The First MRU Department of Education Annual Inclusive Education Symposium
On March 1st, 2019 our fourth-year teacher candidates and many of their mentor teachers attended the first annual MRU Department of Education Inclusive Education Symposium. The focus of the day was on trauma-informed teaching practices. The day started off with an opening keynote presentation from Ms. Kim Campbell of the Calgary Child Advocacy Center. Ms. Campbell reviewed the importance of developing relationships with children, looking for potential signs of trauma, and explaining the impact of trauma on brain development.
In the afternoon participants selected one of eight breakout sessions ranging from a sharing circle, where participants learned how to understand trauma from indigenous students' perspectives, to the "Brain Game" where students learned how trauma affects the brain. The wrap-up keynote by Dr. Joy Chadwick, from our department, focused on promoting effective social-emotional learning (SEL) practices in classrooms.
We would like to thank the Government of Alberta for a grant that supported this event, all of our presenters for sharing their time and knowledge, and Mount Royal University for their support.
Please visit this link for more information on the 2019 symposium and breakout session presenters.