All Available Non-Credit Workshops


Below is a complete listing of all workshops presented by the Department of Professional Development in Education. Please note that NOT ALL of the workshops listed below are currently being offered. To view a list of the workshops currently being offered go to the current non-credit workshop schedule.  If you and/or a group of people wish to take a course listed here that is not currently offered in the schedule, view the workshop request option.

 

Integrating Drama Into the Curriculum

Grammar That Grabs

Teaching Kindergarten

Multiple Intelligences  

National Coaching Certification Program - Part A

Tribes

Project E.C.O Learning

Fun With Fractions J/I & I/S Divisions

Spelling

Math Skills Development P/J

Songwriting in the P/J Classroom

Integrating Music Into the Curriculum

E-Teacher

Communicating Effectively

Using Global Positioning Systems (GPS) to Create Adventure in the Ontario School Curriculum

How to Use Powerpoint in Your Classroom

Photoshop for Photography

National Coaching Certification Program - Part B

Sports First Aid

Singing Games and Dances in the P/J Classroom

Productive Thinking Skills

Media Literacy

Learn to Use MarkBook for the I/S Division

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) and the Classroom Teacher

Process Writing

Math for Teaching J/I Part 1

Math for Teaching J/I Part 2

SmartBoard in the Classroom Part 1

SmartBoard in the Classroom Part 2

FSL - Introduction to the Accelerated Integrated Method (AIM)

Math Games for P/J

Coaching in Ontario Schools

Standard First Aid

P/J Oral Language Games "Make and Take"

Using Restorative Circles in the Classroom

Kindergarten: Benefits of Play

Creating Classroom Community

safeTALK: Suicide Alertness For Everyone 

 iPad in the Classroom

 iPad: Hands-On Lesson Planning

Coaching - Managing Conflict

Coaching and Leading Effectively


EDUC 7010: Integrating Drama Into the Curriculum

This workshop will provide participants with exciting and practical activities that can be used across the curriculum in areas such as Mathematics, Social Studies and Language.  The activities provided are highly motivational, and are appropriate for students of all abilities in the Primary, Junior and Intermediate levels.

By attending this workshop you can add the following to your collection of teaching materials:

  • Drama Games and Exercises
  • Trust Exercises
  • Concentration Exercises
  • Mime activities
  • Tableaux activities
  • Role-Playing Exercises
  • Improvisation Activities
  • Vociferous Punctuation
  • Jazz Chants
  • Readers Theatre

EDUC 7011: Grammar That Grabs
 
This workshop will present some theory (definitions and rules), skill practice, ideas and resources for teaching grammar skills in various skill areas.  Skill areas covered in this workshop include:
  • parts of speech
  • sentence structure
  • punctuation
  • language use and misuse
  • editing

Additionally, curriculum links, mini-lessons and other resources will be presented to help generate practical instructional approaches for teaching grammar.


EDUC 7012: Teaching Kindergarten

 

This workshop will explore the qualities of children who are three (3), four (4) and five (5) years old.  These qualities will help show what activities these age groups will enjoy and how to choose age and developmentally appropriate activities.  These activities will take into account the importance of play, and stages of play.

We will also discuss how to create a stimulating environment, how to assess kindergarten learning, and how to communicate progress with parents.  This workshop is a great opportunity to expand your library of activities for kindergarten aged children.


EDUC 7013: Multiple Intelligences

 
Learn about Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences and explore your own intelligences.  You will see how some traditional tests and assignments don't adequately measure ability and what the implications of this are on teaching and preparing lesson plans.

Time will be spent discussing the nine (9) multiple intelligences to develop, and plan lessons and activities which incorporate the multiple intelligences into the classroom.  The nine (9) multiple intelligences of this theory are: Linguistic, Logical/Mathematical, Spatial, Bodily/Kinesthetic, Musical, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, Ecology/Environmental, and Spiritual/Transpersonal.


EDUC 7014: National Coaching Certification Program, Introduction to Competition-Part A

 
Part A offers all recreational coaches and interested people a chance to improve their coaching skills.  Credit for this program is based on passing a workbook exam.  Topics covered include:
  • Ethical Coaching:

    Analyze a situation that has moral implications.  Determine whether the situation has legal or ethical implications.  Identify the ethical issues in the situation.  Apply the NCCP ethical decision-making framework to respond to an ethical situation adapted to the context, and produce a response that is consistent with the NCCP Code of Ethics.

  • Planning a Practice:

    Organize activities within a practice plan that is well structured, adapted to the participants' age, and reflects safety considerations.  Distribute activities appropriately in the various parts of the practice.  Identify potential risk factors for the sport and the activities.  Design an emergency action plan.  Identify suitable practice goals.  Design activities that have appropriate characteristics for the sport, the age group, and the proficiency level of participants.  Design activities in such a way as to obtain certain training effects on the athletic abilities required in the sport.

  • Nutrition:

    Assess whether foods and beverages consumed by athletes before, during and after training or competition are adequate, and offer suggestions pertaining to suitable alternatives where necessary.  Design strategies to influence parents and athletes in order to promote food choices that are consistent with basic sport nutrition principles.


EDUC 7020: Tribes

 
Thousands of schools throughout the United States and Canada have become Tribes Learning Communities, safe and caring environments in which kids can do well!

Tribes is a cooperative learning and teaching approach to instruction and classroom management which has application to all divisions.  This is a twenty-four (24) hour, interactive, hands-on practical workshop that spans multiple days.

Students achieve because they:

  • feel included and appreciated by peers and teachers
  • are respected for their different abilities, cultures, gender, interests and dreams
  • are actively involved in their own learning
  • gain positive expectations from others that they will succeed


EDUC 7022: Project E.C.O. Learning

 

The acronym "E.C.O." in Project E.C.O. Learning stands for "Ecological literacy, sense of Community and Obligation to life on earth".

Knowing about how we can all contribute to the future health of the earth and all the life it contains is the first imperative for the 21st Century.  This introductory workshop will help everyone to better understand how the natural world works and how we can live responsibly within it.

This workshop is interactive (not lecture-based), experiential (hands-on: in one activity, you will get wet, rain coats advised), thought-provoking, set in the outdoors (rain, snow or shine), fun and dynamic.  The position of experiential learning is that people learn best when they are actively involved using as many senses as possible.  In Project E.C.O. Learning, complex systems such as water usage are best understood by interacting with models that simulate this complexity in easy to understand ways.  This workshop explores the global implications of these complex systems as well as their impact on individual lifestyles.

Topics covered include:

  • Ecological Education: What is it?
  • Water Usage (patent pending): How does it work, what can we do about it?
  • Ecological Interconnectedness: How does it work, what can we do about it?
  • Aquifers (patent pending): How do they work, what is the significance for me?
  • Applications to the classroom


EDUC 7031: Fun with Fractions J/I & I/S Divisions

 
This workshop will provide teacher candidates the opportunity to increase their own understanding of fractions through hands-on experience and activities that can be used in their future school classroom

EDUC 7032: Spelling

 
Not all spelling and vocabulary enrichment programs are synonymous with teaching young writers to spell and use words effectively.  Discover hands-on, practical and effective strategies for teaching spelling and vocabulary in your own language arts classroom.  Explore instruction designed to ensure acquisition and retention of words by teaching in the context of reading and writing.

This workshop will:

  • consider the stages of spelling development
  • share deliberate and fun strategies and activities that promote automaticity, accuracy, and vocabulary expansion
  • explore the curriculum expectations
  • offer tips for assessment and reporting


EDUC 7033: Math Skills Development (P/J)

 
This workshop has been created for Primary/Junior Division Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) students who are either concerned about their mathematical competency and/or wish to strengthen their mathematical understanding.

This twenty (20) hour non-credit workshop is taught following the principles of reform math, consistent with the 2005 revised Ontario curriculum. Emphasis is placed on teaching for understanding rather than on rote application of rules. It will provide opportunities to increase your understanding of math concepts through hands-on activities, discussion, and problem solving. Basic mathematical concepts at grade levels four (4) through seven (7) will be addressed; however, you will not be taught algorithms in order to memorize and apply them.


EDUC 7035: Songwriting in the Primary/Junior Classroom

 
Learn how to meet Music curriculum expectations creatively by engaging in an afternoon of songwriting.  During this workshop you will write simple and fun songs for Primary and Junior-aged children.
 


EDUC 7036: Integrating Music into the Curriculum

 
Music can be an effective tool for teaching numeration, pulleys and gears, medieval studies, language arts and more.  Through musical activities, this workshop will show how students can achieve the key objectives in Ontario's Primary/Junior curriculum while having fun!
 

EDUC 7037: E-Teacher

 
The E-Teacher computer program is an integrated system for teachers that include modules for outcome-based curriculum planning, assessment and reporting.  Learn how to use the elements of E-teacher that allow you to:
  • import units
  • set expectations
  • enter a new class
  • add students
  • enter grades
  • develop report card comments
  • create report cards

Practical exercises in this workshop will take you through all of the necessary steps to create a report card for a hypothetical student.  The Ontario curriculum expectations and provincial elementary report cards are central to the E-Teacher program and this workshop.


EDUC 7038: Communicating Effectively

 

Effective Communication in the teaching profession is multi-faceted and integral to success. Poor communication often results in misunderstandings, student unrest and parent complaints.

This workshop will explore the many ways that teachers communicate with their students, colleagues, the school administration, the community and with parents. Participants will learn how to project a positive image to their school community, send clear and effective messages to their students, and maintain open and positive communication with parents and colleagues (even those who are difficult).


EDUC 7039: Using Global Positioning Systems (GPS) to Create Adventure in the Ontario School Curriculum

 

This is an outdoor, hands-on workshop that will introduce the Global Positioning System (GPS) and provide the basics of setting up and maintaining a hand-held GPS unit.  Participants will learn about the main menu components of a GPS unit, compass navigation, satellites, topographic maps and using the trip computer.

Practice with the units will include use of topographic maps, waypoints, routing, elevations and more!  There will be a number of activities provided to ensure you get practical experience with and gain ideas for using the GPS unit in various curriculum activities.


EDUC 7040: How to Use PowerPoint in Your Classroom

 

Learn the basic and intermediate tools of PowerPoint to enhance and create diverse learning opportunities for students at all levels.  Some areas covered in this workshop include:

  • how to create a presentation from a blank presentation as well as from a template
  • how to incorporate sound, video, graphics, text and the World Wide Web into a presentation

There are many benefits to learning PowerPoint and using it as a teaching tool. This workshop will show how PowerPoint can be used in the classroom with instructional applications.

Please note that participants should be comfortable with the Windows operating system.  New users of the university computers need to ensure their computer login works and that they have printing credits prior to attending this workshop.

 

 

EDUC 7045: Photoshop for Photography

 
This twenty-hour course is designed for the photo enthusiast who wants to get the most out of their digital camera files using Photoshop software. Beginning with the moment the image is captured, you will learn the techniques the pros use to produce a photograph worthy of framing. Whether you like photographing landscapes or taking photos of family and friends, this course will give you the tools to produce vibrant images that will captivate the viewer.

 


EDUC 7049: National Coaching Certification Program, Introduction to Competition-Part B

 

Part B offers all recreational coaches and interested people a chance to improve their coaching skills.  Credit for this program is based on passing a workbook exam.  Topics covered include:

  • Designing a Basic Sport Program:

    Outline the structure of the sport program using training and competition events.  Compare the major orientations of the coach's own program to those proposed by the NCCP in terms of athlete long-term development.  Assess the athlete development opportunities offered through the program and identify possible options to address identified weaknesses.  Interpret information contained in a sample program designed for a family of sports, and identify training priorities and objectives at certain periods.  Establish a link between a program's training priorities and objectives and the content of practice sessions on a weekly and daily basis.

  • Teaching and Learning:

    Assess your own beliefs regarding effective teaching.  Analyze certain coaching situations to determine whether or not they promote learning.  Create conditions that promote learning and self-esteem.  Use teaching assessment grids to gather objective information on teaching effectiveness.  Interpret this data to develop an action plan to enhance teaching effectiveness.

  • Teaching Basic Mental Health Skills:
    Recognize certain signs showing that an athlete may need to improve his/her skills in areas such as goal setting, focus and anxiety control.  Develop an action plan that will enable the athlete to improve in these areas.  Run simple guided activities that will enable the athlete to improve these basic mental skills.


EDUC 7063: Sport First Aid

 
This two (2) day Sport First Aid certification workshop is excellent for anyone who needs to be certified in Standard First Aid and CPR and who would like sports injury prevention and care to be the focus of the workshop.

The scenarios that will be dealt with for the sport-specific first aid will cover:

  • Planning for sport safety
  • Preventing injury through proper training
  • Preparing to help injured athletes
  • Your safety plan
  • Head and spinal injuries
  • Injuries to soft tissue and bone

Other topics to be cover will include:

  • Sport perspective roles in EMS
  • Heat and cold injuries in sport
  • Concussions
  • Exercise induced asthma

This workshop includes the Sport First Aid manual and the Red Cross Vital Link manual.  Upon successful completion of the workshop, each participant will receive the Red Cross Sport First Aid Certificate with level C CPR that is valid for three (3) years and a Sport First Aid fanny pack.


EDUC 7064: Singing Games and Dances for the Primary/Junior Classroom
 
This workshop is great for parents, teachers and caregivers alike.  Participants will experience the joy of dramatic play and make believe that can be used to enhance the development of many social skills and cognitive thinking skills in young people.

Learn new games and dances that will appeal to children of all ages while learning how to provide rhythmic movement and creative play opportunities for children to enjoy music.


EDUC 7065: Productive Thinking Skills
 
Learn how to plan and present lessons more efficiently by teaching your students how to think critically and creatively so that they are more productive in the classroom.

These strategies will help students to learn more (since they will spend more "time on task"), remember more (since they are doing the thinking and the work) and generally have more fun.  It should also help cut down your planning time!
EDUC 7072: Media Literacy
 
This workshop will introduce educators to various interactive and drama exercises to develop media communication skills.  The goal of this workshop is, firstly, to give students tools to deconstruct and analyze media, and to develop an awareness of the creative components of media.  This includes the following three (3) main areas of media:
  1. creative techniques
  2. how media is constructed
  3. the message

Once students have a thorough understanding of the various components that come together to create media, they themselves are in a position to advance their own media communication skills.


EDUC 7073: Learn to Use MarkBook for the Intermediate/Senior Division

 
Learn to calculate the mode and most consistent level of achievement using this effective marks management tool.  Learn how to create new class list, mark sets, subtask marks, comment building and e-mailing reports to create report cards.

Markbook is a teacher tool designed to calculate and analyze grades and attendance, build report card comments, print reports and generally save teachers a lot of time.  According to its creators it facilitates communication about achievement, promotes improvement in student learning and gives its users a terrific professional image.  The potential for hyperbole aside, there can be little doubt that Markbook is a popular class management tool and that learning how to use it will be of value to you in your work as a teacher.


EDUC 7076: Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) and the Classroom Teacher


Prenatal exposure to alcohol is the leading cause of preventable birth defects and developmental delays in Canadian children.  Individuals born with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) face a wide range of learning and social challenges.  FASD is considered a "hidden disability" which may go undetected until the demands of the school setting reveal difficulties.

The classroom teacher could be the first to identify that a student has a learning disability.  It is extremely important that teachers are aware of FASD and its implications in the classroom.  Primary and Junior level teachers will find this workshop information most helpful.  Through the use of lecture, video, and interactive activities participants will learn about indicators of FASD, ways of interpreting specific behaviours, strategies to help children with FASD succeed in the classroom, the teacher's role, and working with parents.


EDUC 7079: Process Writing

 
This workshop will address various strategies in teaching effective writing skills for a variety of specific purposes to junior/intermediate/senior students. You may, incidentally, become a better writer yourself.

 


EDUC 7081: Math for Teaching (J/I) - Part 1

 
This workshop has been created for Junior/Intermediate Division Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) students who are either concerned about their mathematical competency and/or wish to strengthen their mathematical understanding.

This ten (10) hour non-credit workshop is taught following the principles of reform math, consistent with the 2005 revised Ontario curriculum. Emphasis is placed on teaching for understanding rather than on rote application of rules. It will provide opportunities to increase your depth of understanding of math concepts through hands-on activities, discussion, problem solving, modeling, connecting models to procedures, and justifying methods. The strands emphasized in this workshop will be Number and Operations (particularly fractions) and Measurement.


EDUC 7082: Math for Teaching (J/I) - Part 2

 
This workshop has been created for Junior/Intermediate Division Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) students who are either concerned about their mathematical competency and/or wish to strengthen their mathematical understanding.

This ten (10) hour non-credit workshop is taught following the principles of reform math, consistent with the 2006 revised Ontario curriculum. Emphasis is placed on teaching for understanding rather than on rote application of rules. It will provide opportunities to increase your depth of understanding of math concepts through hands-on activities, discussion, problem solving, modeling, connecting models to procedures, and justifying methods. The strands emphasized in this workshop will be Patterning and Algebra, and Geometry and Spatial Sense.


EDUC 7084: Smartboard in the Classroom - Part 1

 
This workshop will focus on the technical side of smart boards, demonstrations will include the boards capabilities, and functions, as well some basic troubleshooting. The SMART notebook software will be demonstrated as well as the board's integration into other software such as the Microsoft Office Suite. Participants will have an opportunity for some hands on training and a  chance to use the board. The focus of the workshop will be more technical then pedagogical, aiming to give the participants a good understanding of how to use the board.


EDUC 7085: Smartboard in the Classroom - Part 2

 
This is an interactive Smartboard workshop where participants will have the opportunity to use software first hand that they have learned about in Smartboard Part 1. Participants will leave the workshop with a lesson that they have designed, created and demonstrated to their classmates. Participants are asked to bring a resource or lesson that they would like to make into an interactive smartboard lesson. They will also have the opportunity to explore pre-made lessons.


EDUC 7086: FSL - Introduction to the Accelerated Integrative Method (AIM)

 
AIM teaches the language with gestures, literature, music and dance. Children learn how to speak and communicate first, and then reading and writing follow.  

This workshop will provide an overview of the Accelerated Integrated Method (AIM) for university students contemplating a career in teaching French. It will include:  
   - Origin and pedagogy of the method 
   - Overview of stories and unit progression  
   - Videos of students and teachers during lessons  
   - Samples of student work and assessment 


EDUC 7087 Math Games For P/J


What's the Big Idea?

Math games for Developing the Big Ideas in Number Sense and Numeration.

This interactive workshop promotes the use of math games for a variety of purposes: focused observation and formative assessment of student reasoning, scaffolding and challenging students' reasoning, promoting positive social interaction, promoting clear explanations of student reasoning and strategies, differentiated instruction, and practice for automaticity.

The workshop will include video clips of games in action in classrooms, hand-on experience with introducing, playing and modifying games.

Participants will be given the material and instructions required to use the games back in their classrooms.

A great workshop for teachers and parents too!


EDUC 7089 Coaching in Ontario Schools


Developed by OFSAA to give teacher-coaches and community volunteers the special skill-set they need to coach effectively in the school environment. This workshop will assist in the development of core competencies that will increase the participant's effectiveness as a coach of school sport and help them have a meaningful impact on students-athletes .


EDUC 7093 Standard First Aid

This two (2) day Standard First Aid certification workshop is excellent for anyone who needs to be certified in Standard First Aid with CPR Level C + AED. The certificate is valid for 3 years and meets with WSIB requirements for companies with 6+ employees. 


EDUC 7094 P/J Oral Language Games "Make and Take"

Oral language is crucial to a child's literacy development, including listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills.

This interactive and hands-on workshop will provide teacher candidates with their own hand-made "Primary Oral Language Kit" full of exciting activities and ideas to use in the classroom. This kit is sure to get your students talking! 

Get ready to be creative and get to work! 


EDUC 7095 Using Restorative Circles in the Classroom

As schools face increasing behavior problems, interest in restorative practices in general and in circles specifically has grown.  Restorative practices help deal with misbehavior as well as serious problems including bullying and violence.  Traditional punitive discipline does not achieve positive changes in student behavior and fails to address the breakdown of basic decorum. 


EDUC 7096 Kindergarten: Benefits of Play

Kindergarten has had a makeover the past few years and the education system is seeing major shifts in instructional practices, the learning environment, as well as assessment of young children.

 

This exciting workshop will introduce the Full Day Kindergarten Program, play/inquiry based learning, as well as how to make this learning visible to parents, administrators and the children.

 

Children have an innate curiosity and sense of wonder of the world around them. Let us learn how to reveal all of the amazing things our youngest learners know!

 

At the end of this workshop, participants will have an understanding of what a successful play-based (Inquiry) Kindergarten program looks like and how to prepare for one.


EDUC 7097 Creating Classroom Community


Creating Classroom Community & teambuilding can make all the difference in the world!


This workshop will discuss tried and true strategies that you can use in the classroom.


Participants will have the chance to step into their students' shoes and try out some fun, hands-on games and activities.


Be sure to wear comfortable clothes, as this is a very dynamic and interactive workshop!


EDUC 7098 safeTALK: Suicide Alertness For Everyone

safeTALK is a program developed by LivingWorks to train and certify suicide alert helpers.  As a preservice teacher, you will be trained with a much needed skill set for handling crisis as well as suicide intervention with students.  

  • Learn to recognize opportunities to help a person with thoughts of suicide
  • Develop skills to provide intervention and connect with community resources which can offer more specialized help.
  • Learn and practice skills (similar to First Aid/CPR courses) to confidently and competently respond to those at risk of suicide.

The benefits of this workshop are substantial and long lasting.  There are employment opportunities all over Canada and abroad.  It is a great addition to your resume as employers look for candidates who bring with them a diverse skill set and a passion for meeting the needs of their students.

Please visit Livingworks at http://www.livingworks.net for more information.



EDUC 7110 iPad in the Classroom

 

This one day interactive workshop will provide teacher candidates an overview of how iPads are used in education. 

Participants will be shown how to find, and use educational content on the iPad and will have the opportunity to create their own content using available iPad apps such as iWork, and iMovie. 

  • Reflect on our understanding of how iPads can be integrated into the classroom.
  • Experiment with iPad applications and the iPad operating system
  • Share knowledge through class discussion and presentation of educational content found on the iPad.
  • Create a digital lesson plan that can be used in the classroom


EDUC 7111 iPad: Hands-On Lesson Planning


This interactive workshop is designed to help teacher candidates integrate the iPad into their teaching praxis.

Participants will have the opportunity to use the iPad and create a digital lesson plan  that can be used in the classroom.

Interactive videos, live demonstrations, and hands-on activities will all be modelled using the iPad as a canvas.

  • Experiment with iPad applications and the iPad operating system
  • Share knowledge through class discussion and presentation of educational content found on the iPad.
  • Create a digital lesson plan that can be used in the classroom
dhahs

 

EDUC 7189 Coaching - Managing Conflict 

Although conflict is normal, it is not always necessary.

This workshop will teach coaches how to identify where conflict is likely to occur and how to manage the situation. Coaches will learn about the five approaches to managing conflict and when it is appropriate to use each of them.


EDUC 7289 Coaching and Leading Effectively 

Upon completion of  this workshop, coaches will be able to take leadership action that improves the conditions that support athlete performances.

In particular, coaches will be able to: make interventions that enhance learning and build and reinforce group and team cohesion and commitment, develop expectations about the behaviour and commitment needed to achieve individual and team goals. Communicate effectively and respectfully with both athletes and those supporting their performance.