I recently attended this conference…

I heard this guy speak (he was awesome)…

He recently wrote this book (on my reading list now)…

I learned about Positive Psychology and brain functionality and development as it specifically pertains to education, students, teachers and grit. All of this was fascinating and very different from the type of conferences I have attended in the past. The heavy focus on brain development and learning on a scientific, theoretical, cognitive level differs from the English or education or technology conferences loaded with hands-on, practical, take-home-and-use-tomorrow-in-your-classroom type sessions I am usually expecting at a conference. Yet, it is clear that what was covered at Learning and the Brain goes hand-in-hand with what I pick up in the more practical sessions at other conferences.

And though all that professional learning is fantastic, it is not the only learning that goes on when traveling for a conference. For example, keeping with the current conference:

Learning and the Brain was here…

And here…

I had never been to our nation’s capital. I will definitely go back. There was NOT enough time to learn as much as I would have liked (Shoot! There was hardly enough time to properly experience one of the Smithsonian Museums, let alone all 17 in DC or even the 11 on National Mall). But I got a sense of the district enough to know there is much more to experience there.  

And I did all of this with these people…

We work with so many great people here at GCC and in MCCCD, but we don’t often get to spend quality time with them because the day-to-day grind gets in the way! However, going to conferences together provides an opportunity to not only learn professionally with colleagues (discussing new techniques and ideas, connecting concepts to our student body, hashing out new assignments or dream projects), but it also opens the door to learn more about the people we work with, which can lead to new projects, collaborations, development, or even just good ol’ friends.

And according to this fine colleague…

We will have the $3,500 maximum allotment again for the 2017-2018 academic year available for FPG travel. Get a group together and go learn! And remember, there are many conferences that are not discipline specific, which means you don’t have to just look to your department colleagues to join your group.

Check with the CTLE for conferences that apply to all faculty or to find a group to travel with!