Derek Turner

Background

About Derek Turner

I am a Secondary English and Social Studies Teacher with over seventeen years of teaching experience, including over eight years of experience as a Substitute Teacher at every age and in almost every subject. I am accredited in English Language Arts in Saskatchewan. I am passionate about ELA and Social Studies (History/Humanities), and I am experienced in teaching both of those subjects from Grades 7 through 12. I have also worked at the Primary and Elementary Level as a classroom teacher, itinerant/specialist, Teacher-Librarian, and Learning Resource Teacher. I am passionate about literacy and cultural awareness, and I enjoy using technology, pop culture, and contemporary media as part of my regular teaching practices. I particularly enjoy working with higher-level learners, and I am interested in developing more skills to work with programs such as AP. I have experience with a variety of extra-curricular activities, including coaching and judging Debate, teaching and directing Drama, organizing student leadership teams and equity / social justice groups, and facilitating board game clubs. I am also very interested in continuing to develop my understanding of the areas of Indigenous Education, Treaty, and Reconciliation. In my own time, I am an avid board gamer and a board game designer, and I am an active participant in the local board gaming and tabletop game design communities. Over the past several years, I have incorporated that interest into my profession, as I have facilitated several professional development opportunities for teachers to learn how to embrace tabletop games (and gaming in general) as part of their teaching. I have also been an advocate at the local and provincial level for the rights of substitute teachers, and I worked for several years with the Regina Public School Teachers' Association on issues regarding substitute teachers. I am currently serving as as the Chair of the RPSTA Substitute Teacher Committee (a position I also held from the committee's inception in 2019 until October 2022) in addition to other roles and committees with the RPSTA. I have also served as a Councillor representing the RPSTA within the Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation for multiple terms. I served as the Chair of RPSTA Assembly from 2019 to 2022, and I am also interested in issues of policy and governance within the world of education - and the teaching professional in particular - on both a local and provincial level.