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Garth Nichols reposted thisThis morning the OISE Continuing & Professional Learning (OISE CPL) team came together for our Spring Forum 🌷 where we explored experiential learning and work-integrated learning including a provocative question: Is experiential learning the antidote to AI 🧐 A special thank you Garth Nichols Jeremy Dickstein Karen O'Meara and Julia Burke for sharing your professional knowledge and practice and for guiding our group’s exploration into experiential learning, work-integrated learning, AI in education, and professional practice. My reflections❓ Experiential learning, at its core, is deeply human. It draws upon, and develops, distinctly human capabilities: reflection, adaptation, judgment, meaning-making ... etc. Certainly, Experiential Learning is connected to skill acquisition, but more importantly, it is connected to human development and becoming. In contributing to spaces that enable professional learning and development to strengthen education systems, I think one of our central challenges at OISE CPL is this: How do we preserve human and professional "becoming" across increasingly complex systems/environments? Large systems, including education systems, naturally seek to optimize for consistency, efficiency, governance, and scale. Yet the conditions that support meaningful human development are often relational, contextual, reflective, adaptive, and experiential. As we are learning, one of the central challenges of lifelong learning in the AI era is not simply scaling learning opportunities, but preserving the conditions under which humans continue developing judgment, agency, identity, and meaning. Perhaps the future challenge of workplace learning is not merely workforce readiness. Perhaps it is sustaining human becoming? Thank you to everyone who contributed to such a thoughtful and energizing discussion this morning. I appreciate you all very much! 🙏
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Garth Nichols shared this📚 Latest Book Review 🤓 "Unclench Your Fist" by Glenn Robbins This book is a great resource for educational leaders to have your desk. It isn't long, and it is full of great reminders to get grounded when making hard decisions, and dealing with the aftermath of these decisions. You would be interested in this book if… - You’re a leader facing tough decisions and the inevitable resistance that comes with them. - You value stoic wisdom and practical tools for navigating change. - You want a companion to help you make hard calls, respond to critics, and protect your team’s momentum. Check out my review here: https://lnkd.in/gpv27Zcb Check out Jason Rogers and I interviewing Glenn & Danny Bauer 🏴☠️🥸 on their co-authored book "Calm in the Chaos" https://lnkd.in/gziywpxu
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Garth Nichols shared thisA great look at GenAI in Education from Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society and "If we don't take care of our epistemic wellness while speeding up our efficiency by using AI to automate tasks, instead of having more time to think and reflect, we are just going to get busier than ever. My hope is for a world in which AI helps us reclaim time for thinking, creativity, and meaningful inquiry. Epistemic wellness may sound like something new, but it's one of the many virtues in philosophy, aimed at fostering ways to help us advance knowledge instead of just surviving in an overwhelming society." https://lnkd.in/gxpqugFARethinking knowledge in the age of AI — Schwartz Reisman InstituteRethinking knowledge in the age of AI — Schwartz Reisman Institute
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Garth Nichols shared thisif you haven't already, Jason Rogers and I strongly recommend you pick up the book "Be Yourself at Work" by Claude Silver And listening to this week as we set up our conversation with her next week! Some of the really insightful takeaways from her book have been about emotional leadership. take a listen below:
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Garth Nichols shared thisToday I shared the spotlight with these two incredible Kingsway College School students as they took the reigns as "Heads for a Day" at our Senior School Campus. Isla and Jack did some instructional rounds, tested our Food & Culture program, explored applications in our Prototyping Lab, put our Phys Ed program to the test, 3D printed, and then reflected on the day during a podcast recording session. So proud of these two incredible students, and grateful of all the Senior School students and faculty that made them feel welcome on campus. Stay tuned for the podcast🎙️ Hallie McClelland (She/Her), CFRE Janelle Watson Derek Quenneville Justin Massa Clint Boal Joyce Khouzam Laura Sardone, MSc, OCT
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Garth Nichols shared thisClaude Silver is coming onto our #LassoingLeaderahip podcast. Claude is the author of "Be Yourself at Work" and the Chief Heart Officer at VaynerX. This week, Jason Rogers and I set up our conversation with Claude, send a ton of gratitude to a special listener, and consider some of our key take-aways from her book!
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Garth Nichols shared thisI’m grateful to have been invited back to the University of South-Eastern Norway to facilitate and keynote at the University of South-Eastern Norway’s KECIBN conference in Tønsberg. This year’s conference brought together educators from across Southern Norway to explore experiential education, outdoor and environmental learning, and inclusion through shared inquiry and practice. What made it especially powerful was that the learning began well before the conference itself, with online sessions starting in January that invited educators into the role of researcher and then, at the conference, into the role of presenter, working with these esteemed professors: Kenneth Larsen, Ann Christin Ferrari Holme, and Leif Inge Magnussen. Each brought incredible guidance and expertise which made this two-day conference a culmination / capstone experience. One of the highlights for me was hearing about the impact of our experiential day sessions on participants. My Ex Ed was to join 20 other teachers and travel with Leif Inge Magnussen to Bolærne, the former military island off the coast of Tønsberg, where we explored his work on didactic risk and “exstruction.” It was an incredible day of thinking, walking, questioning, and learning in place. It was also a thrill to share the work of my incredible colleagues at Kingsway College School. I continue to be struck by how closely our work aligns with the broader international conversation about shaping education for the future. My keynote, "Experiential Education as the Antidote to the Fearful Future of GenAI", was an opportunity to argue for learning that is embodied, relational, rigorous, and deeply human. Thank you to NIBS and USN for the incredible support, energy, and vision behind this conference. And thank you as well to the amazing CPL team at OISE — especially Michael Cassidy and Elisabeth Rees-Johnstone — for their support and partnership throughout. #ExperientialEducation #OutdoorLearning #InclusiveEducation #EducationalLeadership #GenAI #FutureOfEducation #KCS #Norway
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Garth Nichols reposted thisGarth Nichols reposted thisWhat is the one resource leaders never get back. Time. Last week on Lassoing Leadership, Garth Nichols and I sat down with Cassie Holmes, professor at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management and author of Happier Hour: How to Beat Distraction, Expand Your Time, and Focus on What Matters Most. The conversation stayed with me. Not because Cassie offered a productivity hack. But because she reframes the whole question. It is not about doing more. It is about investing your hours in what actually matters. For leaders trying to find genuine work-life integration, this is the conversation worth having. And the book is worth reading. This week we followed up with our own top three time hacks. Two episodes. One essential theme. Listen here: https://lnkd.in/gAj8iB8p National Association of Independent Schools Canadian Accredited Independent Schools (CAIS) Association of Independent Schools & Colleges in Alberta #LassoingLeadership #HappierHour #Leadership #TimeManagement #WorkLifeIntegration
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Garth Nichols reposted thisGarth Nichols reposted this"School should never be the world of children. The world should be their school." That was one of my main messages at the Education World Forum in London. In an AI world, we need to rethink curricula, strengthen digital and critical thinking skills, and foster adaptability, creativity and lifelong learning. If we are serious about being future-ready, education systems must evolve at the same pace as technological change. The Education World Forum is a unique event as it brings together education ministers from around the world, alongside multilateral organisations and strategic industry partners, to hold private, candid conversations – so we can learn from one another and explore how education at all levels can shape our collective future. This year’s theme, “Educating for a Shared Future,” is both inspiring and urgent, and I am delighted to be taking part. #EducationWorldForum #FutureOfEducation #AI #EdTech #GlobalEducation #SkillsForTheFuture #EquityInEducation
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Garth Nichols reacted on thisGarth Nichols reacted on thisFor the past three years, I have taught one class while also serving as Deputy Head of School, Teaching and Learning. It has made me a better leader. Teaching has kept me close to the daily realities of classroom life: planning lessons, adjusting in the moment, making assessment decisions, and building relationships with students. I have always loved teaching, so this has brought me a lot of joy. At the same time, it has helped me better understand a real tension in my role: the need for both proximity and perspective. Being connected to one classroom matters. It builds empathy, credibility, and understanding. But leading teaching and learning also requires time to visit many classrooms, notice patterns across the school, support colleagues, strengthen systems, and think carefully about what learning needs next. Next year, I will be stepping back from teaching so I can spend more time in classrooms across the school and focus more fully on our broader teaching and learning priorities, including the opportunities and questions emerging around AI, reimagining assessment, and student agency. As we move into next year’s professional learning theme, Shaping the Future of Learning, I look forward to staying close to the classroom while also creating the conditions to support the growth of the whole school. I would be interested to hear how others balance proximity to classroom life with the perspective needed for school-wide leadership.
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Garth Nichols reacted on thisThis morning the OISE Continuing & Professional Learning (OISE CPL) team came together for our Spring Forum 🌷 where we explored experiential learning and work-integrated learning including a provocative question: Is experiential learning the antidote to AI 🧐 A special thank you Garth Nichols Jeremy Dickstein Karen O'Meara and Julia Burke for sharing your professional knowledge and practice and for guiding our group’s exploration into experiential learning, work-integrated learning, AI in education, and professional practice. My reflections❓ Experiential learning, at its core, is deeply human. It draws upon, and develops, distinctly human capabilities: reflection, adaptation, judgment, meaning-making ... etc. Certainly, Experiential Learning is connected to skill acquisition, but more importantly, it is connected to human development and becoming. In contributing to spaces that enable professional learning and development to strengthen education systems, I think one of our central challenges at OISE CPL is this: How do we preserve human and professional "becoming" across increasingly complex systems/environments? Large systems, including education systems, naturally seek to optimize for consistency, efficiency, governance, and scale. Yet the conditions that support meaningful human development are often relational, contextual, reflective, adaptive, and experiential. As we are learning, one of the central challenges of lifelong learning in the AI era is not simply scaling learning opportunities, but preserving the conditions under which humans continue developing judgment, agency, identity, and meaning. Perhaps the future challenge of workplace learning is not merely workforce readiness. Perhaps it is sustaining human becoming? Thank you to everyone who contributed to such a thoughtful and energizing discussion this morning. I appreciate you all very much! 🙏
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Garth Nichols liked thisSo fortunate to attend the OISE CPL Spring Forum today. The environment generates such positive, inclusive, collaborative discussion…. inspirational! 💙🙏💙
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Garth Nichols reacted on thisGarth Nichols reacted on thisResults are in for Campaign Canada AOY! Absolutely delighted to have pulled off a hat trick with wins for Best Design Studio/Branding Agency, Best Idea For a Social And/Or Environmental Purpose for our Dove #ChangeTheCompliment Campaign, and Head of Agency for our fearless CEO, Mike Sutton! Thanks to all our incredible partners and team, and congrats to the other winners. We’re in such good company. 🍁
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Garth Nichols liked thisGarth Nichols liked thisAfter the past two years working in the post-secondary environment George Brown Polytechnic, an opportunity emerged in recent months that felt deeply aligned with both my experience and the direction I hope to continue growing in as an educator, advisor, and leader. This summer, I will be joining Branksome Hall as Assistant Head of Student Life and Leadership. Returning to a middle and senior school environment feels especially meaningful, as working with students at this age and stage of development originally sparked so much of my passion for education, student wellbeing, leadership, and identity-based work. At the same time, this transition is bittersweet, as it means stepping away from the GBC Athletics Department after two incredibly meaningful years. I am deeply grateful for the experience, relationships, and growth that this role has given me. Supporting varsity student-athletes through the complexities of balancing academics, athletics, work, mental health, identity, and life beyond sport has challenged me, inspired me, and helped me grow tremendously as an advisor, educator, and leader. I am especially grateful for the opportunity to work alongside and learn from my boss, Melanie Gerin-Lajoie whose support, trust, and leadership have had a tremendous impact on my growth over the past two years. She has consistently modeled what strong, compassionate, student-centered leadership looks like day in and day out, and I will carry many of those lessons with me moving forward. Since moving back to Canada in 2024, the work I’ve been fortunate to do at both GBC and Canadian Women & Sport | Femmes et sport au Canada has complemented each other in meaningful ways — strengthening my ability to support students with empathy and care, while deepening my understanding of the importance of creating gender-equitable spaces where girls and young women feel seen, valued, supported, and empowered to lead authentically. Together, these experiences have equipped me with perspectives and skills that I know will meaningfully shape how I support students moving forward. I’m especially looking forward to stepping into a role focused on student life, leadership, and community — while supporting and mentoring girls during such formative years of their lives as they build confidence, find their voices, and grow as leaders both within and beyond the school community. To the Branksome Hall community — I look forward to contributing to a community that values student growth, leadership, and belonging, and to continuing this work in a new environment.
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Garth Nichols reacted on thisShovels are in the ground on a new, 528-bed long-term care home North York General Hospital! Celebrating this milestone with our generous $1M+ donors yesterday was very special. We can't thank you enough.Garth Nichols reacted on thisOur vision for better long-term care is one step closer to becoming a reality. North York General marked a significant milestone with the groundbreaking of a next-generation long-term care home in North York. Designed with dignity, safety, and connection in mind, the home will feature private rooms, inclusive community spaces, and 24/7 care at the hospital just steps away. As our population ages, the need for high-quality, accessible long-term care continues to grow. This project reflects our commitment to meeting that need with compassion and innovation. We were honoured to be joined by Premier Doug Ford, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health Sylvia Jones, Minister Natalia Kusendova-Bashta, Ontario’s Minister of Long-Term Care, Minister Stan Cho, Ontario’s Minister of Tourism, Culture, and Gaming, local dignitaries, donors and our leadership team. We thank the Province of Ontario, our donors, and our dedicated team for making this vision possible. Together, we are building the future of world-class care. Here for Seniors, #HereForLife.
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Garth Nichols liked thisIncredibly grateful for this surprise review of my new book, “Unclench Your Fist”. Thank you very much Garth Nichols!
Experience & Education
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Kingsway College School
View Garth’s full experience
See their title, tenure and more.
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Licenses & Certifications
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Committee Member @ Challenge4ClimateAction 2021
Convergence.tech
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Raspberry Pi Certified Educator
RapsberryPi.org
Issued -
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Promptmaster
Havergal College
Volunteer Experience
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Chair of Finance Committee & Treasurer
ISEEN: Independent Schools Experiential Education Network
- Present 4 years 10 months
Education
ISEEN seeks to lead, inform, connect, expand, and steward transformational experiential teaching and learning throughout an interconnected world.
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Coach
Toronto Playgrounds Baseball
- 7 years
Children
Head Coach of the 2008 Select Teams and Ass't Coach of AA Rep Team
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Counsellor
Camp Oochigeas
- Present 24 years
Children
Serving young kids living with cancer to provide them with a traditional Ontario outdoor camping experience
Publications
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The 6 Historical Thinking Concepts:Teaching History a Whole New Way
Canada' History
See publicationThis is a webinar that I did in conjunction with Canada'as History.
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How to Create a Successful Gay-Straight Alliance
OurKids
See publicationAn examination of the importance of Gay-Straight Alliances in schools, and how to successful build capacity for inclusion in your own independent school. NB: this article was written and published prior to the Anti-Bullying Legislation of the Ontario Gov't 2012
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How is Occupy Toronto Occupying My Students
OurKids Media
See publicationOccupy Toronto is a just down the street from us, and in History class we are analyzing this movement as the latest eruption of political, economic and social protests that began in 1919 on the streets of Winnipeg! History is amazingly close to our current reality, we just have to look closely to see how we can learn more about it!
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After the Polls: Lessons From Civics Students
Dialogue
See publicationAt Greenwood College School, election signs, debates, Twitter feeds, hashtags, and polling stations have seemed to become the norm. Students talking about civic issues, like transit, education, garbage and even war, have also become the norm in our classrooms. Even conversations around the value of voting and its importance have taken a new tone; one Civics student writes: “Voting is a privilege we have by living in a democracy, and it is a privilege that many countries around the world do not…
At Greenwood College School, election signs, debates, Twitter feeds, hashtags, and polling stations have seemed to become the norm. Students talking about civic issues, like transit, education, garbage and even war, have also become the norm in our classrooms. Even conversations around the value of voting and its importance have taken a new tone; one Civics student writes: “Voting is a privilege we have by living in a democracy, and it is a privilege that many countries around the world do not have.”
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Educational Technology: How do we prepare our teachers?
TEDxYMCAAcademy
See publicationVideo to be published...
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Back to School, Back to the Polls
Dialogue
See publicationThis is an article anticipating the Provincial Election in Ontario in 2011 where I offer resources, teaching strategies that focus on authentic engagement via social media, radio, television and networking between schools.
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Social Media Transforms Revolutions into Real Time Lessons
Dialogue
See publicationAs a teacher, I have found that social media is connecting me to an ever-expanding pool of human resources to the point where some of the most valuable and immediate professional development that I do occurs over social media outlets. Over the last two months, the increasing political and social pressure in Cairo and the focus that our traditional news outlets have placed on the role of social media lead me to bring in what I’ve used for my own professional benefit to the students themselves.
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Harry Potter and the Future of Education
TEDxIB@York
See publicationHere are my thoughts and views on how Harry Potter can be a great lens into imagining the future of education...though I wonder how futuristic this stuff really is...
Courses
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Blended Learning in Action
Catlin Tucker
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CAIS Advancement Module
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CAIS Finance Module
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CAIS Governance Module
CAIS Leadership Institute
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CAIS Human Resources Module
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Indigenous Canada - University of Alberta
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Principal's Qualification Course
Ontario Principals' Counc
Projects
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CAIS Strategic Change Accelerator
- Present
The CAIS Strategic Change Accelerator provides the guidance and support for school teams planning important innovative change. It is a one-year cohort-based experience that will provide participants with both face-to-face and virtual engagement, designed to accelerate school strategic implementation process.
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G20 Schools
Workshop developer and facilitator for the G20 of schools
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Project 2051
- Present
In July 2015, CAIS brought together 22 academic and 22 business leaders, all from different schools, to address the question, “How do CAIS schools ensure their strength and permanence through academic and business innovation?”
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Integrating Can. History and English Curriculum
As Instructional Leader of both the CWS and English departments, I took this opportunity to created meaningful integration between Can. History and English in grade 10. Using the novel "Night" by E. Wiesel, students integrated their knowledge of WW2 and the Holocaust to create a short story or digital project that demonstrated skills and understandings from both English and Can. History curriculum.
Success was determined by rubrics specific to each discipline that were created by…As Instructional Leader of both the CWS and English departments, I took this opportunity to created meaningful integration between Can. History and English in grade 10. Using the novel "Night" by E. Wiesel, students integrated their knowledge of WW2 and the Holocaust to create a short story or digital project that demonstrated skills and understandings from both English and Can. History curriculum.
Success was determined by rubrics specific to each discipline that were created by teachers from both departments. This project has been successful, and we are creating quality short stories from the past few years. -
Informational Skills Vertical Integration gr. 7 - 12
I was responsible for creating a unified, vertical curriculum through grade 7 to 12 that fosters effective, responsible and life-long skills in Online research, website validation, and writing research papers. It covers the spectrum of digital footprinting, responsible Online behaviour, all the way to advanced digital projects.
One of the most exciting aspects of this project was the building of teacher capacity behind the project, and seeing its successful implementation by teachers…I was responsible for creating a unified, vertical curriculum through grade 7 to 12 that fosters effective, responsible and life-long skills in Online research, website validation, and writing research papers. It covers the spectrum of digital footprinting, responsible Online behaviour, all the way to advanced digital projects.
One of the most exciting aspects of this project was the building of teacher capacity behind the project, and seeing its successful implementation by teachers, and successful application by students. It has helped create a positive and responsible digital approach by our students.
Honors & Awards
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OISE Award of Excellence
Ontario Institute of Studies in Education
This prestigious award recognizes one exceptional OISE CPL associate each year who exemplifies excellence in adult learning, pedagogical practice, and educational leadership.
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Finalist - Govenor General's Award for Excellence in Teaching
Governor General
http://www.canadashistory.ca/Awards/Teaching/2013-Finalists
Organizations
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Future Design Schools
Advisory
- PresentI am a member on their advisory board.
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