About Laurie Faith and Partners
Dr. Laurie Faith is the creator of the self-regulated learning intervention called Activated Learning (AL). Alongside many other researchers, trainers, and teachers, she continues to refine and learn about this approach in school boards across Ontario, the US, and the UK. The AL approach aims to tailor established self-regulated learning and motivational mechanisms for use within the routine pedagogical moves of mainstream classroom teachers. As such, AL aims to ease dependency on clinical or Tier 2 interventions or the use of special curriculums or modular programs. A book about the “Barriers and Strategies” approach, co-written with Peg Dawson and Carol-Anne Bush, is now available for preorder at Amazon or on the Guilford website. Here is more information about the book, including a preface written by Adele Diamond. Laurie’s next book is a work in progress, with an anticipated completion date of April 2023. It is an early years curriculum co-authored by Dr. Adele Diamond, Carol-Anne Bush, and the creators of the EFs2theRescue characters.
Laurie has been teaching in special and typical classrooms for 17 years and remains a teacher at heart. She is a certified Future Design School educator and has extensive training in both the Rotman School of Business’s Integrative Thinking discipline and Google’s Search Inside Yourself mindfulness approach. Laurie received recognition from SENG for distinguished contributions to gifted education. Laurie earned her PhD in developmental psychology from OISE / University of Toronto in 2021. She is an Assistant Professor (teaching stream) and the Co-Chair of the MA Child Study in Education program at the University of Toronto. She is also the Associate Editor of the Laidlaw Forum, a peer-reviewed journal she founded to mobilize research for front-line teachers. You can review Laurie’s November 2020 CV and read her dissertation.
Julie Hough – Ontario Trainer
Julie Hough is just so wicked curious and hardworking; her colleagues describe her as a game-changer. Julie is an intermediate teacher with Trillium Lakelands District School Board with a passion for empowering students to develop reading and writing lives beyond the classroom. Before teaching, she worked as a fundraiser and volunteer recruiter. Julie has experience teaching in each division (Primary, Junior, and Intermediate). She has worked with York University, Apple and PBL Works to develop a 21st century, inquiry-driven, and student-centered classroom.
Alana McGilly – Ontario Trainer
Alana is super-positive and vivacious. You will be struck by her passion for deeply understanding and empowering students. Alana has taught at the elementary level for 13 years as a special eduction resource teacher and as a junior and intermediate classroom teacher. For several years, she was seconded to join some of the province of Ontario’s most highly trained special educators at the Sagonaska Provincial Demonstration School. It was at Sagonaska that Alana began to explicitly teach Executive Functions after being introduced to Laurie Faith at the LDAO Conference.
Alana currently teaches at St. Theresa’s Catholic Secondary School, ALCDSB. She holds a Bachelor of Arts with Honours and a Concurrent Education Degree from Queen’s University, Special Education Specialist qualifications from the Ontario College of Teachers, and has been trained in the Empower Reading Program. Alana is a passionate educator who facilitates a growth mindset, is an advocate for accessible technology for all, and believes in student centred learning. She is a regular presenter in her board and region, and has collaborated with the Queen’s University teacher training program as well.
Paula Barrow – Ontario Trainer
Paula Barrow is a mild mannered teaching superhero. From her role as a primary teacher and parent in the Trillium Lakelands District School Board, she has led the charge to embed the teaching of executive functions in primary classrooms. Her international audience on Twitter follows along as she innovates with almost daily updates on new, practical approaches for embedding executive functions in everyday teaching and learning, report cards, IEPs, and Individual Learning Brochures. Her Tweets from @BarrowsBatch are legendary. Paula has her Bachelor of Arts, Honours, and Bachelor of Education degrees, her Reading Specialist, Special Education Part I, literacy coaching experience, and 24 years of teaching to draw on.
Paula’s desire to share learning with other educators and parents within her school, and with other districts in Ontario and across Canada, continues to drive her own learning and personal growth in this area. Her goal is to empower students to understand and advocate for their own needs. Paula’s presentation at the 2019 Council for Exceptional Children was a smash hit and she provides valuable consulting to our UK partners.
About Our American Partners
In California, Laurie h
as been lucky to partner with Carol-Anne Bush. Originally from the U.K., Carol is an educator whose experience spans across 3 continents. Having spent over 20 years in the classroom and 13 years in administration, Carol’s primary areas of focus have been on mentoring faculty for instructional excellence, building positive learning environments, and coaching students for academic success.
Carol is an interventionist by approach and has received extensive training on how to meet the needs of exceptional learners in regular classroom settings. Her studies in Psychology of Education at the University of London’s Institute of Education have enabled her to take a deeper look at student behavior. Her commitment to understanding and supporting all students brought her to the area of executive functioning.
Having recently left her last school of 10 years, Carol has teamed up with Laurie to help develop the Activated Learning approach and deliver training in the U.S. She is located in the San Francisco Bay area, and also provides one-on-one EF coaching, both in-person and online, through Mulberry Coaching.
In the Greater Boston area, Laurie has teamed up with Dr. David Murphy to expand Activated Learning to teachers, students, and parents. Dr. Murphy, the owner of Effective Effort Consulting, provides executive function coaching and parent coaching service for students and parents. The EEC Coaching model incorporates a holistic and team-based approach to developing academic and executive function skills. He consults with families and addresses the needs of students in all grade levels who have been diagnosed with such challenges as Asperger’s Disorder, Non-Verbal Learning Disabilities (NVLD), Social/Emotional Disabilities, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Learning Disabilities (LD) and students who simply struggle with time management and organization.
Dr. Murphy taught for more than a decade before becoming a school administrator, ultimately running private specialized schools for children with Non-Verbal Learning Disabilities, Attention Deficit Disorders, Learning Disabilities, and Social Anxiety Disorders. Through this wonderful partnership, teachers across New England will learn about Activated Learning and the Barriers and Strategies Protocol.
About Our UK Partners
In the UK, Laurie works alongside the extremely dynamic team at Connections in Mind. Though Connections in Mind, you can book Activated Learning training across the UK. Connections in Mind was founded in 2015 by three like-minded women who, together, wanted to make the current UK education system less challenging for students with executive function challenges.
Connections in Mind have over 30 coaches working in and around London, work with a number of schools, and have developed and launched a Connected Parenting Course for parents of children with EF challenges. They are working with Laurie to bring Activated Learning to British classrooms.