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

 Presented by   Cheri-Anne Byrne  

Type of Session:   Panel Discussion (90 minutes) 

Target:    Elementary (Grades 4-8), Secondary (9-12), Beginner or pre-service teachers, Experienced Arts Educators  

 This session invites participants to explore the connection to the  world around them using the life cycle of a star to inform the  movement.  Motivated by the prompt, ‘we come from the stars’, to explore  the elements of dance as it connects to science curriculum in all  levels.  Resources including, Lessons from the Earth and Beyond, the  periodic table of elements and Tasha Spillet’s picture book, I Sang You  Down from the Stars will be offered as entry points to build kinesthetic  understanding of literacy and science .

Delegates will work collaboratively to create movement phrases  connected to familiar elements (Hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, iron, helium)  found in the stars; how particles move in different states of matter,  how to use movement to show chemical bonds and equations (time  permitting). Educators will be introduced to a picture book written by  Cree author Tasha Spillet and to the public resource Lessons from  Beyond.  

Cheri-Anne Byrne is an Ontario Secondary Drama and Dance educator  with 17 years of classroom experience and the current treasurer of the  Council of Ontario Drama and Dance Educators. Her teaching practice is  anchored in infusing anti-oppressive and anti-colonial approaches to  breakdown bias and barriers in educational spaces. She graduated from  the University of Waterloo with an Honours degree in drama and obtained  her BEd from Ottawa University.  Cheri-Anne has facilitated professional  development at multiple CODE on the Road conferences,  Alglonquin-Lakeshore, Hamilton-Wentworth and Dufferin-Peel Catholic  District School Board.  Currently she is an consultant in Indigenous  Education with a focus on supporting Indigenous Youth in DPCDSB. 

Presented by    Michelle Gram Giesen 

Type of Session:   Active Workshop (90 minutes) 

Target:   Drama - Elementary (Grades 4-8) 

 In this workshop, educators will participate in a story drama  session, exactly as their students would, using the book “The Lost Drop”  by Grégoire Laforce to explore the journey a single drop of water takes  when traveling through the water cycle. Drama and Dance exercises will  be embedded throughout the storytelling to create an immersive  experience for the audience, rather than engage as passive observers.  Exercises such as hot seating, soundscape, group in role, future  scenarios, town council, teacher in role, moving to music, writing in  role, verb chains, and more will help educators recognize ways the arts  can be a vehicle for their students to synthesize and consolidate their  understanding of the water cycle, water protection, interdependence of  living and non-living things, and long-term human impact on the Earth  and sustainability. Opportunities will be provided for professional  dialogue to identify how and when certain exercises would be beneficial  and effective to implement across the curriculum. 

 Attendees will actively participate in this hands-on workshop,  getting the full practical experience of how a story drama might be led.   They will  be provided a collection of 15+ Story Drama exercises that  elevate and activate storytelling and cross-curricular teaching using  rich picture books, the Story Drama Suite-created unit plan for "The  Lost Drop" with Ontario Curriculum connections, music suggestions, and  various assessment templates evaluating both science and arts strands.  Attendees will learn how drama and dance can be integrated with core  subjects to help support students' understanding of scientific  teachings, as well as gain an appreciation for how the arts provide  endless opportunities to differentiate instruction and provide a  universal design for learning in the classroom, and develop the  confidence and ability to embed drama and dance into their storytelling  to provide an active and engaging experience for their audience.  

Michelle Gram Giesen has worked at the Toronto District School  Board in Canada for 18 years, as an elementary teacher, drama  specialist, integrated arts teacher, librarian, and presently as an Arts  Teacher Mentor with the board. She is an actor, puppeteer, voice actor,  and the founder of Story Drama Suite, providing drama education  workshops, consulting, presentations, classes, and parties for  educators, children, and theatre practitioners. Michelle holds a BFA  Honours from York University’s Creative Ensemble/ Devised Theatre  Program, and a B.Ed. from OISE/UofT. She has studied various drama  techniques and teaching styles and facilitated conference sessions  centered on using Story Drama to explore themes such as mental health,  social justice, environmental stewardship, bullying, Indigenous  education, and more in Canada, the USA, Europe, and New Zealand.  

 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.