Jeannine Rainbolt College of Education students worked together with faculty to put on the “Kickstarting Community: Connecting Through English and Teaching” conference, held March 4 in Collings Hall.
The half-day event connected OU students with other pre-service English teachers from colleges of education around the state. The idea for a National Council of Teachers of English OU Student Affiliate conference came about after undergraduate students Jennevieve Scott, Kenny Kim and Lena Walker attended the Oklahoma Council of Teachers of English conference last fall in Tulsa.
“We wanted a space to foster community amongst the OU English education teacher candidates, along with practicing educators and other teacher candidates across the state,” Kim said.
Approximately 50 undergraduate and graduate students, professors, and practicing educators from OU, Northeastern State University, Oklahoma State University, Oklahoma City Community College and University of Central Oklahoma attended.
“It was so cool seeing my undergraduate classmates present alongside these veteran teachers, and it was great to see our Norman folks interact with people from the different colleges and communities,” Kim said.
Topics covered included podcasting, integrating art into an English curriculum, expressive writing and poetry in the classroom. Jeannine Rainbolt College of Education faculty members Crag Hill, Ph.D., and Julianna Kershen, Ph.D., assisted with the conference, along with Dani Nagle-O’Rourke, a two-time JRCoE graduate and chair of the English department at Moore High School.
