Professional Learning Record
Name: Maddie Zylstra
Part of your development as a professional is to engage in learning beyond your coursework and your CSL/practicum experiences. One of the Standards of
Practice is the “Commitment to Ongoing Professional Learning”. After attending a professional learning community session at the Faculty or in your schools and
the community, take a moment to reflect on the learning that took place.
Date Title
September Introducing the
13th 2022 New Curriculum
and Resources
Site
September Presentation to
27th 2022 Beginning
Teacher
Candidates
September AT/Principal
27th 2022 Panel
Location/Presenter Description* Learning: Key points
Location: uOttawa - Learning about the content on - Accessing the elementary curriculum (K-8)
CRX140 the ministry of education’s new - Resources to help with assessment and evaluation
Presenters: Heidi curriculum site. regardless of the grade level
and Derrick from Learning how to use these - How to access and use sample course plans
the Ministry of resources moving forward in - Upcoming virtual webinars for educators to attend
Education our teaching careers - Suggestion – access “TVO Learn” for new resources
- How to incorporate transferrable skills into my teaching
and classroom
- Teacher supports and expectations/ideas for teaching
different subjects
Location: uOttawa - Navigating the OCT website. - Teaching is a professional self-regulation occupation
CRX140 Learning more about what the - Ministry of education is responsible for policy, funding,
Presenter: Ryan OCT is and what they do and curriculum planning at the elementary and
Reyes from the OCT secondary level
- College certifies teachers and sets ethical standards
- Additional qualification courses are available to OCT
members
Location: uOttawa - Describing what they expect - Maximize your practicum experience (immerse yourself
CRX140 when we enter our practicum in the community of the school as much as possible)
Presenters: Paul schools, and the mentoring - Conduct yourself with professional integrity
Gautreau, Megan mindset we should be bringing - Show initiative in the school, get involved where
Egerton-Graham, to our placement possible right from the beginning
Michael Curry, - Come prepared with some kind of name game to help
Jeremy Nowiski, learn names and build relationships with students
Linda Hlaing-Bowen, - Show up ahead of start time – be prepared
Kelly Ross, - Be reflective; take things as constructive criticism
Stephanie Allardyce - Introduce yourself and get involved beyond the
classroom
- Classroom routines are important, be openminded and
informed
 - Learning style inventories
- Own mistakes, acknowledge them and move on (laugh it
off)
- Document all forms of communication – will help if
anything comes into question
- Take care of yourself physically and mentally
- Soft skills – positive, resilient, team players, problem
solvers
- Meet office administrators and custodial staff; take time
to introduce yourself to other teachers, tour the school
October EDI: Everyone’s Location: Zoom An authentic and challenging - Make sure people aren’t overarching and just checking a
3rd 2022 Doing It… But Webinar Online dialogue on thinking of equity, box, actually hiring people for their skills and worth not
Are They Doing Presenters: Cici diversity and inclusion (EDI) as to be a token of colour or race
It ‘Well’? Moya, Soukaina more than a box-ticking - Anyone who wants to apply the approach of EDI needs
Boutiyeb, Nathan exercise. to evaluate themselves and their prejudices before
Hall, Awad Ibrahim, Examining the complexities of engaging in that effort
Jon-Ethan meaningful change and the - An inclusive future will have ups and downs but in the
Rankin-Kistabish unique nuances of our long run things will continue to grow and improve
communities. - Change starts within
October Student Location: uOttawa – Share general information - Build the capacity of educators to implement innovative,
11th 2022 Achievement CRX140 about the SATE Inquiry. culturally relevant and responsive curricula within an
Through Equity Presenter: Chantel Share some other equity anti-colonial, anti-racist and ant-oppressive framework
Initiatives Smith initiatives in the OCDSB. - Improve achievement and well-being for underserved
students via early intervention and support
- Create welcoming and inclusive classroom/school
environments that amplify student/parent/caregiver
voices
- Recognize, value, integrate, and celebrate the diversity
of the classroom, school, and community
- SATE learning coaches – notice, name, and disrupt
structures, practices, and behaviours that are barriers to
student learning; model growth mindset culturally
responsive and relevant pedagogy
- 70:20:10 model – learning coaches focuses on the 10%
(direct learning) then moving to collaborative learning
(20%); 70% is when the coach leaves and the learning is
done on the job
 - Centering the students as agents of change in their
learning
October Ministry of Location: Zoom Review the Ministry of - New documents for the kindergarten growing success
11th 2022 Education: Presenter: Laura Education’s vision for Ontario program
Assessment and Christmann and schools. - The primary purpose of assessment and evaluation is to
Evaluation Deborah Keefe from Be introduced to the Ministry improve student learning
the Ministry of of Education’s Equity and - Seven fundamental principles – found in the ministry
Education Inclusive Education strategy. documents
Be introduced to Board Equity - Teachers and students need to have a clear idea of what
strategies and culturally a learning goal looks like in order to achieve it; develop
responsive and relevant or co-develop success criteria for each goal
pedagogy.
November Maintaining Location: uOttawa Professional interactions with - Professional boundaries are the verbal, physical,
1st 2022 Professional –LMX 203 students. emotional, and social distances that and educator must
Boundaries Presenter: OECTA Legal interpretations and maintain in order to ensure structure, security, and
Representatives applications. predictability in an educational environment
High-risk behaviours, and - Many laws that regulate the teaching profession
preventing problems. - Always keep health and safety as a top priority
- Whatever you do off duty will be a reflection of you as
an educator
- Establish boundaries and maintain them – students are
explicitly aware of how you can interact with each other
- Not the personal intervenor for student’s personal
problems – not their parent, not their best friend
- Maintain professional role and not slide into parental
role/personal relationship
- Don’t divulge personal problems to students
- Don’t be alone with a student with door closed; avoid
behaviours or interactions with students that can be
interpreted as being personal; avoid any type of physical
contact with students when disciplining them
- High risk behaviours – meeting with students on
weekend outside school, gifts or money to one
particular student, one student attention, driving
students to/from school, allowing students to call you by
first name, no student nicknames, exchanging personal
notes or emails

November Before the Location: uOttawa – Teachers face unprecedented
1st 2022 school bell LMX 203 demands on their time. Tending
rings: Presenter: Karl to their well-being need not be
Well-being Fernades (OECTA) negotiable or time-consuming.
practices for In this practical workshop, we
teacher will explore well-being as it
candidates applies to teachers. We will
develop a conceptual
framework to situate a
teacher's sense of well-being,
identify challenges to the
well-being of new teachers, and
connect to a range of practices
and resources that support
personal well-being.
January Student Injury Location: Zoom This session will provide an
17th 2023 Prevention meeting overview of the legislation,
Presenter: Ministry guidance, and resources
of Education available to support students’
physical safety in the
classroom, on the field, and
during outdoor education
excursions.
- Avoid communicating with students late at night
- Know that electronic messages can be manipulated
- Well-being to teachers is unique – demands and
frustration can be directed to us
- Be aware that our role is unique and recognize why it
can be difficult sometimes
- Different aspects of well-being include physical,
economic, social, emotional, psychological, teaching
satisfaction
- Be aware of the mental health spectrum, mental health
is health and needs to be considered always
- Information overload can be negative, be mindful how
much time you are giving to this outside school time
- Tension is related to stress and we can feel it in a
physical way – try the tense and release exercise to help
- Teachers are the foundation level
- Adjust our ways and build healthy habits – positive
self-talk
- Taking care of yourself doesn’t mean me first; it means
me too
- Breathing techniques to regulate stress and mindfulness
- Students need a safe learning environment to maximize
learning
- Have a safety mindset
- Plan activities with safety in mind
- Identify any potential risks and plan accordingly
- Model safe practices for students
- It is your role as an educator to prevent injuries

January School Climate Location: Zoom This interactive session will - The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated inequalities
17th 2023 and Bullying meeting provide an overview of ministry and disproportionately impacted Indigenous, Black and
Prevention Presenter: Ministry policies related to school other racialized students
of Education climate and bullying prevention - A whole-school approach involving all education and
as well as practical strategies community partners is needed to sustain a positive
informed by students and school climate and bring about necessary systemic
resource supports for teacher change
 candidates that can be used to
build and maintain positive
school climates, support
student safety, and foster
caring and inclusive classroom
environments for all students.
January Managing Location: uOttawa Identify the key components of
31st 2023 Challenging CRX 140 classroom management.
Behaviour Presenter: John Enhance positive relationships
through Johnston, ETFO between students and
Supportive and teachers. Increase the
Effective effectiveness of responding to
Classroom student behaviour.
Management
February Mental Health Location: uOttawa An overview of the OCSB
14th 2023 and Wellbeing Presenter: Dr. Mental Health and Wellbeing
at the OCSB Richard Boldu strategy as well as specific
strategies for teachers relating
it to clinical practice.
Socio-emotional learning
strategies will also be
discussed. The OCSB will
provide a model of how a
Board of Education has
implemented the Ministry of
Education's policy direction.
February ELL – Location: Zoom An overview of Ontario
28th 2023 Supporting meeting Ministry of Education policies
English and resources to support
Language teacher candidates in
Learners welcoming and supporting
English language learners in
Ontario’s publicly funded
schools, with a focus on
anti-racism, anti-oppression,
and culturally relevant and
responsive pedagogy.
- A positive school climate will support all students
- All students benefit from a safe environment
- Engage parents and guardians in bullying prevention
efforts
- Establish clear routines and expectations with students
- Support students with your routines and expectations
- Greet students when they arrive and let them know you
have an exciting day planned
- Commit to student learning and learn from your
mistakes
- Understand the importance of relationships
- Have fair and predictable consequences
- Social-emotional learning is an important part of
education and human development
- SEL helps people develop the skills needed for
emotional regulation
- We should be creating a safe space in our classroom for
our students to learn
- The ‘third path’ is a relationship-based approach to
student well-being
- Intentional and positive relationships are crucial for
learning and growth
- The documents outline policies that focus on promoting
good outcomes for ELL learners
- The language acquisition policy helps ELL students by
engaging them in learning that develops their talents,
knowledge, and skills
- Many Roots, Many Voices is designed to provide
educators with different practices and strategies to use
when they are working with ELL students
September OCT Location: uOttawa Provide us with the information - Discussed the standards of practice as an educator
21st, 2023 Presentation to CRX 140 we need for year 2 and into a - Mandatory sexual abuse prevention program developed
Graduating Presenters: OCT teaching career. that all teacher candidates have to complete prior to
Teacher certification
Candidates - Library of resources available to certified teachers in
good standing
- Transitional certificate available to us
September Mentoree - Location: uOttawa This module will expand upon - Mentoring is a supportive learning relationship between
28th, 2023 Supportive CRX 140 that self-awareness to your a caring individual who shares knowledge, experience
Mentorship Presenters: Noa and own social-emotional and wisdom with another individual who is ready and
Community for Teri well-being and the need to rely willing to benefit from this exchange to enrich their
Educators on the community of support professional journey
created in your practicum - Be open to learning from everybody
school and your cohort group. - Know yourself, all intersecting social identities
Teaching is a challenging - Fulfillment comes from why we do it
profession and looking after - Connection is at the heart of mentor-mentoree
yourself is important when you relationships
are responsible for others.
October Supporting Location: uOttawa Information about the roles - The Ministry provides funding to school boards in order
18th, 2023 Students with CRX 140 and responsibilities of the to address the additional needs of exceptional students
Special Needs & Presenter: Tracy ministry of education in special - The Education Act requires every school board to
IEP Crowe education. provide special education programs and services
Development - Special education grant - provides additional funding to
school boards for students with special education needs
and supports the incremental costs of the additional
programs, services, and equipment required to meet
their educational needs
- An IEP is a written plan describing the special education
program and services required by a particular student
and a plan for a student’s progress through the Ontario
curriculum
- UDL and DI is important to implement to support our
students
October Consent in the Location: Zoom Increase the awareness and - Every student has a right to quality Health and Physical
18th, 2023 Classroom: meeting understanding of how to create Education where they feel they belong
OPHEA Presenters: Julie safer spaces in classroom - Health and Phys. Ed. programs are most effective when
Lalonde and Andrea discussions. Gain confidence delivered in healthy schools and when students learning
 Haefele and capacity to build safe and is supported by school staff and families
positive spaces in their school - Physical and emotional safety is a precondition for
communities. Learn about effective learning in Health and Physical education
Ophea resources for teaching - Discuss and understand consent - how does the
gender-based violence understanding of consent impact our classroom and
prevention. students
November Ontario Location: Zoom This session provides - Referencing growing success will score you points when
9th, 2023 Provincial meeting foundational information about talking about assessment and evaluation
Report Cards Presenters: Laura the Ontario report card, how - Overall marks; no longer per strand
Christmann, and reporting fits into the - Chapter 4 of growing success is important to read and
Debra Keefe assessment process, and how understand
to calculate grades and write - The primary purpose of assessment is to improve
comments. student learning
- Report card cycle schedule is found in growing success
- Plan assessment and instruction concurrently
- Learning goals - success criteria - descriptive feedback -
evaluation - reporting
- Engage in ongoing communication with families
throughout the school year - this could look like:
newsletters, positive notes/emails home, weekly
updates or emails, a phone call in the first two weeks in
introduce yourself, interviews/meetings
- Provide a variety of assessment methods
- Intend to measure student learning in relation to the
curriculum
- Not everything we assign needs a grade attached,
assessment looks many different ways
- Achievement chart framework - contains performance
standards for the curriculum; a province-wide guide that
enables teachers to make consistent judgement about
the quality of student learning
- Provides teachers with a foundation for providing clear
and specific feedback
- Ensure you are gathering all varieties of evidence and
accounting for all areas of the achievement track
- There is a difference between success criteria and task
requirements (i.e., writing in paragraph form is a task

November Community Location: Zoom The session on Truths of
9th, 2023 Living Ontario - meeting institutionalization will help
Truths on Presenter: Nicole inform the next generation of
Institutionalizati Canzoneri young people to understand
on the role of institutions in
Canadian history, spark
conversations on how this
impacts people today and
encourage young Canadians to
appreciate their role in building
a more inclusive future.
November Portfolios and Location: Zoom This workshop will help you to
23rd, 2023 Digital Hubs meeting use your Digital Hub as the
Presenter: Pat foundation for developing a
Mckelvie professional portfolio you can
use for interviews. We will look
at what evidence is important
for you to have in the portfolio
that demonstrates your
philosophy of education in
action and your competency in
requirement; success criteria would sounds like: “I am
introducing ideas and developing that ideas to include
analysis and explanation that my audience would
understand”
- It is not necessary to have all students demonstrating
their learning in the same way at the same time - one
verbal and one written doesn’t mean one is higher value
than the other
- You don’t have to organize your assessment and
evaluation around the categories in the achievement
chart - you want to ensure that your learning tasks
reflect a balance of knowledge, thinking, communication
and application throughout the school year
- Growing success gives criteria for effective comments -
good to talk about how you would use assessment to
support whats happening in your classroom (interview)
- Institutions - group homes, historically - residential
schools
- Create awareness, promote respect, and encourage
reflection regarding human rights of persons with
disabilities in Canada
- People with disabilities were removed from society
because they were seen as inefficient and largely
unwelcome
- Perceptions of disability have evolved over time
- Portfolios help synthesize all learning and experience
- How our beliefs enhance student success
- Show your philosophy of education in action
- Express standards of practice in your digital hub
- Make connections between what I believe and my
performance in the classroom
- Artifact how you grew in a certain experience
- How do you connect with the greater community
(colleagues, parents, etc.)
- Digital portfolios - highlight your story but don’t let your
all areas of the
teaching-learning process. We
will talk about how to prepare
for an interview by using your
portfolio and how to use it
during an interview to enhance
your responses to the interview
questions.
technology tell your story for you
- I believe statements help with crafting a portfolio
- Can have a heading in your portfolio that has the
standards of practice and your I believe statements
- Demonstrate proficiency in each of the standards with
artifacts/examples
- Evidence of differentiated assessment, building
classroom community
- Classroom management plan, restorative practices
- Extra qualifications that could enhance candidacy
- What do I bring to the table that is unique and can bring
to the classroom - an artifact the reflects that
- Communication style - parents, within the school
- Include a plan for this communication - model, how and
why, create it even if you don’t have the chance to use it
in placement
- Strength of your cohort in your practice - cohort model -
examples how you have taken what you learned and
enhanced the experience of the students
- Question - supply teaching bag - what do you do if you
come to the school and there is nothing planned
- Possibly have a section on supply teaching in your
portfolio
- Something creative you’ve done with tech
- how do I consolidate learning with students
- What does my planning look like? Pick one or two that
worked well that have multiple things included and
demonstrate my planning
- Learning goals, types of assessment - how, when, and
why do I assess
- How does my assessment model enhance student
success?
- “I selected this activity to show you because…”
- Have a theory that shows through your artifacts
- SEL - how do I enhance this in the classroom?
- Social justice issues - what does this look like?
- Don’t read the rationale statements - they cue your
 answers
- Asked five questions; given time to collect your thoughts
on your answers before it begins
- Why am I the best candidate for this position?
March 7th, Engaging Location: uOttawa - Communicating with parents is important for the
Working with parents is one of
2024 Parents CRX 140 success of the students in your class
the responsibilities of teachers.
Presenter: Jeffery - Be sensitive to different perspectives and norms of the
As the primary educators in
Barber student's families
their children’s lives and as
- Positive relationships with the families help with
partners in education, parents
creating a community of learning where they feel
contribute to a holistic
involved
understanding of our students.
- Online platforms can help with communication with
parents
March 21, ETFO Union Location: uOttawa When you get hired as a - Advocates for educators' rights including issues related
2024 CRX 140 teacher or education worker, to wages, benefits, working conditions, and educational
Presenter: David you’ll automatically join one of policies
Mastin, ETFO the major labour unions. But - Access professional development opportunities
Provincial what does a labour union do - Support services such as health and wellness, and legal
for you? assistance
March 21, Teacher Location: uOttawa Advocating for yourself as an - Know what you need and communicate your needs
2024 Advocacy CRX 410 educator - Focus on what you can control and set professional
Presenter: OECTA boundaries for yourself
- It is an ongoing journey, you have to prioritize yourself
and learn what you need to succeed
April 4th, Climate Change Location: uOttawa This workshop will focus on - A brief history of the residential schools
2024 PLC CRX 140 how communities can get - What are the calls to action and what is our
Indigenous Presenter: Peter directly involved in responsibility as educators?
education and Croal and Patricia reconciliation by developing - There are now 18 Healing Forests in Canada with
outdoor Stirbys outdoor spaces such as gardens another 30 being planned by communities
learning and forests that can be used for - The Royal Canadian Geographic Society, Network of
healing, community building, Nature and The David Suzuki Foundation are partners in
education, networking and this initiative
climate change mitigation. - Healing Forests can be developed on private land,
church grounds, universities, schools and public parks.
- What can we do?
- Connect people to nature
- Address climate change
 - Respect two ways of knowing
- Build community

*The description may be copied from the outline in the posting for this event.