August 3, 2015
ECU's COE Reading Education Faculty Have Strong Presence at International Literacy Association Conference
Transforming Lives through Literacy was the theme of the International Literacy Association Conference held July 18-20, 2015, in St. Louis Missouri and Reading Education faculty from East Carolina University’s (ECU) College of Education had a strong presence at this international event. Faculty members, Kimberly Anderson, Johna Faulconer, Christy Howard and Elizabeth Swaggerty joined colleagues from 20 countries around the globe to explore ideas, best practices and resources for literacy education and advocacy and to learn from one another.
As active members of the Professors of Reading Teacher Educators, ECU Reading faculty presented sessions on content area literacy, early literacy and teacher education. Additionally, Elizabeth Swaggerty a co-chair of the ILA Task Force on Literacy Teacher Preparation, a group examining how our teachers can be better prepared to drive student literacy achievement, helped lead a session sharing the group’s initial findings.
Ensuring that our teacher candidates have the best preparation possible for meeting the literacy and learning needs of all of their future students is always foremost in our thinking. Opportunities to share what we are doing at ECU, learn about what others around the country are doing, and contribute to the national dialogue on literacy education continually pushes our thinking and makes us better, says Kim Anderson, an Assistant Professor of Reading Education.