Dr. Laurie Anderson in Chile

Dr. Laurie Anderson is an Associate Director of the IERG and delivered a keynote address on “Using our Imaginations” at a conference on Changes and Innovation in Education at the University of Finis Terra in Santiago, Chile. Laurie is also the Executive Director of the Simon Fraser University Vancouver campus. His outstanding work in Chile helped in furthering the IERG’s increasingly expanding relationships with many educators in Chile, both in schools and universities.

Laurie spoke on:

The aim of his keynote speech and other talks to teachers and principals was to provide teachers with the rationale and the leadership strategies and ideas they need to address the evolving learning needs of their students, and to provide principals with the knowledge, sensitivities, and skills to manage the transition to enriched learning. He presented these needed changes as part of the journey towards implementing imaginative education as the pedagogical framework in schools.

He assures us that his time was not all spent on delivering keynote speeches and consulting with groups of principals, discussing how change and innovation can be managed successfully from the principals’ perspective. He did himself manage to enjoy other contributions of Chile to world culture:

Laurie says: “I want to reassure all ierg devotees that my mission was to extol the pedagogical virtues of imaginative education writ large, not to attempt to a granular exposition (a task more suited to others more qualified). I was exploring the challenges of leadership at the teacher and principal level: the myths of reform (reliance on testing, technology, the accountability movement) and the value of building strong efficacious relationships between and among teachers, principals, students and the parent community. As those of you familiar with the ierg foundation established at the Universidad Finis Terrae, there is a strong appetite to develop even stronger, sustainable links with SFU in this area.”