Learning Opportunities

Rhonda Giesbrecht is a Numeracy Coordinator with Peace Wapiti Public School Division. Through her 14 years as a classroom teacher and the knowledge gained while working on a Master of Education degree in Interdisciplinary Studies - Educational Neuroscience and Learning Disabilities, a passion grew for using evidence-based practices in classrooms to address the needs of students. Because research emphasizes the importance of quality tier 1 instruction, she has a focus on building teacher capacity to increase their confidence with teaching math.

Alicia Burdess has been a teacher, assistant principal, and math coach with Grande Prairie and District Catholic Schools since 2005. She has served as the President of the Math Council of the Alberta Teachers' Association and currently sits on the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics' Publishing Committee. She has a Master of Education Degree from Simon Fraser University.

 Alicia’s passion is teaching through problem solving in a Thinking Classroom; she loves working with students and teachers implementing Peter Liljedahl's research and framework. She loves visiting classrooms, presenting at conferences and PD days, and learning with students and teachers. She wants everyone to experience the joy, confidence, and flow of solving big, beautiful problems and has recently published The Dragon Curve: A Magical Math Journey, a Children’s book to share the beauty of math.

Tracie Anthony works as the District Numeracy Coordinator for Grande Prairie Public School Division. She earned a Master of Education in Numeracy from Simon Fraser University in 2021. In her years as a classroom teacher, she developed a strong commitment to the philosophy and the principles of math education. She has a strong belief that through our passions and our collective vision (collaborative practices, optimal learning, purposeful engagement, assessment, and effective leadership), we can enable all students to reach their individual goals, promoting student success. Tracie enjoys delivering professional development in-services around the Alberta Math Curriculum. She has worked with the NRLC in the Peace Region. On top of that, she has participated in many division level and NRLC math cohorts from grades K-12. Tracie is looking forward to working with you and striving for us all to become confident, lifelong learners of math.

Nicki Nightingale is a Numeracy Coordinator with Peace Wapiti Public School Division. She has been teaching since 2012 in a variety of grades and subjects, from elementary all the way up to high school. She avoided teaching math due to her negative experiences as a student until 8 years ago when she took a junior high math position. This was the beginning of her new journey. She was inspired by a math coach who introduced her to everything “Thinking Classroom” which turned out to be the catalyst that changed her direction and ignited her passion for math education. Fast forward to now: Nicki has her Master of Education degree with a focus on Numeracy from Simon Fraser University and is currently the Numeracy Coordinator for Peace Wapiti Public Public School Division in Grande Prairie, Alberta. Her passion is to work with teachers and students to develop their own positive relationships with math so they can experience the joy and connection that comes from deep understanding and confidence in themselves as math learners. She is an avid collector of passport stamps and good math problems