Episodes
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In this episode of our ARPDC Podcast - Literacy Across the Curriculum Series, we visit with Elyse Morin, one of our ARPDC team of Designers of Professional Learning and a seriously intense champion of reading and books in the classroom and at home. Elyse discusses some 15-plus titles for the Francophone or French Immersion classroom with Rick Gilson and Charlie Kraig - the conversation is in English. (for the most part;-)). Several books Elyse talks about are available in both French and English versions. One such example, Killer Underwear Invasion! or Alerte: Culottes Meurtriéres by Elise Gravel, has come up in a couple of episodes recently; the sub-title is timely for adults and younger children in today's world: "How to Spot Fake News, Disinformation & Conspiracy Theories." Spoiler Alert: Not everything called fake news is fake; not everything called news is news. Great books, how and why you might use them in the classroom is the focus of our conversation. The episode website link provides a full listing of the titles discussed in this episode.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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ARPDC Podcast Series hosts, Charlie Kraig and Rick Gilson roll up their sleeves and share excerpts and thoughts on approximately 15 books for the classroom, professional and personal reading libraries. Along the way, we talk about where and how they might be used, what we have taken away from them for personal and professional growth and offer a couple of online resources to check out.
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Missing episodes?
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Our conversation explores the links between identity and literacy, the importance of teachers exploring their own identity and where that can be found in the literacy they create and consume, as well as what we can do to help our students in their exploration of both the individual identity and how literacy can help us better understand those with whom we share our communities and the planet on which we live. We explore the opportunities to shine lights on those who have been less visible in all aspects and modalities of literature and writing and the importance of being aware of the advantages and disadvantages that exist for people of the majority and minority in any society.
Shawna's work in her most recent book invites readers to consider 5 Principles to guide their literacy work in the classroom:
The 5 Principles
Principle #1: Literacy involves both cognitive processes and social practices.
Principle #2: Identity and literacy are inextricably linked.
Principle #3: All human beings engage in literacy and language practices that are both valid and valuable.
Principle #4: Meaning-making occurs within a variety of equally valid communicative channels or modes.
Principle #5: Literacy can be used as a tool for liberation as well as a tool for oppression.
Coppola, Shawna. Literacy for All: A Framework for Anti-Oppressive Teaching (Equity and Social Justice in Education Series) (p. 51). Taylor and Francis. Kindle Edition
About our Guest:
Shawna Coppola has over two decades of experience teaching from Kindergarten through to University students. The majority of her professional life has been spent teaching literacy to middle school-age children as well as serving as a literacy specialist/coach in a k-6 school. Currently, Shawna spends most of her time writing, facilitating engaging professional learning opportunities for educators, and speaking at national education conferences. The author of three books and a Fellow/Literacy consultant with The Educator Collaborative, a K-12 Think Tank and professional development organization. Shawna is a member of the faculty at the University of New Hampshire's Learning Through Teaching program.
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Charlie Kraig and Rick Gilson are joined by Trevor Aleo, author, teacher, podcaster, and doctoral candidate, as we discuss and take a deep dive at times in the conversation, the many ways and means by which students of all grades can develop and demonstrate their literacy.
Trevor shares several titles, research points and resources that can support your professional learning and practice in the classroom to benefit your students. A classroom teacher primarily working with students in grades 9-12 Trevor is currently working on completing his doctorate working with Dr. Mary Kalantzis and Dr. Bill Cope at the University of Illinois Urbana-Chgampagne.
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Dr. Aly Ricke of the University of Florida Literacy Institute joins Dr. Rick Gilson and Charlie Kraig from ARPDC for another conversation focused on literacy, specifically looking at the evolution and development of UFLI's work, how it's growing across Alberta, Canada and the United States and what we might do to better understand and support the work. Aly also shares some of the work on Dyslexia being developed at the University of Florida.
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In this episode of our podcast series, we visit with Irene Heffel, a long-time literacy coach, instructional lead, current Designer of Professional Learning with our ARPDC team and an instructor at Concordia College in the faculty of Education in Edmonton. Irene has over 35 years of experience at all levels of education and has worked in and with elementary and secondary teachers to implement best practices in curriculum, assessment and backward design with a primary focus on reading and writing instruction across the curriculum.
Our conversation brought up the importance of conversation and dialogue around what you are reading, what you are thinking as a result, and how your thinking has changed due to your reading. We found ourselves discussing motivation, making thinking visible and working to develop our own professional practice as curious learning readers in addition to developing those same attributes in our students and classrooms.
The work of mindfully supporting our students in thinking about what they are reading, what they are hearing from others as they discuss or share what they are reading, and our ability as teachers to be attuned to the processes of reading, viewing, listening, as they impact our understanding and thinking is the focus of this podcast episode. Irene emphasizes the importance of preparing the students, priming them to be mindful of their thoughts, and drawing upon their background knowledge before reading an article, an excerpt, or a book. With that excellent preparation, you are enhancing expectations and curiosity. Following the reading, you get into the conversation and questioning that helps draw out what you still think, what you now think and how that has evolved, been affirmed or changed in the process.
Resources and links shared in the website link.
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We sat down with Kari Tanaka of the University of Lethbridge Bookstore as she walked us through several books for educators, students, and families covering titles from preschool/kindergarten through Grade 12 and beyond. Kari once again proves to be a valuable resource for anyone who loves books and is always on the lookout for new additions to their own TBR piles or classroom libraries. She brought everything from non-fiction to graphic novels to picture books to hybrid texts (including elements of fiction and non-fiction). There is something for everyone on this list!
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Having recently completed a significant update to the Alberta Regional Professional Development Consortium’s English as an Additional Language Website, we sit down in this podcast episode to engage in a conversation with Stephanie Dodyk, whose post-graduate work focuses on the support of English as an additional language (EAL) learners of all ages. Stephanie shares the personal experiences that, in part, motivate her passion for this work, resources, stories and, of course, books and the website with listeners.
The EAL website is part of the growing collection accessed at the ARPDC website under the General PD Resources tab. We encourage you to check out the site and specifically the EAL website and linked resources found therein.
Stephanie shared a number of books for personal and professional reading as well as books teachers might consider adding to their classroom libraries.
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Dr. Lisa Starr, the new Dean of Education at the University of Lethbridge, engages in a conversation with Charlie Kraig and Dr. Rick Gilson, ARPDC Change Maker Conversations in Education hosts, about books (classics and new), Cellphilming, listening, writing, multi-modal approaches to share your learning and ideas and much more.
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Karen Filewych, one-time newspaper journalist, turned to teaching, all the while remaining passionate about writing – both her own and all those she teaches. In this episode of the Change Maker Conversations in Education, we continue our Literacy Across the Curriculum conversation with this author, educator, leader and all-around awesome soul. Karen shares several books and thoughts, inviting us to consider the importance of doing everything we can to help people of all ages to enjoy and thrive as readers, writers, and full participants in the conversations and practices of a literate society.
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The Alberta Regional Professional Development Consortium (ARPDC) has worked with the creators of Camp Re-write, (Matthew Johnson, Rebekah O’Dell, and Angela Stockman) who have partnered to create a pedagogical summer camp, primarily for teachers of English Language Arts and Literature. In support of teachers in Alberta, ARPDC is offering Camp ReWrite - Alberta Campground and in our recent podcast with Angela Stockman we talked about Camp ReWrite for about 10 minutes, that excerpt is provided here for your listening entertainment. Alberta Teachers please check our Regional office websites for information on how you can sign up for the Alberta Campground and enjoy access to an amazing summer of "on your schedule" professional learning in support of English Language Arts and Literature Instruction.
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Angela Stockman can help us all with our reading skills K-12; however, it is in writing, expressing your thoughts, and ideas, and telling stories across a myriad of modalities that Angela has really lived, breathed and worked with teachers and students for most of her life. Angela believes we all have stories, our stories are important, and there are a myriad of ways we can tell our stories. Her Writer's Workshops, books, and sessions provide all educators (and parents) with inspiration and procedures (including assessments) that create an environment where even the most reluctant can see a path to sharing their stories and improving their writing.
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CEO and founder of Wells Performance, a global consulting firm on a mission to elevate how we live our lives at work in life, Dr. Greg Wells is committed to working with leaders and educators to create the best possible environment, organizational and individual habits and culture for wellness. Greg’s work touches upon all the pillars of wellness and well-being drawing upon an extensive lived experience and personal study.
Dr. Wells is a scientist and performance physiologist and has dedicated his career to exploring and researching human limits and making that science understandable and actionable.
In this podcast we explore some of the Organizing Ideas in the Alberta Physical Education and Wellness Curriculum discussing how they apply in our own lives as teachers and receive a few tips in several areas that we can use to recharge through the summer and for the rest of our lives. Visit the episode link for more information and resources.
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Dr. Julie Causton and Dr. Kristie Pretti-Frontczak of Inclusive Schooling visit with Charlie Kraig and Dr. Rick Gilson of ARPDC visit about the Summer Leadership Institutes held by Julie and Kristie through their Inclusive Learning organization. A number of books, podcasts and a movie title are shared, as well as an exploration of the Inclusive Schooling 2023 Summer Leadership Institute.
Check out the episode notes for further information.
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In this episode, we visit with Laurie McIntosh, who loves to share with others...create unique burgers with her students, and fundraise with little ones who want to make and have made a difference in the class and the community.
Laurie started her teaching career in Lacombe and moved to Lethbridge with the Holy Spirit School Division about five years ago.
The journey of learning starts at birth and continues throughout our lives; dozens of kindergarten students have been blessed to start their school journey in Laurie McIntosh's class. In our visit, Laurie shares some of the magic experiences she has had with her students, parents and educators and a number of books and strategies we can all use in class and at home.
As Laurie shares titles, she expands on how the book(s) are used in the class, the conversations the student have, the takeaways that go home, and the activities that connect each other as we read.
So many of the titles shared could be used in support of the organizing ideas of Alberta's Physical Education and Wellness curriculum, particularly Human Development and Character Development.
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Committed to growing thinkers, writers, and readers, Nawal Qarooni visits with hosts Charlie Kraig and Rick Gilson to discuss the work of the NQCLiteracy team and her passion for connected families in the process of literacy development. Foundational to Nawal's work is the notion that we learn best when our learning is connected with all those with whom we have a relationship. Through mindful efforts to expand our knowledge of others, other cultures, and other people, our relationship tree expands our ability to read, write, listen and better relate with each other. Listeners are encouraged to check out Nawal's team, work and website at www.nqcliteracy.com
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In this episode of our Literacy Across the Curriculum series we visit with learning consultant and mathematics wizard (in our opinion) Jackie Ratkovic. Jackie shares a number of titles and talks us through how each book can be used to support students k-12 (mostly elementary) in their development of skills and understanding in Math.
Jackie outlines how books used in class fall into three categories:
Text Dependent: You need to understand the math to understand the book
Idea Enhancing: Books do not depend on a previous understanding of math and help connect and expand on the concepts.
Illustration Exploring: Books that contain pictures, drawings, and diagrams within the story that help pull out those important space and shape connections that are very much a part of mathematics.
Jackie emphasizes that "When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change."
A full list of the books and other links can be found on the episode blog post link.
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In this episode, Dr. Rick Gilson with ARPDC visits with Christina Giddings, Stefanie McLeod, and Dr. Colleen Pollett of the University of Florida Literacy Institute - UFLI about their work to provide teachers (and parents) with materials, resources, lessons, and support to build foundational work in the classroom (and home) in developing confident and capable readers and writers of the English language. "Building Strong Readers" is the motto that motivates all that they do. Our guests share how they got into the work, what motivates them, what they have learned and how they hope the work can make a difference in the lives of students, teachers, and families. Along the way they share a couple of books they are reading and ideas you might apply at work, home or in your life.
The UFLI website has a wealth of resources, all provided as open education resources(free of charge), the UFLI foundation manual complete with lessons, is the only component of the work that must be purchased directly from UFLI. In addition, the UFLI team is active in their support of the UFLI Facebook Group.
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In this episode, we visit with a career English Language Arts teacher, Curriculum Consultant and Professional Learning Facilitator, Tannis Niziol. Throughout Tannis' 30-year career as an educator in Edmonton and Winnipeg, Tannis has remained passionate about teaching and learning and the need for explicit literacy apprenticeship at all grade levels in all subject areas.
Tannis is a voracious reader who believes students deserve access to rich, diverse reading experiences and to a safe, equitable space to talk about what they see, hear, think and feel. She is on a journey to disrupt and bring clarity to the conversations that drive our planning and assessment in the English Language Arts classroom.
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We are excited to meet with Kari Tanaka from the University of Lethbridge bookstore in this episode. Leveraging her years as a bookseller and dedicated book/author supporter, Kari offers many suggestions for teachers (and readers) to add to their book collections. She also shares some tips on doing a book talk that gets readers interested in the text. Kari’s excitement for great books is truly contagious, and we cannot be held responsible for the number of books you decide to buy after listening to this episode.
Episode Author/Book Highlights
Wildoak by C.C. Harrington
One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
Delicious Monsters by Liselle Sambury
Change the Game by Colin Kaepernick
Dreamer by Akim Aliu
Sadie by Courtney Summers
Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt
The Lost Year: A Survival Story of the Ukrainian Famine by Catherine Marsh
Alan Gratz
My Suitcase: Nii Sookayis by Christina Fox
I am Quiet - A Story for the Introvert in All of Us by Andie Powers
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