Learning Opportunities

Anne Davies Bio

Working alongside and encouraging people to achieve their goals – by truly making a difference in the lives of learners – has led to Anne Davies’ distinguished and internationally-recognized career in Education Leadership and Assessment.

With extensive classroom and consultation experience with education leaders, Anne uses her depth of knowledge and innovative mindset to help educators realize their own potential for positive impact in the classroom, and beyond.

Anne is the author and co-author of more than 30 books and multimedia resources, including the best seller, Making Classroom Assessment Work, now in its third edition. She has also published an abundance of chapters and articles, garnering high-profile accolades including the Hilroy Fellowship for outstanding innovation in education and a nomination for the Canadian Education Association’s Whitworth Research Award.

An experienced keynote speaker, Anne has also headed a variety of research projects and was proud to be named Canada’s Team Lead at the International Assessment Symposium in Fredericton, NB (2014). Her work has helped to shape provincial and national educational policy changes and she continues to be a highly sought-after resource for both government and private-sector educational institutions.

At the core of Anne’s learning philosophy is an obligation to honour everyone’s abilities and individual methods of expression. Assessment is not about who has ‘won the race’ – the task at hand is to empower learners, and educators, to effectively use their unique strengths.

These ideas inspire her to continue guiding our education systems, and the individuals responsible for helping learners of all kinds, towards attentive and pragmatic classroom assessment methods.

Sandra Herbst Bio

An unparalleled depth of experience, in a range of education systems, provides Sandra Herbst with a uniquely qualified viewpoint on leadership and pedagogical practices. Her roles as teacher (Elementary, Secondary, and specialist), school leader, assistant superintendent, and advisor to Ministries of Education contribute to a broad range of practical insights that serve to enhance her vast theoretical knowledge. Because of this range of experience, she is as effective in the boardroom speaking to trustees about governance as she is doing demonstration lessons in classrooms with students. 

Sandra’s body of work is expansive: author, speaker, coach, mentor, and consultant with extensive experience in educational and system leadership, adult learning, and assessment. She has helped jurisdictions, districts, and schools to reflect on their current programs, identify their long-term aspirations, and strategically plan to achieve their future visions. In addition, Sandra has worked in many Indigenous communities in all three territories and several provinces and has grown her understanding of Indigenous ways of knowing and being. As a result of learning alongside Indigenous Elders and leaders, she is able to support them in reaching their own goals.  

As a facilitator of workshops, web conferences, and symposia across North America – and as a renowned executive coach – Sandra provides educators with a framework to help meet the diverse needs of both student and adult learners. Regardless of the number of sessions a client has enjoyed with Sandra, each opportunity affords them new learning opportunities. She is careful to differentiate her learning strategies for her audience, both during the planning process and within the sessions themselves.  

Sandra is co-author of Collecting Evidence and Portfolios: Engaging Students in Pedagogical Documentation (2017), Grading, Reporting, and Professional Judgment in Elementary Classrooms (2016), as well as A Fresh Look at Grading and Reporting in High Schools (2014). Also in 2014, The Curriculum Journal published the research report “System Leaders Using Assessment for Learning as Both the Change and the Change Process: Developing Theory From Practice” – an 11 year longitudinal study focused on system leadership, written by Sandra and three colleagues. In 2012, Sandra co-authored the Leaders’ Series: Transforming Schools and Systems Using Assessment: A Practical Guide and Leading the Way to Assessment for Learning: A Practical Guide with Anne Davies and Beth Parrott Reynolds. She currently has several other works in progress.

Her tireless efforts to increase student achievement earned a nomination for the Lieutenant Governor’s Elementary School Classroom Teacher Award and the YMCA Women of Distinction Award. She has served as President of the Manitoba Association of School Superintendents and as President of the Manitoba Affiliate of ASCD. Sandra is a coaching trainer, promoting the ‘invisible skills’ and cognitive awareness that strengthen educators’ effectiveness.

She is a highly sought-after, charismatic, humourous, and energetic speaker and leader, who expresses her compassion through a deep commitment to equity in education and to systems that advance the democracy of our communities.