of esteem and maybe (hopefully) respect?
interwoven into the  1834: Slavery was abolished in Canada
fabric of our education  1983: Last segregated school in Canada closed
system and society at  Term of microaggressions no longer used – diminishes the impact it
large. This workshop will has – just referred to as aggressions
use relevant examples,  Common movies (i.e. Blind Side) are White Saviour movies
deconstruction of key  https://api.sherbert.cimpress.io/v2/assets/dqJJ2Murbv2vN-
terminologies and data as 2aSZ4Ui~100?
well as introduce signature=0a64942988f203c55acbb9cbfe7543e2cbbb9be7&showDe
teaching strategies that leted=false
show how all educators
can be part of the
solution.
Nov 14/23 Teacher-student CRX 140 The relationships that  Mission of schools: teacher- versus student-centered?
 relationships: why David Smith teachers and students o Teacher-centered: academic/results oriented
they matter and form in their work o Student-centered: learning oriented
how to make them together are critical for  Students’ basic physiological needs (i.e. feeling safe, understood)
work. many reasons. In the first must be met in order for them to learn from you
place, they are vital to  Aka you must build a positive, caring relationship with your students
the success and
development of students
in their academic journey,
and in the second place,
they are also
fundamental to teachers’
well-being and
satisfaction in their
careers. In this
presentation, I will
discuss factors that affect
the development of
Teacher-student
relationships and how
these connect to a variety
of outcomes for students
and teachers. Finally, I will
talk about strategies and
skills that teachers need to
implement in order to
cultivate positive
relationships with their
students.
Jan 16/24 CRX 140 VPs of elementary and  Violence in schools
Erin Hagan secondary unions (?) o Most perpetrators are students
Heidi Brisson o Be prepared, know who to call for help
o Disregulation from pandemic has made it worse
 Learning gaps creating tension
 Primary adjusting to new routines
 Secondary returning to full-time schedule has led
to more conflict
o **25% of teachers were encouraged by admin to NOT
complete a reporting form** – thinks it will reflect bad on

Jan 23/24 Student Injury Virtual This session will provide
Prevention - an overview of the
Ministry of legislation, guidance, and
Education resources available to
support students’
physical safety in the
classroom, on the field,
and during outdoor
education excursions.
Feb 20/24 ELL – Supporting Virtual An overview of Ontario
English Language Jennifer Glass and Ministry of Education
Learners colleagues policies and resources to
support teacher
candidates in welcoming
and supporting English
language learners in
Ontario’s publicly funded
schools, with a focus on
anti-racism, anti-
oppression, and culturally
relevant and responsive
pedagogy.
*The description may be copied from the outline in the posting for this event.
their school/their leadership
 Bullies often have a poor home-life.
 Fostering a positive school climate
 There are Ministry policies in place that require boards to have a
platform for students to report on school climate (e.g. School
Climate Survey)
o Assesses perceptions of safety and helps make informed
decisions to help prevent bullying
 As a teacher, we have a duty to engage in ongoing learning (e.g.
workshops, self-reflection, leading groups) to promote the safety of
our students
 1 in 4 Canadians have a mother tongue that is different from English
or French
 CRRP (culturally responsive and relevant pedagogy)
 ELLs born in Canadian communities
 ELLs born in another country
 See ELLs as a resource/asset
 ELL programs in Ontario
o ESL (English and a Second Language)
o ELD (English Literacy Development)
 First steps for ELLs
o Conduct a survey at beginning of the year to learn about
the cultural and linguistic diversity in your classroom.
o Partner with families and community members to learn
about and incorporate mother languages in your
classroom.
 Differentiating instruction and assessment for ELLs
o Providing a variety of texts and formats of texts
o Using graphic organizers
