Saturday C Workshops 1:30 pm - 3:00 pm

Presented by  CODE Management Board

Type of Session:  Panel/Round Table Discussion (90 minutes) 

Target:   Secondary Drama 

How is Drama able to lead us to the kind of world we want to live in?  What are futurisms in Drama? With an older curriculum in need of a complete overhaul, what questions, strategies and resources are important to Secondary Drama Educators? How is this different across Ontario?  Join members of the CODE Management Board for a discussion around these questions and many more.  We will discuss resources, strategies, what we want to see in a curriculum refresh and multiple pathways for the Drama we want to see, helping lead to the world we want to create with and for our students.  

 Resources, strategies, techniques and ideas to use in their classroom to meet the needs of their students in a world where pedagogy remains dynamic, while curriculum remains static.   

 MODERATOR

Matthew Sheahan is the current Past President of CODE.  He is the Vice-President of the International Drama in Education Association, and a drama teacher in Eastern Ontario. 

PANELISTS

Tessa Lofthouse is the current President of CODE and an experienced educator in elementary and secondary.  She has written AQ curriculum, developed and presented workshops, and consulted on major shifts in Arts Education.

Heather Newman is the North West Coordinator for CODE and a drama teacher in Kenora. She was the conference chair of CODE on the Road in Kenora in 2023. 

Miggy Esteban is the Equity Chair for CODE, and a PhD candidate at the University of Toronto.  Miggy has presented at several CODE conferences and consulted on equity initiatives.  

Daniel Lalonde is a member of the Conference Committee, former CODE Vice President, veteran Drama teacher in Mississauga, and a former CODE Conference Chair, most recently at Hamilton in 2022.  

 Presented by   Crystal Brennan-Yeo 

Type of Session:   Active Workshop (90 minutes) 

Target:  Drama Elementary (Grades 4-8)  

This workshop will take the art of magical string tricks to bring stories to life with the help of Artificial Intelligence. Teachers will learn to instruct the students on how to best prompt ChatGPT to write a script, based on characters, themes and string tricks created by the class. Participants will be provided a string to learn the different formations and how to have students incorporate vocal expression and sound effects into their finished stories. The project is mapped out in a way that includes students of all abilities. Differentiated instruction and assessment will be discussed. 

Rubrics are provided where the students would be assessed on their storytelling, vocal expression, collaborative group work, and their ability to perform the string tricks while engaging their audience. The teacher does not 'assess or evaluate' the script, but students could write the story themselves instead of using ChatGPT. 

Educators will be shown how to best organize a 'field trip', either in person, or virtually, to the primary grades for performance. 

This workshop is looking towards the future of teaching students when and how to use AI in a responsible way, whilst still engaging with a fully hands on approach to story drama.

Participants will learn how to not only use AI themselves, but to teach the students how to do so responsibly. In addition, they will all receive strings and learn how to do the tricks. Digital rubrics and lesson plans will be provided with instructions on how to facilitate the performances in other classes. They will also be given links to 'how-to' videos for the string tricks to reference if they forget them. (Example: https://youtu.be/c4pPJrr3toI?si=HHNnF_BeVaQPA0-1) 

 Crystal is a dancer, a musician, an artist and thespian who studied Drama in Education with I/S qualifications in Visual Arts and Drama. Her career began as an Arts and English teacher to incarcerated young offenders. She then explored the elementary classroom as a K-8 itinerant music teacher and presently teaches Gr.9-12 dramatic arts at St. Anne's Catholic Secondary School. She studied and has instructed step dancing, Irish, tap, and ballroom dance. When the pandemic hit, she spent two years at Blessed Carlo Acutis Virtual School teaching K-8 art, drama, dance, and music online. She is a volunteer clown and has worked with the 'Dr. Clown' program in Windsor hospitals. Crystal has been a storyteller in the classroom and beyond for the past 25 years and is excited to share her tips and tricks with other educators! 

 Presented by    Allison Gamble  

Type of Session:  Active Workshop (90 minutes)

Target:   Dance - Secondary (9-12) 

 This dance education workshop aims to explore the intersections of gender identity, resilience, and critical thinking through movement, offering participants the opportunity to reflect on how they navigate personal and social challenges in an era marked by cancel culture. By using dance as a medium for exploration and dialogue, participants will engage in a creative process that fosters critical reflection on contemporary issues while strengthening their capacity for compassionate connection and empathy. Participants will discuss, write, explore, and create, while focusing on contemporary topics that students deal with in their schools and on their social media platforms. As we move into the future, a lack of empathy compounded with the  pressure to conform leaves little room for the strengthening of student resilience and voice. Fear often drives students apart instead of building meaningful connections.  This workshop is not trying to SOLVE situations or answer gigantic questions but rather focus on empathy and curiosity so that students can make informed, meaningful decisions that align with their personal values and passions as well as feeling empowered to stand strong in their ideas and decisions. Assessment strategies and evaluation tools will also be utilized as we move through the creations.  

Delegates will brainstorm, journal, explore personal movement phrases, create choreography, reflect and discuss on the above mentioned areas of focus. Participants will learn how to use movement to express thoughts, feelings, and ideas in a supported environment as they explore contemporary issues that face our students today. They will engage in two full creation exercises with assessments/ evaluation ideas shared and have access to organized lesson plans and creativity models. 

 Allison Gamble BA. BPE, B Ed, is a Dance/ Drama educator for TVDSB and the Head of Performing Arts at South Collegiate Institute for 27 yrs. Allison developed Dance Education curriculum, Assessment, and Evaluation policies for TVDSB and the Ministry of Ontario. She has presented workshops across the country in dance education, movement competency and physical literacy. Allison is also an active leader in teacher training and arts development.  She is the Artistic Director of the South Dance Company and Co-Founder of the Action Pak D’action. Allison was the 2022 TVDSB Award of Distinction winner as well as PHE Canada’s 2022 National winner for Teaching Excellence. She is a fierce advocate for Arts Education at all levels and inspires her student’s passion for dance. 

Presented by  Debbie Kapp 

Type of Session: Active Workshop (90 minutes)

Target:    Elementary (Grades 4-8) 

Creativity isn’t born; it’s cultivated. Through the rigorous research of Robert and Michelle Root-Bernstein, the thinking tools of creative people are cultivated most effectively through the Arts and Arts Education. In this workshop participants will participate in Drama and Dance lessons designed to align with the 13 thinking tools of creative thought. These lessons will enable teachers to develop creative thinking in their students through Drama and Dance, while exploring the researched theory. Students today will be graduating into a future where problem solving, innovation and creative thinking will take precedence in their productive lives. We as teachers need to provide a framework where creative and divergent thinking can be fostered. This workshop will provide practical lessons to engage your students and deliver the spark of innovation that is so valued for their future. 

 Delegates will take away a number of lessons they can present to their students right away. The lessons will be able to be presented as is and will also serve as a model when creating new lessons for their students with the intent of developing creative thinking. 

 Debra Kapp, BFA, Bed, is a retired teacher from TVDSB, teaching Dance, Drama, and Phys Ed at Lester B. Pearson School for the Arts since 1990. Debra is a graduate of York University, Faculty of Dance, and developed the Dance program for LBP. Debra is a curriculum writer for the Thames Valley District School Board, the Ministry of Education, Brock University and Western University. She regularly presents workshops for teachers on how to teach Creative Movement in the school setting. Currently, Debra is an Instructor at Western University and Brock University in the Faculty of Education, teaching Drama and Dance Education to second year Teacher Candidates. She is co creator of Action Pak d'Action, a Creative Movement resource manual for teachers teaching Dance in the school setting. In 2005 Debra won an award from London Jewish Federation for her presentation of the Dance performance for Holocaust Awareness Week. Debra is a Board member of Ontario Secondary School Dance Festival (OSSDF) and on the Executive Board of Dance Ontario. 

Presented by  Jennifer Bolt

Type of Session:   Panel Discussion (90 minutes) 

Target:    Secondary (9-12), Beginner or pre-service teachers, Experienced Arts Educators 

 This panel discussion brings together Adjunct Professor of the Faculty of Education at York University, Dr. Jennifer Bolt, who has taught dance teacher candidates since 2012,  with three past and present teacher candidates from her Teaching Dance in the Intermediate Senior Division post secondary class.  This panel discussion is designed to support pre-service and senior educators looking for a fresh and innovative perspective of the Ontario Dance Arts Curriculum. The  panel will open with a discussion around ‘What is the future we want to create together and including how these ‘up and coming’ dance educators hope to support and develop the “the future we want to see?”  Panelists will share fresh new approaches they are developing to support critical thinking, problem-solving and analytical skills in the dance space, as well as some new and innovative approaches for lesson planning practices that “help students understand the world and meet their needs in a holistic manner.” Special attention will be paid to timely and creative approaches for integrating dance into math, science, health and well-being subjects and vice versa.   Dr. Bolt will also share her insights into ways senior educators can help support the transition of new teachers into the field. While this panel will offer pre-service teachers an opportunity to hear from other pre-services teachers methods for transitioning into the field, the panel will offer senior educators the opportunity to hear from new and emerging dance educator’s hopes and desires for the future of dance education and the Arts in Ontario 

By the end of this panel discussion participations will be able to: 

• Identity, discuss and share for lesson planning approaches that “help students understand the world and meet their needs in a holistic manner;"
• Connect emerging teachers with veteran teachers ways to support the pre-service teacher as they enter the arts education field thereby supporting the “future we want to see;”
• Identify and discuss innovative approaches grounded in feminist and critical theory to integrate dance in math and health science thereby helping to support arts education value and relevancy in Ontario.

Jennifer Bolt is a dance artist, researcher and writer working in the areas of performing arts student transition, feminism and critical pedagogy, dance psychology health and well-being. Dr. Bolt holds a Joint Honours Bachelor of Applied Health Science Degree from the University of Waterloo and Canada’s National Ballet School’s Teacher Training Program. From York University she holds a MA in Dance on perfectionism and a PhD in Education on performing arts student transition.  She has presented her award winning research at a number of conferences including 203 CORPS de Ballet International Conference in Paris, the  2016 Leap Transition Conference for Dancers and Athletes in Toronto and the 2018 International Symposium on Dance and Well-Being in Montreal.  After 25 years of teaching teachers at York University, Dr. Bolt will be transitioning full time into her role as Founder and CEO of her company PRIMED for Life Education INC. which offers transition support to students, parents and educator.