3rd Annual Rural Schools Conference
Presentation Archives

The Rural Strategy Committee is pleased to present the video archives of our third annual conference, Rural Communities Working Together to Enhance Student Learning, held in Vancouver October 22 – 24, 2008.

This year’s conference continued to examine the significant opportunities and challenges facing rural educators and communities, with keynote speakers Calvin Helin and Russell Bishop bringing special attention to approaches to support success for aboriginal students.  In addition, plenary speakers Leyton Schnellert and Faye Brownlie continued their conversations about teaching and learning in diverse elementary and secondary classrooms.

Take note: the 2009 Rural Schools Conference will be held in Vancouver October 22 – 23.  

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Archived Presentations
Opening Address: Deputy Minister of Education James Gorman
Keynote: Calvin Helin - Surfing the Demographic Tsunami: Indigenous Education in the 21st Century
In his presentation, Calvin Helin explores big ideas and questions: Why is aboriginal education the $71-billion question? What does self-reliance have to do with education? Are we hardwired to work? What can we do to impact positive education change in aboriginal Canada?
Secondary Plenary: Leyton Schnellert, Teacher Consultant - Success for All: Working Together to Support Students with Special Needs
Leyton looks at ways to engage all learners, from designing instruction that responds to diversity, to developing learning-centred classrooms where all students engage in deep content learning that builds thinking strategies and skills.
Elementary Plenary: Leyton Schnellert, Teacher Consultant - Teaching and Learning in Diverse and Multi-Grade Classrooms
Leyton's presentation explores ways we can all work together to respond to diversity. The presentation looks at designing instruction and developing learning-centred classrooms that build enduring understandings, thinking strategies and skills.
Opening Address: Minister of Education Shirley Bond
Keynote: Russell Bishop - Te Kotahitanga: A Model for Educational Reform
In his presentation, Russell Bishop explores a model for educational reform designed in New Zealand to improve educational outcomes for Maori students. Russell looks at how indigenous ways of learning contribute to sustainable education reform in public schools, and what effective teaching for indigenous and minoritized students looks like.
Elementary Plenary: Faye Brownlie, Staff Development Consultant - The Learning Agenda: Practices and Possibilities in Rural Classrooms and Schools
Faye's presentation looks at these key questions: How do we keep student engagement at the heart of our classrooms, and how does a teacher's strategic repertoire address diversity in classrooms? Other ideas and questions examined include using assessment for learning strategies to support all learners, and what supports are available for teachers.
Secondary Plenary: Faye Brownlie, Staff Development Consultant - The Learning Agenda: Practices and Possibilities in Rural Classrooms and Schools
Ideas and questions explored in Faye's presentation include: How do we use assessment for learning strategies to support all learners? How does a teacher's strategic repertoire address diversity in classrooms? And, how do we keep student engagement at the heart of our classrooms?
Conference Close: Russell Bishop pulls the themes and content together.