New for Fall/Winter 2021-22
AAC Virtual Sessions - Open to all educators!
We understand teachers need professional learning opportunities that are:
- based on the emerging issues facing teachers in the current Alberta context,
- accessible at a time when teachers are ready for learning, and
- affordable, hassle-free, and of the highest quality.
New sessions will be posted as they are designed. If you know of a topic that would immediately meet your teaching needs in the assessment area, don’t hesitate to email info@aac.ab.ca
Keep in mind our AAC member jurisdictions have funded most open sessions; therefore, there is a slight difference in pricing for members and non-members.
Is your school authority is a member? Check the membership list here
Assessment for Learning: A Collaborative Community
Hot Topics for Deep Conversations
Session 1: Inspiring Hope in the Face of “Doom and Gloom” Data
The pandemic has changed every aspect of the educational landscape immeasurably.
Let’s consider our collective and individual notions of student gains, losses, and the acquisition of “21st century skills” during the past 18 months. We feel the tension. We’ll share two perspectives and then discuss…
What IS the best way forward?
Session 2: Balancing the demands of accountability with the mental health needs of students and teachers
Educators use a multitude of tools to measure and document student learning.
Is the data collected being used to address student learning needs?
How would you describe the “assessment culture” where you live and work? What impact is it having on students and/or teachers?
Are there alternative ways to hold schools, teachers and students accountable for learning?
Sessions 3 – 6: The scope of topics will be determined by the emerging needs of the group after sessions 1 & 2. Our collaborative community will culminate with a Panel Discussion during session 6 focusing on the hot topics uncovered throughout the series.
Panel members will be made up of authors, thinkers and practitioners representing various bodies of research and diverse perspectives.
This collaborative community will be designed and facilitated by:
- Damian Cooper, author and Canadian Assessment for Learning Network (CAfLN) co-founder,
- Michele Jones, Executive Director of the Alberta Assessment Consortium (AAC), and
- Cheryl Babin, Calgary Regional Consortium (CRC) Designer of Professional Learning.
Fee: $100.00
Includes: All 6 sessions
- Nov 24, 2021
- Jan 19, 2022
- Feb 16, 2022
- March 9, 2022
- April 13, 2022
- May 1, 2022
Each session runs from 5:00pm to 6:30pm MST.
Recordings will be provided to registrants after each session. The recordings will include all whole-group experiences only. Small group discussions held in break-out rooms will not be recorded.
Register yourself for all five sessions in the series to receive a 20% discount!
AAC Members: $15/session OR $60/entire series (5 sessions)
Non-Members: $30/session OR $120/entire series (5 sessions)
Each session runs from 4pm to 5pm.
Asynchronous learning option available!
Beginning Teachers and Classroom Assessment: A Virtual Learning Experience
Session 1: AAC Website Tour for our newest members! – November 17, 2021
This tour will demonstrate all of the great authentic assessments and self-directed PD resources available to all AAC members. This session is suitable for any teachers from our membership jurisdictions that are unfamiliar with the AAC resources.
Session 2: The TQS and Assessment: What teachers are supposed to know, understand, and be able to do, according to the TQS – November 24, 2021
This session will explore the TQS Competency and Indicator related to assessment. Spend the hour exploring what competent teachers are expected to know, understand, and do in terms of classroom assessment.
Session 3: Formative Assessment 101 – December 1, 2021
This session will focus on the AAC Key Visual and Assessment Vocabulary. We will also share a number of formative assessment techniques teachers can use tomorrow!
Session 4: 10 Strategies for Managing Your Workload through Assessment – December 8, 2021
Sometimes teachers need to be given permission to stop marking everything. This session will share 10 ways that you can start tomorrow, to help you reduce your workload.
Session 5: How to Blueprint your Assessment to Ensure You’re Assessing What Matters – December 15, 2021
In this session participants will learn:
– What assessment blueprinting is
– How to ensure you are assessing what matters and
– How to blueprint an assessment
Winter 2021/22 Book Study
Assessing with Respect: Everyday Practices That Meet Students' Social and Emotional Needs by Starr Sackstein
Participants will discuss the ideas in the book and discover how they connect to their own work. This book study is comprised of three meeting dates. :
- December 9th: 4:00-4:30 pm
Introductions, receive book study materials and assistance with ordering books. - January 6th: 4:00-5:00pm
Discuss as a group the book study questions provided in the previous session and talk about how the ideas in the book connect to our own work. We will share our lingering thoughts, problems of practice and then curate a list of questions for the conversation with the author. - January 13th: 4:00-5:00pm
Conversation with the author: Starr Sackstein
Starr Sackstein, Educator & Author
Starr Sackstein, a National Board-certified teacher, spent nine years as a high school English and journalism teacher at World Journalism Preparatory School in Flushing, New York, where her students ran the multimedia news outlet WJPSnews.com. Starr is currently a consultant with the Core Collaborative, working with teams on assessment reform and bringing student voice to the front of classroom learning, and publisher at Mimi & Todd Press. She is the host of AuthorED & InspirED, a video program of author interviews, and the author of the ASCD books Teaching Students to Self-Assess and Peer Feedback in the Classroom. In 2012, Education Update recognized her as an outstanding educator, and in 2016, she was named one of ASCD's Emerging Leaders.
Registration Fee
AAC Members: $25
Non-members: $50