Re: thinking education

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 school vis...

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 impro...

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 coaches and...

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: growing com...

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 experiences of...

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 inquiry ...

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 collaboratively i...

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, and identi...

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 an...