Tuesday, May 21, 2013


Conference Style:  IRA 2013
Cool conference bag with words of wisdom.

Admittedly, I've been attending professional conferences for years--you don't want to know how many.  But, that makes me a conference-goer  professional.  Early on, I would go to any conference I was allowed.  This was usually dictated by a benevolent principal with specific reasoning behind my attendance.  However, in 1995 after completing five weeks in the Oklahoma State University Writing Project, I began to take control of conference attendance after attending my first National Council of Teachers of English.  That same year I attended the International Reading Association Conference in New Orleans.

Even though I had begun to choose which conferences to attend, this didn't mean I controlled my behavior when I was there.  I took empty suitcases to bring back free teacher stuff, discount books, and way too many purchased books.  I stood in line for the Children's Book Luncheon, nearly fainting when I realized I was talking to Donald Graves who was in line behind me.  Book Adoption years became my passion as those folks know how to wine and dine teachers lavishing them with food and freebies like never experienced before.   And, I stood in line for hours to tell Kathleen Patterson how her books resonated with a certain troubled boy in one of my classes.  I made bandies and groupies look tame with this Gangum style conference gung-ho, full force, marathon form of conference attendance. 

I attended NCTE from 1995- 2010 with the exception of one year.  The later eight years, I played a predominant role in organizing the National Writing Project meeting which is held in conjunction with NCTE every November.  I prefer the deeper thinking and collaboration of the NWP sessions over the quick fix sessions at other conferences where it feels like any teacher with a classroom idea could present.  These became an endless stream of theater style, standing room only "lectures."    I have learned--this is not my conference style. 

Lynette speaks with Terry Thompson as Donalyn looks on.
So, this year, fulfilling a new role as a Regional Literacy Trainer for City Year, I attended IRA once more with my friend and colleague Lynette Herring-Harris.  She too is a seasoned conference goer; so, we planned very strategically to make the most of the time and preserve energy for the other work we were doing in San Antonio.    One priority was looking for the names we knew and trusted. 

The first session we attended feature three Texans focused on creating classroom reading communities.  Donalyn Miller, The Book Whisperer, and founder of the Nerdy Book Club http://nerdybookclub.wordpress.com/2012/09/23/embarrassed-to-read-by-donalyn-miller/ was hot on our list.  She spoke at our NWP meeting one year and we became enamored  with her love of reading and passion for leading students to books.  The bonus in this session was meeting Terry Thompson who talked about professional reading communities.  Twitter:  @terryreads.  He made me think about how important it is for us to share what we are reading with others, how I should pass this on to the Site Literacy Leads I speak with weekly, how I can incorporate the idea of reading and learning communities in all we do at City Year.  The third speaker enlightened us with a librarian perspective.  Again, focused on the importance of surrounding ourselves with a reading community. 

We are also fans of Jeff Wilhelm and Kelly Gallagher who presented their ideas on argumentative writing along with Judith Meltzer.  I will always be inspired by teachers who find concrete ways to bring learning front and center.  Jeffrey's session, Teaching Argument:  Writing as a Form of Inquiry across the Grades and Disciplines came from the ideas of his book: Improving Comprehension with Think Alouds.  Wilhelm uses "Warrant Workouts" and CSI detective pictures to generate student ideas around presenting a valid argument. 

These sessions were two highlights, but of course we did other things like scan the exhibits finding cool pre-printed whiteboards with KWL, graphs, etc.  to pass on to our colleagues, bought some gifts for our team, and we had to book shop!

I did purchase two books.  The Truth about Dibels, What it Is and What it Does by Kenneth S. Goodman provides an explanation of why education professionals are opposed to using Dibels, " it impairs learning and teaching."  This book is written from a classroom adoption perspective rather than an intervention between non-professionals and students, our City Year situation.  I bought it to be more informed as two of the sites I serve use Dibels in their intervention space and more are considering the program.  I seem to return to the same stance:  It isn't what you are using but HOW you use it.  Dibels is no exception from what I know so far. 

The second book brings me ripples of joy.  Moving Forward with RTI by Mary Howard features simple strategies to use in whole group engagement, independent application, small group collaboration, small group instruction and partner work.  Several Lawton, Oklahoma  teachers I worked with as PD Director of the OSU Writing Project are featured.  To see them blossom from reluctant teachers of writing to collaborative authors is thrilling.  I hope to share strategies in this book with sites as we work toward building learning communities, spreading a love of reading, and supporting students with solid intervention work. 

Professional Conference attending takes a little practice, but once you get the right moves conquered, you too will benefit from time away from your normal place and pace to grow and reflect among other professionals.  It is worth the time and money to inspire your own learning and develop your own conference style.  Me, I'm sticking to Patish-style conference going:  1) Maintain control-if you run yourself ragged, you will not have a positive experience 2) Focus on your present need as a professional  3) Look for names you know and respect  4)  Take time to reflect on the experience  and 5) Share what you learn with others. 

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