LEARN Podcasts

In the most recent ShiftED podcast I had the great privilege of talking with preschool educator/consultant Katherine Divolis, currently working as Conseillère en éducation préscolaire, at Ministère de l'Éducation et de l'Enseignement Supérieur du Québec (MEQ). We had a rich conversation about the newly revised preschool program that was just launched in the last school year which is curr...

LEARN had the privilege of talking with Brian Silverman and Artemis Papert recently, about programming in our Quebec schools. Being the first episode of this school year, I wanted to have a casual conversation about how education is shifting more and more towards computation and programming/coding. Brain and Artemis have been exploring computers in education for the better part of their lives, dev...

In Dec 2020, students in Stephanie Jonker’s grade 5/6 class were asked to look around and identify an authentic community need. Since this was in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, what they saw were so many blue disposable masks being thrown away, or littering the ground.  Using a grant from LEARN’s I Belong project, they decided to TAKE ACTION. Ms. Jonker and the students followed a Community...

During this episode of ShiftED I caught up with Dr. Sheryl Smith-Gilman of McGill University's education department to touch base on how our future educators were dealing with their pre-service schooling during a pandemic. Our intriguing conversation revolved around the changing educational landscape in Quebec, dealing with online learning and teaching, and the new pre-school program that was...

The Bloomer Report is hosted by Ben Loomer and showcases conversations with teachers working in English Schools across Quebec. Featured educators are leading projects that engage their students and their results need to be shared widely. The hope is that others will be inspired to replicate these projects in their own school and community.   A conversation with Maria Raskin, an English Language Ar...

ShiftED Podcast is back with two outstanding elementary math consultants from English Montreal School board: Aliya Somani and Shana Rowen. Our conversation is all about math, the pandemic, and re-understanding the purpose of math. Check out our blog which has the transcript for the episode as well as other articles written by the host, Chris Colley! This episode originally aired on February 25, 20...

This month, ShiftED is joined by Cycle 1 educators Stephanie Gordon and Alexie Csipak of the semi-private Vanguard School , whose mission is to "help students with severe learning disabilities by offering them the resources that will enable them to learn and to experience academic success." This episode originally aired on December 7, 2020

For this episode of the ShiftED podcast I met up with Eastern Shores School Board’s Math and Science consultant Zak Likely to discuss how our most eastern English school board is coping with the ever-changing reality of a Covid-19 world. Zak and I discuss the evolving educational practices that have surfaced since Spring 2020, such as rich tasks in math, strategies for engaging online learners and...

Today, I had the chance of catching up with the Assistant Director General of the Lester B. Pearson School Board, Tom Rhymes, regarding how his board has been adapting to our new "normal." His wonderful reflections are both inspiring and reassuring. Our future educational system is chock-full of creativity and humanity, as Tom eloquently puts it, this is "Education's finest mom...

LEARN caught up with Russell Dennis of the Western Quebec School Board to discuss how a small school in northern Quebec has fared during the pandemic. Russell teaches cycle 3 elementary out of Dr. Wilbert Keon school in Chapeau, Quebec. It is unique in that the school houses both elementary/secondary students. We discussed the challenges of online teaching, how to engage students virtually and wha...

LEARN caught up with Jeremy Wouda, ELA teacher at Philemon Wright High School, from Western Quebec School Board (WQSB), who is also an online tutor with LEARN. We talked about how his experiences over the last few months have changed, his strategies to connect with and keep his students engaged online, and what the future might hold for education. Jeremy offers some concrete ways to communicate an...

On June 15th, I reached out to pedagogical consultants, Tim Foreman and Ron Turchyniak, whose dossiers are to help teachers and staff at Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board (SWLSB) integrate educational technologies in the classroom. All this changed in March. Their jobs became all the more crucial as teachers shifted from classroom to online teaching amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. This episode origin...

For this episode of the ShiftED podcast series, I had a great conversation with Chris Morgan, the principal of Butler Elementary of the Eastern Townships School Board. We talked about how principals have been dealing with health and safety issues surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as Butler’s reopening experience. This episode originally aired June 23, 2020

On this episode of ShiftED, we talk with a grade 4/5 teacher from Lester B. Pearson School Board from Edgewater Elementary, Daphne Amster. We caught up on her transition from F2F to online… This episode originally aired on June 16, 2020

On this episode of ShiftED, I interviewed Jennifer Oner of Westmount Park Elementary school of the English Montreal School Board. We discussed transitioning from F2F teaching to Online. This episode originally aired on June 10, 2020

A school-community garden is not always an easy endeavor - but if things go well, you can literally enjoy the fruits of your labor. Listen to an interview with Kristen Keyes, a teacher in Montreal on the topic of a school-community garden she was involved in growing. This was originally aired on February 26, 2019