Thunder Bay Presentation Descriptions (Oct. 24th, 2026).
9:00-10:15am: Morning Keynote: Jim Strachan
Session Title: Mentoring Essentials for Associate Teachers
Description: In order to support student well-being and learning, we must intentionally foster educator well-being and learning. As we seek to do this, a question worth asking is: how are we supporting ourselves? In this interactive keynote, we’ll explore a variety of practical ideas and tools to support your work as learners, mentors, and leaders. These include:
- Trust
- Goal Setting Conversations
- Scaling Questions
- Appreciative Inquiry
- Associate Teaching as Learning
To support our shared learning, you’re invited to visit our mentoring for mentors site - https://sites.google.com/view/mentoringforall (best viewed on a browser other than Google)
12:45-1:45pm: Lunch Keynote: Marlo Beaucage
Session Title: Mentoring Teacher Candidates
Description: In this presentation, Marlo will provide explicit examples of specific activities and the measuring of success with Teacher Candidates related to the following key points: a) Centering Indigenous Worldviews as the Foundation of Mentoring: Mentoring grows from and with Indigenous Ways of Knowing (WoK), Being, Seeing, and Doing. This centers identity, language, territory, and community values in the learning journey. b) Decolonizing Curriculum and Assessment from the Ground Up: Traditional approaches can reproduce colonial power Dynamics. Decolonizing means re-centering Indigenous knowledge, languages, and ways of knowing. c) Relationship-Centered Mentoring and Relational Accountability: Learning is relational; trust and reciprocity enable candidates to grow as culturally grounded educators. d) Language, Place, and People: Place-Based and Culturally Responsive Pedagogy: Language and place anchor identity and worldviews; pedagogy should be responsive to local contexts and cultures. e) Reflection, Transformation, and Structural Change: From Personal Practice to Systemic Impact: Meaningful mentoring requires ongoing reflection and action that challenges inequities in teacher education and schooling systems.
5:30-6:30 pm: Dinner Keynote Speakers: Franki-Lynne Mauro & Noah Siren
Session Title: The Teachers Behind the Teachers
Session A Speakers: 10:30-11:30am
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Speaker: Dr. Julian Kitchen
Title: Building Meaningful Practicum Experiences through Authentic Relationships: The Roles of Teacher Candidates, Associate Teachers and University Supervisors
Description: The seminar begins with a rationale for focusing on relationships in practice teaching based on the presenter’s personal professional experiences and research on successful field experiences. Through group activities, case studies, and the exploration of online resources, this interactive presentation will highlight practical strategies for building authentic practicum relationships that lead to individual and community growth. |
Speakers: Sarah Gibbon & Panel
Title: The Unique Characteristics of Associate Teacher/Teacher Candidate Mentoring Relationship at the Elementary Level
Description: Hosting a teacher candidate can be a very rewarding way for classroom teachers to support the next generation of educators, yet it is often a challenge to find elementary teachers willing to commit to this role. This presentation will examine the realities and systemic issues that can affect a decision to mentor a teacher candidate, while at the same time it will focus on identifying strategies and supports that can help overcome these barriers. A panel of working teachers at several different grade levels will be available to answer questions and reflect and share experiences, in an effort to deepen understanding of the complexity of mentoring a teacher candidate in the elementary classroom. |
Speakers: Dr. Paul Cormier and Tyler Armstrong
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Session B Speakers: 11:45-12:45pm
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Speakers: Dr. Clayton Smith and Xuan Tai Nguyen
Title: From Theory to Practice in the Mentoring Journey
Description: In this interactive session, Dr. Clayton Smith and Ph.D. student Xuan Tai Nguyen will introduce their new book, Mentoring to Support Teacher Candidate Development, and present a synthesis of the book’s thematic discussions (pre-service mentoring, mentoring for student types, mentoring in teacher induction), while underscoring mentoring’s pivotal role in teacher preparation, and identifying strategic directions for future research to advance the mentoring field. This session will present proven ways to translate mentoring theory into practice and provide an opportunity for participants to share their challenges and successes in implementing teacher candidate mentoring. |
Speakers: Dr. Ruth Kane & Dr. Trista Hollweck
Title: Twenty years of NTIP: Rethinking Roles, Relationships and Reciprocity in Induction
Description: This interactive session will begin by tracing the contours of research on induction and mentoring for new teachers over the past 20 years since the first evaluation of the New Teacher Induction Program (NTIP) in Ontario (2006). We will draw attention to how the structural support systems for new teachers, and the ways in which the roles and responsibilities of different actors – ministry, school boards, school administrators, mentors, new teachers – have evolved across this provincial system and school contexts. While research has often focused on the tensions embedded in the role of the school administrator and their relationship with new teachers, we would like to shift the focus of discussion to how mentors are positioned in induction programs across diverse school settings. In the second part of the session, participants will be called upon to engage in conversations that imagine different ways of building connected communities across diverse school contexts. Some of the questions that we'll explore are: What might be possible if we approach the induction of new teachers as an opportunity for ethical relational learning? How might we better support mentors’ professional learning and development? What role does reciprocal learning play within induction? What might be required to foster trust-building, confidence, and professional growth for all? |
Speaker: Jason Pilot
Title: Mentorship of Teacher Candidates in Secondary STEM Classrooms
Description: This workshop will examine how the Science department at Superior CVI has developed mentorship programs with teacher candidates over the last 10 years. The Science department focuses heavily on inquiry-based learning, problem-solving skills, and explicit instruction, while developing key literacy and numeracy skills that are foundational to scientific learning. We will observe how members of the department transition from modelling key skills to assisting in planning various learning activities, to offering feedback, developing both teaching and metacognitive skills of the teacher candidates. |
Session C Speakers: 2:00-3:00pm
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Speakers: Dr. Gerri Salinitri & Dr. Clayton Smith
Title: Mentoring Teacher Candidates in Post-Secondary Concurrent Education Programs
Description: In this interactive session, the presenters will introduce their new book, Mentoring to Support Teacher Candidate Development, discuss the lessons learned from two student mentoring studies: “Outcomes of Peer Mentoring for Teacher Education Candidates in a Post-Secondary Education Program” and “Professional Insights for Successful Implementation of Peer-Mentoring Programs for Undergraduate Teacher Candidates,” and present recommendations for implementing student mentoring programs in university teacher education programs. This session will offer participants an opportunity to share the challenges and successes they experienced in implementing teacher-candidate peer-mentoring programs. |
Speaker: Jennifer Della Mea
Title: Mentorship in Secondary Schools and the Importance of Human Connection Description: This presentation will explore the role of mentorship in Ontario secondary schools, emphasizing the importance of genuine human connection in student teacher development as well as new colleague relationships. The discussion will establish that effective mentorship goes beyond academic guidance, fostering trust, empathy, and a sense of belonging in secondary schools. Drawing on classroom examples and educator experiences, the speaker will highlight how strong relationships can improve teacher-student engagement, teacher resilience, and overall well-being. The presentation will also address challenges such as time constraints and systemic barriers that can limit meaningful interactions. Strategies for building authentic connections, including active listening and culturally responsive practices, will be shared as practical tools for educators. Overall, the presentation will underscore that human connection is central to impactful mentorship and student success. |
Speakers: Matt Roy & Panel
Title: Beginning the AT Journey - Reflections on being a new Associate Teacher (Panel)
Description: With a massive turnover soon expected in the profession, many new(ish) teachers will find themselves in the role of being associate teachers prior to feeling fully ready. This panel discussion will feature several teachers who have just completed their first experiences with mentoring a Teacher Candidate. Our panel will reflect on their worries prior to starting the role, what they learned through the experience (both the easy way and the hard way), and what supports would be most beneficial to them as new ATs. Session attendees will be able to walk away with current insights into how best to support new ATs or inspiration to try being an AT if they haven't yet been in the role. The panel will be moderated by Matt Roy. |
Session D Speakers: 3:15-4:15pm
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Speaker: Dr. Claire Mooney
Title: Solving for Success: Collaborative Mentoring in Math Education
Description: What is the formula for success in mentoring future mathematics teachers? This interactive session examines the "mentoring equation" that connects teacher candidates, associate teachers, and faculty advisors in a collaborative network of support. Drawing on experiences from mathematics teacher education, participants will explore mentoring challenges and opportunities, share perspectives, and identify strategies for fostering meaningful professional growth in mathematics teaching and learning. |
Speaker: Kym Geddes
Title: From Complexity to Clarity: Coaching Others to Communicate What Matters Most Description: Applying decades of broadcast journalism, executive coaching, and leadership mentoring to help others organize ideas, sharpen messages, and communicate with purpose. Takeaways: -A newsroom approach to organizing information -Techniques for crystallizing complex issues -Strategies for building confidence through coaching -Storytelling methods that increase engagement and understanding Impact: Participants will learn practical coaching strategies that help mentees think more clearly, communicate more effectively, and increase their influence. |
Speaker: Mike Filipetti
Title: Supporting Future Teachers
Description: In this presentation, a review of the key members of the placement team will be discussed, including (TC, AT, Principals, University Administrators, FAs, Division Coordinators, Chairs, and Dean). The topics below will also be addressed:
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