Each year, OTF and the Affiliates co-sponsor a by-invitation-only conference on teacher education, which brings together the Liaison Officers who sit on our Teacher Education Liaison Committees (TELCs) at the 14 Faculties of Education across the province, along with faculty members and teacher candidates from those institutions, to discuss current trends and issues in pre-service teacher education.
For the sixth consecutive year, members of the OTF Curriculum Forum, a network of some 50 subject/division associations that operate in Ontario, also participated in the program.
The 2025 Symposium took place on February 7–8. The theme of this year’s event was Harnessing AI in Teaching and Teacher Education: Ethical Considerations and Pedagogical Benefits. The Symposium provided an opportunity for participants to collectively examine both the ethical and pedagogical implications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) as it applies to K–12 teaching and learning and to initial teacher education. The event enabled a rich opportunity for cross-pollination, networking and reciprocal sharing among Ontario academic researchers/faculty of education instructors and classroom teachers, creating conditions for an exploration of best or promising praxis related to the chosen theme.
The 2025 program included an exciting opening session on AI and ethics in education presented by Phil McRae from the Alberta Teachers’ Association, as well as an engaging panel discussion on the possibilities and perils of generative AI, which was shared by Affiliate staff. Symposium participants were also treated to a carousel of presentations facilitated by members of OTF’s Curriculum Forum as they took a deep dive into GenAI. Finally, to close off our learning journey, Dr Amanda Cooper, Dean at Ontario Tech University, provided the concluding keynote address, with reflections on where our work together may next take us.
For additional context and to view the full program for the symposium click here.