This year the MCRC Executive is excited to host a members-only professional learning event.  Registration is only $35 ($25 for student members) and includes your membership dues! Lifetime members are welcomed at no cost. Click here to register and simultaneously pay your dues! You will be issued a receipt for expense submission upon completion of the PD event. REMEMBER….your membership registration and payment is your ticket to this event! You will be redirected to the membership registration page to complete this process.

Lifetime members please fill in registration form to update your membership information. DO NOT submit payment.

Date: October 13^th, 2021

Time: 4:30-6:00 pm via Zoom (Link to session will be emailed one day prior)

4:30-5:00 Monica Wiebe – Book Talk: Shifting the Balance

Grappling with the Science of Reading vs the Balanced Literacy dichotomy is what brought the authors Jan Burkins and Kari Yates together during a pandemic as they puzzled through the research and they shifted the balance of their own thinking –which they hope will help bring the two worlds together for teachers in order to enhance literacy education for all students. In Shifting the Balance – 6 ways to bring the Science of Reading into the Balanced literacy Classroom published by Stenhouse, they suggest looking at myths, misconceptions and truths can help every educators to let go of less helpful practices and embracing best practices while gently forgiving ourselves when what we hold dear and did for a long time might need some shifts.

5:00-5:30 Jodianna Paterson: Building the Profession & Microsoft Tools for Learning

In the first part of this presentation Jodianna will present an overview of the endeavors related to the training and retention of new reading clinicians.  Three initiatives will be discussed:

1. The establishment of a cohort of Masters of Education students
2. The process by which a thesis route was introduced as a certification path
3. The model of reading associate positions in Winnipeg School Division

Following that discussion an overview of the tools available through the Microsoft suite to create more accessible classrooms will be shared.

5:30-6:00 Tracie McDonald: STOP and DARE Persuasive Essay Writing: Considerations for Instruction Through the Lens of Inclusive Education

Being able to demonstrate critical thinking through written expression is an important skill required for academic success. Students that have a diagnosed learning disability (LD) often experience challenges with academic tasks associated with writing.  The STOP and DARE  persuasive writing strategy is an evidence-based writing strategy that is supported by experimental, quasi-experimental and single subject design research (Graham & Perin, 2007; Hoover, Kubina, & Mason, 2012). The STOP and DARE mnemonic has been found to be an effective way to support adolescent students with generating and organizing ideas. This strategy guides students through the process of using multiple sources of information to demonstrate critical thinking when writing a persuasive essay.  The current study investigates the effectiveness of the STOP and DARE persuasive writing strategy for a student with a diagnosed LD, when the strategy is implemented primarily as whole class instruction, with supplemental support with small group instruction during literacy specific blocks, during the six day school cycle.  The data from one student, that has a diagnosed learning disability in reading and written expression, has been extrapolated to investigate the effectiveness of the STOP and DARE persuasive writing strategy when it is used primarily as a whole class intervention with mild amounts of small group support.