CATCA 2025: Full Schedule

9:00am MST

Building Resilience: A Research Driven Framework Enhancing Well-being in Educational Institutions

Thursday February 20, 2025 9:00am - 10:00am MST

Join us for an enlightening and engaging session on the critical intersection of resilience, prevention, and long-term positive mental health. Uncover the foundational principles of Impact Society's Heroes programs, which use experiential learning to empower youth by equipping them with resilience-building skills and social-emotional competencies. Discover how this easy to implement curriculum is pivotal in fostering lifelong mental well-being, preventing mental health issues before they arise, and creating lasting positive outcomes for young people across Canada. Learn how the Heroes programs are building a resilient future generation, and gain insights into practical strategies for integrating resilience education and social emotional learning into your own practices.

Speakers

Chris Primeau

CEO, The Impact Society

Chris Primeau is the CEO of Impact Society, leading innovative programs to enhance youth resilience and mental well-being. With extensive experience in social-emotional learning and youth development, Chris has spearheaded the HEROES® program, significantly impacting over 250,000... Read More →

Thursday February 20, 2025 9:00am - 10:00am MST
RDP Room 1303

Health and Wellness (TQS 3), Division 2 (Gr 4-6), Division 3 (Gr 7-9), Division 4 (Gr 10-12) | Counselling & Student Support (TQS/LQS 4), Division 2 (Gr 4-6), Division 3 (Gr 7-9), Division 4 (Gr 10-12) | Inclusive Education (TQS/LQS 4), Division 2 (Gr 4-6), Division 3 (Gr 7-9), Division 4 (Gr 10-12) | Educational Research (TQS/LQS 2), Division 2 (Gr 4-6), Division 3 (Gr 7-9), Division 4 (Gr 10-12)

1:00pm MST

Number Talks in the Middle School Math Classroom

Thursday February 20, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm MST

RDP Room 2305

In collaboration with three school divisions in Alberta and funded by the Research Partnerships Program of Alberta Education, Number Talks were implemented over four months in Grades 4 - 8. Our goal was to determine if the implementation of Number Talks would serve to increase the competence and confidence of students in their numeracy skills. We had approximately 30 teachers and 300 students participate in the research project. This session will present the research findings and the implications for teacher practice.

Speakers

Richelle Marynowski

Professor, University of Lethbridge

Dr. Richelle Marynowski is a Professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Lethbridge. Her background includes 14 years of teaching secondary mathematics and 13 years teaching at the University of Lethbridge. Her research foci include teacher professional growth and development... Read More →

Sandy Bakos

Assistant Professor, University of Lethbridge

Thursday February 20, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm MST
RDP Room 2305

Mathematics (TQS 3), Division 3 (Gr 7-9) | Educational Research (TQS/LQS 2), Division 3 (Gr 7-9)

2:20pm MST

Artificial Intelligence - The Creative World of Our Robot Overlords

Thursday February 20, 2025 2:20pm - 3:20pm MST

RDP Room 1503

AI has emerged as a tool that school-aged children have embraced, and consequently, has become a headache for teachers everywhere. This workshop offers an open discussion forum to teach the pros and cons of AI while laughing about how we’ll all eventually be replaced by talking toasters. Most importantly, it also provides useful tools and advice on how to use AI as a creative tool for writing projects.

Speakers

Andrew Buckley

Author/Speaker/Creator

Today, he’s a traditional and self-published novelist of rather silly, yet enjoyable speculative fiction for all ages, a comic book writer, screenwriter, podcaster, creator, and speaker. For over 20 years, he’s worked in the dreaded world of marketing as a content creator, copywriter... Read More →

Thursday February 20, 2025 2:20pm - 3:20pm MST
RDP Room 1503

Technology (TQS/LQS 2), Division 4 (Gr 10-12), Division 3 (Gr 7-9) | Language Arts (TQS 3), Division 4 (Gr 10-12), Division 3 (Gr 7-9) | Educational Research (TQS/LQS 2), Division 4 (Gr 10-12), Division 3 (Gr 7-9) | English Additional Language [EAL/ESL](TQS/LQS 4), Division 4 (Gr 10-12), Division 3 (Gr 7-9)

1:00pm MST

The Science of Language Learning for Schools and Homes

Friday February 21, 2025 1:00pm - 3:20pm MST

RDP Room AC222 (Arts Centre)

This presentation will outline how successful language learning happens throughout a child's development. The structure will be to answer the following questions by outlining the latest research and then providing examples from in-school experience.
1) What is unique about child language learning, and how is it different from animal communication, and AI-based language?
2) When does child language learning begin and what are the critical periods for language learning?
3) Who are the people that an ideal language development community requires?
4) Where are the spaces that language learning occurs most successfully?
5) How can home and school contexts be transformed into language-rich environments?
6) Why is language development so vital to a child's social, academic, and future vocational success?
7) Which changes can be made immediately and which changes take time?
Each of these questions will be answered in a way that attendees can understand the findings, as well as the implications and opportunities for the classroom.

Speakers

Michael Witten

Speech-Language Pathologist

Since becoming a Speech-Language Pathologist in 2015, Michael Witten has worked as a school-based SLP, run a private practice, and taught First Language Acquisition at TWU. He has shared about the Science of Language Learning in numerous school district Pro-D events and for school... Read More →

Friday February 21, 2025 1:00pm - 3:20pm MST
RDP Room AC222 (Arts Centre)