Get InspirED: Recent Episodes
Get InspirED (InspirED Convention)
Can't miss professional development content based on the professional development sessions from our 2021 InspirED Convention.
Speakers: Lynn Swaner and Andy Wolfe
The Zulu word ubuntu—meaning “I am, because you are”—provides powerful inspiration for teachers and leaders as we work together to build flourishing school cultures and communities. This final keynote will consider a “whole school approach” for creating flourishing ecologies in Christian schools, where students, educators, and leaders can truly flourish together.
This episode is a session from our 2021 InspirED Convention
Speaker: Dan Fennell
Culture is shaped by core beliefs and assumptions, shared virtues and behaviours; and symbols of significance. In Christian schools, culture is founded and framed by the biblical story and a commitment to flourishing through Kingdom Education with Christ central, holding all things together. Working from the “beginnings” text of Genesis 1-2, we will link flourishing to the idea of fruitfulness, and Christian learning to cultural transformation - “New culture, yes - coup, no” – seen through the lens of biblical justice, humility and love which are the proper expression of responsive and responsible discipleship – and this with God’s new creation purpose in view. The biblical vision of the new creation future is a God illuminated world of justice, love, and humble worship in a fruitful global community of unity and peace made perfect by and offered to God, the source of true flourishing.
*this session is from our 2021 InspirED Convention
Speaker: Darren Spyskma
Not all assessment brings value to the learning process. Using a play on the multiple meanings of the word appreciate, participants will look at a number of simple approaches to assessment that help students see the classroom as a learning classroom rather than an achievement classroom. Participants will be invited to look at their own practices through the lens of appreciative assessment, how do my practices improve learning and what small changes can I make to my assessment practices to increase the learning value while decreasing the amount of stress on the student?
*This episode is a session from our 2021 InspirED Convention
In contemporary culture, flourishing is often focused on our insides and our own sense of fulfillment and happiness. The biblical message is quite different and invites us to understand flourishing in a very different way. What does it mean for a teacher to flourish in 2021?
*This episode is a recording of a session at our 2021 InspirED Convention.
Speaker: Rod Wilson
Speaker: Darren Spyksma
Teachers and school leaders will be invited to look at their patterns, schedules, and routines through the lens of Sabbath-keeping with the goal of deepening a culture of trust in God through a closer look at the role of Sabbath in the life of the school. Drawing on the works of Rowan Williams and Walter Brueggemann, participants will be invited to see how small decisions in the life of the school can lead to flourishing of staff and students through a bold act of trust in God. Sabbath-keeping is not for the faint of heart, it takes discipline and commitment, yet it is an invitation into a life of faithfulness with our Creator and Redeemer.
*This episode is from our 2021 InspirED Convention
Speaker: Ray Aldred
I propose that under the Canadian colonial enterprise, salvation for Indigenous people was defined as becoming Western and civilized. Conversion for Indigenous people meant repenting of Indigenous identity, putting it off and becoming Western, or enfranchised into Canadian society. Conversely, contextual Cree theology would reinterpret
embracing of the Creator's fulfillment of all that our traditional spirituality longed for. It is a repentance of turning to Christ by embracing a God given Indigenous identity of becoming a true human being. This reinterpretation of repentance is also sufficient for non-Indigenous as they embrace their own responsibility through repentance moving toward a reconciliation that could be described using the principles of restorative justice: telling the truth or complete disclosure, listening with heart and not just the intellect; and engaging in shared plan built upon a returning to the ongoing historical Indigenous treaty process.
*This is a recording of a session from our 2021 InspirED Convention
Speaker: Sandra Paetkau from The Total Techover
Sandra has eighteen years classroom experience and began experimenting with instructional technology in 1997, when she was responsible for rolling out a 1:1 laptop program at the Australian International School in Jakarta, Indonesia. Since then, technology has evolved significantly and so has Sandra’s enthusiasm for leveraging technology in the classroom to empower learners. She spent eight years in Saudi Arabia working with national and international schools to create sustainable technology visions and transform learning with technology. Sandra has presented at teacher conferences across the globe, universities, and two international educational technology symposiums. Sandra is pursuing her PhD in Education: Instructional Design and Technology, is the designer and director for a #FutureReady online Master of Leadership: Global Christian Education program at Prairie College, Alberta, Canada, and is the creator and founder of The Total Techover - a consultancy dedicated to helping schools leverage technology to transform learning.
*This episode is a recorded session from our 2021 InspirED Convention.
Speaker: Vanessa Neufeld
This workshop will review the A-B-C chain and Positive Behavior Support. The focus of the presentation will be on the importance of including antecedent interventions in a behavior plan. The three main categories of antecedent interventions will be discussed. Strategies such as including student preferences, increasing predictability, allowing for student choice, and adapting curriculum will be elaborated. Student specific strategies as well as universal supports (class wide strategies) will be discussed based on examples used at Vancouver Christian School.
*This episode is a session from our 2021 InspirED Convention
Speaker: Lynn Swaner
This session, geared for teachers and academic leaders, will focus on what makes for flourishing classrooms—including research insights around engaged learning, collaboration, feedback, best practice orientation, and professional development. The synergy between student and teacher learning, as well as the importance of encouraging questions, will be highlighted as we explore ways to develop a schoolwide culture of learning that contributes to flourishing for all.
This episode is a session from our 2021 InspirED Convention
Speaker: Andy Wolfe
A view toward flourishing has significant implications for how leaders shape learning in Christian schools, as well as the ways we steward our resources. This session will focus on a Christian vision for leadership in both of these domains of flourishing, with an emphasis on moving schools toward greater interdependence, abundance, and generosity that better reflects the Gospel to our schools and our communities.
This episode is from our 2021 InspirED Conference.
Speaker: Andy Wolfe
In John’s gospel, the word meno—meaning “to abide”—is used repeatedly and can exemplify the kind of enduring relationships we are called to pursue, and Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians provides insight for how we can flourish in the midst of intense challenge. School leaders will consider the importance of both relationships and well-being in building a school community characterized by shalom—defined by Nicholas Wolterstorff as a “vision of what constitutes human flourishing,” at the heart of which lies “right relationships to God, to one’s fellow human beings, to nature, and to oneself.”
This episode is a session from our 2021 InspirED Convention
Speaker: Andy Wolfe
In Jesus’s personal ‘mission statement’ in John 10:10, he declares, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” Jesus’s use of the word zoe for “life” has implications for Christian school leaders’ own sense of purpose. Through dynamic discussion and interaction, this session will unpack the concept of “life in its fullness” for leading Christian schools and developing ecologies of flourishing for all in our communities.
This episode is a session from our 2021 InspirEd Convention.
Speaker: Joy Kelly
Are you overwhelmed by the troubled kids in your classroom? In this session, we will explore the psychobiological, emotional, social, and spiritual impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) and toxic stress (TS). We will re-consider the K-12 (BC and USA-CASEL) core competency priorities through this innovative wellness lens that will encourage relationship, reduce stress, and improve life skills
This episode is from their session at the 2021 InspirED Convention.
Speaker: Dr. Rod Wilson
Sometimes we misread the Bible and assume that God spends most of this time being against sin. In reality he is against sin, because it stands in the way of His creation, and how He wants everything to flourish. What are the implications of this trajectory for student discipline?
This episode is from their session at the 2021 InspirED Convention.
Speaker: David Hunt
In the States, leadership turnover at Christian schools is on the rise, and a common theme is the mishandling of political polarization. Here in Canada, we are not immune to such tensions. In this session, we will explore how Christian school educators can cultivate an environment of humility, hospitality, and honesty in navigating the polarizing issues of today. Using a combination of empirical evidence and personal anecdotes, we will look at insights from research on Christian-school graduates, and discuss how we can learn from both the encouraging and challenging findings to form Christlike students, today, who pursue truth and justice in a way that glorifies God, honours our neighbours, and welcomes the stranger. The session will bring together a mixture of stories from a local Christian school, the mission field, years as a creative arts pastor at a large multicultural church, as well as experience in the hyper-polarized world of political campaign management. Participants will leave with a better understanding of how they can address the issues they face with students, parents, and colleagues today, as well as how they are shaping the public square of tomorrow.
Speakers: Vanessa Neufeld + Daniel Cloake
This workshop will review theories of anxiety, the prevalence of anxiety among school-age children and evidence-based approaches to managing anxiety. Preventative strategies will be discussed to promote mental well being. Presenters will share several case studies of students with anxiety-related problem behaviors that led to school refusal. The importance of a collaborative approach with the family, a systematic plan and support from professionals outside of the school will be discussed.
This episode is from their session at the 2021 InspirED Convention.
Speaker: Darryl DeBoer
Whether new or experienced in the practice of Instructional Coaching, this workshop is designed to equip school leaders with a couple foundational tools that will deepen the professional growth practice of Instructional Coaching within your school. The tools will support both the school leaders and teachers in the ongoing implementation of classroom teaching practices that aim to support the learning of their students while also creating a framework for sustainable professional growth. We do not have much time together; however, it is a start into a power professional growth practice!
Speaker: Darryl DeBoer
This session is designed to equip teachers with formative assessment techniques that deepens learning - assessment as learning and assessment for learning – and guide your next instructional choices. The workshop will center around approaches that ensure both the teacher and student have clarity as to where they currently are in context to the learning target and how to move the student learning closer towards the target. Educators will leave the workshop with practical assessment techniques that engage learners and can be implemented the next day.
Speaker: Lynn Swaner
Christian educators can find renewed encouragement, hope, and vision in the psalmist’s blessing, “May the Lord cause you to flourish, both you and your children” (Psalm 115:14). This keynote will explore flourishing in Christian school cultures and communities through the lens of five major domains of flourishing—Purpose, Relationships, Learning, Resources, and Well-Being—identified through rigorous, groundbreaking research in Christian schools in North America.