In order to move forward after the exhilarating and challenging year in PK-12 education, a group of Faculty at Millersville University committed to preparing the next generation of teachers and leaders invite proposals for our 2nd Annual Virtual Conference to be held on June 29, 2021 from 9-3pm.
Guided by the visual above that conveys Bronfenbrenner’s Systems of Influence on child development, we encourage all involved in these influential systems to share their experiences during the past year as you responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. These experiences should represent both the successes and challenges you faced as you strived to meet the needs of students, families and communities. It is only through communal sharing and reflection on these experiences that we can move forward to create the conditions that will enable new teaching and school leaders to thrive and that will strengthen these systems of influences resulting in positive learning outcomes for all students, teachers and leaders.
We seek to create a conference that represents the authenticity that all have experienced in the past year as we attempted to support students, families and communities. The conference sessions are organized into five spheres of influence as outlined in the Bronfenbrenner’s systems of influence:
- SHPERE ONE: Microsystem (Direct Contact): Family, friends, school, neighborhood
- SPHERE TWO: Mesosystem (Relational Influence): Connecting student’s microsystems
- SPHERE THREE: Exosystem (Indirect Impact): Socioeconomics, media, extended family, Law/Policy/Policing
- SPHERE FOUR: Macrosystem (Cultural Context): Societal attitudes, ideologies, and stigma associated within culture
- SPHERE FIVE: Chronosystem (All Above Embedded with Time): Psychological, physiological, historic, and cyclical changes
The “Moving Forward: Learning from the COVID-19 Pandemic Conference” virtual conference is committed to providing an inclusive, welcoming, and respectful environment for all participants to discuss ideas relating to education. Participants should recognize and respect the diversity of opinions and beliefs that are brought together when multiple institutions with distinct missions engage in intentional collaboration. Part of the strength and uniqueness of our collaboration is that we offer an educational setting that values open intellectual engagement with ideas, pedagogies, and persons that may differ from our own experiences.
Thus, the goal of the “Moving Forward: Learning from the COVID-19 Pandemic Conference” is to support a community-based collaborative effort to further the advancement of quality teaching and learning. During this collaborative process, it should be recognized that the individuality of each institution remains intact in regard to its policies and mission.
Supporting Learners in an Online Environment: We Are All in this Together 