With New York’s Science of Reading mandate reshaping educator preparation, secondary EPPs face urgent questions about disciplinary literacy — yet methods courses may not be prepared to meet them. Drawing on adolescent literacy research and a science methods and literacy collaboration this presentation examines this gap, offering a practical response model.
Emily Hayden is formerly an Association Professor in Literacy Education in the School of Education, Iowa State University; and currently a Literacy Specialist for the Strategic Education Research Partnership (serpinstitute.org). At SERP she develops curriculum and supports implementation... Read More →
Wednesday October 21, 2026 10:30am - 11:20am EDT Coesa Room
Presentation shares empirical study where veteran special education teachers (SETs) with ≤ 5 years of experience drafted letters to a novice SET. In doing so, the study sought to examine: (a) what motivated veteran SETs as they started out; (b) what continued to motivate veteran SETs to stay in the field; and (c) what motivational strategies/advice veterans tend to use.
The purpose of this presentation is to focus on the unique benefits of free play with open-ended materials in childhood. This is important given the fact that children have limited opportunities for free play in and outside of school (Gray, 2011; Yang et al., 2025). I utilize research collected through observations of free play at a nature-based early childhood program, coupled with the CASEL framework (2020), to demonstrate how free play is positioned to foster self-awareness, self-management, responsible decision making, social awareness, and relationship skills. I explain why focusing on socio-emotional wellbeing is critical in today's mental health landscape (CDC, 2024; WHO, 2025).
This panel presentation explores a partnership between Bank Street Graduate School of Education and Putnam Northern Westchester BOCES to strengthen educational leader preparation. Grounded in progressive pedagogy, authentic fieldwork, and regional context, the collaboration prepares aspiring leaders to advance equity, innovation, reflective practice, and responsive leadership in changing suburban communities.
As schools increasingly seek to prepare students for a complex and rapidly changing world, decision making has emerged as a critical competency for success in education, employment, community participation, and independent living. In response to this need, the Hunter College School of Education, in partnership with the New York State Council on Developmental Disabilities (NYS CDD), developed the Hunter SOE Decision-Making Curriculum, a comprehensive P–12 resource designed to explicitly teach decision-making skills to students with and without disabilities. This presentation examines the development, implementation, and statewide dissemination of the curriculum through successful partnerships with hundreds of schools across New York State. Grounded in principles of self-determination, student agency, and inclusive education, the curriculum provides developmentally appropriate lessons that help students evaluate options, consider consequences, solve problems, and make informed choices across academic, social, and real-world contexts.Presenters will share lessons learned from collaborating with P–12 educators, administrators, and community partners to bring decision-making instruction into classrooms, highlighting implementation successes, educator feedback, and examples of student impact. Particular attention will be given to how the curriculum aligns with the emerging NYS Portrait of a Graduate Framework by fostering essential competencies such as critical thinking, communication, collaboration, responsible citizenship, self-advocacy, and lifelong learning.Attendees will explore how explicit decision-making instruction can serve as a powerful bridge between academic content and real-world readiness, supporting students in becoming confident, engaged, and self-directed learners. The session will offer practical strategies for integrating decision-making instruction into existing curricula while demonstrating how school-university partnerships can successfully scale innovative educational initiatives that prepare all students for future success.
This presentation shares exploratory findings from a New York State survey of teacher educators examining AI beliefs, attitudes, use, and expertise. Results highlight gaps between faculty beliefs and institutional readiness around policy, professional learning, and ethical guidance. Findings suggest that clear AI standards and guiding principles were associated with more meaningful AI adoption in teacher education programs.
This presentation shares preliminary insights from a school-university partnership implementing transdisciplinary teaming to support developmental complexity in PreK–2 classrooms. We discuss how researchers and special educators have begun their work to co-design a resource for the classroom to address identifying supports for children with a range of needs in early learning classrooms.
Dr. Kristen Love is an Assistant Professor at the University of Rochester Warner School of Education and Human Development. She is the Director for the Early Childhood and Childhood initial and professional teaching programs, and is an affiliated faculty member of the Learning in... Read More →
This presentation explores the tenure process through three interconnected perspectives emerging from a faculty mentorship initiative: non-tenured faculty, tenured faculty, and institutional leaders. Drawing on participant reflections, the session explores insights related to tenure, institutional belonging, and scholarly productivity, emphasizing the reciprocal value and renewed collegiality fostered through the initiative.
Talk to me about the tenure process and how to build a collaborative mentorship community. I’d also love to talk about preparing future teachers, the Science of Reading, getting college students to do more of the cognitive work, or what you’re noticing about engagement in today’s... Read More →
This session highlights the practices in a yearlong, field‑embedded practicum in an alternative certification program that invites novice special education teachers to view their schools not just as workplaces, but as sites of inquiry. Rather than separating coursework from practice, the course is designed around learning while doing, using ethnographic observation and action research as pedagogical approaches. Through a series of scaffolded assignments, special education teachers examine policies, practices, and student learning and engagement to understand how learners are impacted by power and structural inequities. As they analyze their school setting, teachers ask questions about their assumptions and experiences to uncover implicit biases, building critical consciousness through ongoing reflection. As part of the session, a former student, now an instructor and PhD candidate, will share her experiences in this course and how the inquiry practices developed continue to shape her current research. The ethnography project in semester one asks teachers to identify a problem of practice and consider a change they can realistically implement in semester two to ensure greater equity and inclusion for their learners. Course materials, used as data sources, include teacher reflections, ethnographic notes, student ethnography assignments, and action research plans, which will be analyzed and shared for deeper discussion. Grounded in critical reflection and Freire’s problem-posing education, this course supports candidates in moving from observer to change agent, preparing them to recognize inequities, examine practices, and design interventions within their own school communities. This session will discuss the implications of this approach to teacher training, with participants engaging in discussions about how new teachers can feel empowered to create change in their classrooms and schools.
Co-Director, School Community Organizer, Hunter College
Kass Minor is an inclusive educator who is deeply involved in local, inquiry-based teacher research and school community development. Alongside partnerships with the Teachers College Inclusive Classrooms Project and the New York City Department of Education, she has worked as a teacher... Read More →
Thursday October 22, 2026 4:00pm - 4:50pm EDT Coesa Room
