Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Michael Holden @mikeholden.bsky.social · Sep 2

The @csse-scee.bsky.social Call for Proposals is live! Join the largest conference in Canadian education research May 30-June 3, 2026 at @uwinnipeg.bsky.social. Proposals are due Wednesday, October 8. Looking forward to seeing everyone there!

www.csse-scee.ca/conference-2...

2026 Conference

UNIVERSITY OF WINNIPEG 2026 Conference Travel Assistance to Graduate Students Coming soon! Plan Your Trip Coming soon! Registration Information Coming in January. Membership Portal :https://www.assocs...

www.csse-scee.ca

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Michael Holden @mikeholden.bsky.social · Aug 21

Come work with me! @uwinnipeg.bsky.social is hiring a tenure-track assistant professor in curriculum, pedagogy, and praxis. As a newcomer to Winnipeg I've been consistently impressed with our faculty, students, the research office, and a long line of mentors. Deets:

northstarats.com/University-o...

Tenure-Track Assistant Professor in Curriculum, Pedagogy, and Praxis, Faculty of Education

northstarats.com

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Michael Holden @mikeholden.bsky.social · Aug 15

I sat down with @cbcradiocanada.bsky.social's Rosanna Hempel and Marcy Markusa to talk about AI in the classroom and the supports teachers need to keep learning front and center in this age of AI. Article and radio chat at the links below!

www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

www.cbc.ca/listen/live-...

Manitoba educators consider appropriate, ethical AI use as policies develop | CBC News

Artificial intelligence is changing how some educators plan their lessons and think about assignments for students. They're contending with how to use generative AI appropriately and ethically in thei...

www.cbc.ca

Michael Holden @mikeholden.bsky.social · Aug 15

This week, teachers, school leaders, and assessment specialists from across Canada gathered at the @caflnetwork.bsky.social 2025 Summer Institute focused on Leading #Assessment Change. It's complex work, but there are change-makers at all levels working to align assessment with robust learning.

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Michael Holden @mikeholden.bsky.social · Jun 10

Congress & the @federationhss.ca isn’t just an event, it’s a community. Creating strong research communities takes ongoing work, which means Congress needs champions willing to do that work — together.

Check out my piece in @universityaffairs.bsky.social:

universityaffairs.ca/opinion/canc...

Cancelling Congress wounds humanities research - University Affairs

Budget squeeze and logistical complexities leave the century-old conference without a host.

universityaffairs.ca

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Reposted by Michael Holden

Canadian Assessment for Learning Network @caflnetwork.bsky.social · May 21

Join us tonight as Sue Mylde, Rundle College, shares her insight and experience using AI to engage learners. Head over to cafln.ca for more information on how to register. #Assessment #education #teacher

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Michael Holden @mikeholden.bsky.social · May 19

In our latest Life and Legacy episode, I sat down with Dr. Lorrie Shepard, former President of both AERA and NCME, to talk about her work in sociocultural theory, measurement, and partnerships in classroom assessment research. Listen here! classroomassessment.podbean.com/e/episode-9-...

Episode 9: Life and Legacy with Lorrie Shepard | The Classroom Assessment Podcast

SIG member Michael Holden sits down with Dr. Lorrie A. Shepard - University Distinguished Professor in the School of Education at the University of Colorado Boulder, longstanding measurement researche...

classroomassessment.podbean.com

Reposted by Michael Holden

Winnipeg Free Press @winnipegfreepress.com · Apr 30

Manitoba’s largest school division has removed a rare entry exam used to sort graduating elementary students into different academic streams.

Grant Park removes advanced-placement test due to student stress

Manitoba’s largest school division has removed a rare entry exam used to sort graduating elementary students into different academic streams.

www.winnipegfreepress.com

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Michael Holden @mikeholden.bsky.social · Apr 29

You want to be "fair" - but what does that mean? In our latest article, we look at communication, grading decisions, responses to cheating, and holding firm in assessment decisions to understand how 200+ preservice teachers conceptualize assessment fairness. Check it out! doi.org/10.1002/berj...

<em>British Educational Research Journal</em> | BERA Journal | Wiley Online Library

Teachers' conceptions of fairness influence their approaches to assessment. Perceptions of fairness underpin how teachers legitimate their values and provide reasons for teachers to defend assessment...

doi.org

Michael Holden @mikeholden.bsky.social · Mar 26

Interested in #assessment? Check out the work Manitoba teachers are doing to support stronger assessment practice in this new grassroots, teacher-led organization:

Winnipeg Free Press @winnipegfreepress.com · Mar 25

A new teacher group is promoting the benefits of “ungrading” and how professionals across the province can tweak their classroom evaluations to better serve students.

‘We should not be ranking and sorting children’: educator group gives old-school grading an F

A new teacher group is promoting the benefits of “ungrading” and how professionals across the province can tweak their classroom evaluations to better serve students.

www.winnipegfreepress.com

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Michael Holden @mikeholden.bsky.social · Feb 26

@uwinnipeg.bsky.social @queenseduc.bsky.social @ucalgary.bsky.social - and a particular shoutout to @saraheaton.bsky.social who lets me grumble about poorly-backed @forbes.com articles touting AI detectors as silver bullets made of tin.

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Michael Holden @mikeholden.bsky.social · Feb 26

Can you spot #AI work? Repeated empirical studies are telling us No, you can't - not nearly as well as you think you can. Are #AI detectors the solution? Initial findings again suggest No, probably not. Check out my @theconversationca.bsky.social piece for more:

theconversation.com/ai-detection...

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Reposted by Michael Holden

The Conversation Canada @ca.theconversation.com · Feb 25

AI-detection software isn’t the solution to classroom cheating — assessment has to shift

If educators want to make valid inferences about what students know and can do, assessments like drafts, works-in-progress and repeated observations of student learning are needed.

theconversation.com

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Reposted by Michael Holden

Bruce Mellesmoen @bmellesmoen.bsky.social · Feb 9

Have you signed up yet? If not, head over to cafln.ca to register for the first of four CAfLN Conversations. On Feb. 10 our Zoom conversations focus on the Student-Teacher Assessment Relationship. @caflnetwork.bsky.social #assessmentforlearning #assessment #relationships

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Michael Holden @mikeholden.bsky.social · Feb 8

How do you navigate artificial intelligence with ethics, trust, and integrity? Join us March 4 for a @caflnetwork.bsky.social session featuring @saraheaton.bsky.social's leading work: cafln.ca/scheduled_ev... Free for CAfLN members, only $20 otherwise!

Spotlight Series Event March 2025

cafln.ca

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Reposted by Michael Holden

Canadian Assessment for Learning Network @caflnetwork.bsky.social · Feb 7

Become a member and join our first conversation this upcoming Monday. Existing members can register by visiting our events page cafln.ca/scheduled_ev...
See you there!

#assessment #edusky

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Michael Holden @mikeholden.bsky.social · Feb 6

Grateful for the conversation tonight with teachers, principals, and BEd students about #inclusive #assessment in Manitoba schools. A lot of passion to do well by students in complex spaces across the province!

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Michael Holden @mikeholden.bsky.social · Feb 3

I sat down with Dr. Sue Brookhart, a longstanding leader in classroom #assessment, for a chat about her life and legacy and the future of assessment research. Listen in!

classroomassessment.podbean.com/e/episode-8-...

Episode 8: Life and Legacy with Sue Brookhart | The Classroom Assessment Podcast

SIG member Michael Holden sits down with Dr. Susan M. Brookhart - Professor Emerita in the School of Education at Duquesne University, longstanding classroom assessment researcher, and former SIG Chai...

classroomassessment.podbean.com

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Michael Holden @mikeholden.bsky.social · Jan 28

Thrilled that Dr. Amy Burns has been appointed as the next Dean of @queenseduc.bsky.social! Working with Amy for nearly a decade (!!), I've always been impressed by her leadership, skill, and passion. She *gets it* in a way that makes a real difference. www.queensu.ca/gazette/stor...

Queen’s announces next dean of Faculty of Education | Queen's Gazette

Principal Deane appoints Amy Burns to the role for a five-year term, beginning July 1, 2025.

www.queensu.ca

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Michael Holden @mikeholden.bsky.social · Jan 26

#Manitoba teachers, interested in inclusive #assessment? Join us for a conversation on February 5 featuring the fantastic Dionne Potapinski & Jamie Galbraith: tinyurl.com/IEPRT2025

An event poster for a Conversation on inclusive classroom assessment in Manitoba, hosted by the Inclusive Education Professors Round Table (IEPRT). The poster reads:

Step into the conversation: Key topics to explore
What does assessment mean/look like to you?
What is the difference between assessment and grading?
Core argument of inclusive assessment
‘Fireside chat’ based on attendees’ burning questions
Open forum for discussion and questions

Date: February 5, 2025
Time: 5:00-6:00pm
Platform: Zoom
Register here: https://forms.office.com/r/9NhxDPCNNW

The poster is black and light red, with a QR code to the registration URL at the bottom of the page.

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Michael Holden @mikeholden.bsky.social · Jan 24

Is #assessment an event? Something you occasion? An invitation? @drarnoldlive.bsky.social & I unpack #inclusive assessment for learning in our chapter in this lovely book - doi.org/10.4324/9781...

The photo pictures the cover to the book, Designing inclusive classroom assessment in schools. The cover features an image of several hands holding together different pieces to a puzzle, in alternating colours, beneath the book's title and author information. Full details are available at https://t.co/XnUoEzGtC6.

The photo shows the first page of the chapter, Designing inclusive assessment for learning in English language arts. The chapter's abstract and other details are available at https://t.co/XnUoEzGtC6.

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