Previous Conferences
Previous Conferences
Utilizing In-class Resources and Supports to Increase Student Learning with Prof. Garth German
We will discuss and outline how the classroom teacher can best involve all educators present in a classroom. We will look at strategies to and benefits of increased student engagement, and how to establish consistent student learning supports.
Garth German is a lifelong educator, having taught and been a principal in the public school system for over 30 years and now serving as a professor at th eUniversity of Winnipeg for the past 11 years.
“I love being invited to work with people. The presentation style that I find works the best is to have active involvement of the workshop participants but through the pandemic times, we have had to adapt to using the Zoom format to share learning times with other educators. In over 30 years of working in schools, I have been exposed to a wide variety of experiences and it is these experiences that have provided me with a wide breadth of information to call upon to add humour, points for reflection or personal anecdotes whenever I deliver or facilitate workshops.” - Garth German
Being Made and Made-Over: Critical Pedagogy& Settler-Colonial Schooling with Dr. Marc Kuly
This presentation presents classroom stories as seen through the lenses of Critical Pedagogy and Settler-Colonial critique. It asks teachers to question how their sense of normal was constructed and how what counts as normal might be re-made in the light of the stunning social inequities that surround our schools.
Marc Kuly, B.A., B.Ed., M.Ed., PhD is an Assistant Professor and the Coordinator of Service Learning in the Faculty of Education at the University of Winnipeg. Before entering academic life, Marc was an inner-city teacher and mentor with the Winnipeg School Division and a consultant with The Manitoba School Improvement Program. Marc's classroom work sparked a commitment to elicit, hear, and amplify the voices of the students he failed to reach and teach. His Master's research focused on storytelling as a cross-cultural teaching approach and his Doctoral research explored the stories Indigenous young adults tell about their time in school. Marc's work as a teacher and academic has received awards from the Manitoba Foundation for the Arts, The Winnipeg YM/YWCA, and the Mauro Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies, and the American Educational Research Association.
October 23, 2020
Helping Students with their Anxieties and Maintaining Healthy Behaviours with Students
Morning Patti Drobot, B.Sc., O.T.
* There is currently an epidemic of anxiety affecting children of all ages. Anxiety can take many forms in including obsessions, compulsions, phobias, panic, sleep issues, physical illnesses, as well as a host of perplexing behaviours such as seeking attention and avoiding situations. Today's world can create many challenges for children with school pressures, peer interactions, family dynamics, negative self-image, perfectionism, and many other stressors that can impede a student's ability to play, learn, and grow. Whether is the natural, episodic worries of childhood, or more profound and crippling versions of anxiety, we will make sense of the roots of anxiety using Dr. Gordon Neufeld's approach. Through stories, examples, and theory, we will suggest ways in which educators can help support their students to find psychological and emotional rest in their world.
Afternoon Colleen Drobot, B. Ed., Dip of Special Ed., M. A., Registered Professional Counsellor
* According to Dr. Gordon Neufeld, many of the prevailing discipline practices that are used today precent or erode healthy attachment with our children. We will outline some principles of discipline that promote attachment and are developmentally appropriate. We can indeed help bring order to our student's behaviour without damaging the relationship. We will give practical suggestions and examples to show how to incorporate them into our daily lives in the classroom.
Thursday, February 20 and Friday, February 21, 2020
9:00 am to 3:30 am (Registration opens at 8:00 am)
This year's topics will be:
Thursday: Dr. Wendy Weber (Fuchs)
Dr. Weber’s research interests include multi-tier systems of support (MTSS), stress reduction strategies for students, and improving teacher effectiveness through explicit and inclusive instructional practices.
Friday: Dr. Michael Ungar
I Still Love You: Nine Things Kids Need from their Parents, Caregivers, and Schools to Build Resilience
How can we show children we love them even when they push us away? How do we make children more resilient when they are angry, self-harming, anxious, abusive or delinquent? In this story-filled presentation, Dr. Michael Ungar provides nine practical strategies parents, caregivers and educators need to help young people of all ages heal, no matter a child’s emotional, psychological or behavioral problems. Based on material from his new book, I Still Love You, his clinical practice and his research around the world, Michael will share what families and schools have taught him about the power of unconditional love. Be prepared for an inspiring presentation. Michael’s words will help you understand the importance of the everyday heroics that change children’s lives, even when children’s parents, caregivers and educators are frustrated and unsure what to do next.
Michael Ungar, PhD. Presentation notes
Nine Things Children Need from Their Parents, Caregivers, and Schools to Build Resilience
Note: A lunch is provided for all delegates during the lunch break (11:45 to 12:45).
If you have special dietary needs, they must be indicated on the registration form
Highlights:
Online registration through Eventbrite
Publishers’ Display – Please visit the displays during your coffee & lunch breaks at the Conference.
“Yes I Can!” Awards – Celebrating Exceptional Children. 7:00 pm, Thursday, February 20th, 2020
Art & Basket Raffles – Proceeds go towards assisting International “Yes I Can!” winners to attend the International Awards Ceremony
MCEC Annual General Meeting – Friday, February 21st, 2020 at 12:00 pm
Don’t forget to visit the Membership Table for a chance to win a Free CEC Membership!
VENUE:
VICTORIA INN HOTEL AND CONVENTION CENTRE
1808 Wellington Ave., Wpg. 1-877-842-4667
Special room rate for conference delegates (134.00 / night + taxes) Quote MCEC group registration # 144764
For further information about the conference please via: http://community.cec.sped.org/mcec/home
Manitoba Council for Exceptional Children PO Box 43035, 74-1555 Regent Ave. Winnipeg, Manitoba R2C 4J2 Find us on Facebook @ www.facebook.com/manitobacec and Twitter @ twitter.com/ManitobaCEC
Presentation slides for Elli Weisbaum can be found at: Elli Weisbaum Presentation Slides
MCEC Provincial Conference 2019
Thursday, February 28 & Friday, March 1, 2019
Victoria Inn Hotel
Winnipeg, MB
Session Descriptions
Thursday February 28th : Shelley Moore
Inclusive Education: Who, What, Where, When, Why?!
This session will deconstruct what inclusive education means in today’s classrooms and communities. We will also discuss common misunderstandings and myths and leave with ideas and possibilities of inclusive leaning communities and all who benefit.
Friday March 1st : Elli Wiesbaum
“Integrating Mindfulness into Education”
This workshop will examine why mindfulness has become an increasingly accepted and popular resource within both Education and Healthcare settings. We will explore mindfulness through the lens of neuroscience and hands-on activities to create a foundational understanding of how to effectively apply mindfulness within school settings, with students, colleagues and your own life in order to reduce stress, anxiety and burnout and increase resiliency, self-regulation focus and wellbeing.
The workshop will offer participants the opportunity to experience hands on mindfulness based practices and create a toolbox of practical mindfulness activities that can be brought directly into your classroom or workplace setting. These practices and activities are relevant for students K-12, and for anyone working in a learning or social work setting with youth. The mindfulness practices shared in this workshop will be primarily based on the teachings of international scholar, Nobel Peace Prize nominee and Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh.
Learning goals
- Understand the connection between neuroscience and mindfulness-based interventions
- Become familiar with neuroscience perspectives on learning and focus
- Explore the connection between mindfulness practice, resiliency and self-regulation
- Identify practices to combat workplace burn-out and stress
- Develop and experience foundational mindfulness tools that can be applied in education/ classroom settings
Presenter Biographies
Shelley Moore:
Originally from Edmonton, and now based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Shelley Moore is a highly sought after teacher, researcher, speaker and storyteller and has worked with school districts and community organizations throughout both Canada and the United States. Her research and work has been featured at national and international conferences and are constructed based on theory and effective practices of inclusion, special education, curriculum and teacher professional development. Her first book entitled, “One Without the Other” was released in July 2016 to follow up her TEDx talk hosted in Langley in January 2016. Shelley completed an undergraduate degree in Special Education at the University of Alberta, her masters at Simon Fraser University, and is currently a SSHRC funded PhD candidate at the University of British Columbia.
Elli Weisbaum:
Elli Weisbaum is an instructor for the Applied Mindfulness and Meditation Certificate Program at the University of Toronto in the continuing Education Faculty. She holds a Masters degree focused on bringing mindfulness into education. In the fall of 2016, she began a PhD through the Institute of Medical Science at the University of Toronto, with a focus on integrating mindfulness into healthcare settings to support the well-being of physicians and the communities that they serve. She spent a year as the international program coordinator for Wake Up Schools, a global initiative to cultivate mindfulness in education, established by Nobel Peace Prize nominee, scholar and Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. Her ongoing work with Plum Village focuses on a holistic approach to education, working simultaneously with teachers, students, parents and administrators to build sustainable inclusive communities. Elli’s novel background in both research and traditional mindfulness practice provides a unique approach to her ongoing work in the fields of healthcare and education.
Education: PhD University of Toronto, PhD Candidate, Institute of Medical Sciences, 2016 – ongoing MES York University, Masters in Environmental Studies, “Integrating mindfulness into education", 2014BFA York University, Bachelor of Fine Arts, Honours Degree in Film Production, 2009
Training & Certification: Teacher Training, Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute (mindfulness, emotional intelligence and neuroscience program developed at Google Headquarters), 2018 Mindful Educator Certificate Training, Mindfulness Without Boarders, 2014 "14 Mindfulness Trainings" received from Thich Nhat Hanh, with the formal distinction of the “Order of Interbeing”, Plum Village International, 2014
Thursday, February 22 and Friday, February 23, 2018 9:00 am to 3:30 am (Registration opens at 8:00 am)
THE KEYNOTE SPEAKERS FOR THIS YEAR ARE …
- Dwaine Souveney(M.Sc.)
- Dr. Stuart Shanker (D.Phil.)
- Paula Jurczak (M.A. RCC)
Thursday:
Morning Session (9:00 am to 11:45 am) & Afternoon Session (1:00 pm to 3:30 pm):
“From Helplessness and/or Anxiety to Optimism and Resiliency” - Dwaine Souveny
Friday:
Morning Session (9:00 am to 11:45 am) & Afternoon Session (1:00 pm to 3:30 pm):
“Self-Regulation and Mental Health” - Dr. Stuart Shanker (via Skype) and Paula Jurczak
The Professional Certification Unit for Manitoba Education has approved these sessions for accreditation for the Special Education Teacher’s Certificate, the Counsellor’s Certificate or the Level 1/ Level 2 Administrator’s Certificate requirements. Participants must attend all sessions during the conference, and hold a valid Manitoba Permanent Professional Certificate in order to be eligible to receive credit, to a maximum of 10 contact hours, for this conference. Request for credit must be noted on the registration form.
Note: A vegetarian lunch is provided for all delegates during the lunch break (11:45 to 12:45).
If you have special dietary needs, they must be indicated on the registration form.
Highlights:
Online registration through Eventbrite. Publishers’ Display – Please visit the displays during your coffee & lunch breaks at the Conference. “Yes I Can!” Awards – Celebrating Exceptional Children. 7:00 pm, Thursday, February 22, 2018 Art & Basket Raffles – Proceeds go towards assisting International “Yes I Can!” winners to attend the International Awards Ceremony MCEC Annual General Meeting – Friday, February 23, 2018 at 12:00 pm Don’t forget to visit the Membership Table for a chance to win a Free CEC Membership!
VENUE:
VICTORIA INN HOTEL AND CONVENTION CENTRE
1808 Wellington Ave., Wpg. 1-877-842-4667
Special room rate for conference delegates ($139.00 / night + taxes) Quote MCEC group registration #767381
For further information about the conference, please contact the registrar at mcecregistrar@gmail.com
Manitoba Council for Exceptional Children PO Box 43035, 74-1555 Regent Ave. Winnipeg, Manitoba R2C 4J2
Find us on Facebook @ www.facebook.com/manitobacec and Twitter @ twitter.com/ManitobaCEC