Intersection Education

Erika Nelson is an experienced middle and high school teacher and administrator from the East Coast of Canada who has landed at the University of Alberta in pursuit of her PhD in Educational Administration and Leadership. Since beginning doctoral work in 2021, she has instructed in U of A’s BEd program and has also dabbled in the Ministry of Education’s new(ish) Alberta Teaching Profession Commiss...

Jodie Mattia is an experienced educational leader and doctoral candidate at the University of Alberta, specializing in Educational Policy and Leadership. Her research explores how school leaders conceptualize wellbeing and its impact on their roles. As Director of Support Services at Wetaskiwin Regional Public Schools, she oversees social-emotional supports and Indigenous programming. With over 30...

In this episode we bring you my conversation with Lee Smith about Moral Distress in Education. With a few stints back in Canada over the years, Lee has been mostly working in and leading schools internationally since 1996. In Australia, Taiwan, Korea, and China, he has been a Literature and Humanities teacher, curriculum coordinator, vice-principal, and principal. He has been affiliated with Canad...

This episode features a conversation with Dr. Ryan Dunn. Dr. Dunn was the very first guest on this podcast and I wanted to speak with him again as he recently came out with a new book. Dr. Ryan Dunn has considerable experience within education and has advised and collaborated with schools and districts across Australia, the USA and Canada. He has worked extensively with school leaders in Victoria,...

In this episode I am joined by Dr. Randy Hetherington and Bryn Spence, 2 other seasoned school leaders, to talk about changing schools as a leader. This subject is not often talked about in education circles. We discuss best practices and share tips that others might try when called to change schools. We also talk about when you know that it might be time to change schools. You can follow Dr. Rand...

Carolyn Cameron is back in our first episode featuring a previous guest. If you remember way back to episode 18, Dr. Cameron is an educator with over 30 years of experience within the K–12 public school system. As an administrator of a new middle school, she brought powerful teaching practises to her role as a school leader.  She has presented at local, provincial, national and international confe...

Last week, we talked about the importance of personal values. We spoke about how as an individual, it can be helpful to list your values. If you have not listened to this episode, please go and take a listen. This week will build on where we left off. This week, we shift to the importance of organizational values and the interplay between personal values and organizational values. What - The peopl...

In this episode, Corey speaks about the importance of clearly defining your core values. This simple exercise and list can help you as both a leader and a person. What: You should have a list of your most important values. Why: It will help you make decisions, feel better about your decisions, communicate with others, and make you happier. James Clear's list of core values Connect with Intersectio...

This episode features Raelene Finlayson. Rae has worked in education for over 20 years from being an EA to teacher, administrator, Principal, Supervisor, Senior Manager at Alberta Education and now a consultant. Along the way she completed a Masters in Early Learning. She has a passion for learning and for working with young children. She has provided support in a variety of areas across the early...

Armand Doucet is one of the world’s foremost pracademics and teachers in education for this Digital Age. He is a leader, inspirational speaker, coach, columnist, and author. He has spoken to tens of thousands of teachers on every continent and key international organizations. He has received the Governor General Award for Teaching Excellence in History (2017) and the Canadian Prime Minister’s Awar...

This episode features Line Groot Degner speaking about personal coaching. Line describes herself as a transformation agent, but is also a writer and speaker. With a background in sustainable investments, her work today centres around systemic and individual change. She combines strategic acumen and understanding of complex organizational systems with the human side of social impact. Her focus is o...

This episode features Cale Birk,  co-author and imagineer of the book – PLC 2.0: Collaborating for Observable Impact in Today’s Schools . Cale also wrote, Changing Change Using Learner-Centered Design . and was a District Principal of Innovation in British Columbia. He is a former teacher and high school Principal who has worked with educators, district leaders, healthcare professionals and indust...

Dr. Steven Katz who is a faculty-member in Applied Psychology & Human Development at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) of the University of Toronto (UT), where he teaches in the Child Study and Education graduate program. He is the recipient of the OISE/UT-wide award for teaching excellence. In addition, he is the Director of the research, evaluation, and capacity-building...

This episode features Kurtis Hewson. As Leader and co-founder of Jigsaw Learning, Kurtis has championed the call for collaborative structures in schools to ensure success for all students and enhance the collective efficacy of those dedicated educators working in classrooms. Kurtis works to establish responsive relationships with districts and system level leaders to design collaborative framework...

In this episode we speak with Andrew Baxter. Andrew has worked in School Based and Community Mental Health for over 18 years.  During his time with Alberta Health Services, he has provided direct treatment for students from K – 12 as well as consultation for their families and their teachers.  He currently serves as the Lead for the Alberta Mental Health Literacy Project which is rolling out in sc...

In this episode we speak with Dr. Leanne Peters, the Assistant Superintendent, Learning and Instruction Development at Sunrise School Division in Manitoba. She has a long educational history as Assistant Principal, Principal and Assistant Superintendent. She has also been involved in MASS, the Manitoba Association of School Superintendents, for many years helping to deliver professional learning t...

This episode features Katherine Mann, Director of Education Services for Parkland School Division. Katherine started her career in 1992 following a Bachelor of Education degree with Distinction from the University of Alberta. Her first year was serving students as a Grade 4-9 French teacher and Grade 8 Language Arts before making the move the following year to Duffield School where she stayed for...

In this episode we speak with Dr. Jim Brandon, Associate Dean of Professional & Community Engagement and Associate Professor at the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary. In his teaching career, he served 23 years in the superintendency in two school districts, worked as a principal for nine years, a vice-principal for four, and began as a secondary social studies teacher....

This episode features Etienna Moostoos-Lafferty. Etienna was born and raised in Grande Prairie Alberta. Her family is from the Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation in Treaty 8 territory. Etienna has teaching experience both on and off-reserve, and also in public and Catholic school systems. She spent 4 years working for an Indigenous perspective school with the Calgary Board of Education where she learned th...

This episode features Dr. Jenni Donohoo, who is a three-time, best-selling author and professional learning facilitator with more than 20 years experience in leading school change.  Jenni completed her doctorate in 2010. Her dissertation focused on fostering metacognition in adolescent students. In addition to her writing and consulting work, Jenni is on contract with the Council of Ontario Direct...

In this episode we review the 27 episodes that we put out in 2019. I give a short summary of each guest and talk about why I appreciate them being on the show. Thank you to all the listeners and contributors that made 2019 a banner year for Intersection Education. We appreciate all your continued support in our quest to support school leaders. Connect with Intersection Education: Visit the Website...

Our guest this episode is Scott Onuczko, Communication Technology teacher at Spruce Grove Composite High School in Alberta. Scott uses both traditional tools and the latest technology to help students explore their creative sides, enhance their design and production skills, explore interests outside the curriculum and change the world … one personally designed and silkscreened t-shirt at a time. B...

Our guest in this episode is Dr. Bonnie Stelmach, Professor in the Faculty of Education (Educational Policy Studies) at the University of Alberta. She has been an educational researcher and university instructor since 2006, first at the University of Saskatchewan, and now at the University of Alberta. Her research focus is on parent involvement, primarily concerned with whether and/or how secondar...

In this episode, we speak with Joey Feith. Joey is an elementary physical education teachers at St. George’s School of Montreal in Quebec, Canada and the founder of ThePhysicalEducator.com . He is a young, recognized leader within the field of physical education and one of the most passionate physical educators you are likely to ever meet. His passion for teaching is perhaps only matched by his pa...

This episode features Adrian Piccoli. Adrian is the former Minister of Education for the State of New South Wales in Australia. He is currently director of the Gonski Institute for Education at the University of New South Wales and Professor of Practice in the School of Education. After his time in office, he wrote the book 12 Ways Your Child Can Get the Best Out Of School. In 2017,  he was made a...