Workshop Descriptions

See also Facilitator Bios.

ID	Title, Facilitator(s), and Description
PCF01	Underfund, destabilize, and privatize: connecting the dots Jinny Sims This workshop will show how the testing agenda and deliberate underfunding are impacting teaching and learning, and how this is taking us down the road to privatization. The agenda to privatize public education is very deliberate. There is a need for us to create space for a public discourse on the value of a publically funded public education system. There will be an overview of provincial, national, and international perspectives on the privatization agenda.
PCF02	Framing the message, communicating our ideas Rich Overgaard What is the accountability agenda? What does that mean to parents and community members? Learn how to communicate your ideas, drop all the jargon, and push back against political spin.
PCF03	Assessment as a social justice issue Carol Arnold Social justice is the concept of a society where individuals and groups receive fair treatment and share the benefits of that society. Participants will examine how accountability and testing impact on minority and disadvantaged students. Is our present purpose of standardized testing to support student learning or is it just another form of categorizing the child?
PCF04	Toward a random-sample FSA Irene Lanzinger and Kadriye Ercikan This workshop will use the common example of opinion polls to explain how FSA could be administered as a random sample and how such an administration would better meet the appropriate purposes of a large-scale assessment while minimizing the impact on teaching and learning.
PCF05	Classroom teachers question the benefits of provincial exams Moira Ekdahl and Tim McCracken Three teachers will discuss the effects of imposed standardization on their teaching and what it means to their students. The BC Science Teachers’ Association surveyed teachers on the Grade 10 curriculum and associated provincial exam. The report recommends dropping the Science 10 exam from provincial graduation requirements. BC teacher-librarians assert the practice of levelling books is misguided and may be largely budget‐driven. What happened to the recognition that learning requires the active participation of the student; that people learn in a variety of ways and at different rates; and that learning is both an individual and a group process?
PCF06	Assessment that enhances learning: one district’s commitment to authentic assessment Maureen Dockendorf, Don Gordon, Jill Reid, Heather Daly, Nancy Carl, and Martine Duby Coquitlam School District views teacher professional judgment as the most important, accurate, and useful indicator of student performance. This session will present an overview of Coquitlam’s two district assessments. Both assessments are voluntary. District-Wide Assessments are assessment for learning for teachers, not only about what students are able to do, and where they need to go, but about how to change teaching and assessment practices to improve achievement, success, and motivation for students. Coquitlam’s Classroom Assessments Based on Teacher Judgment (BC Performance Standards) in reading, writing, mathematics, and solving problems in peaceful ways will also be presented. Coquitlam School District is proud that our district assessments reveal that although we have much that we can continue to work on, our students are excelling in many areas. We believe that the results of our teacher-developed and directed voluntary district assessments tell the true story of where our students are.
PCF07	Testing, one, two, three, testing Rick Ferguson Teachers test all the time. Ask your child if she or he has had any tests lately or if she or he has one coming up soon. So, why is there such a fuss in the media? This workshop will shed light on teachers’ concerns about standardized testing, about how they are used, and about how that affects the teaching that takes place in classrooms across BC. It will also touch upon how teachers assess student learning and how teachers are held accountable. Your questions and concerns will help shape the workshop. Don’t panic; there will not be a test at the end!
PCF08	Rethinking accountability David Chudnovsky and Seth Klein There are legitimate questions of accountability in public education, but the current approaches that focus largely on standardized tests—and “competency” or “standards”—are damaging and require alternatives. The Rethinking Accountability project is aimed at finding better ways to address legitimate questions about school quality. This workshop will provide an opportunity to engage in a discussion about the possibility of creating an alternative.
PCF09	Creating a local dialogue—accountability, assessment, and teacher autonomy Derek DeGear and Donna Allen Dissatisfied with the polarized environment surrounding district assessment practice, SD 68, Nanaimo, has developed a task force to examine issues related to accountability, assessment, and teacher autonomy. In this workshop: • we will look at the environment in the district surrounding assessment and accountability. • we will discuss how the task force was established between partner groups. • Donna and Derek will share their perspectives as to what they hope to achieve through local dialogue.
PCF10	Doing it right: Protecting the Primary Program Carol Johns and Fiona MacNicol-Clark Pushdown of curriculum, increased data-gathering, and current plans for all-day Kindergarten are refocusing attention on the need for a revitalization of the Primary Program. How do we ensure that teaching practices are based on the current brain/play connection research? What should we do to maintain the integrity of, and support, the developmentally appropriate primary program goals as we plan for all-day Kindergarten?
PCF11	High-stakes testing: Child abuse dressed up in corporate robes or why data warehousing will destroy your soul Susan Ohanian The mania for collecting data based on corrupt, standardized test scores is destroying neighborhood schools, driving teachers out of the profession, and putting childhood at risk. Susan Ohanian brings warnings from the experience of education in the US.
PCF12	Understanding neoliberal ideas of accountability Hugo Aboites and George Martell “Outcomes” in some systems and “competencies” in others are versions of the standardization and control that is being imposed through testing systems. These are key elements of the neoliberal ideas that are shaping education globally. Hugo Aboites, from Mexico, has been researching how these systems are affecting education throughout Latin America. George Martell has brought together writers looking at similar patterns globally to better understand and resist the impact in Canada. This workshop will provide a larger context for the issues we are facing in BC.
PCF13	Supporting inclusion in BC’s public schools Charlie Naylor Inclusion is a government policy and a human right. Its implementation has been, and continues to be, a challenge to many educators, with inadequate relevant preservice education, removal of specialists, little time for collaboration, uncertainty concerning appropriate teaching approaches including adaptations, and insufficient funding for effective policy implementation. Yet there are also successes, and new approaches including differentiated instruction and universal design. How, then, to support students, teachers, and families, and include all students in learning? This workshop will explore some of the challenges and possibilities in terms of inclusion.
PCF14	Assessing for learning April Lowe Research shows that good assessment promotes learning and improves motivation and student self-esteem. This session will look at what good classroom assessment looks like, and will discuss the appropriate use of large-scale assessment.
PCF15	Assessment, high stakes, and alternative vision: appropriate use of the right tools for leverage improvement Dan Laitsch High-stakes assessment refers to the use of assessment data in a high-stakes manner—data gathered from various assessments is used in such a way that it has significant impact on individual people or systems. This workshop examines the theory behind high-stakes accountability and the intended and unintended consequences of such systems. Participants will examine how data might be used to effect positive change, as well as various ways we might begin to redefine accountability to emphasize the role of capacity in change efforts.
PCF16	Everything you need to know is in the language—impact of accountability on Aboriginal learners Gloria Cole Participants will consider the effects of the accountability agenda on Aboriginal students and communities through the video interviews of aboriginal parents expressing their perspective on standardized testing. This will provide an opportunity to reflect on strategies and processes that promote a vision of education that is desired.
PCF17	What do parents want for their children? Charles Menzies What do parents want? Are parents being realistic? Can a parent perspective go beyond the “my child first” syndrome? Led by Charles Menzies, long-time parent activist and UBC professor, this workshop will explore the diverse expectations of parents as advocates for their children. Drawing upon the professional and personal experiences of the facilitator and workshop participants, the goal of this session is to identify key parental expectations for BC’s public education system and how to address them within the realities of our provincial education system. Resource info at: http://tinyurl.com/yf8egrn.
PCF18	Impact of accountability on ESL, immigrant, and refugee students Marlene Eccles and Sylvia Helmer This session will explore the impact of provincial exams and other factors that may be responsible for the reported non-participation of ESL students in provincially examinable academic courses between Grade 8 and Grade 12. In other words, of the ESL students who took academic courses in Grade 8, 65% were no longer registered in academic courses by Grade 12. In addition, many secondary-aged ESL students are not able to graduate by the time they are 19; either they drop out of school and take unskilled, low-paying jobs or they go into adult education programs, if they can afford them.
PCF19	Budget/funding/cuts: economic side of protecting our children’s future Iglika Ivanova In this workshop, we will focus on the economics of public education. We will consider the history of government funding for education and examine how the current recession has affected public education budgets. You will learn that the current spending cuts are not inevitable even during hard economic times and that government budgets are about choices made by our elective representatives. We will conclude with a discussion on what the governments’ priorities should be and how we can pay for the programs and services that British Columbians need and want.
PCF20	Sick schools, sick kids; what happens to kids learning potential? Karen Langenmaier Asbestos, mould, H1N1, lack of oxygen; how are these and other school issues affecting not only your child’s health but also their learning potential? When school budgets are cut, often the first services to go are those from maintenance and custodial which can have a significant impact on the classroom. We will discuss how your child’s environment can be tested and changed to give them optimal learning conditions. The healthier a school, the more productive the teacher and the greater learning potential for students.
PCF21	Public education at the brink Dr. Robin Barrow An investigation into the current trends and movements in politics, society, and philosophy that are creating the current climate in education and what the future may hold. Participants will be encouraged to make their own contributions and consideration will be given to how the situation can be improved through progressive/positive change.