NCTCA 2025: Full Schedule

EVENTBRITE (PRE-REGISTERED SESSIONS) -- Get your tickets here!
Tickets go on sale Monday, December 9th at 7PM
- EVENTBRITE IS THE ONLY WAY TO SECURE YOUR SPACE IN A PRE-REG SESSION!
- ONLY add a pre-registered session to your schedule on Sched if you have purchased your Eventbrite ticket.
- Sales end Monday, January 27 at 12PM

Wednesday Social - KARAOKE NIGHT!!
Location: The Westin Hotel - Devonian Room
Time: 7PM - 10PM
Appetizers will be provided throughout the evening.

2025 Tours
Art Gallery of Alberta
"Guided Tour": Thursday February 8th 9:30AM - 11:00AM
"Guided Tour": Friday February 9th 12:00PM - 1:30PM

Telus World of Science - Edmonton
Thursday February 8th PM

Fort Edmonton Park
Thursday, February 6th 9AM - 3PM
Friday, February 7th 9AM - 3PM

Muttart Conservatory
Thursday, February 6th 12:30PM - 1:30PM
Friday, February 7th 9AM - 10AM

Royal Alberta Museum
FRENCH Classroom: Thursday, February 6th 9:30AM - 11AM
ENGLISH Classroom: Thursday, February 6th 1PM - 2:30PM
FRENCH Tour: Friday, February 7th 9:30AM - 11AM
ENGLISH Tour: Friday, February 7th 1PM - 2:30PM

2025 Partners In Education Luncheon with Scott Ervin -- Get your ticket here!
Tickets go on sale Monday, December 9th 2024 at 7PM
10:30AM Doors open
11:15AM Program begins
11:30AM Scott Ervin to speak
12:15PM Lunch will be served

2025 Venues:

The Westin Edmonton: 10135 100 St. NW
Edmonton Convention Centre: 9797 Jasper Avenue, Edmonton
Saville Community Sports Centre: 11610 65 Ave, NW, Edmonton
Art Gallery of Alberta: 2 Sir Winston Churchill Square, Edmonton
Offsite locations: There are numerous offsite locations which all require an Eventbrite ticket. All Attendees with an Eventbrite ticket will be emailed directly with a location address.

9:00am MST

Helping Students Navigate Academic Vocabulary Across Subject Areas

Thursday February 6, 2025 9:00am - 10:00am MST

ECC - Salon 10

Students require specialized skills to be able to cope with the demands of disciplinary text. As students move up in secondary grades, the language of the texts they engage with becomes more specialized and precise, and the language more academic. Academic vocabulary (often referred to as Tier 2 Academic Words) is problematic for students to master, as academic vocabulary can take on dramatically different meanings depending on the usage. As the knowledge students engage with becomes more formalized and complex, so too do the patterns of language that construct that knowledge. This session will take a look at patterns of language and some of the problems with academic vocabulary. Teachers will come away with practical and useful tools that students can use to visualize, organize and structure their thinking to improve their reading, writing and communicating across all subject areas.

Speakers

Dr. Karena Hartson

Consultant

Dr. Hartson is a secondary literacy consultant who delivers high-level, high-energy professional learning sessions that help teachers leverage their own experiences to support student learning. Teachers attending her sessions will come away with tools and strategies that they can... Read More →

Thursday February 6, 2025 9:00am - 10:00am MST
ECC - Salon 10 Edmonton Convention Centre

Teaching Practices/ Pédagogie, Language Arts / Arts Langagier

Language of Presentation English
Grade Focus Division 3 (Grades 7-9)
format Tables
Room Details ECC - Salon 10 (Edmonton Convention Centre, Tables Max capacity for 120 people)
Tags English, Division 3 (Grades 7-9)

10:15am MST

How Big Movies Help Students Understand Big Transferable Concepts

Thursday February 6, 2025 10:15am - 11:15am MST

ECC - Salon 10

Finding Nemo. How to Train Your Dragon. Apollo 13. There are big ideas and big moments in big movies: ideas that can pinpoint key instances of learning and transfer. We’ll examine these moments (and more) and bridge them into classroom learning. Teachers will learn about transfer theory and ways to use movies to explicitly teach for transfer of understanding. This session includes a support package of takeaways, teaching tips, and graphic organizers teachers can use in their classrooms.

Speakers

Dr. Karena Hartson

Consultant

Thursday February 6, 2025 10:15am - 11:15am MST
ECC - Salon 10 Edmonton Convention Centre

Language Arts / Arts Langagier, Teaching Practices/ Pédagogie

Language of Presentation English
Grade Focus All Grades
format Tables
Room Details ECC - Salon 10 (Edmonton Convention Centre, Tables Max capacity for 120 people)
Tags English, All Grades

11:30am MST

Creating Next Level Art Exhibitions

Thursday February 6, 2025 11:30am - 12:30pm MST

ECC - Salon 10

Exhibitions are the standard way to present art, but more goes into the show than you might imagine. From concept to planning and execution, art curator Alexis Marie Chute will share with you her two-decade-long experience and knowledge about mounting meaningful exhibits. The tips you’ll glean will be applicable for mounting art shows in schools, libraries, community centers, galleries, and beyond. Alexis will inspire you with ground-breaking examples and show how you can create a show-stopping exhibit on any budget.

Speakers

Alexis Marie Chute

Creative Director, Alexis Marie Productions Inc.

Alexis Marie Chute is an award-winning visual artist, filmmaker, art gallery curator, and bestselling author of 7 books, including the fantasy trilogy Above the Star, Below the Moon, Inside the Sun, and memoir Expecting Sunshine. Her latest non-fiction books include Prairie Spirits... Read More →

Thursday February 6, 2025 11:30am - 12:30pm MST
ECC - Salon 10 Edmonton Convention Centre

Fine Arts, Technology / Technolgie

Language of Presentation English
Grade Focus All Grades
format Tables
Room Details ECC - Salon 10 (Edmonton Convention Centre, Tables Max capacity for 120 people)
Tags English, All Grades

12:45pm MST

The Art of Writing: Exploring Word-and-Image Pairings in Contemporary Literature

Thursday February 6, 2025 12:45pm - 1:45pm MST

ECC - Salon 10

Is a picture truly worth a thousand words? What happens when imagery and text combine? In an age of visual communication, it is important to reflect on the dynamic relationship between words and images. Learn the ways writers might capitalize on visual material to strengthen their craft. We will explore the word-image relationships in children’s books, graphic novels, hybrid novels, photograph/art books, magazines, comics, literary journals, and advertisements. Learn strategies for pairing words and images, observe what works and what doesn’t, and be inspired to expand the scope of future writing projects.

Speakers

Alexis Marie Chute

Creative Director, Alexis Marie Productions Inc.

Thursday February 6, 2025 12:45pm - 1:45pm MST
ECC - Salon 10 Edmonton Convention Centre

Language Arts / Arts Langagier, Fine Arts

Language of Presentation English
Grade Focus All Grades
format Tables
Room Details ECC - Salon 10 (Edmonton Convention Centre, Tables Max capacity for 120 people)
Tags English, All Grades

2:00pm MST

Photography and Mindfulness: Learning to See

Thursday February 6, 2025 2:00pm - 3:00pm MST

ECC - Salon 10

Our world is busy, go-go-go, which is why empowering ourselves and our students to be here and now is a tremendous gift. This session will use photography and the art of seeing to retrain our brains to live mindfully, aware, and with a depth of observation that will benefit every area of education and life. Photography and vision exercises will be explained and demonstrated, for example: Slow walking Changing lighting to change mood Body scans Limits on picture quantity Sensory awareness

Speakers

Alexis Marie Chute

Creative Director, Alexis Marie Productions Inc.

Thursday February 6, 2025 2:00pm - 3:00pm MST
ECC - Salon 10 Edmonton Convention Centre

Fine Arts, CTS, CTF

Language of Presentation English
Grade Focus Division 3/4
format Tables
Room Details ECC - Salon 10 (Edmonton Convention Centre, Tables Max capacity for 120 people)
Tags English, Division 3/4

9:00am MST

Worldbuilding Fun for Fiction Writing

Friday February 7, 2025 9:00am - 10:00am MST

ECC - Salon 10

Author and master-worldbuilder, Alexis Marie Chute inspires teachers to bring new dimensions to their creative writing curricula. Delving into the art of worldbuilding, this session provides innovative and interactive techniques to help students construct compelling fictional worlds for their stories. Attendees will learn how to guide students in creating intricate cultures, geographies, histories, and societies within their narratives, fostering imagination and critical thinking. By igniting the spark of creativity through worldbuilding, this presentation offers teachers a unique tool to inspire their students, enhance storytelling skills, and nurture a love for fiction writing in the classroom.

Speakers

Alexis Marie Chute

Creative Director, Alexis Marie Productions Inc.

Friday February 7, 2025 9:00am - 10:00am MST
ECC - Salon 10 Edmonton Convention Centre

Language Arts / Arts Langagier, Social Studies / Études sociales

Language of Presentation English
Grade Focus Division 2/3
format Tables
Room Details ECC - Salon 10 (Edmonton Convention Centre, Tables Max capacity for 120 people)
Tags English, Division 2/3

10:15am MST

Teaching Students to Write Cool Characters, Superheroes, and Themselves

Friday February 7, 2025 10:15am - 11:15am MST

ECC - Salon 10

Learn how to ignite your mind and fuel your imagination—and lead your students to do the same. Deepen your understanding of: Free writing The hero’s journey Creating cool characters Writing about meaningful events in your life Writing from new perspectives Crafting new worlds in fictional stories The inspirational teaching time will open you up to new ways of looking at the world and at your own experiences. You’ll learn new methods to express yourself, get inspired, and have a blast. You’ll also come away with tools to help release stress that are healthy and empowering. Positive expressions of the mental health journey will be explored. Put these writing styles and exercises to the test—then bring them back to your classrooms.

Speakers

Alexis Marie Chute

Creative Director, Alexis Marie Productions Inc.

Friday February 7, 2025 10:15am - 11:15am MST
ECC - Salon 10 Edmonton Convention Centre

Language Arts / Arts Langagier, Health - CALM / Santé

Language of Presentation English
Grade Focus Division 2/3
format Tables
Room Details ECC - Salon 10 (Edmonton Convention Centre, Tables Max capacity for 120 people)
Tags English, Division 2/3

11:30am MST

Reading, Writing, Speaking: The Metacognitive Connection

Friday February 7, 2025 11:30am - 12:30pm MST

ECC - Salon 10

Metacognition is more than simply 'thinking about thinking'. Students who have a variety of metacognitive strategies to draw upon do better with evaluating the quality of their learning, knowing when they’re getting ‘derailed’, and knowing where and when to seek help. This session will focus on the connection between language, consciousness, and metacognition and will include takeaways, examples, and strategies for teaching students to be more metacognitively aware learners.

Speakers

Dr. Karena Hartson

Consultant

Friday February 7, 2025 11:30am - 12:30pm MST
ECC - Salon 10 Edmonton Convention Centre

Teaching Practices/ Pédagogie, General Interest / Intérêt Général

Language of Presentation English
Grade Focus Division 2/3
format Tables
Room Details ECC - Salon 10 (Edmonton Convention Centre, Tables Max capacity for 120 people)
Tags English, Division 2/3

12:45pm MST

Using Riddles and Unsolvable Problems to Encourage Oral Language and Higher Order Thinking Skills

Friday February 7, 2025 12:45pm - 1:45pm MST

ECC - Salon 10

Here’s a great entry point for thinking, speaking and problem solving! Riddles and unsolvable problems contain clues, mysteries, and thought-provoking opportunities seen as ‘play’, but in reality they encourage complex cognitive investment. Along with developing valuable language-manipulation skills, riddles and unsolvable puzzles support higher level thinking, literacy and numeracy competencies, and promote subject-specific skills. Teachers will walk away with a number of riddles and puzzles that encourage students to engage in oral language, problem solving, and critical thinking. Join us for a puzzlingly good time!

Speakers

Dr. Karena Hartson

Consultant

Friday February 7, 2025 12:45pm - 1:45pm MST
ECC - Salon 10 Edmonton Convention Centre

Teaching Practices/ Pédagogie, General Interest / Intérêt Général

Language of Presentation English
Grade Focus Division 2/3
format Tables
Room Details ECC - Salon 10 (Edmonton Convention Centre, Tables Max capacity for 120 people)
Tags English, Division 2/3

2:00pm MST

All Who are Weary and Heavy-Laden

Friday February 7, 2025 2:00pm - 3:00pm MST

ECC - Salon 10

Although he went to church from the time he was very young, the launch of a parish youth ministry program in his teen years is what really awakened Mike Landry’s faith, making Jesus his dearest friend. For more than 27 years, Mike has sought to share the truth, beauty, and goodness of Catholic Christianity with others. Currently, he works full-time as division Chaplain for Evergreen Catholic Schools, serving ten schools west of Edmonton, AB. Mike and his wife Jennifer live in Stony Plain, AB with their five children.

Speakers

Mike Landry

Friday February 7, 2025 2:00pm - 3:00pm MST
ECC - Salon 10 Edmonton Convention Centre

Religious Studies / Religion, Teacher Wellness / Bien-être

Language of Presentation English
Grade Focus All Grades
format Tables
Room Details ECC - Salon 10 (Edmonton Convention Centre, Tables Max capacity for 120 people)
Tags English, All Grades