NORTHEASTERN EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH ASSOCIATION (NERA)
47th ANNUAL CONFERENCE
October 26-28, 2016
Trumbull, CT
Hello NERA Members,
Planning for the 2016 conference is well underway and it should be a very exciting conference! First, we want to thank everyone for responding to the 2015 conference evaluation survey that has been useful in helping us plan the next conference. This year’s conference will return to the Marriott Hotel in Trumbull, CT. The dates of the Conference are October 26-28, 2016.
Membership and conference registration forms will be available on the NERA website: http://www.nera-education.org this summer. Our conference theme is “Making an Impact – Effectively Communicating the Results of Educational Research.” As you prepare your proposals and presentations, we ask you to consider who or what your research is intended to impact and how best to present your findings to communicate with your fellow researchers and your intended audience.
We are excited to bring back the new Data Blitz session format introduced last year, under the new name of Information Blitz. A success in their first year, these sessions are designed to highlight research in a brief 5-minute presentation followed by opportunities for discussion with individual presenters.
Additionally, we have a number of other great sessions and activities planned:
Professional Development Workshops: There will be pre- and inconference workshops, including but not limited to the following topics: Data Visualization, Evidence-Centered Design, Mixed Methods, Scale Development, and Propensity Score Matching
Working time for Special Interest Groups: We will have time for individuals and groups with shared interests to meet and work together on collaborative projects, or simply to brainstorm ideas for future collaborations.
Conference App: This year we are excited to introduce a conference app which will facilitate interactions among NERA members at the conference as well as allow researchers to easily share their slides and papers with their colleagues.
Mentoring: The mentoring program will provide graduate students with the opportunity to meet with professionals in the field. Mentors can provide individualized feedback on research projects and/or dissertations, as well as provide guidance during the conference.
We are excited to announce our keynote speakers and invited panelists, who will be addressing our conference theme from a variety of perspectives:
Keynote Speakers:
Jonathan Supovitz, co-director of the Consortium for Policy Research in Education (CPRE) and a professor in education policy and teaching at the Graduate School of Education, University of Pennsylvania. He is also co-author of the #commoncore Project – How social media is changing the politics of education.
Lee Badgett, professor of Economics and Director of the Center for Public Policy and Administration at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She is also author of the book, The Public Professor – How to Use Your Research to Change the World.
Invited Panels:
National Panel – Our national panel will feature Juliane Baron, Director of Government Relations for AERA and Jill Barshay, contributing editor and author of the weekly column, Education By The Numbers, for The Hechinger Report.
State and Local Panel – Our state and local panel will feature Carrie Conaway, Associate Commissioner, Office of Planning and Research for the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education; Angelina Lopez, Director of Special Projects & Knowledge Management, NYC Department of Education; and Sarah Darville, Bureau Chief for Chalkbeat New York.
We hope that you are planning to attend the conference, and that you will also encourage friends and colleagues to do the same. Once again this year we will be using the online proposal submission process. Please see the Call for Proposals and FAQ for more information. We also encourage you to distribute the Call for Proposals to other educational researchers who may not have access to this publication. The proposal system will open in early May and you will have until June 3rd to submit your proposals. We are looking forward to another successful and exciting NERA conference! Email us if you have any questions: NERAConferenceChairs@gmail.com.
