On Thursday, April 7^th, UConn Early College Experience, and the UConn ECE Faculty Coordinator for Classics, Prof. Sara Johnson, met with certified ECE Classics Instructors for their annual professional development conference.

The group shared how they are teaching the courses during during pandemic times. All participants received a copy of “Antigone Rising: The Subversive Power of the Ancient Myths” Kindle Edition by Helen Morales which was discussed for the reminder of the meeting.

UConn Classics courses offered through ECE.

On Tuesday, March 8th, UConn Early College Experience, and the UConn ECE Faculty Coordinator for Educational Psychology, Prof. Joe Madaus met with certified EPSY 1100: Special Education Instructors for their annual professional development conference.

Dr. Jason Irizarry, Dean of the Neag School of Education welcomed the group and then Dr. Madaus spoke to the instructors about the courses they are teaching in their high schools. Later in the afternoon we were joined by Jonathan Mooney, author of “The Short Bus: A Journey Beyond Normal” who spoke to the group which included a  group of EPSY 1100 Students from Erika Boutote’s classroom at Waterbury Career Academy. This text is used in the EPSY 1100 course.

UConn EPSY courses offered through ECE.

On Thursday, March 24th, UConn Early College Experience and colleagues from UConn’s Babbidge Library met with ECE Library Media Specialists from our partner high schools for their spring professional development training session.

Presentations included:

• Introductions and General Updates- Shelia Lafferty
• UConn Safe Assign Overview– Jason Nicosia
• First Year Writing @ UConn – Nancy Dryden
• Science and Engineering Resources – Jennifer Chaput
• Using Google Tools in Research with Roslyn Grandy
• Electronic Resources Highlights with Michael Rodriguez

On Thursday, March 24^th UConn Early College Experience, and the UConn ECE Faculty Coordinators for Animal Science, Dr. Jen Nadeau and Dr. Amy Safran met with certified Animal Science Instructors for their annual professional development conference.

Drs. Safran and Nadeau went over guidelines for all ECE instructors including sample syllabi with course descriptions and philosophy, required books, and grading policies. The group also discussed how their courses are going this year before a short break and then visited an ANSC 1602 Behavior and Training of Domestic Animals course where they heard from a representative from Guiding Eyes for the Blind.

UConn Animal Science courses offered through Early College Experience.

On Thursday, March 31^st  UConn Early College Experience, and the UConn ECE Faculty Coordinators from English, Profs. Scott Campbell and Jason Courtmanche, and GA Kari Daly met with certified English Instructors for their professional development conference.

The group discussed what’s new—particularly UConn’s ENGL 1007: Seminar and Studio in Academic Writing and Multimodal Composition course. Topics included, the studio experience, designing studio activities, and designing course inquiry. Instructors worked in small groups throughout the day connecting and learning from each other as we prepare for the shift to ENGL 1007 for 2022-2023.

UConn English courses offered through Early College Experience.

On Monday, April 4th, UConn Early College Experience, and the UConn ECE Faculty Coordinator for Human Rights, Assistant Professor in Residence, Sandra Sirota, met with certified ECE Human Rights Instructors for their annual professional development conference.

The Keynote presentation was given by Nancy Flowers – “HRE: Building on the Past, Looking to the Future”. Nancy Flowers is a writer and consultant for human rights education. She has worked to develop Amnesty International’s education program and is a founding member of Human Rights Educators USA, a national human rights education network. As a consultant to governments, nongovernmental organizations, and UN agencies, she has helped establish national and international networks of educators, develop materials, and train activists and professionals in many countries. She is the author and editor of many articles and books on human rights education.

ECE Faculty Coordinator, Sandra Sirota also shared a presentation and led a discussion on Human Rights advocacy from the classroom and instructors had time to share resources and discuss the courses they are teaching (or plan to teach) as well.

UConn Human Rights courses offered through ECE.

On Friday, April 1^st,  UConn Early College Experience, and the UConn ECE Faculty Coordinator for Italian, Dr. Tina Chiappetta-Miller met with certified Italian Instructors for their annual professional development conference.

The day included:

• Remarks by Gina Gallo (Bristol Central High School) speaking about her experience in the Ph.D. program at UConn.
• Special Guest Speaker: Anna Marra, Ph.D., Lecturer in Classics, Humanities and Italian Studies at the University of New Hampshire: “Or ti riman, lettor, sovra ‘l tuo banco: In dialogue with Dante”
• Instructor resource and activity sharing

UConn Italian courses offered through Early College Experience.

On Friday, November 12th UConn Early College Experience, and the UConn ECE Faculty Coordinator for Anthropology Associate Professor, Alexia Smith met with certified Anthropology Instructors for their annual professional development conference. Dr. Smith was joined by UConn Assistant Professor, Eleanor Ouimet also from the Anthropology Department to discuss project based learning in anthropology and teaching anthropology today.

UConn Anthropology courses offered through ECE.

On Friday, November 19th UConn Early College Experience, and the UConn ECE Faculty Coordinator for Music Megan Lyons met with certified Music Instructors for their annual professional development conference. The Instructors checked in and introduced themselves to Megan and spoke about the courses they teach in their high schools. The group also spoke about modernizing music curricula and provided examples citing diversity initiatives and current events.

The Keynote presentation “Building Towards Culturally Responsive and Just Futures in the Music Classroom” was given by Karen Cueva who discussed culturally responsive and engaging teaching techniques in music.

Karen Cueva is a Peruvian-American violinist, educator, and arts administrator, who believes in the power of creative youth development as a vital part of social infrastructure and cultural production. Karen is currently the Assistant Director for Learning and Engagement Programs at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute. There, she oversees professional development for music educators working with youth across the country, both in schools and community music programs. She is also a Knowledge and Strategy Associate for The Lewis Prize for Music, a foundation that partners with leaders who create positive change by investing in young people through music. Karen has earned degrees from The Juilliard School and Harvard University.

UConn Music courses offered through ECE.

On Tuesday, November 30^th  UConn Early College Experience, and the UConn ECE Faculty Coordinator for Sociology, Prof. Mary Bernstein met with certified Sociology Instructors for their annual professional development conference. Prof. Bernstein spoke with the group about their courses and how the semester has been going.

Later in the morning, UConn ECE Library Liaison Shelia Lafferty spoke to the group about the library resources available to ECE instructors and their students. Instructors also received a copy of “The Revolution That Wasn’t: How Digital Activism Favors Conservatives” by Jen Schradie prior to the meeting and discussed the book as a group at the end of the morning.

UConn Sociology courses offered through ECE.