CASS / Alberta Education Annual Learning Conference

CASS Alberta Education Annual Learning 2018 Highlights Program at a Glance

Conference Booklet   Map of the Hotel

The CASS/Alberta Education Annual Learning Conference will use the Team Leadership Learning * approach to design the learning. The content will be based on emerging research and practices coherent with the professional practice standard(s).

Michael Fullan and Santiago Rincón-Gallardo will be the key facilitators for the pre conference ( March  21st) , Conference Opening the evening of the 21st and full day workshop on the 22nd.  On March 23rd Alberta Education, CASS and/or partners will share emerging initiatives, projects and messages.  Role-a-like meeting opportunities will also be scheduled.

Based on grant funding from Alberta Education and direction from the CASS Board the overarching outcome for CASS professional learning opportunities:  Superintendent leadership supports quality school leadership and teaching to create optimum learning for all students in Alberta.

Pre Conference – Wednesday, March 21, 2018

Deepening Learning in classrooms, schools and districts.  Leadership Support for Implementation of the Professional Practice Standard(s)

What does deep learning and the pedagogies that nurture it look like? What do superintendents and system leaders do to deepen student learning within their school authorities?  Participants in this pre-conference workshop will explore these questions through:

1) exposure to some of the most powerful world-wide examples of deep learning in classrooms, schools, and school authority;
2) engagement with key principles of action to deepen learning in classrooms, schools and school systems; and
3) design of strategies grounded in the context and stage of development of each participant’s school authority.

Fullan highlights “Deepening Learning” in the book Coherence – the Right Drivers in Action for Schools, Districts and Systems.  He and co –author Joanne Quinn describe Deepening Learning as: “…shifting to a deeper understanding of the process of learning and how we can influence it. It involved building precision in pedagogy and weaving together three strands: Learning Partnerships, Learning Environments and Leveraging Digital”.  In this new coherence-making model “pedagogy is the driver and digital is the accelerator to go faster and deeper into learning for all”.

This CASS/Alberta Education pre conference session will allow for the opportunity for system teams to delve into deepening learning with a focus on precision in pedagogy with digital as an accelerator.

Competencies in the draft superintendent quality leadership standard to be developed through this workshop: Leading Learning, Ensuring First Nations, Métis and Inuit Education for all Students and Visionary Leadership, Building Effective Relationships.

Who should attend?  System teams interested in moving strategies forward that rely on improved pedagogical practice. (E.g., Indigenous education, Learning Technology Policy Framework (LTPF), Curriculum, Mental Health, Inclusive environments, Student Engagement, Assessment.) 

Conference Opening – Wednesday, March 21, 2018

The new Role of Superintendents/System Leaders: Lead and Learn with your team in equal measure – Micheal Fullan

As we make progress on ‘whole system change’ the role of leadership has shifted. It involves both greater scope of action, and more precision in the nature of leadership itself. Superintendents and their leadership teams are key in this transformation. They will be required to build leadership team expertise at the district level, cultivate deeper relationships with schools and grow their leadership capacity, enable lateral cohesion within the district, and become better proactive provincial partners to influence whole system improvement. They will also be expected to foster principal development as well as leverage bottom up change from teachers (collaborative professionalism), students and communities.  The Professional Practice Standards in Alberta offer a consistent measure of competency and a unique opportunity to catalyze action in this direction.

Conference Team Leadership Workshop – Thursday, March 22, 2018

Leading from the Middle: Deepening SystemLeadership and Personal Learning

Lead Learners create the conditions for others to learn while learning alongside them about what works and what doesn’t. They recognize that lateral capacity (connecting and learning across schools) and vertical connection (good relationships across school authorities) forms the glue of coherence. In this workshop, participants will gain exposure to promising ideas and effective practices to lead learning across their jurisdiction as indicated in competencies identified in the Superintendent Leadership Quality Standard.

In particular, participants will enhance their practical understanding to:

1) develop collaborative cultures (building effective relationships);
2) model learning (modelling a commitment to professional learning);
3) unleash and manage pedagogical innovation (leading learning);
4) maximize impact on student learning outcomes.

Using a Team Leadership Learning approach, this full day workshop will use short presentations to introduce core ideas and stimulate your thinking around coherence making, followed by team sessions where you and your team will be guided and supported in planning your own work.

Competencies in the draft superintendent quality leadership standard to be developed through this workshop: Leading Learning, and Visionary Leadership, Modelling Commitment to Professional Learning and Building Effective Relationships.

 Who should attend? System teams who are interested in building their own and others capacity and who wish to have dedicated planning time to address the areas of focus for their own school authority.

Conference – Friday, March 23, 2018

Role-A – Like Meetings and Plenary Sessions

Opportunities to meet with role-alike colleagues (e.g.,Chief Superintendents, Curriculum and Assessment, Human Resource, Technology, First Nations Education School Authority Leads) will occur on Friday morning. Plenary sessions will also be offered and are identified via the registration link.