Learning Opportunities

Dr. Chris Mattatall is an Associate Professor of Educational Psychology and Inclusion in the Faculty of Education. He teaches in both the undergraduate and graduate programs, helping to prepare pre-service teachers for an exciting life as professional educators. An educator for more than 30 years, Dr. Mattatall also conducts research in areas related to the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, as well as early reading acquisition and intervention. He is also currently serving as the University of Lethbridge Board of Governors Teaching Chair (2023-2025).

Miriam Ramzy works with a leading school division in Alberta. The focus of her education, teaching practice, and professional development has been on early learning and literacy. Miriam has her Ph.D. from the University of Calgary; her doctoral work looked at early literacy learning in a grade one setting, with an emphasis on writing instruction and the role of printing and word study. Her passion for supporting teachers in building powerful literacy classrooms where all learners experience success drives her work.

Michelle’s passion is literacy. She is an enthusiastic educator with over 18 years of teaching experience as a classroom teacher and literacy specialist. Over the past few years, Michelle has worked extensively with school boards across Alberta, investigating professional teacher learning and evidence-based early literacy practice. Currently, Michelle is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Calgary, examining the connection between oral language development and early literacy acquisition.

Marylou Dickson EdD brings over three decades of pedagogical experience to the field of secondary literacy. Her doctoral research, culminating in an EdD, focused on the engagement of secondary discipline specialists with discipline-specific texts, providing a rigorous foundation for her expertise. Within the Edmonton School Board, Dr. Dickson has held diverse roles, including a tenure of over twenty-five years as a secondary English Language Arts educator in both traditional and virtual learning environments, departmental leadership, literacy intervention for students in grades 3-9, and consultancy in secondary literacy. Furthermore, she has contributed to higher education as an instructor of Secondary Discipline-Specific Literacy at The King's University. Her professional engagement extends to service as the secretary for the Northern Alberta Reading Specialist Council. Dr. Dickson's scholarly and practical commitment to the integration of literacy across all secondary disciplines has cultivated refined coaching skills, enabling her to facilitate the effective communication of discipline-specific literacy by secondary educators to their students.

Sharon Skretting has 32 + years of service in education. She has served as a classroom teacher, instructional and assessment coach at the district level, and a principal. Her passion is to support teachers to increase student engagement and ownership for learning.

Kelly has spent her educational career supporting students with a variety of needs and supporting staff building instructional strategies. She wanted to know more about how students learn and why they had difficulty learning...so back to school she went! As a teacher and a Reading Specialist, Kelly holds a Masters degree from the University of Alberta in the area of language and literacy development and specialized assessment. She built her knowledge of UDL through her work at the University of Manitoba. Her work as a Consultant supported teachers in building inclusive practice in all divisions. She has in-depth experience doing professional development, with a focus on instructional strategies and implementation of such strategies. She has taught pre-service teachers at the University of Alberta for the past year. Kelly's joy has been found in supporting staff in the use of research-based strategies that make teaching and learning intentional and meaningful.

Dr. Kathy Salmon was one of the principle writers for Benchmarks 2.0 and Benchmarks 1.0. Through her 23 years in public education as a teacher, EAL specialist, consultant, assistant principal and principal, Kathy understands the complexities involved in creating optimal programming and learning supports for English as an Additional language learners in the diverse school contexts. Kathy's doctoral dissertation was focused on Effective Teaching for EAL learners in Alberta and she recognizes the importance of understanding how English language proficiency connects to curricular content learning.

An Early Years Elementary School teacher by trade, Lana’s career began in Grade 1. Since that time, she has been a teacher of Pre-K to Grade 2, a tutor, and K-12 literacy support teacher. As a trained RRST (Reading Readiness Screening Tool) facilitator and Early Interventionist, the how of acquiring reading has been key in Lana’s professional development throughout her teaching career. Consulting independently, working as a learning facilitator for the Learning Network and reading a plethora of books fills many of her days. In her spare time, she enjoys her role as a Family Youth Worker, and tending to her acreage north of Lloydminster. She's a proud mom to an engineer, nurse and aspiring teacher!

Designer of Professional Learning for Calgary Regional Consortium