By SARA GIBONEY
UNK Communications
KEARNEY – A conference for education majors at the University of Nebraska at Kearney will teach students the importance of professional development.
“An important experience for students is to learn about continuing their education after they graduate. Students need to learn how to develop professionally, learn new ways of teaching and learn about new things to take into the classroom. We wanted to give students the experience of an educational conference,” said Amy Nebesniak, assistant professor of math/statistics.
About 175 education majors will attend the Pre-Service Mathematics Teachers Conference, which takes place April 25 on campus.
“The conference also increases the connection between us and the community by bringing teachers onto campus and having students learn from them,” said Nebesniak, who is co-organizer of the event along with Assistant Professor of Math/Statistics Pari Ford.
Sixteen educators from surrounding communities will present on teaching math and what to expect as a new teacher.
Delise Andrews, math curriculum coordinator for Lincoln Public Schools, will present the keynote speech.
The conference will feature three 50-minute breakout sessions and a panel discussion.
“We try and teach students what it will be like to teach, but the teachers that are speaking will have the day-to-day classroom experience to share,” Nebesniak said.
Students will learn how important it is to continually learn as an educator, she added. “The profession keeps growing, and you have to keep changing and growing.”
The conference is supported by a Teacher Education Program of Excellence grant from UNK.
EDUCATORS PRESENTING:
Kearney Public Schools: Tara Abdallah, Mindy Fichtner, Terri Rech, Caryn Saulsbury, Jennifer Zysset
Grand Island Public Schools: Cindy Beaman, Danielle Buhrman, Danielle Dudo, Shelley Eikhoff, Irene Falldorf, Whitney Flower, Kandi Young
Gibbon Public Schools: Brett Kluever
Arapahoe Public Schools: Dan Schaben
Aurora Public Schools: Scott Phillips
Lincoln Public Schools: Delise Andrews
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