Future Teachers Conference

The Planning Team

The planning team consists of future teachers, K-12 teachers, and college/university and faculty.  The students on the planning team see first-hand the process of planning and implementing a conference.  We are confident that after these students enter the teaching profession, they will take leadership roles in planning meetings and conferences for their schools, school districts, and professional organizations.

The Planning Process

The planning process takes about 2 months and there are four to five formal planning meetings.

Under the guidance of the faculty, the student planners are responsible for:

·         selecting the topics for the sessions

·         finding the speakers for the sessions

·         arranging for morning refreshments and lunch

·         preparing attendee and speaker conference packets

·         securing the raffle prizes

·         presiding the sessions

The college/university faculty are responsible for:

·         sharing ideas about the desired qualities of speakers

·         supporting the students as they find the speakers

·         preparing the agendas and minutes of the planning meetings

·         preparing the materials for the packets

·         preparing and distributing correspondence with the speakers

·         securing stipends for the speakers (optional)

·         handling the expenses for the conference

·         securing the attendance prizes

A Sample of the Session Topics

Typically 4-5 sessions run concurrently.  Some of the topic sessions are listed below.

Classroom Management for the Elementary School Classroom

Classroom Management for the Secondary School Classroom

Hands-on Science Lessons for the Elementary School Classroom

Hands-on Math Lessons for the Elementary School Classroom

Hands-on Science Lessons in Biology and Physics

Using the Graphing Calculator (TI-92) in the High School Math Classroom

A New Teacher Panel for the Elementary Grades

A New Teacher Panel for the Secondary Grades

The Bilingual and Dual Immersion Classroom

Using Technology in the Elementary School Classroom

Integrated Student-Centered Technology Lessons

“El Nino Impacts”--a Interdisciplinary Lesson for the High School Science

Interview Strategies and Resume Writing

Teacher Credentialing

Teaching Technology Through Literacy

DNA  Earring Making - A Science Lesson for Middle School Students

A Principal’s Advice to New Teachers

Salaries and Benefits

How to Become a Substitute Teacher and the Tricks of the Trade

Empowering Students in Your Classroom

The Evaluations

The attendees complete an evaluation form at the end of the day.  Those who complete the evaluation receive a ticket for an attendance prize drawing.  Using prizes as an incentive, about 80% of the attendees completed the evaluation form.  The attendance prizes included:  LACTE sweatshirts, LACTE t-shirts, free passes to the California Science Center, free passes to the Natural History Museum, free passes to Disneyland, National Math and Science Standards documents, and teaching resources. 

Student responses from the evaluation include:

Were you more likely/less likely to become a teacher after attending the Future Teachers Conference?

“I made up my mind to teach long ago.  This just helped me to see different views and learn many more things that will help me when I teach.”

“My mind did not change.  I am more motivated now.”

“I feel even more strongly about teaching and giving students a high quality of education.”

“The information received at the symposium gave me a better overview of what lies ahead for me, thus taking away any doubts that I had.”

“Very excited and still excited, thanks!”

 What was the best part of the day?

“Information on what to expect of the chosen profession, myself and the school.”

 “Just getting a chance to talk with teachers about teaching.”

 “Before I was afraid of classroom management but after today’s symposium, I think that I can handle it.”

 “Thinking about the credential process has been scaring me but the symposium gave me hope”

 “The principal’s advice session.  How do I get a job at her school?”

 “Talking with the ‘new teachers’ at lunch.”

 “Definitely the workshops.  They were informative and answered many of my questions.”

What would you like to see at next year’s Future Teachers Conference?

“More math and science lessons for the upper elementary grades.”

 “Chemistry lessons for the high school classroom.”

 “How to prepare a lesson.”

 “What kind of problems teachers face when students are not prepared for the grade level.”

 “Preparing your professional portfolio.”

 “Student teaching discussions.”

 “Many schools don’t have money to buy supplies/tools/manipulatives.  A session on creative ways to get these for little or no cost will help us new teachers.”

 “A 2 day conference.  I was not able to get to see all of the sessions I wanted to see.”

Planning Handbook

A handbook detailing the event and the planning process was produced with support from the Los Angeles Collaborative for Teacher Excellence (NSF-DUE #94-53608).  The handbook was revised in 2003 with support from Washington Mutual, which became the corporate sponsor for the Future Teachers Conference in 2001.  The Future Teachers Conference Planning Handbook (REVISED in 2003) is also available on-line at this website in PDF format.