Re: thinking education

For the seventh episode of Creating Thinking Systems, our OPSOA (Ontario Public Supervisory Officers’ Association) sponsored series, TC² Executive Director, Usha James speaks with CEO Kristen Niemi and Superintendent of Education Jenny Smith from Renfrew County District School Board about the importance of deep data analysis, consistent guidance frameworks, and maintaining system-level commitment to support student success.

In part two of our sixth Creating Thinking Systems episode, sponsored by OPSOA (Ontario Public Supervisory Officers’ Association), TC² Executive Director, Usha James, continues the conversation with Superintendents Tina Jones, Jay MacJanet, and Vida Collis, about taking the lessons and revelations from part one, and creating effective school visits through purpose, intention, and trust.

Credits:

Host: Usha James
Gues...

In our sixth Creating Thinking Systems episode, sponsored by OPSOA (Ontario Public Supervisory Officers’ Association), TC² Executive Director, Usha James, begins the first of a two-part conversation on school visits with three Ontario superintendents, each in a different phase of their careers.

In this episode we meet Superintendents Jay MacJanet, Tina Jones, and Vida Collis, and reflect with them on how they learned that scho...

For our fifth episode of Creating Thinking Systems, our OPSOA (Ontario Public Supervisory Officers’ Association) sponsored series, TC² Executive Director, Usha James, joins Toronto DSB Executive Superintendent, Nandy Palmer, and Hastings and Prince Edward DSB Superintendent, Ken Dostaler, in examining strategies and challenges in building and ensuring the capacity to not only support students with special education needs, but...

In our fourth instalment of our OPSOA (Ontario Public Supervisory Officers’ Association) sponsored series, Creating Thinking Systems, TC² Executive Director, Usha James, welcomes Director of Education, Wes Hahn, from the Trillium Lakelands District School Board.

Usha and Wes explore how TLDSB drives alignment — using inventive ways to spark authentic student feedback, and ensuring everyone from the director, to c...

How will you start the school year in a good way? 

In her back-to-school message, Usha James invites us to reflect on our shared purpose and reminds us that academic achievement and well-being are deeply connected.

She highlights our revitalized framework, dedicated to nurturing quality thinking that inspires action for a flourishing world, and focuses on one dimension that feels especially important at this time of year: growin...

In the third episode of our OPSOA (Ontario Public Supervisory Officers’ Association) sponsored series, Creating Thinking Systems, TC² Executive Director, Usha James, welcomes Director of Education, Vicki Houston, and Superintendent of Education, Kari Bryant, from the Greater Essex County District School Board in Ontario.  

Having both recently embarked on new leadership roles, Vicki and Kari reflect on their exper...

In this second episode of our series Creating Thinking Systems, sponsored by OPSOA (Ontario Public Supervisory Officers’ Association), Usha James, TC² Executive Director, welcomes two guests from the Bluewater District School Board in Ontario. Lori Wilder, Director of Education, and Wendy Louwerse, Superintendent of Education, describe their journeys in creating a district-wide thinking system and how the use of a critical in...

This is the first episode of Creating Thinking Systems, our OPSOA (Ontario Public Supervisory Officers’ Association) sponsored series. Usha James, TC² Executive Director, welcomes two guests from the Limestone District School Board in eastern Ontario. Krishna Burra, Director of Education, and Jess Silver, Superintendent of K-12 Curriculum and Program Services describe the district’s journey to think critically and colla...

As we begin the 2024-2025 school year, Usha James, Executive Director of TC², reflects on recent challenges in education, from mental health strains to the impacts of remote learning. She acknowledges that, while we are doing many good things, we may not be reaching everyone as effectively as we wish. Usha encourages educators to focus on one or two impactful practices that can make a significant difference, particularly for those ...

In this episode, Warren Woytuck, TC² Director, interviews Usha James, TC² Executive Director, and poses the question, “What really matters when teaching for deep learning?” In the first part of their conversation, Usha provides practical ideas for teachers about how they might identify and distinguish deep learning from other forms of learning. Then, Warren and Usha explore aspects of practice that support deep learning...

In our first episode, we explore assessment and the idea that it can be much more than something that's imposed on students. Usha James, TC² Executive Director, interviews Garfield Gini-Newman, TC² Senior National Consultant, about the ways that assessment can actually be used to inspire. Rather than prompting feelings of anxiousness and trepidation, assessment can be designed to inspire further learning and curiosity. Usha and Gar...