Aporia

Capacity building is concerned with creating and maintaining the necessary conditions, culture and structures to facilitate learning. The principals of Aporia are very active in creating these conditions and structures by establishing and maintaining expertise in a range of change-oriented areas, and structuring processes to share this knowledge with others in ways that are designed to deepen and extend participants learning. Aporia Consulting Ltd offers a number of professional development workshops and workshop series for educators and has developed resource materials for use by educators in a range of areas. The principals of Aporia are also sought after as keynote speakers for a wide range of professional learning events.

Workshops

Aporia consultants offer the following workshops, all of which grow out of our active research program and are solidly anchored in evidence. These professional learning opportunities take place in a variety of formats, ranging from a single half-day to a four-day series.

• The Intelligent, Responsive Leader.

• Leader Learning Teams.

• Intentional Interruption: Breaking down learning barriers to transform professional practice.

• Rethinking classroom assessment with purpose in mind

• Assessment For Learning online training course

• Leading schools is a data-rich world: Harnessing data for school improvement

• Networked professional learning communities: Leveraging and building collective knowledge for school improvement

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Resource Development

Aporia consultants are available to work with clients to develop materials or resources for use locally. A sampling of the resources that Aporia has been involved in developing includes:

• The Learning Conversations Protocol: An Intentional Interruption Strategy for Enhanced Collaborative Learning (Ontario Ministry of Education)

• Knowledge Mobilization to Close the Gap Between Principles and Practices in Assessment for Learning in Mathematics Education (Knowledge Network of Applied Educational Research)

• Assessment For Learning “Looks Like” video and print resource for elementary and secondary schools (GTA Professional Network Centre – 12 Ontario school districts)

• Introduction to a district classroom assessment document (Durham District School Board)

• A multi-media system for schools to facilitate thoughtful and intentional use of data in educational decision-making (Ontario Ministry of Education)

• Leading Student Achievement: Our Principal Purpose – DVDs and Facilitator’s Guide (Literacy & Numeracy Secretariat and Provincial Principals’ Associations) - click here to view this resource

• A practitioner-directed interactive document on rethinking classroom assessment with purposes in mind (WNCP – , Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Saskatchewan, Yukon)

• A training guide for conducting peer, school-based , focused group interviews (Halifax Regional School Board)

• A classroom assessment planning guide to accompany curriculum documents (British Columbia Ministry of Education)

• A framework to guide the construction of a position on large-scale assessment and accountability (Council of Directors of Education - CODE)

• A resource that provides direction for a discussion about the necessary processes and decisions (or 'what it takes') required to examine a potential altered school day (Simcoe Country District School Board)

• A workshop evaluation package for a program aimed at managing diversity in the workplace (Employee Assistance Program)

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Keynote Addresses

The following is a sample of the keynote addresses that Aporia principals have delivered recently.

• Am I getting better and how do I know? Putting the learning back in professional learning.

• The intelligent, responsive leader.

• Leading student achievement.

• Getting better through leadership inquiries.

• Impactful Superintendent School Visits.

• Intentional Interruption: Breaking down learning barriers to transform professional practice.

• Building a learning organization through an evidence-informed school improvement planning process.

• What are we learning about Supervisory Officer learning?

• Learning for new Supervisory Officers: Process and content.

• Building professional learning structures.

• Leader Learning Teams.

• Department Heads as lead teachers: Towards instructional leadership.

• The learning-driven school: Towards a culture of inquiry.

• Leading learning: Building a culture of professional learning within schools.

• Pushing the envelope of school improvement: Leading learning organizations.

• Leading learning: Building a culture of professional learning within and across departments.

• Exploring the voice from full day kindergarten: Inviting us to think and act differently.

• Leading learning-driven schools.

• Building a culture of professional learning within schools.

• Redefining Educational Accountability

• Building and Connecting Learning Communities

• Improving Schools in a Data-Rich World: Towards Informed Professional Judgement - click here for the webcast

• Lateral Capacity Building through Networked Learning Communities

• How Networked Learning Communities Work - click here for the webcast

• Networked Learning Communities: Conditions for Success - click here for the webcast

• Leading in a Data Rich World: Harnessing Data for School Improvement

• Using Data to Create Powerful Learning Communities

• Rethinking Assessment With Purpose in Mind - click here for the webcast

• Assessment Of, For, and As Learning: Getting the Balance Right

• Assessment for Deep Understanding

• Making Assessment Work for Learning: Looking Forward

• Accountability for Learning

• Accountability is not Paint by Numbers

• Designing and Implementing An Accountability Framework

• Performance Appraisal for Learning

• Assessment Literacy: Using Data for Wise Decisions

• How People Learn

• It's About Learning and It's About Time

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