Samantha J Shaffner

Prof. Lisa Fink

NCTE/USD

USD EDU X

Credits: 2

30 January 2020

NCTE19: My Conference Experience

To begin, NCTE’s annual conference has been my ultimate favorite PD and networking event of the year since I began attending in 2015 when I was awarded the High School Teacher of Excellence Award. It is amazing to see so many passionate, dedicated educators come together and create amazing conversations, moments, and bring these innovative pieces of knowledge and tools back to our ELA classrooms. Here are some major highlights regarding my experience this year (in bullets):

Meeting MG and YA authors is always my favorite part of the event, and this year did not disappoint. Meeting June Jo Lee and discussing food and how it connects students and teachers with culture and sensory details was one of my favorite experiences in the exhibit hall. My students have been checking out Chef Roy Choi as much as possible after a few lessons inspired by June's talk with me about the connections between literacy, culture, and food.

As always, it was a pleasure to get a free book, a selfie, and a quick chat with the amazing Laurie Halse Anderson. Her session about graphic novels was epic, and I have really enjoyed the graphic novel version of Speak.

Karen Strong was AMAZING! She gifted me with a signed copy of her classic Just South of Home. My middle grade ELA students have loved this title!

Nadia L Hohn did not disappoint when she signed my copy of A Likke Miss Lou. This has also been a hit with my MG kids! Amazing book and amazing illustrations!

Noted Sessions:

On Friday, A session that really shaped my experience at NCTE19 this fall was about the topic of black girl literacies. My tweets explain this better, as I sent them in real time. I felt bad for this presenter during her session because the internet literally went out! She still rocked it, and I follow her and her ideas on Twitter now!

Another session of particular interest to me was led by a friend and former research partner of mine, Clarice Moran, as well as other forward-thinking ELA educators in the educational technology and digital literacies areas. Something amazing that came from this is now I am writing another book chapter with Clarice about mobile phone use in the ELA classroom! NCTE is an amazing networking event! My proposal was accepted, and my chapter is due in March!

All of the sessions were amazing, but I just wanted to reflect on a few that are still resonating with me as a teacher within my practice at a title 1 black middle school.

In sum, this year’s conference theme of spirited inquiry really sums up the experience itself. I love the mix of meeting new people with the same passions as myself, as well as learning new things, making new friends, getting TONS of amazing resources, and visiting a new city gives. I recommend all ELA teachers from all age ranges attend this conference annually. It really gives anyone a chance to find something to spark their interest and gives us so many solutions and ideas to use in the classroom as we are teaching during times with rapidly changing technologies that impact teachers and students in ELA classrooms. NCTE is a supportive and amazing organization run by some amazing people who are truly dedicated to supporting teachers from all walks of life to be their best, feel their best, and offer everything they can to their students and PLNs. In my humble opinion, all ELA teachers should be involved in NCTE. It's more than worth it!

Items