Workshops

As an experienced public speaker, Grant is known for his engaging and often interactive workshops. Whether it is a session on the power of teacher autonomy, active assessment, or using drama as a teaching method, Grant is able to diversify for a variety of audiences and grade levels. If you are interested in finding out more about these workshops, or having Grant come to your event to speak on any topic raised in his blogs, simply fill out the following form, and he will contact you directly.

Current Offerings:

Becoming ‘Well-Educated” ; Teacher wellness in the modern school (1 hour)

One of the major issues facing educational jurisdictions right across the world is that of teacher wellness. High attrition rates and teacher burnout have become a hallmark of the profession. The evidence clearly points to issues, but what can be done? In this hour long session, we will look define wellness in a professional context, examine the various costs associated with un-well workplaces, and ultimately provide teachers with some tried and true coping mechanisms to become “Well-Educated.” (Prepared as part of the Ed-Can Network “Well at Work Series”, Toronto 2019.)

Gas in the Tank: Can teaching bounce back as a profession? (1 hour)

Teaching is a profession which seems to get tougher every year. Demands of parents, endless administrative tasks, and the ever-changing needs of the students all tap into our energy reserves, leaving not much “gas in the tank” at the end of the day. Added to this, increased scrutiny of the teaching profession in the name of accountability has added another dimension to the overall energy drain on teachers.
This session will look at this trend, offering some key examples of both international and national jurisdictions. We will examine such questions as : Is teaching the attractive profession it used to be? How is teaching viewed by the public? How do these trends impact teacher numbers? Finally, what can be done to help the profession “bounce back”? (Presented at CLUTE Orlando, Florida 2019)

Learning to Fly – Navigating pressures to develop effective teams. (30 minutes to 1 hour)

Teacher leaders are often called upon to do wonders and work miracles. They must teach, evaluate, report, assess, disciple, mollify, defend, respond, counsel and adjust, usually all within the first four minutes of their day! In the melee that is public education, they can sometimes lose sight of how much impact the pressures of work, students, parents and their own family have on them as individuals.

In this light, but eye-opening interactive session, Grant will take teachers through a series of tasks focusing on team building and co-operation, all the while helping teacher leaders recognize how they and the teams they work within are effected by these pressures. (Presented at Halifax County Local NSTU executive planning session, 2015 Oak Island, Nova Scotia.)

Autonomy with a purpose: Driving educational change one classroom at a time. (1 hour)

Autonomy in the work place has been shown to be one of the most important factors in such things as job satisfaction, productivity and creativity in problem solving. However, education tends to be one area where the autonomy of the expert in the classroom has seen significant erosion over the past number of years. It is also an area where the vast majority of change is driven from the outside in or from the top down. In this interactive and entertaining look at teacher autonomy, Grant will explore the issue of teacher autonomy and share some of his insights into how teacher autonomy in the classroom can be the catalyst to truly significant educational change. (Presented at the Emergent  Conference, 2014, Halifax, Nova Scotia. )