9:45 – 10:25 a.m.
Room 103
Setting the Brain Up for Success
Dr. Sheryl Erickson, Southwestern College
Meg Calvin, Southwestern College
“Our brain does not have the bandwidth to handle all we are throwing at it in 2019” – Ruby Wax. Learners suffer from frazzled brain; they have difficulty focusing, empathizing, and being creative. We will focus on reasons behind this exhaustion and how educators can make adjustments to help set learners up for success.
10:30 – 11:10 a.m.
Room 103
Personalizing Instruction through Social and Emotional Learning
Dr. Charlsie Prosser, Baker University
Hannah Greer, Baker University
Margaret Hempleman, Baker University
How to prepare educators to effectively incorporate social and emotional learning from theory to application will be shared through multiple perspectives. Personalizing learning emphasizing the importance of relationships, relatability, and support will be modeled through “My Story, Your Story, Their Story, Our Story” approach.
AFTERNOON PRESENTATION AND Q&A SESSION
1:00 – 2:15 p.m. Room 103
Kansas Teacher Preparation Programs and School Redesign
Tammy Mitchell, KSDE Elementary Redesign Specialist
Jay Scott, KSDE Secondary Redesign Specialist
Q&A panel including Dr. Linda Feldstein, FHSU and moderated by Dr. Gary Andersen

Grading Practices and Reporting Learner Progress
Linda Feldstein, Ed. D., Fort Hays State University
Few aspects of the education profession are as ubiquitous as grading. But are we preparing our pre-service teachers to implement grading practices that can improve students’ engagement in and ownership of learning? Join me in discussing the theory and practice of improved and more equitable grading practices.

The Experiences of a First Year University Pre-Service Teacher with Dysgraphia: A Case Study
Sarah E. Broman, Ph.D., Fort Hays State University
Jacob Petree, Fort Hays State University
Students are three times more likely to have learning disabilities in written expression than any other type of disability. In this session, attendees will learn how pre-service teachers with dysgraphia navigate themselves through teacher preparation programs. Participants will learn strategies to help students with dysgraphia succeed in post-secondary environments.

A STEM Teacher Preparation Program for Rural Kansas
Dr. Janet Stramel, Fort Hays State University
Fort Hays State University offers a pre-service education program designed to place STEM teachers in rural communities in Kansas. Candidates have opportunities to work in a six-week summer institute for area youth, apply for a generous scholarship, participate in an early rural field experience, attend regional and national STEM conferences, and volunteer to provide informal STEM education activities in the local community. The program includes unique courses focused on issues related to teaching in a rural community. The program is funded by an NSF Robert Noyce Scholarship grant.

Equipping Pre-Service Teachers with Project-Based Learning Skills to Increase Student Engagement
Alan English, Ph.D., Bethany College
Sam Reed, Bethany College
The lead presenter’s experience with a project-based learning unit that demonstrated a statistical increase in student engagement has driven his methodology in instructing pre-service teachers. In turn, the co-presenter will describe a project-based learning unit he will implement in his student teaching experience that was inspired by his undergraduate coursework.

Lessons from the Classroom: Teaching SECD Standards via the Published Basal
Dr. Gayla Lohfink, Southwest Plains Regional Service Center
Ms. Ashton Wenta, USD #507 Satanta Elementary School
Find out how an elementary classroom teacher is intentionally integrating SEL using the district’s basal reading series. Framed by studying open-mind theory or the postulating that one possesses an ability to attribute mental states to oneself or another person via literature, second graders’ SEL is being fostered just by reading!

Pre-Service and Novice Teachers’ Theoretical Orientations to Reading and the Relationship to Self-Efficacy for Teaching
Dr. Sarah Broman, Fort Hays State University
Dr. Linda Feldstein, Fort Hays State University
Kemberly Zamora, Fort Hays State University
In this interactive presentation, participants will learn how pre-service teachers’ beliefs and practices relate to both their theoretical orientations to reading and their self-efficacy for teaching. Participants will develop a deeper understanding of how these belief systems impact reading instruction and influence their future practices as teachers.

We are Not in Kansas Anymore: Case Studies in Teacher Candidate Development of Cultural Competency through Short-term Study Abroad
Dr. Elodie Jones, Fort Hays State University
Dr. Betsy Crawford, Fort Hays State University
Dr. Chris Jochum, Fort Hays State University
This session will share the results of an ongoing study abroad program in Costa Rica in which teacher candidates engaged in personal and academic experiences through a language academy and host families. The researchers utilized a mixed approach in which they gleaned information through individual ratings and reflections from the Intercultural Effectiveness Scale and combined this with students’ personal journals, focus groups, personal interviews and personal artifacts.

Integrating Social and Emotional Learning Throughout Teacher Education
F. Todd Goodson, Kansas State University
Eileen Wertzberger, Kansas State University
James Alberto, Kansas State University
As we address candidate retention in teacher education programs, it quickly becomes apparent this process includes a strong social-emotional component. This session describes our efforts to initiate programs and communities capable of providing a nurturing environment for candidates as they progress toward licensure.

The Impact of Positive Behavioral Supports and Social-Emotional Learning Curriculum Upon Student Learning
Dr. Nancy Albrecht, Emporia State University
Melissa Brunner, Emporia State University
Many American students are subject to adverse effects of chronic childhood trauma resulting in gaps within social-emotional competencies. This case study examined impacts of one research-based proactive approach to student behavior, Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS), Second-Step Learning Curriculum, and staff trauma-informed/ACES training upon a Midwest rural Kansas Elementary School.

Kindergarten Readiness and the Role of Social/Emotional Learning from the Perspectives of Preschool and Kindergarten Teachers, Special Education Teachers, Elementary Principals and Parents
Laney Roths, Fort Hays State University
Heather J. Musil, Fort Hays State University
Kerri Snow, Fort Hays State University
How do we prepare our teacher education candidates for the ever-changing kindergarten expectations? In this session, we will dissect varying perspectives from parents and teachers on this issue. In order to assist our teacher candidates, we will discuss how to bridge the gap between these perspectives and the Kansas Standards.

Exploring conceptions of school engagement among constituencies (students, faculty, parents) in a rural high school.
Gary Andersen, Ph. D., Fort Hays State University
Linda Feldstein, Ed. D., Fort Hays State University
Liberal High School, a Kansans Can redesign school, is committed to understanding and addressing 38% of its students who are actively disengaged with school. Come learn about and discuss a collaborative research project underway with FHSU to uncover the context and reasons for this phenomenon.

Are My Students Learning? Formative Assessment Made Easy
Kelly Bielefeld, USD 264 Clearwater
Mike Ronen, SW Plains Regional Service Center
In Visible Learning, John Hattie describes a powerful strategy to enhance student learning— formative assessment (effect size .90). Implemented with fidelity, the result is assessment-capable learning, a pivotal skill for post-secondary success. “Are my students learning?” Join us in reimagining formative assessment—a fluid, robust, daily practice.