I blogged yesterday about some of the benefits of travel, and I’m excited to have the opportunity to attend the ASCD Conference on Teaching Excellence in Denver, Colorado over the next few days. I have yet to attend this conference, so I am looking forward to not only learning from all the experts who will be present, but also to see how this slightly smaller learning opportunity put together by ASCD differs from the national conference which I have been lucky enough to attend the last three years.
One of the things I’m most excited about regarding this conference is the opportunity to present more than one time.
In most conferences that I have been able to present at, I get the chance to present once, or at least once on a given idea or topic. While I’m thankful for this opportunity, it misses out on one of the key aspects of facilitation and professional learning that research shows to be so important.
This is the simple idea that follow-up on an idea (including multiple exposure times and multiple practice opportunities) is so valuable.
During the CTE conference, most presenters are able to present twice. This allows more attendees access to the ideas being shared, more opportunities to hear from those whose expertise we trust, and, just as importantly, more opportunities for the presenters to hone their craft, and make edits and changes in their work from one session to the other.
This is the first time where I’ve been able to present in a manner like this, and it is one I am greatly looking forward to. Between presentations, my co-presenter and I will have a few hours to make adjustments, and then give the work a go again, hopefully building an even better experience for the educators who are interested in learning from us during the second session.
While too much repetition can be a bad thing, some is definitely better than none. I look forward to this opportunity as it is one that I will surely grow from!