STAFF DEVELOPMENT
at George Brown College

Festival of Learning

February 24 & 25, 2009
Intersession Week

Overview

One of the four core values in our Academic Strategy is for the College to become 'a learning community where all staff members are highly valued, learning is constantly stimulated, people learn together and from one another, accomplishments are celebrated and best practices rewarded'.

This February's Intersession Week, titled "A Festival of Learning," will host a series of presentations, workshops and information markets designed to engage, stimulate and celebrate learning at George Brown College.

Here's a sample of what we've got lined up:

February 24th at St. James - "Facilitating Learning"

• Learning to Learn Scholar’s panel made up of 5 experts from across Canada who have devoted their careers to teaching and learning in post-secondary education
• Followed by workshops, roundtable discussions and private lunch with our guest panelists
• More concurrent workshops and roundtable discussions after lunch

Our Learning to Learn Scholar’s panel of experts includes: 

Janice Newton – York University;
Dr. Timothy Pychyl - Carlton University;
Patangi "Chari" Rangachari – McMaster University
John Wadland – Trent University;
Barry Joe – Brock University

Each of our visiting experts will participate in a panel discussion where you will briefly hear about their areas of interest.  Following the panel presentation, each panel member will conduct a 1.5 hour workshop where they will discuss in more detail their particular areas of expertise - you can decide following the panel presentation whose workshop you are most interested in attending. 

After the workshops, each panel member will invite 5-6 individual faculty members to attend a private lunch where more informal discussions can occur.  Following lunch, there will be a number of workshops presented by our faculty and simultaneously, each panelist will host roundtable discussions to allow you to engage in focused informal discussions about teaching and learning at the College.

The afternoon will finish with a reception at Kultura Restaurant where you can mingle with your colleagues and again take the opportunity to chat informally with our visiting experts.

February 25th at Casa Loma - "Community of Learning"

• This exciting day begins with a Learning Fair where you will experience over 20 hands on demonstrations dealing with everything from work-life balance to student teaching styles.
• This will be followed by a keynote address from Max Valiquette, President and CEO of Youthography.
• Following the Keynote will be a reopening of the Learning Fair, Lunch, and an Academic Debate

Max Valiquette provides the strategic direction and client insight for Youthography. Max is a specialist in understanding the pop-culture landscape, consumer habits, brands and youth culture. Over the course of his career, he has worked on brands as diverse as Budweiser, Beer.com, Hershey, Taco Bell and Ford of Canada.

The Festival will wrap-up with a Toast & Tribute ceremony at La Dolce Vita where staff will have the opportunity to acknowledge their peers for their outstanding contribution to the college community.

If you have any questions about the 2009 Festival of Learning, please contact:

Matthew Clarke
Organization & Staff Development
Ext. 4932
matthewclarke@georgbebrown.ca

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Revised: February 18, 2009