You are on page 1of 4

Conference Review

The conference I attended this semester was CEC 2014 Convention and Expo, which was
held on April 9
th
to 12
th
in Philadelphia, PA. This was an example of a large conference
sponsored by a reliable organization. The parent organization of the conference is the Council for
Exceptional Children (CEC), which is the largest international professional organization in the
field of education. Through excellence and advocacy, the purpose of this conference is to
improve the education and quality of life for special children and youth, and to enhance the
engagement of their families.
CEC 2014 Convention and Expo contained an abundance of interesting and informative
sessions about early childhood to adulthood, providing participators with new information to
catch up on what's happening in the field and practical advice to learn about the latest in
evidence-based practices. In particular, the conference offered many rich opportunities for
attendees to learn and engage in dialogue about the field's most important topics, including
teacher effectiveness, universal design for learning, collaboration, response to intervention,
classroom management, and much more. Moreover, attendees could view the latest and
greatest in special and gifted education products and services in the CEC 2014 Expo hall. There
were more than 180 companies displaying special and gifted education-related products,
specializing in instructional materials, response to intervention, early childhood and much more.
Visiting with exhibitors to learn about new instructional materials, technologies and other
products enhanced attendees practice. In addition, the CEC 2014 keynote speaker was Andrew
Solomon, who is not only the CEC president, the convention program chair, but also a writer of
remarkable talent and intellect.
With more than 800 sessions in the CEC convention, the majority were 1- hour professional
sessions presented on April 9
th
through April 12
th
, and session types mainly contained lectures,
demonstrations, panels, posters, multiple presentations and strands. As a new member in this
conference, I mainly attended two lectures and a poster session of teacher education division
(TED). The first lecture, entitled Newcomer students: Affordances and obstacles during their
transition into the school system, focused on cultural and linguistic diversity. It mainly
examined perceptions of newcomer families regarding their school experience and shared
insights into the affordances and obstacles they face as they transition into American schools.
Furthermore, the presenter also shared effective strategies for facilitating acquisition of social
competence. The leader of this research was Beatrice Adera, who is not only a professor in West
Chester University of Pennsylvania, but also a CEC faculty co-advisor. The second lecture was
about instructional design and strategies in early childhood, which was named Meeting the
needs of diverse learners to ensure every child is ready. This session highlighted the Every
Child Ready instructional models comprehensive curriculum. Importantly, it presented
knowledge about how developmental standards were created and revised, and hear lessons
learned, which is useful for diverse learners. Moreover, participants were immersed in an Every
Child Ready day to understand how they can use best practices in their own classroom. This
study was led by Shornett Vaughans-Oliver, but presented by Jevonna Willis. Both of them come
from AppleTree early learning public charter school, which focuses on three- and four-year-olds
to provide them with the social, emotional, and cognitive foundations needed for success in
school and life.
In additional to the lecture, the poster session was another important portion in this
conference, which prepared professionals to present their research results. On one hand, an
abundance of interesting and informative studies spanning early childhood to adulthood were
provided in this session. For example, Professor Trent Mclaurin, who comes from George Mason
University, conducted research about emotional and behavioral disorders. From the study, I
learned about components of interventions and strategies to improve collaboration between
school, home, and community to better address the behavioral needs of young students. On the
other hand, the poster session provided an important opportunity for participants to develop their
network. To illustrate, I met with two professors from George Mason University, Alexa Fontana
and Rick Brigham, and communicated with them about teacher collaboration and inclusive
practices. Moreover, I also discussed the assessment of English language learners for learning
disabilities with Gliset Colon, who is a doctoral scholar from University at Buffalo. These
discussions with different educators enrich my knowledge about early childhood education.
In conclusion, the CEC Convention & Expo was the global event for special and gifted
education. During the conference, thousands of special education teachers, administrators,
researchers, professors and students from around the world discussed pressing issues and shared
information in areas such as co-teaching and collaboration, emotional and behavior disorders,
instructional strategies for math, reading, and science, and response to intervention. Importantly,
it offered hundreds of educational sessions conducted by leading experts, and endless
opportunities to network with others working with special children and youth and their families.
Moreover, it was a wonderful opportunity for attendees to learn about new and pending
legislation and to explore cutting-edge products and services. As an international graduate
student in early childhood education field, it was a great chance for me to meet and interact with
teachers, administrators, faculty, university students, and current and prospective customers,
which helped me to further my professional growth and broadened my perspectives. The
information I learned from the conference not only provided me a depth comprehension of early
childhood education, but also supplied the inspiration for my future research and professional
plans.

Word count: 891

You might also like