Conference teaches educators new skills for the classroom

11/26/2012 1:21 PM

Bradley University and its Peoria professional development schools made a huge showing at the Illinois Association of Teacher Educators Fall Conference this month in Lisle, Ill.

Eleven teacher education professors, two English professors, one community leader, 13 practicing teachers/administrators, 10 student teachers and 16 teacher education majors attended and 27 Bradley students, professors, and representatives from Bradley’s PDS sites presented at the conference.

The theme of the statewide conference was “Common Core Standards: Restructuring Teacher Preparation for 21st Century Skills.”

Reflecting on the experience, 93 percent of Bradley PDS Partnership attendees reported that they learned something new about teaching and learning at the conference, and the same percentage said that they learned something they could use in their classroom. Moreover, 67 percent felt  they had opportunity to network with other professionals and 71 percent would like to participate in a future bus trip.

David Thompson, who co-presented a concurrent session with Dr. Celia Johnson entitled “Incorporating 21st Century Skills: Strengthening Common Core Standards and Technological Literacy in the Social Studies”, said, “The conference truly helped connect me even more to the professional side of teaching through meeting with other pre-service teachers, teacher educators, and leaders in education.” 

Katie Johnson, a secondary education-mathematics major who presented a concurrent session entitled “Perspectives on Question Asking in Secondary Classrooms” with Dr. Patricia Chrosniak and Robert McMahon-Lovell, stated that the “IATE Fall Conference is a great way to get information about what is new and upcoming in Illinois education. I will definitely try to go again next year.”

Bradley PDS teachers in attendance also recognized the value of the conference. Shanica Davis ’98 and Alona Dawson ’94 MA ’99, both interventionists at Glen Oak Community Learning Center wrote, “The IATE Fall Conference was an excellent opportunity for preservice and veteran educators to network and stay abreast on the latest trends in education. We are appreciative of the partnership between Bradley University and Peoria Public Schools. Their collaborative efforts allow us to better serve our teachers in the 21st Century classroom.”