Creating Cultures of Learning at the International Association of Laboratory Schools Conference 2023

By Jenna Valasek, Teacher

Laboratory schools like Bing serve missions that go beyond educating our youngest learners to include research, instructing university students, and, for some, teacher training. It was therefore inspiring and thought-provoking to join forces with like-minded educators at this year’s International Association of Laboratory Schools Conference in Toronto. The three-day meeting was aptly summarized in the closing remarks by IALS president-elect Chriss Bogert when she reminded attendees, “The work that you do matters. You matter.”

Bing teachers Lauren Matheou and Jenna Valasek were among more than 200 educators from eight countries who attended the conference in late April. The event kicked off with a morning of observing and participating in the nursery and senior kindergarten classes at the Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Studies Laboratory School at the University of Toronto, which hosted the conference. Organizers gave participants the opportunity to speak with the classroom teachers about curriculum and pedagogy and ask questions about the award-winning laboratory school and research center for learning about child development.

The opening day of the conference was rounded out by workshop sessions, dinner conversations, and the first keynote address from Dr. Pam Baer, an educator and activist who focuses on educational research; gender, sexuality, and schooling; and critical arts-based pedagogy. Baer challenged the audience to think about how we teach about equity and encouraged educators to make room in their practice to share their vulnerability and personal stories as a way to deepen and advance discussions. The second day included tours of two of George Brown College’s 12 laboratory schools, which range from nursery through high school, both public and private, each with their own teaching, learning, and research missions. Later we enjoyed dinner at GBC’s Waterfront Campus and listened to the evening’s keynote address by Dr. Niigaan Sinclair, who used the beautiful setting to invite reflections on how Indigenous education informs lab schools.

The final day of the conference offered 30 workshops for participants to choose from, including one of our own, “Be Our Guest: Seeing Young Children as Honored Guests.” The workshop was an opportunity for us to explain Dr. Edith Dowley’s guiding principle that children at Bing are “treated as honored guests.” We shared ways in which we embody that core philosophy and challenged fellow educators to reflect on how they too might integrate the practice in their schools. We examined what it means to honor 2-, 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds in our school, both practically and pedagogically, by examining what it means to be child-centered, ways of showing respect, and the role and presence of the educator.