Bradley Hosts 2014 Statewide Education Conference

11/18/2014 2:59 PM

On Friday, November 7^th Bradley University hosted the Illinois Association of Teacher Educators (IATE) Fall Conference in Westlake Hall. The Bradley PDS Partnership, funded by the William T. Kemper Foundation-Commerce Bank, Trustee, sponsored the attendance of 19 teachers and administrators from Bradley’s eight professional development schools, 32 student teachers, and 8 Bradley faculty and professional staff. In addition, 42 Bradley students, professors, and representatives from Bradley’s PDS sites presented at the conference.

Presentations by teachers and administrators from Bradley PDS sites were “Weekend Snack Packs: Collaboration between School, Church, and Community to Provide a Weekend Snack and Much More to So Many” by Kathy Cobb, Kary Boerger, Karen Anderson, and Dr. Jenny Tripses and “Peoria District 150 Successes with Positive Behavior Intervention Systems (PBIS)” by Doug Atkins, Anna Rose, Renee Andrews, Timika Rutherford, Katie Powers, Carolyn Faulkner, Fabian Daniels, Kevin Causley, Kary Boerger, and Dr. Jenny Tripses.

Reflecting on the experience, 95% of Bradley PDS conference participants reported learning something they could use in their classroom, 86% reported learning something new about teaching and learning, and 86% reported opportunities to network with other professionals. Practicing teachers, administrators, and professors particularly appreciated the keynote addresses on the new Education Teacher Performance Assessment (edTPA) and the Illinois Teacher of the Year, and several sessions that addressed meeting the diverse needs of today’s urban students.  

Highlights of the conference for pre-service teachers were the sessions on seeking a teaching position and strategies for student engagement. One Bradley student teacher commented, “The session on engaging strategies gave me several ideas I can use and got us up and moving as well as communicating ideas with peers. It was perfect!”