Liisha Hinder

Educational Leadership

Who am ​I ?

I am an experienced and creative educator and leader. Guided by the values of ​community and truth, I provide pathways to learning that engage both the mind and ​heart. My teaching and leadership ethos unites achieving knowledge with connecting ​self, community and our natural world. Through nurturing deep relationships with both ​teachers and students, I establish collaborative learning partnerships that honour the ​holistic development of each individual, while cultivating a community centric learning ​environment. Dynamic integration of curriculum, inclusive and critical pedagogical ​practices and our natural world is my approach to weaving diverse learning experiences ​that extends traditional ways of knowing, being and doing. My role as a leader is to ​ensure that each student feels seen and heard everyday.

Liisha Hinder

WHO AM I?

As an an experienced leader and creative educator, I am guided by the values of community and ​truthfulness that seeks to provide pathways of learning that engage both the mind and heart. My teaching ​and leadership ethos emphasize the interconnectedness of self, community, knowledge, and our natural ​world. Through nurturing deep relationships with both teachers and students, I establish collaborative ​learning partnerships that honour the holistic development of each individual, while nurturing a community ​centric learning environment. Dynamic integration of curriculum, inclusive pedagogical practices and our ​natural world is my approach to weaving diverse learning experiences that extends traditional ways of ​knowing, being and doing. I see my role as a leader is to ensure that each student feels seen and heard ​everyday.

Professional Experience

Fostering Effective Relationships

• Coaching and collaborating with teachers to support authentic task design with a focus on diversity and identity to action a co-created whole school vision while stimulating growth to enhance professional capacities
• Success with facilitating teachers and students as co-creators of safe, and respectful learning environments that build on positive discipline and restorative practices
  
• Strong ability to strengthen social development and a sense of belonging with a focus on building meaningful connections between the student, parents, and school
• Inspiring teacher and student interconnectedness with our natural environment that centers wellness and wonderment through learning that is holistic, experiential, and relational
• Active participation with the Land-Based Learning Parent Committee and Kindergarten to Grade 9 students to (re)develop outdoor learning spaces that support expansive and variable curricula while actioning the school’s commitment to Truth and Reconciliation through Land-based learning
  

Leading a Learning Community

• Embody school’s core values and principles while collaborating with school leadership and teaching staff to model and action the outcomes within the School Development Plan, targets, and measures
• Leading Professional Learning Communities to support colleagues in reflecting critically on professional practice, looking at evidence of student learning, and challenging assumptions to build understanding between school goals, classroom instructional practice, and system priorities
• Communicating a growth mindset through the knowledge of structures and processes within a Collaborative Response model that enacts the principles of RTI to reflect on student evidence within the areas of Literacy, Mathematics and Well-Being connected to the School Development Plan to achieve inclusive and effective outcomes while mentoring staff collective efficacy
• Fostering a culture of making learning visible through X as a platform to both inspire and be inspired with like minded colleagues
  

Career Profile

Inclusive Education | Land-based Learning Stanley Jones Grades K-9

Calgary Board of Education 2022-2024

Learning Leader/Educator

Stanley Jones Grade 2-3

Calgary Board of Education 2021-2022

Learning Leader | Instructional Leadership

Chief Justice Milvain Grades K-6

Calgary Board of Education 2019-2021

Elementary Generalist

Calgary Board of Education 2008-2019

Demonstrating a Professional Body of Knowledge

• Coaching teachers to develop engaging task design that incorporates a discipline based focus, incorporating learning through the arts while deepening connections to place and Land
• Inspiring and facilitating visible documentation boards across the school, prioritizing and showcasing learning processes over final product, elevating reflective and collaborative practices
• Modelling excellence in instructional leadership and professional dialogue to build collective efficacy in our Call to Action (inspired by #63 in the TRC) to develop student learning and school improvement
• Demonstrating relational trust and allowing space for courageous conversations with colleagues to guide actionable feedback; improving instructional practice to support student learning
• Staying current with research in pedagogy and curriculum to inform my practice and instructional leadership capabilities, ensuring strong task design and assessment that are culturally responsive, accessible to all learners, and respectful of all students
  

Liisha Hinder

Establishing Inclusive Learning Environments

• Proficiently cultivated relational trust to elevate collective efficacy in responding to teacher and student needs, while collaboratively creating and implementing a shared vision and year-long direction for students within a K-9 educational context
• Demonstrating the importance of vulnerability and transparency within the educational community by holding professional learning opportunities in the circle room
• Inspiring collaborative exploration and enhanced teacher capacity to implement talking and learning circles within classrooms to engender equality, integrity, engagement and connection
• Strong ability to co-develop a positive learning culture, while collaborating with teachers to strengthen instructional methods allowing for reflexive consideration that seek out equitable and inclusive assessment and methodologies; nurturing reciprocal relationships, cultural proficiency and empowerment
• Designing student-centred learning invitations that provide opportunities for differentiated pathways for success with targeted instructional interventions and supports

Applying Foundational Knowledge about First Nations, Métis, Inuit

• Successfully co-creating and implementing school wide classroom Calls to Action empowering teachers to incorporate Indigenous pedagogies with a focus on results, continuous improvement, and leadership
• Building capacity for intercultural understanding, empathy and mutual respect by curating the circle room as an innovative learning environment to honour and respect Indigenous methodologies and ensures equal opportunity for students to be seen and heard
• Embracing Indigenous ways of knowing and being with strong connections to learning with our natural world through intentional learning invitations that support connection, student agency and dynamic completion of curriculum
• Curated and led professional development as meaningful opportunities to strengthen professional networks of support to advance culturally responsive environments in an ethical space
• Strong ability to model and engage critical dialogue, supporting internal accountability of staff and students to walk together to weave understanding and capacity for learning from and with Indigenous communities
  

Professional LEADERSHIP

2021 Presenter: Land-Based Learning Professional Development. Invited to support instructional leadership in a K-6 context.

2019 Presenter: Outdoor Wonderment: A Day of Immersive Pedagogy in Nature. Co-Led a full day session a the Calgary City Teachers‘ Convention

CommuniTea

Invited as a critical ally to be a ‘table host‘ to guide questions and conversation during a professional development series to support the

building of excellence in teaching and learning

2018 Forest Play: Co-Led a 2-year Pilot Project with Calgary Board of Education Sustainability, focused on Land-based learning and Forest Schools,

resulting in a new CBE field trip destination and increased teacher capacity regarding outdoor education, environmental literacy and minfulness

practices.

2017 Mathematics Strategy Cohort: Co-led school wide professional development to support and build collective capacity to implement the essential

elements of mathematics outlined within the Calgary Board of Education: teaching and assessment practices, equity practice and learning

environment to support positive mathematical identity

Professional recognitioN

Liisha Hinder

Professional learning

2024 PQP Part 1 - Ontario Principal’s Council

2024 Supporting One, Supporting All: Collaborative classroom support models for inclusive classrooms - an evening with Dr. Shelley Moore

2024 Indigenous Land Based Learning - Two Part Series

An experiential learning series in collaboration with Elder Saa’kokoto to build capacity to support excellence in teaching and learning while

sharing the ways that Land Based Learning can be authentically integrated within a traditional school context.

2023 Mental Health Learning: Go-To Educator Professional Learning

Training in early identification, support, triage and referral of students who may be exhibiting substantial mental health problems and/or

mental disorders to prioritize wellness and support the mental health of students and staff

Discovering Empathy for Students– with Gayathri Shukla

Exploration of the nuances of empathy to build understanding and gain practical tools to work effectively within the current educational

landscape marked by demographic shifts and cultural diversity

Indigenous Weaving & Beading to Teach Concepts in the Curriculum

Indigenous- Based Assessment

Promoting inclusive, respectful learning and working environment supporting the application of foundational knowledge of First Nations,

Métis and Inuit

2022 Collaborative Response Model Professional Learning Series: as a leader, attended series to build knowledge and understanding in order to

support school direction

2022 Tipis and Telescopes Educator Day - Kananaskis

Experiential learning opportunity to walk alongside to support Indigenous ways of knowing science

2020 Land-Based Indigenous Education Professional Learning Series

Experiential seasonal learning series to support implementation of Indigenous ways of knowing, being and doing along side western

perspectives to support a dynamic completion of curriculum through inclusive learning opportunities

Inclusive Education Learning Series: Bi-monthly learning series to support understanding through the lens of: Inclusive and Responsive

Assessment, Developing Emotional Literacy, Differentiation, Building Teaching and Learning Collective Capacity

Concept Learning Cohort with Julie Stern

Participated in year long learning series to build instructional leadership strategies