Last month over 300 delegates from across the country gathered at The University of Winnipeg for the 2026 Western Canadian Association for Student Teaching (WestCAST) Conference hosted by UWinnipeg’s Faculty of Education.
The annual conference brought together student teachers, educators, and academic leaders to exchange ideas, build connections, and explore the future of teaching.
This included more than 125 representatives from school divisions, independent schools, deans of education from western universities, a delegation from the West Indies, members of Manitoba’s Ministry of Education and Early Childhood Learning, and 23 UWinnipeg student volunteers supporting the event.
The conference was kickstarted at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights with keynote speaker David A. Robertson (BA 99), the award-winning author and UWinnipeg alum. Robertson inspired the enthusiastic crowd of service teachers from across Canada and the West Indies.
Even though I’m only one person, I’m still one person. I can’t do everything, but I can do something.
David A. Robertson
This year’s theme, Together. We Grow!, expanded the conference’s reach by inviting French-language programs and institutions from across Canada for the first time. It also centered on four guiding questions inspired by the late Honourable Murray Sinclair, former chairperson of the Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission; Where do I come from? Why am I here? Who am I? and Where am I going?
These questions were woven throughout the conference’s events and presentations, prompting reflection and discussion among student teachers, deans, superintendents, and representatives from school divisions across the country. The conference created opportunities for participants to connect, exchange ideas, and build relationships.
In keeping with the conference’s focus on inclusion, UWinnipeg also presented the Visual EDI Collective Exhibition at The HIVE, coordinated by Dr. Farra Yasin. The exhibition created a mentorship and network-building opportunity for BIPOC and ally pre-service teachers.
Justine Edwards
UWinnipeg ‘s Justine Edwards, who is graduating this year from the After-Degree Education program, is a big fan and second time participant in WestCAST. She presented a workshop on incorporating game-based Learning in middle school.
“WestCAST is about bringing student teachers together with other teachers, professors, and industry leaders,” shared Edwards. “It’s impossible to know everything there is to know about teaching, and it’s a field where we’ll forever be learning and growing our craft, but WestCAST allows us to get a jumpstart on that growth right at the beginning of our career.”
Florence Salazar, who is in his final year of the Integrated Education Program at UWinnipeg, has long known he wanted to become a teacher. As a teenager, he organized lessons for his younger siblings and would “teach” them after school. Today, he remains committed to making learning meaningful and accessible for all students.
Sarah Cornwell (left), Payton Post (middle), Florence Salazar (right)
Salazar co-presented a workshop titled Speaking the Same Language: Global Competencies Connecting Youth and Educators, with his colleagues Sarah Cornwell and Payton Post.
Together, they designed an interactive session that invited participants to reflect on the importance of Global Competencies in the classroom—an approach that emphasizes knowing, being, doing, and becoming while considering the learner as a whole.
When we use shared language, it helps students recognize their strengths and helps teachers be more intentional in their teaching.
Florence Salazar
“I participated in this conference because I really believe in the work we are doing around Manitoba’s Global Competencies and in the idea that educators and students can build a shared understanding of success by using Manitoba’s Framework for Learning, specifically the Global Competencies, as a shared language,” explained Salazar. “When we use shared language, it helps students recognize their strengths and helps teachers be more intentional in their teaching.”
WestCAST also encouraged reflection on how educators can make learning more meaningful and to connect to students’ lived experiences.
“Having spent half of my K-12 schooling journey in Manitoba’s public schools from Grades 6 to 12, I never had a teacher or school administrator who looked or sounded like me,” shared Salazar. “I believe that this absence helped shape my perspective on teaching because it continues to remind me of the importance of representation and belonging in education.”
For Salazar, the conference reinforced the idea that education is not only about individual growth but about building a community grounded in the belief that Together. We Grow!
Like Salazar, Edwards found WestCAST to be a rewarding experience. She said hearing David Robertson’s keynote address was a powerful way to begin the conference.
She recalled Robertson paraphrasing Edward Everett Hale: “Even though I’m only one person, I’m still one person. I can’t do everything, but I can do something.” Edwards added, “That really stuck with me and sums up how a lot of educators feel.”
