Robyn Thiessen

Robyn Thiessen has been an educator in Surrey, B.C. Canada for the past 26 years. She is a passionate educator who actively engages students in authentic, inquiry-driven learning opportunities. In recent years, she has flattened the walls of her classroom and participated in many global learning initiatives through the Global Classroom Project and Skype in the Classroom. Her students have used technology to make their thinking visible as well as to interact with other students, educators and scientists on a variety of projects. Robyn is very active in the Genius Hour movement and she believes that students need time to explore learning opportunities that they are passionate about. She also encourages students to appreciate their learning journey not just the results of the journey. Robyn’s classroom is considered a learning studio for other educators to visit and to gain an understanding of best practice in making learning visible and student-centered learning. Robyn is also a respected teacher leader and international speaker, facilitating Making Learning Visible workshops and sharing the benefits new assessment and reporting methods. She is a Discovery Education Ambassador Lead and STAR educator. Robyn was also part of a team, from the Surrey School District than recently won Simon Fraser University’s Inaugural Cmolik Prize for the Enhancement of Public Education in British Columbia, for their work in the transformation of Communicating Student Learning within Surrey School District.