4th CESTL Evaluations by EDI 600-1 students

Yesterday was the CESTL conference. I had a great time! I was pleasantly surprised at how interesting my peer's research was, and how engaged I was in the faculty discussion. I thought the flow worked really well, and that the amount of presentations seen before taking a break/ length of the presentations was perfect. It really kept me paying attention, and when it came time for me to leave, I really regretted it. I wish I could have stayed longer! I enjoyed presenting my research on SES/NCLBA/Art Education, and was filled with pride when some of the faculty members told me they were impressed with my research and that I should take it further and even publish it!

I had such a good time at the CESTL. I was pleasantly surprised. I wish that there had been more details presented to us all along so that I wasn't so against it the entire time, because it really was a great addition to my education in becoming an educator. I was really proud to hear the faculty speak and they filled me with excitement on the journey ahead in becoming an educator and touching children's lives. I'm excited to step into the classroom and change and make connections.

Thank you, Dr. Boyanton, for a great time at the CESTL conference!
Sarah Lefrancois 12/14/08
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I was very nervous and a little bit overwhelmed about today’s CESTL Conference at first. I get very nervous when I present or speak in front of a group of people. However, I found the way of presenting with my poster, as a more one on one presentation to be much more comfortable for me. I was able to speak more clearly, get my points across, and interact with the people I was presenting to in a more comfortable manner. I was not as nervous or shaky as I thought that I would be. I also felt very prepared and knowledgeable about my topic, which made me more confident.

I was also very impressed with how well all of my classmates did on their presentations. Everyone was very professional, well prepared, and informative. There were a lot of interesting topics shared by the students containing a lot of valuable information to help us as teachers.
The panel of teachers was also a great way for us to learn. Hearing their opinions and answers to our questions was very helpful. They all showed a lot of passion for teaching and I found them to be very inspiring.

Overall, I felt the conference was a success. Thank you for a great semester Dr. Boyanton!

Alison Greene 12/13/08
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I thought the CESTL was a great and informative experience. It is extremely important and wonderful experience that students were given the opportunity to unite together in order to hold a conference within the field of education. It was an enlightening day because it gave us the chance to realize the importance of education and teaching. It gave us exposure to different methods, approaches, techniques, information, tools, and strategies that can be used within our future teaching.

I was extremely impacted when listening to Dr. Dodge speak at the CESTL conference. By the end of his speech, I was fascinated and truly impacted by his perspectives, views, and ideas within the field of education. I think it was great how he discussed the importance and dedication we have to obtain as teachers, as well as to always continue to focus on the students. Unfortunately, money, opposite teaching viewpoints, and standardized testing has a negative effect on student learning. I believe his speech motivated and substantially affected me because he related education to art, as well as music.

Being in the field of Music Education, I think it is extremely important that we incorporate the Fine Arts within the field of education. I also loved how he conveyed that we have to mold our students like a piece of artwork, such as the “David” by Michelangelo. It is truly the teacher who helps in molding, as well sculpting students from a very early age. His speech was definitely motivational, positive, and encouraging. It is unfortunate that the sculpted student has to be exposed to the outside forces of administration, politics, economic wealth, and standardized testing. However, we have to continuously focus upon how we can influence students through education in order to assist them in developing into successful learners based upon their individual needs.

I also felt that the Symposium was very successful, educational, well-organized, professional, and useful. It is a great experience to be able to hear different strategies, approaches, techniques, and instructional methods based upon numerous perspectives within the field of education. This CESTL was very triumphant because it gave students educational knowledge and substantial information. We often do not gain enough experience or informative knowledge before entering the classroom and this was a great way to improve upon those specific areas.

The only thing I would have liked at the CESTL conference would have been the opportunity to approach all of the different teachers. I know that I am not the best open-discussion individual and I probably could have approached each teacher individually. However, I would have enjoyed being able to have a one-to-one and in-depth conversation on various educational topics with some of the different educators that I heard at the beginning of the conference, as well as during the Symposium.

Overall, I was fairly satisfied with my performance and presentation at the conference. There are always different areas that one can improve on. I was able to demonstrate confidence and communicate to the audience effectively, which was one of my goals before entering the CESTL. I was also able to get my main ideas and perspectives across to the audience in a well-organized, as well as professional manner.

However, I felt that I rushed through my presentation and skipped over numerous things. Time constraints were continuously on mind and it haltered me in a multitude of ways. I feel that time management and innate anxiety diminished my ability be able to explain, give examples, and elaborate on my presentation. There were numerous examples and certain ideas that I wanted to go into depth about within my presentation, but when I was up there, I tended to stick purely on the information on the screen. If I had a better comfort level, I believe I would have been able to slow my presentation down a little bit and elaborate some of my ideas in a more proficient manner.

I was also amazed by how positive, professional, and how well the audience listened throughout the presentations. I felt a sense of community, professionalism, unity, and respect throughout my presentation. This gives one a sense of pride in their work and as if the students, as well as faculty really take ones research seriously within the educational domain. However, I would have enjoyed being able to interact or incorporate audience participation within my presentation. It would have been nice to be able to hear comments, questions, and the chance to discuss my PowerPoint after it was finished.

Overall, the CESTL conference was extremely informative, educational, and beneficial. I hope that there will be more conferences throughout my education that will give future teachers exposure and the chance to participate within the educational field. The hard work, conference, research, and presentation was truly a great learning experience. This course, work, research, and conference gave me a great deal of skills, motivation, knowledge, and an innate drive in order to propel myself to be a quality educator in order to help the new generation of students succeed at the academic level.
Jason Crockett, December 14, 2008
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I really enjoyed the conference today. Although I must say before I got there I was not excited about it at all. I did not want to sit there for 5 hours. However, after doing so, it was not bad at all. I would have even stayed longer but unfortunately had to leave at 1:30.

I thought everyone who I saw presenting did a great job. I thought Dr. Dodge's speech was great. It had so many useful and wonderful things to say which I really enjoyed. I also loved the panel of professors. I like how the conference incorporated many different things. The different presenters, the professors, the keynote presentation, the posters. It made the time go by very quickly and I feel the breaks were in perfect time. The conference is something that I was very skeptical about in the beginning of the semester but now that I have experienced it, I think it was a great idea and it is full of great information that I will definitely use in my future. Meghan Woodstock 12/13/08

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Yesterday, I attended the CESTL Conference with my 10-year-old daughter. I was very nervous about the whole thing. I kept thinking I made a mistake and should have signed up to do a poster. It seemed to be a much easier task with less notoriety. My daughter said, “you’ll be fine, mommy”. I was not looking forward to this at all.

When it came time for me to present my material, I wasn’t very comfortable at first, but once I got up there and started talking, everyone in the room seemed interested in what I had to say. Gradually, I felt better. When I was finished and everyone applauded, I was very pleased with myself for going through with it. My daughter gave me a hug. As a parent, I think I taught her something important today. Even though I was afraid, I went ahead and did my presentation. I think it was important for her to see me do this.

During the conference, I had an opportunity to sit with some of the students that I really didn’t talk to during the semester because they sat on the other side of the room. They were so nice to my daughter and me. I am glad I had an opportunity to get to know them. Watching their presentations, I couldn’t get over just how knowledgeable everyone was and how much work they did. I definitely learned a lot.

I especially liked the panel discussion. I asked a question and received some very valuable information that will help me in the future. I don’t know when I will have another opportunity to ask five professors their thoughts on a subject that is important to me. The conference provided me with this chance.

The main thing I learned from this experience is that I can do anything I set my mind to. I shouldn’t have any doubt that I can get my Master’s degree. “You can do it” will be the words in my head from now on. That is the main thing I take away from the conference and this class. I will have more confidence in myself after this. At first, I didn’t like the idea of presenting at this conference, but it just goes to show you that sometimes you need to give something a chance, even if it doesn’t initially appeal to you.

As far as suggestions for future CESTL conferences, I think it would be better if there were more evaluation forms available for students. We ran short of them, and I didn’t bring any paper with me. This meant I couldn’t give evaluations to some of the students. A gentleman who I was speaking to during the break had an excellent idea about asking students to donate a small amount of money for a charitable cause. In keeping with the spirit of the season, I thought that was a wonderful idea.

Thank you, Dengting, for being so supportive of me and my classmates.
Pauline Stein 12/14/08
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Well, my CESTL presentation is finally over, and I am so happy to finally be done with it. However, I must admit that it was a very empowering experience. I was incredibly nervous prior to presenting and couldn’t even focus on the presentation occurring before mine, but as soon as I got up there it just flowed so naturally. The hours of practicing and perfecting my speaking and power point really paid off and I felt comfortable and confident in what I was presenting.

As soon as I finished I felt immense relief but also pride. I passed Dr. Doge in the hallway and he told me that I did a great job; it made me so proud of myself for overcoming my public speaking fears and for really taking the time to be confident and knowledgeable about my topic. I learned so much from all the other students, but was really the most interested to hear the topics that were similar to mine to see what conclusions other people found. Everyone was so well prepared and it was nice to see that everyone had put the same amount of time and effort into their projects so that the entire conference was professional and worthy of our time.

There are only two suggestions I would give for making CESTL better in the future. First of all I think there could have been better open communication with the students about what was going on, why, and how. Especially with this time of year many students made huge sacrifices to come to this conference and holding it during class time would have been much better for us. Secondly, I think there was a disparity between the effort for the power points versus many of the posters. Maybe in the future poster students would have to present as well. All in all CESTL was an enjoyable experience.
Kimberly Maher 12/14/08
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Yesterday was a new and exciting experience for me. I was really grateful to have an opportunity to present in front of my classmates, as well as experts in the field of educational psychology. For me, this entire semester has been a huge challenge, and the conference has been as well. I was the eighth presenter, and at first I was anxious, and honestly a bit scared; however, as soon as I walked up and stood in front of a full room of people, I realized it wasn’t really that bad. It gave me great confidence to explain my research, and to have everyone look at me as the expert in what I was presenting. I very much appreciated being able to present when the volunteering professors, and a majority of the students were there to listen.

In addition, I truly enjoyed being able to listen to all of my classmates present their information as well. The eight hours I was there went by quickly, and they were enjoyable because I was able to learn about new and exciting research. Also, I met a lot of new people who I felt I could relate to because of our common ground and interest in education.

Also, this conference has allowed me to recognize a lot about my self. When I was an undergraduate student at Stony Brook University I studied psychology, and I always had the intentions on receiving my Ph.D in the area of psychology as well. However, after working in research at Stony Brook I felt discouraged, and felt I could not accomplish everything necessary to earn my doctorate. Yet, after completing this class, and having the opportunity to apply my interest in research and psychology to education, I have re-decided to receive my doctorate in psychology. I have realized that I am capable of accomplishing all that is required; this is because I am determined, and passionate. Thank you Dr. Boyanton for giving me this opportunity and helping me to rediscover what is truly important to me.
Cassie Dunn 12/14/08
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The CESTL conference went great. It was not as bad as I thought it was going to be! Getting to hear what other people had to say about their research topics was very insightful, influential, and inspiring. I feel like I accomplished a major task and I am glad I followed through with it because I was so nervous about this conference all semester.

One of the best parts of the conference was when the professors sat down in front and we had a discussion all together. They were very insightful and gave us all great advice about what is expected of us on becoming a teacher and how important our job is. Dengting, you are a very inspiring professor and I am glad I stuck through with your class because I was so overwhelmed the first few weeks of school. Now that it is all over with I am happy and most of all I am very confident in myself and in my work. The fact that I got through this course makes me believe I can get through any course in grad school. Thank you Professor Boyanton for a very fun, knowledgeable, and inspiring semester!
Helen Siaxabanis 12/14/08
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When I was driving to the CESTL conference, I felt very nervous. Once I arrived and saw the setting and set up of the room I was pleasantly surprised. I was expecting a very large formal lecture hall; however I was pleased with the comfortable relaxed atmosphere Dengting set up for us. My fellow students, other graduate students and undergraduate students were either sitting at tables socializing and standing at their posters answering questions. Although it was early there were many smiling faces.

Dengting and Dr. Dodge began the day with great words of knowledge and motivation. I felt excited since I knew I was about to be part of a very educational and professional day. I was sitting around many experts and felt proud of what I had accomplished so far.

I was talking to my fellow students about their presentations before we officially began for the day and many of them were very nervous. To be honest, once people began presenting and stepped in front of their audience they actually were very relaxed! Everyone did a fantastic job and presented such interesting information. Everyone seemed fully engaged during mostly every one’s presentation. The presenters did an outstanding job capturing the audience and the audience did a great job giving their full attention. I enjoyed the individuality of everyone’s presentation and everyone’s power point slides. Everyone seemed to put a lot of time and hard work into the presentations and it definitely paid off!

I remember rehearsing my slides and presentation in front of the mirror at home and being so critical of myself. I was nervous it wouldn’t come out the exact way that I wanted it to. I was also afraid that I wouldn’t get any questions at the end. When I got up in front of everyone I felt relaxed and just kept saying to myself, “you host birthday parties you have no problem standing in front of people”. During my presentation I actually felt like I was having fun, I was enjoying standing up in front of everyone and sharing my information with them. When my presentation was done many of my fellow classmates said I looked and sounded so confident and was very clear with my information. This made me feel proud!

I was so proud of myself, I can do anything!
Brittany Fedus 12/14/08
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What an awesome experience! The CESTL conference was just great! I thought everyone did an excellent job and it was truly an honor to be part of it. The keynote speech given by Dr. Dodge was both exhilarating and educational – and I told him so. There’s no denying the passion and dedication Dr. Dodge possesses for teaching and it came out in his speech. (I can truly say the same for Dr. Boyanton in the way she teaches.)

I have to admit, this was a very tough day for me to attend (work is absolutely insane) and I was a little worried about my state of mind going in. However, when I got there and saw all the hard work everyone put in and felt the eagerness and excitement among the crowd, it was easy to appreciate what this day was all about… and that was the desire to learn. Perhaps the best part about it, though, was that the learning process was coming as a result of listening to my peers and observing their work. It really was special.

I can say without a doubt that I would recommend this class to friends and colleagues alike. The work may seem daunting at times, but the end result is a mind full of knowledge that you never thought you’d have. And the best advice I could give them concerning the CESTL performance would be to open their minds and give everything they have because there is nothing quite like the feeling you get when you are appreciated by your peers. And, getting something back in the process makes the experience even more rewarding. Thanks for a great day!

Christopher Basil 12/14/08
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I feel so relieved that the CESTL conference is finally over. This past week I was completely overwhelmed and stressed out. I was working up until the end, not only on this presentation, but I had another one on Thursday. Having 2 research papers and 2 presentations 2 days apart was crazy for me. I never thought this week would ever come to an end. Although I am really happy with the outcome. I put so much work in to this research project and I think it came out really well. I was so nervous getting up in front of everyone to present my powerpoint, but once it was over I was so relieved. Getting your positive feedback also made me feel good about it.

I really liked Dr. Dodge's opening speech. He really had some insightful things to say, and I enjoyed listening. Having the discussion panel the other professors in the department and being able to ask any questions was also a great think to do. It was also nice being able to meet them. Being my first semester back at school, I didn't know the other professors, so it was nice seeing who they are and what they stand for.

Unfortunately I had to go to work and had to leave early. Once I was there I thought that it would have been really great to stay at the conference. I would have liked to have heard other student's presentations. It was great seeing how everyone else's presentations and hard work played out. It was a great end to the semester.

Meredith Appelbaum 12/14/08
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I thought the Conference today was very successful. I was definitely nervous about my presentation and I am unsure what happened to my slide show but I think I pulled it off. I felt good about my presentation and I hoped everyone enjoyed listening.

I thought everyone’s presentations were extremely informative and I gained a lot of insight on becoming a better teacher. I hope I can use all the knowledge I learned from today’s conference in my future classrooms. I really enjoyed when the presenter’s got the audience involved. I felt that kept us engaged in their research and more focused on their presentations. Overall, I think everyone did a wonderful job and it was a very beneficial learning experience.

One suggestion for the CESTL I have would be to shorten the time period for the conference or break it down into groups. I stayed until end and I thought the inspirational quotes and your presentation of our own quotes should have been seen by more. I do not feel a lot of people stayed because it got late and I really think others would have enjoyed the end as much as I did. Thank you for all your hard work and I hope you enjoyed my presentation.
Sarah Hoenig 12/14/08
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The CESTL has finally come to an end and I must say I'm saddened. I was apprehensive about attending, but after getting there, setting up, and listening to the professors and peers, I was excited to be part of the event. I was extremely disappointed to have to leave in the middle of it, to take my exam, and had a very hard time concentrating on my exam, as a result. I finished, miraculously (I was so unmotivated to do it!!!), and was thrilled to return to the CESTL afterward.

I was especially happy to be able to be present for the "opening" ceremony and the "closing" one too. I was impressed with all my peers posters and especially the presentations. The powerpoint presenters worked really hard and did a great job presenting. I learned a great deal of pertinent information to carry with me through my program and into my own classroom.

I also really enjoyed our guest speaker, Dr. Dodge. It was inspiring to perceive the abundance of wisdom and passion he has for his profession. His speech gave me goose bumps and made me realize the importance of being a great teacher. The speech also made me realize, I have chosen the right field for my career and I can't wait to make a difference!

I think the CESTL was phenomenal. I have to say my favorite part was the inspirational great quotes video at the end of the conference. I found it so gratifying, I was moved to tears. There was one in particular that I cherished by Theodore Roosevelt, "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." Congratulations Dr. Dengting on a wonderful job!!! You worked hard and I'm happy for you the way your "baby" turned out.

Elizabeth Scott 12/14/08
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After all of the time and effort spent on our research this semester, it finally culminated today with our CESTL presentations. For most of this course I tried to block out this conference, as I have a total fear of public speaking. However, this week I had no choice but to pay great attention and detail to this conference. I spent many hours revising my presentation, which I had previously revised twice before. So when the professor emailed me back a list of further edits to make, I was quite discouraged. In the end, I think the slides balanced out nicely and I was glad I kept the on-site photos and colorful background. I feel that even though I didn’t open with a joke or story, the brightness and personality of my slides grabbed the audience. Quite a few people commented that they enjoyed the inclusion of real photos and thought the colors in my presentation were eye popping. On another note, I was also concerned about my timing going in to the conference, but I think it worked out nicely- right around the 8 minute mark.

As far as my actual delivery of information, I was overall pleased with my efforts. Upon reflection, the only genuine complaint I have with my own presentation was the way in which I answered one of my classmates’ questions. Someone questioned me about the children being aware of what guided reading group they are in, and if it negatively impacts their self-concept. This was not really my area of research, and even though I have an intelligent answer to the question, I felt I failed to articulate my thoughts appropriately. However, I was pleasantly surprised that the audience asked me quite a few questions. I hope that means that my speech was engaging, different and interesting. Normally, I would be totally mortified and embarrassed to have to answer questions on the spot like that, but I really worked hard on my research and felt more than prepared to answer most any question headed my way. I do think, with the exception of the one question, that I managed to really answer all the other inquiries with a high level of expertise.

Additionally, it was also interesting to see the various poster presentations as well. I liked that we were able to have informal conversations with classmates about their studies. I actually learned from Sarah’s (the photographer) poster presentation that my old school district, Wantagh, has the lowest per pupil expenditure on Long Island. I was greatly surprised to hear this, because the quality of education there is very high, it was even a blue ribbon school of excellence. Also, my town is a middle class area and I don’t feel like my schools lacked any physical or educational resources throughout my entire career there.

Anyway, I am happy to breathe a sigh of relief that one big obstacle of this semester is finally over. We still have to hand in our SM logs and final research papers, but hopefully our professor will feel that our efforts today were enough to eradicate the final exam☺
Melissa Hofmann 12/13/08
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The CESTL conference was an impressive gathering of educators and potential educators. When I first walked into the CESTL conference, I could feel the restless energy. How nerve-wracked and excited we all felt. We were finally about to share everything we had worked on all semester long. The presentations were very well done and everyone’s hard work was certainly obvious.

I personally felt that I was really well prepared to give my presentation at the CESTL conference today. Of course I was a little nervous; there were more than 70 people in the room, but having done extensive research throughout the semester, I knew I had a deep and comprehensive understanding about inclusion and its effects. Because I felt prepared and confident, I think I did well and I was proud of my performance.

The only problem I had, was that ten minutes did not seem like nearly enough time to talk about everything I had learned. Editing my powerpoint was an entirely separate and valuable learning experience. All students worked very hard all semester researching, reading, interviewing and observing in schools. The presentations and poster boards were a profound reflection of the devotion everyone put into their work. Everyone should be extremely proud of the work they have accomplished.

Lauren Romano 11/14/08
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I really enjoyed the conference today. It was not my favorite idea at first but I can honestly say I made the very best of it. It felt important and social and it was a nice way to end our semester. I am proud of my research and was extremely surprised by how interested my classmates were in my poster! it felt great to hear them ask questions that I could answer in a knowledgeable confident way. My peers had important and well organized information and I have a lot of respect for all of them.

The faculty speakers were very generous to share their advice with us and more importantly to believe we were worth their time on a Saturday. It was a pleasure bringing my brother and boyfriend, after a semester of talking about this class and my work they actually got to see it and meet you! It was also fun to see the children who came to support. They remind me why I’m in school to start with. Our class has come a long way and it showed today at the conference. Its hard to believe its over! :)

Amy Weisburd 12/13/08
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I have to admit that I was dreading CESTL all semester. I was scared of presenting my research in public, I was scared of speaking in public, and the length of the day wasn’t something that made me excited about either. Walking in on Saturday morning I expected the worst. I was complaining and my mood was shot before I even drove up to campus.

However, once I walked into the Long Island room and saw that it wasn’t at all what I had expected. The room was set up with tables which gave to a very informal comfortable feeling. About an hour into the presentation I found myself actually really enjoying myself. The closer that the time came for me to present, I was getting very nervous, but all of those nerves just went away as soon as I went up in front of the room. My eight minutes came and went and before I knew it I was asking if anybody had any questions.

I really did enjoy my time at CESTL and as much as I thought I would want to leave as soon as possible I found myself having such a good time that I didn’t want to leave; and ended up leaving only because I had to drive my brother to a birthday party. Thank you again Dr. Dengting for a wonderful experience.

Vanda Dreyer 12/16/08
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I was really impressed with my peers. Watching as all of the students got up in front of everyone and spoke confidently, clearly, and beautifully really made me envious of them. I think that EVERYONE that presented a power point did an absolutely incredible job and I wish I could present so freely and effectively.

The posters that everyone made were also amazing. Some of them were so creative. I LOVED Alison Greene’s poster, it was something that I had never seen before. I was glad that I got the chance to ask her how she did it because I can definitely use those skills in my future teaching career. I wish I could have spoken to more people and that more people came to speak to me, but I think overall everything went well.

I'm confident about my work and I am glad I was able to share. I was again very impressed with how well everyone did and I think that EVERYONE should be so proud of their work! The panel was interesting and I thought the feedback and advice was really beneficial.

Lauren Sichel 12/13/08
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I was very proud of all of the students performance at CESTL. I was amazed to see how every one rose to the challenge and did what needed to be done. Even though I am going through some personal matters at home it was nice to get away for the day and work through it. I think that this was a great idea that Dr Boyanton had and I hope other teachers follow in her footsteps.

Before the conference I know that a lot of students in the class did not want to attend the conference. However, I did not hear one bad word being said at the conference and most people were happy to be there. Thanks Dr Boyanton for pushing us to do our best and on a personal note thank you for being so understanding to the problems I am having in my personal life. Alexis Trudel 12/14/08
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I believe that I was well prepared for this conference; I thought I did a pretty good job in completing my presentation within the time limits set. When I was preparing my presentation slides, I found Prof. Boyanton’s input regarding the presentation slides extremely helpful.

I found the individual presentations very informative, and I look forward to incorporating the suggestions and knowledge gained from the presentations in my own classroom. I found the presentation regarding parent’s involvement with their student’s education very practical.
I firmly believe that parent’s involvement in their student is of paramount importance.

In my future endeavors as I teacher, I would not hesitate to seek/involve parents in their child’s education.

I thought that this course was excellent and I learned many teaching approaches and strategies I could incorporate in my elementary classroom. I thought one of the most effective things of the CESTL presentations was how the topics were linked, for example, presentations regarding motivation, behaviors were scheduled consecutively. This was particularly effective because the contents were related and, they complimented one another.

I thought the most profound quote at the CESTL closing, was “Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent” - Eleanor Roosevelt. This provides a great and excellent example by which teachers and students alike should approach their education. On a personal note, I use this as a guide to bring the highest level of integrity in my personal life. The other quote that was very interesting was the quote by Mahatma Gandhi, “we must become the change we want to see in the world”. I believe this is the reason I am pursuing a career in education --- I want to have a positive impact on children’s learning.

As the presenters awaited their turns, nearly all expressed how nervous and terrified they were to be in the “spotlight”. It struck me that most adults always express this unfounded fear because they really did not appear nervous when they were giving their presentations. As a result of this observation today, I plan to incorporate public speaking in my elementary classroom lessons. SL 12/13/08
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The CESTL Presentation was very nerve-wracking for me to prepare for. I am not a good public speaker. However I was surprisingly happy with my performance. After hearing people present, I became less nervous. I wasn't sure if I was going to sound prepared enough or start babbling. Thankfully I didn't. After seeing how a few people did their presentations I became more confident. I was making a conscious effort to not start giggling or say "umm" a million times. (these are things I do when I am nervous). I think I did a good job.

Overall, I would say this course allowed me to think more intuitively. I discovered who I am as an aspiring teacher. I also learned a lot and received a lot of good advice from my peers. In the future, the CESTL needs to be explained and clarified in detail at the very beginning of the semester. There were many aspects of it that left the class as a whole scratching our heads and thus becoming very stressed out.

This class overall was a very good learning experience for me and I will use and apply what I learned in the future.
Lauren Russo 12/14/08
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As I have been throughout the semester, I was excited and motivated to attend tonight’s class, and was looking forward to seeing the professor’s presentation about conferences and techniques on giving good presentations, in hopes that I may be able to adopt some helpful tips for this Saturday’s event.

However, I was sad to find out that tonight was the final class of the course and that, in general, this course has almost come to an end. I felt that I made a certain connection with the professor and my classmates because of the positive feedback I obtained throughout the course which helped me get through the work loads and because of the learning and growth that we all experienced together as a group. I think that from the first day, when we participated in the name game, that exercise we did helped create this certain spirit which helped break the ice between us and helped set the tone for the rest of the semester.

It was very encouraging to have someone I look up to give me that critique along the way; it strengthened my motivation to give this course my best shot. When you know someone is listening and truly rooting for you, it makes you aspire to do more and to strive to be your best. As such -- among other important things within the course -- I learned such a great deal about motivation in this course. I am especially thankful to have had Dr. Boyanton as a professor for the topics covered under Psychological Foundations of Education because of the methods that were used in conveying and instilling the material.

I know I still have a long way to go in obtaining the knowledge that will equip me to do my job well as a future teacher, but I walk away from this course with a good base of that knowledge and, more importantly, the basic attitude and the self-efficacy to get through the remaining semesters in my endeavor to become a teacher.

I have really enjoyed this course while learning a great deal via classroom discussions, lectures, participation and activities within the classroom, via the research project itself and through my observations, as well as all the assignments that we needed to do, including the journals. It was especially beneficial that we have had reflections and extended discussions on what makes a teacher great, because I think this is such an important topic and goal for us all to try and achieve. We don’t strive to be good teachers – we strive to be great teachers!

The journals were perfect ways for us to vent and analyze our thoughts and feelings about all that we have learned, as well as about our experiences in the context of motivation, education, role models, etc. I have always believed that there is a lot of knowledge and understanding to be gained through self-reflection and this course provided different avenues of the type of learning that comes from reflection, observation and analysis. In being given a chance to write and share our experiences, it validated that what we have experienced and felt are critical to our understanding of the world around us and of ourselves.

I am thankful that this course was recommended to me; the professor did an excellent job of keeping the students engaged and learning throughout the semester. Of course, the experience would not have been the same without the timely and thoughtful feedback that the professor always provided to us during the course. Feedback is so critical to a student so that he/she knows how she is doing – it is also a reinforcing mechanism, as well as a way to guide and confirm things that we have learned, or thought that we may have learned.

As prospective teachers, we have also gained a valuable lesson on what great teachers are, by observing a live example. Of course, there are all different types of personalities and styles of great teachers in the world, and Dr. Boyanton provided an excellent example of a great teacher with her own unique style and personality. Passionate, authentic, caring, professional, effective, creative, purposeful, intelligent and humanistic in approach. These are all core qualities of a great teacher. Evdoxia Gounelas 12/8/08

Congratulations on the first successful CESTL at Long Island University! Great concept. Thank you for a memorable course experience!

Evdoxia Gounelas
December 13, 2008 10:26 PM
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I would elaborate a bit more on this past Saturday’s CESTL conference. In my opinion, all of the presenters I witnessed did a fabulous job on their presentations. Everyone seemed extremely well prepared and knowledgeable in their subject area. I’m sure most students put in an exorbitant amount of time practicing, and it showed. You could absolutely tell that some students enjoy the spotlight and excel in the realm of public speaking.

I particularly enjoyed one of the male presenters, who had planned on showing a video clip of a comedian. Even though the internet wasn’t working and the clip could not be viewed, he was still funny in how he told the story about the comedian. I thought that idea was highly creative and truly grabbed the audience’s attention.

I also wanted to note that I calmed down about the whole public speaking aspect of the day immediately after seeing the setup of the room. I had envisioned a huge auditorium with a stage and a packed audience. So when I arrived, the cozy, intimate setting let me breathe a sigh of relief. At first, I was worried that we would have to stand at the microphone podium. This was a concern for me because I did not prepare anything in writing and I planned on using my slides as a prompt. You couldn’t see the screen from the podium so I was a little bit nervous at first. However, the second presenter, Pauline, did it without the microphone and that put me at ease right away. When it was actually my turn to speak, I wasn’t nearly as nervous as I thought I’d be. Don’t get me wrong, I was definitely anxious, but it was totally manageable.

The only minor hiccup in the entire day for me was that when I first arrived on campus, I proceeded to the Winnick House near the admissions office. I knew it seemed rather deserted but I parked and got out anyway. Soon, I realized I was absolutely in the wrong area- good thing I had my campus map in the car! Finally, I was able to find the student center without too much further delay. I think it might be helpful for next year’s students to have explicit directions to the building, and note that it is not the Winnick House, but the student center. For commuters like myself, who are not too familiar with the grounds, this would be helpful. Other than that, I have to say the conference seemed to go fairly smoothly and kept to the outlined time schedule very well. I think we should all be very proud of our hard work!
Melissa Hoffman 12/15/08
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I'm really proud of the work I did at the CESTL and on my research project. I can't wait to continue it further with the head of the art department, Donna Tuman. She's invited me to attend a conference at the Metropolitan Museum of Art about art and the No Child Left Behind Act I can't wait to attend!

I was also proud of my peers who participated in the CESTL conference. I can see all of our excitement to learn and our passion. I was so engaged at the conference, and thank you for scheduling it so smoothly, professor Boyanton. I was very impressed!!

Thanks for an interesting semester, professor, and good luck in semesters to come. Happy Holidays.
Sarah Lefrancois 12/21/08

4th CESTL Evaluations by EDI 600-2 students

CESTL Students' Evaluations by EDI 600-2

WOW! The CESTL was great; and I felt empowered by it yesterday. Although I was dreading the CESTL, I had a great time and learned so much. I was thinking that my research wasn’t “real,” since I did not include any test scores to prove what makes a great teacher. However, the keynote speaker, Dr. Arnold Dodge, seemed to share my views on what teaching is all about.
After listening to a few presentations, I realized that my research was valid, and I could have performed it. I felt that I did well with my poster presentation because I learned so much from my research and I am passionate about exploring the ways to become a great teacher. Actually, if I had done the power point presentation, it would have been easier, because I would have performed it only once. I lost count of how many times I did my poster presentation – it was more than six times.

I learned so much at the CESTL. Everyone had something to contribute and everyone presented very well and professionally. I also felt like the students were empowering one another.
The panel with the professors on teaching and learning perspectives was also very informative. One thing I learned from that is that I need to save all my field work observations and journals, as well as determine what my teaching philosophy is.

The quotes at the end of the evening were very inspiring. My favorite was by Dengting Boyanton, which was how life is like a mirror, smile and get smiles back; frown and get frowns back. Sorry I can’t recall the exact quote.

I was surprised how quickly the day passed. I found myself speaking with many of the students and even exchanged a few phone numbers to keep in touch. I took away one very valuable lesson from this conference – Believe in yourself.

Thank you Dr. Boyanton. for an AMAZING class! This was my first class and I hope all my classes are as interesting and inspiring. I spent 12 hours at the CESTL and it was great!
Grace Thornton 12/14/2008
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The CESTL is a great experience for a teacher and a learner. Everyone knows it. My Korean friend who is studying in Philadelphia is very envious of me when I talked to her about this conference. I felt proud of myself and this school.:)

In particular, Dr. Arnold Dodge’s presentation reminded me of something that I forgot for a long time; “Keep the kids centered. Children are snowflake, not wizard.” When I reflect on teaching my students, I didn’t think I had enough patience with them. I thought that I lacked the patience, but I realized a real problem that I tend to think my students “little” adults. Frankly speaking, I say something so mean to students who need to be scolded as a reprimand. But, now I realized that it may be a very bad way to discipline children. This is because they are not adults. Adults know how to protect themselves from others and understand the exact meaning of what other person. While, children usually it literally so that they might be more easily hurt than adults. I always wanted my students to understand the exact meaning of what I said like adults, but they didn’t even though some students did. Why didn’t I realize this until now? Could be the reason why we teachers need to learn for all my life? If so, today’s conference is worth of learning for 10 years. It was very informative and stimulating me all the way.

I hope this conference will be held again in spite of financial restraints. I hope you’ll keep up with this conference even though there will be a financial restraints next year.

Thank you for all your teaching for this semester. In particular, your passion for teaching and learning is already contagious of me. J Thanks again for your effort to making us have a sense of achievement. Super Professor Dengting Boyaton!
Ok-Hyun, Jo 12/17/08
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I thought that CESTL was a very interesting and educational experience. I had no idea what to expect when I was walking into the conference room, I was just hoping that the work I had done was as good as all the other students’. I was so surprised when I walked in, people were there already putting up their posters and everybody was talking with each other about them.

Once the conference started I found myself actually enjoying the guest speakers speeches, which I didn’t think would happen, but they were interesting and passionate. The power point presentations also impressed me. I honestly wasn’t expecting for everyone to have such good information and be so confident when they spoke. I gained knowledge from every presentation that I watched and no one seemed to be unprepared. Each student seemed so interested in the research they were doing and very so proud of what they had done.

I also thought the panel discussion was a very good idea it was very informative. I always think that it is such a good idea for those who have experienced things to pass that knowledge onto people who are just beginning that same journey. I know I appreciate any knowledge that seasoned teachers can pass on to me, as a future teacher I have many worries about what I am going to experience and how my students are going to act once I have my own class. I found the panel discussion to be a very valuable experience.

Once the panel discussion was over and we were free to walk around to see others posters I got a little nervous. I was worried that someone would ask me a question about mine that I didn’t have the answer to. However once it got started I was very relieved to see how supportive all of my peers were. Everyone who came to my poster said they liked it and found the information to be very good, and all the questions they had were ones that I was able to answer. In the end I felt very good about my poster and the discussions I had with other students about it. I also thought that the other students posters were very good, I liked being about to see their research in that form. It made it a little easier to take in the information.

Although I had been nervous at first about CESTL and not looking forward to giving up my Saturday to come to school, once I got there I felt differently. I found the whole event to be very interesting and informative. I also forgot it was even a Saturday and ended up not minding that I was at school. I thought everyone did such a good job with their research and thought I was a great experience.

Lauren Betz 12/15/08
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Well the CESTL Conference went off without a hitch. I was so proud of myself as well as all the students who were involved. As expected, my peers really provided the support that not only instilled confidence in me but also made the event fun! It was a true community of respect as everyone was very professional and attentive as each student presented.

I especially loved Dr. Dodge's speech! It was very inspiring- a true rush of adrenaline ran through me as he looked each of us dead in the eye proclaiming that we were the new wave of teachers who are going to bring meaning back to teaching and education.

I also thought the Q and A session (symposium) with the panel of professors was so insightful and so real! It is great to hear professors at the PhD. level speaking about insecurities, providing guidance and advice, as well as speaking about issues they themselves are passionate about. I learned a lot today from each student who had the courage and desire to stand in front of everyone, sharing knowledge and information through their research. It was a valuable experience and quite a journey getting to this place.

I feel like my research afforded me the chance to become a better teacher. I have had the opportunity to reflect on my own practices and am loving the process of changing things within myself with the hopes of being that “special” teacher my students will never forget.
Patricia Selock 12/13/08
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I thoroughly enjoyed the CESTL program yesterday, It was great to see fellow classmates present and there was definitely a special kind of bond felt in part because of the two separate classes. It wasn’t so much competition but a little extra support from the people you know going into it. Going in I kind of wished I had done a poster but in hindsight I am really glad I did a powerpoint presentation. It was an awesome experience and one that I hope continues in the future at LIU.

I would again like to thank Dr. Denting for such an amazing course this semester. It was a heavy workload as outlined in the syllabus but it was all worth it and I can honestly say I have never taken a class that enjoyed more or learned more from (and on so many different levels) than this one. I would like to remain in the loop so that I can visit future CESTL events, that with continued growth should be taking place at the Tilles Center.

I cannot stress enough how happy and satisfied I am about this class and this semester as a whole. I feel such a confirmation that I have made the right choice to become a teacher and I am excited about this lifelong journey I have embarked on to better myself as both a learner and a teacher. Thank you, Dr. Dengting!
Keven Cherry 12/14/08
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The CESTL is over and I have to say that is was pretty fun! The presentations were all very informative and I found that I learned a lot through them.

One thing that I found to be great was the our first guest speaker Dr. Arnold Dodge. I completely agree with many of his points about NCLB and how schools view the arts. As a aspiring art teacher, I feel that the arts are something that many school take for granted and it is very refreshing to hear someone speaking of my views. This was a great start for the CESTL.

I think that everyone did a great job with their presentations. It is hard to go up in front of so many people and talk for 10 minuets. Everyone seemed to handle this just fine though. I did a poster presentation and found that I got some good feedback when I would explain my points to whoever came by. I am overall very proud of myself and the work that I did. I am also happy that I was able to stay for an extra 4 hours above the required 5. it was nice to hear so many different presentations and spend some extra time with my classmates.

For future CESTLs, one thing that I would change would be to give presenters a microphone that they can carry around with them. Naturally people didn’t want to just stay behind the podium and use that mic, but when they would start to walk around it was sometimes hard to hear. Overall though i thought the CESTL went really well!

James Avila 12/15/08
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I can honesty say that I had a good time at the CESTL conference. At first I felt that it was going to be a waste of time and I really did not know what to expect. I really enjoyed presenting in front of so many people and I feel that this will help all of us get away from our fear of public speaking. I was also happy to hear from the guest speakers at the conference. They provided us with great advice in how to successfully get the most out of teaching.

Some things that I would improve about the conference would be the way the posters were presented. I don't feel it was fair to have them just stand by their poster and not speak. Maybe you can next time put people in groups so that everyone has a time to present to the class. I feel the people who did power point presentations deserve more recognition for the work they did. People who did the posters all felt that they lucked out and did not have to present.

I really enjoyed being at the conference I could not stay the whole time but I did stay for ten hours. I wanted to give support for those who stayed and didn't present yet. I also feel that the conference should collect money from each student to provide money for charity's for the holidays. It would be great for us and the school to give back to those communities that need help helping their students. Some programs that could use money for underpriviliged kids could be a non-profit organization called Breakthrough Long Island which is ran out of Friends academy. This program promotes young teachers to help those students that want to succeed in school and whose parents are less fortunate but dedicated to their family as well. The students in these programs are offered extra help so that they will not be behind in school. I feel that this could be a good thing for us as teachers to provide them some help.

I really felt proud of myself for the first time this semester being a part of the conference and having you as my first semester teacher in graduate school. Your passion as a teacher is definitely being noticed and respected by all of us. All semester we have be talking about great teachers and what defines a great teacher. You truly fit the description of a great teacher. Thank you for all you provided us with this semester and have a great holiday. Thanks for everything!!!
Angelo Ferrucci 12/14/08
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Words can’t express the whole experience of yesterdays CESTL presentations. The amount of information I accumulated within a couple of hours would take an individual a life time to study. I felt extremely privileged to be apart of the first CESTL at C.W. Post. I learned so much, the students and speakers were amazing.

First off Dr. Dodge gave some insight on the meaning of teaching. He brought up some interesting points such as The Child Left behind Act; he stated the pro’s and con’s of this act. He also told some touching stories he remembered when he taught years ago. What I found touching was how much of a caring teacher he is and home much of an impact he made in his students lives. It not only motivated me to strive to be a dedicated teacher who believes and encourages her students but it made me realize that this was my true calling. To teach children is a true gift and an art that one can master once you get used to it. I love children and to have the opportunity to work with them and guide them through life is a true honor.

It was a pleasure to stay and enjoy the surprise you had for us at the end. The quotes were encouraging and to see my quote on the students quotes was a true honor thank you Professor for this great opportunity. :)

I look forward to furthering my education at C.W. Post I can only hope to have many other great Professors like Professor Dengting, who is not only passionate but dedicated to teaching students to be the best teachers they can be and love doing it as well. Thank you Professor Boyanton for always believing in your students and always being positive when critiquing our work. You truly are one in a million. Celena Ragkaswar December 14, 2008
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Today marked a profound moment in my life. Today, I spoke about my findings at a well respect convention with an audience filled with educators. At first, I was nervous but as my presentation went on I became more comfortable in front of the audience. I really had a profound affect on my audience. As I exited Winnick Hall, I had students stopping me to tell me that my presentation was “great” or “wonderful”. I really feel accomplished.

In watching all of the presentations, I really began to understand the meaning of this conference. It was to educate the students further and to help them expand their knowledge of teaching. I feel when we graduate and move on to our respected teaching jobs we will be influence by what we have learned at this conference. The information presented today will indefinitely help all of us to become better teachers.

In closing, I hope that this conference continues on for many years to come. I really believe that it gives confidence to the students who worked so hard on their papers. It gives them the opportunity to show off their hard work and feel as accomplished as I do at this very moment.

I thank you Dr. Boyanton for making this conference possible for her students. Sometimes you need that extra boost to make you feel good about your work and yourself. This conference accomplished both.
Juliet Castellanos 12/13/08
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I can’t believe I am sitting on my couch the day after the CESTL. I never thought this day would come. When I first arrived I was so nervous wondering how I was going to do. Since I arrived at 9:00 and was not presenting until 2:20 I had awhile to go. I was watched my peers present I could not stop thinking how proud we all should be. We have worked very hard on this all semester and now it is our time to shine.

Well, 2:20 came around and now it was my turn. I could feel my heart beating so fast but I said to myself this is it, I know my information and I will do great. While presenting I realized that the slides on the screen where my first draft but hopefully too many people didn’t realize. When I finished all I wanted to do was dance and jump around. I was so happy that I did it! I feel that everyone did a great job.

The only suggestions I have is that the poster pretentions could be more organized and the evaluations, instead of the envelopes have a box with a number on it so people can just put the paper in a box. A lot of people took the envelopes thinking they should so some were missing.
To be honest with you Dengting, I was not happy about this project in the beginning. I said to myself what are we going to learn from this. Well I can say that we learned a whole lot and I am very happy that I did not drop this class. This semester you have taught me how to work very hard for something I want and to have confidence in yourselves. All I can say is thank you. Thank you for challenging us (some days I didn’t like it) and always making your class interesting. You brought the class to life. Have a great holiday!!!!!!!
Kara Rubino 12/14/2008
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I went into the CESTL thinking it would be a very long and boring day. I was wrong and actually enjoyed myself. I was very pleased with my work and felt proud when explaining my findings to people. I especially felt great when, after I presented my work to one of the professors, she told me I was going to make a great teacher and she said it seemed like I just had "it". I can't even explain what I felt when she said this, I was just so happy and proud.

I also learned a lot from my peers' presentations. Everyone was so professional and it seemed like not a single person was nervous. I am happy that I did a poster because I don't think I would've been able to make a good presentation, I would've been way too nervous and my presentation would've been affected by my nerves. I was so surprised at how fast the time went by. I was there for 6 hours and it only felt like I was there about one hour. It was a great feeling seeing and hearing the responses to my research. People really took the time to listen and learn from what I discovered. Everyone gave great comments and really appreciated my findings as much as I did.

All in all I am very pleased with my experience at the CESTL and really enjoyed attending and presenting. Although all my research and work took a lot of time and effort it was all worth it. Courtney Schmaeling 12/14/08
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I found the CESTL to be very informative. Everyone who presented did an excellent job. They were all very knowledgeable and well informed regarding their topics. The CESTL provided a lot of insights towards my future endeavor as a teacher. I became more aware of what to expect and how to handle certain situations.

I only wish more students circulated during the poster presentation. I displayed my work but only presented to a select few. I wish I could have received more feedback. My poster was very thorough and I had a lot of information to provide. I went around the room myself at points engaging my fellow students about their research. A lot of students did excellent work.

The only tip I have is for all those who did slide presentations, next time avoid reading directly from the slides. Review your material thoroughly enough that the slide is only there for a reference. Other then that, everyone did an excellent job! I am very proud of my fellow classmates.
David Dimola 12/16/08
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I didn't know what to expect at the CESTL conference, since I had never taken part in any educational conference before. I was expecting a lecture hall type setting, but I was glad to see the room was more informal, it made me much more comfortable and put me at ease, since I was pretty nervous.

I think the selection of speakers was excellent. I especially enjoyed hearing Dr. Dodge, his talk was informative and inspiring. I found his stories about his former students inspiring as well. He had a really comfortable way of addressing the audience, and you could tell that he was happy to be part of the conference. He is just the type of speaker that I aspire to be!

The panel discussion was so helpful, I learned so much from all the professors about what I am about to embark on. There were many helpful hints, and I'm sure there was so much more you all could tell us with more time! I look forward to perhaps taking a class with those teachers in the future.

The power point presentations were very impressive overall. You could tell that everyone worked really hard, and enjoyed their research as well. I learned so much information that I never knew, and I look forward to reading more about the topics that I was most interested in.

I also enjoyed telling my peers about my own research. I worked really hard on it, and I think that it showed most when other students told me about their own experiences, and how they could relate to mine. I personally liked doing the poster, rather than the power point, because I enjoy the interaction with my peers, and I like to hear other opinions, so I can learn from them.

This research was difficult for me, but I am so glad that I pushed myself to the end. What a satisfying way to end a semester, knowing you have accomplished something, and survived! All I want is to be the best teacher that I can be. Every year, my drama class puts on a play for their parents, and I give a small speech before the performance. I am sure to tell them every time that I learn as much from their children, as they do from me. I am so thankful to them, because I believe a great teacher is never afraid to learn something new.

My heartfelt thanks to Dr. Boyanton for this experience!

Lisa Rankin 12/14/08
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The CESTL conference was such a great learning experience for me and really gave me a new insight to education. I enjoyed listening to all of the speakers, and they have all inspired me to do well in my future as an educator.

All of the speakers were fabulous however I want to talk about Dr. Arnold Dodge and his opinions about the "No child left behind" policy. There were many things about this policy that I was unaware of. His powerful speech really taught me new things for example: how the chancellor of New York is trying to pay students to do well on their standardized tests! Also how much time has been take away from recess just to practice test taking methods. I also don't like how teachers nowadays spend their days wasting quality time just for standardized test preparation. Anyway Dr. Dodges speech was very inspiring because left us with a very important message/mission: To change our future and change the old ways of education. There are many problems and after listening to him, it really got me to think; I have to make a change before it gets worse!

The presentations given by the students were lovely as well. The one that stood out to me the most was the one the girl did on being right brained or left brained (Annamarie). I think that is an interesting concept and although I had previous knowledge of the topic, I still had a good time reviewing it!

Over all this conference helped me become a better public speaker and really helped boost my self confidence. It also motivated me and inspired me to keep doing presentations like this. I would do it again in a heart beat, and I will encourage all other LIU students and other college students to go to these events because it can really help you in the long run. Dengting, as always you were right about this conference and I can not wait for next years CESTL conference. Please, let me know when it is, I hope we still keep in touch, and if you ever need a "special guest speaker"... you know you can count on me to be there! Thank you for everything!

Tara Agnesini 12/14/08
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In order to be a successful teacher, an individual must love and embrace a lifetime of learning and developing. From the words of Dr. Dodge, the meaning of teaching comes from an educator’s desire to see the most in each child. As Michel Angelo chiseled away the marble to “uncover” the figure of his famous David, educators must work to discover the true potentials and abilities in each of their students.

The CESTL was an eye-opening experience and presented an abundance of useful and relevant information. Each aspiring educator selected a topic of interest and put forth significant hard work and determination to create the best possible presentations. During the conference, I was enlightened on many prominent educational issues. Within one Saturday, I was able to watch fellow classmates, as well as myself, become “experts.”

Within a period of three months, we delved into our fieldwork and became active investigators and participant observers. No longer was it okay to be an objective bystander, it was time to critically analyze the classroom environment, the students, and the school personnel. In many of the studies, the focus centered on how teachers can improve their classroom management skills, how to accommodate student learning styles, and many other challenging issues that face each educator on a daily basis. As Dr. McLoughlin mentioned, in her first year of teaching, the most daunting aspect was the overwhelming amount of knowledge, issues, and roles that she had to assume. In the teaching profession, educators must multi-task in so many areas that it can often seem tiring and stressful.

Hearing the fears and trepidations of my fellow classmates helped me acknowledge that I am not alone. Pursuing a career where you have so much impact on the next generation can be very scary. As a teacher, I need to understand that I will make mistakes and that it will not make or break me as a teacher. As Dr. Walker mentioned, a teacher can only work on so much at a time. Understanding each aspect of teaching and how to maneuver in your professional development takes a lifetime. Each individual brings their own background, personality, and talents into the classroom when they teach. This diversity is what brings color and light into the educational arena. It allows all students to identify with at least one special teacher who has made a difference in their lives. If every teacher were exactly the same, then some children would not be able to connect with a teacher mentor.

One of the most significant factors that I took away from this conference is that teaching is a life choice. Within the keynote speech, Dr. Dodge spoke of the relevance of teaching. He stated that there would be “no society” without the help of teachers. No doctors, no lawyers, no engineers, and no politicians to run our countries. Every person within this country and elsewhere has been exposed to some form of education. Each person had someone who impacted their lives significantly and taught them about how to function and be productive in their communities and societies.

Education is not limited by the amount of resources, money, or testing standards placed on it. Education rests in the hearts of the parents and teacher of each student. If there is a desire to find the most in each child, to develop each child to their fullest, and a determination to have each child succeed, then education is possible no matter what the constraints. Through this conference, I learned a lot about myself as an educator and also where I would like to see myself at the end of my career. I would like to evolve over the years and continue to expand my knowledge, skills, methods, and pedagogy. Teaching is not a job, it is a career and a way of life. I choose to have a positive impact on my world and I choose teaching as my path!
Christina Wilson 12/13/08
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This was the first conference I have ever attended and it was definitely a memorable one. It was a great experience. Everyone did such a great job with their presentations! Some people had similar topics, but each presentation was unique in its own way.

I was surprised with how much I learned in one day. Just some of what I learned from the conference was: how one’s culture has an affect on their educational experience, how parent’s being too strict on their children can be a negative factor in their education, that one of the better characteristics that a teacher should portray is to be caring and be passionate about teaching, the harmful affects that some children’s television shows has on children – causing them to view violence as a form of heroism, and a person is either left-brained or right-brained depending on their interests such as math vs. music.

Another aspect of the conference that I greatly enjoyed was the morning panel (symposium) for questions and answers. It was interesting to hear from a variety of different education professors. The questions that were asked to the panel were very interesting and the answers from the panel were very informative. Each professor gave thoughtful responses to all the questions. Just one piece of advice, out of the many, that I received from the panel that I will always remember is that you should enter each school as if it were a job interview (Joan Walker). I thought that was great advice and I will keep that in mind every time I enter a school. All in all, I really enjoyed my first conference ever!
Laura Fichera 12/16/08
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I have to say the CESTL experience was really terrific. I enjoyed everyone's presentation and was impressed by the depth of their research and the various subject matters.

I mostly enjoyed the presentations of the students whose presentations were done in their second language, English. They were so brave to tackle a verbal presentation, their insights were individualistic and their work at least as thorough as that of their classmates. Overall, the concept of the CESTL is outstanding.

I do venture, however, that it might have been even more beneficial, more scholarly, more indicative of each students abilities had it not been overlaid with a considerable amount of concurrent class work. That said, it was a tremendous learning experience to take part in, I am only sorry I was unable to attend the entire session. Perhaps splitting it into two days, maybe one for each class with the option of attending both days would be more manageable for those of us with families, jobs and other classes to attend to.

Once again, Dr. Boyanton's explicit passion for teaching and learning was realized in a major undertaking of this conference. It was a pleasure and an honor to be involved.
Linda Gottlieb 12/14/08
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The CESTL conference was a great learning experience. In preparing my power point I was a little intimidated in having to speak in front of 2 classes of students, guest speakers, and family and friends. While I was confident and proud of my work, public speaking is still something that always gives me anxiety. Now, having completed the conference I feel relieved. Everyone presented such thoughtful topics and I was really impressed with the research and effort that was put into each assignment. I am pleased with the way my own presentation went and I hope that in taking more graduate classes, I will be able to further my research of the role of parents in their child’s education. Lauren Malter 12/14/08
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CESTL conference is over, but it is not over for me yet. Before I attend the conference, I had thought it was a small conference, when I entered the room, however, I found I was totally wrong. There were professors and many classmates even some classmates invited her boyfriends or family members to attend. Seeing this, I was a little bit nervous and panic. I am a young Chinese girl, this was my first semester in graduate school, worst of all, I have never been talking to so many foreigners in public. I told myself again and again, don’t be nervous, you are good, they won’t laugh at your pronunciation. Your classmates and professor are very nice, trust yourself, be yourself. However, I still felt nervous.

When we had a break time, I turned one of my classmates for help and I asked her to help me correct my pronunciation. After this, when I stood in the front and present my presentation, I felt confidence and said to myself, come on, girl, try you best to do it, those who care about you will be proud of you if you try your best, after all, you are in university, so I believe you can give you classmates a surprise and let them know a girl from Asia also can do a good job.

After the conference, one of my classmates said that everyone said that your English has improved a lot. Hearing this, I felt very happy, for me, this is the best gift and encouragement. I know there is long way to go, however, I am not afraid of challenge and I do believe as time goes by, I will feel more and more comfortable and adjust the culture and society. At last, I want to thank my classmates and friends because you are always here to support me. Also, I want to thank Dr, Dengting, because she gives me this chance and let me know I can do it well.

Rong Zhang 11/16/08
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Saturdays CESTL presentation was so nerve-wrecking. I had never had to give a seminar before so I did not know what to expect. However, once I started talking I began to fall into a comfort zone. It taught me that I can speak in front of a class and I should not be scared. I have the will to teach so that will carry any insecurity that I may have about public speaking. I thank Dr. Boyanton for the opportunity to do this presentation and I hope that she can continue to do this part of the course in the future.
Andrew Romanoff 12/15/08

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Overall, I felt that the CESTL conference was very successful. I was impressed at how hard my classmates had worked on their posters and on there power point presentations. I learned a substantial amount of information from all of the presentations and research that my classmates presented. I know that from talking to many of my peers beforehand that some were very nervous and I could not tell at all during the conference that they felt this way. Everyone seemed to be very confident and did a wonderful job!

Jacqueline Silverman 12/14/08
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I enjoyed my time at the CESTL. Honestly, I originally thought it was going to be boring and uninspiring. But, this assumption was the complete opposite of my experience.

The CESTL conference was very informative. Dr. Dodge’s speech was motivating and inspires me to make a difference as a teacher. I was impressed with my fellow students speeches and posters. Two speakers that stood out in my mind were Angelo Ferrucci and Kevin Cherry. I thought both were very professional and brought up good ideas about learning styles and discipline.

Also, I was impressed with myself. I gave several presentations about my poster to multiple groups of people. My demeanor and thoughts were expressed clearly to the listeners. They all gave me positive feedback. This conference gave me great ideas for teaching such as; have a student who excels in on subject help another student who struggles in the same subject and purposely misspell words and have the students correct me. I was impressed and had a great time at the CESTL conference.
Christopher Conterelli 12/14/08

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After much anticipation, the CESTL has come and gone. It was very interesting to hear my classmates present their topics. I learned a lot of different things at the CESTL and really enjoyed it. I spent quite a few hours there, but the time really flew by. Overall, I thought it was a great experience and as I heard the feedback from my classmates who attended, I know they enjoyed it as well. Christine Goldstein 12/14/08

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Oh CESTL! I thought the conference really showed the extreme dedication and determination of my fellow peers. Everyone did a really excellent job and I enjoyed listening to the various topics presented. I especially like Juliet’s presentation on media and its impact on children. I thought it was a little longer than the others but it was very very interesting. I did not get to edit my poster to visually be as appealing as it could have, but I thought the context of it was important. Everyone did a truly wonderful job and my favorite part of the conference was just being able to hang out with different individuals from my class. As I have said before, I really enjoyed their company and I thought they made the class fun!

I thought the conference ran a little long and perhaps the presentations could’ve been done in class as to save time before the hectic holiday season. Otherwise, I am inspired by Dengting's passion and her zest for learning and teaching. I want to know where she gets all of her energy from!

Trisha Zuvich 12/15/08
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3rd CESTL Story: A Powerful Learning Experience

A Powerful Learning Experience—The 3rd CESTL Story

Curriculum & Instruction
School of Education
University of Texas at Brownsville

Introduction

On June 27, 2008, another CESTL (Conference of Elementary Secondary Teaching & Learning) took place in the educational building of the School of Education at the University of Texas at Brownsville. A total of 38 undergraduate students presented their research. At least 30 people from outside (mainly the student presenters’ parents, spouses, siblings, children) attended this conference as well.

CESTL was organized by instructor Dr. Dengting Boyanton and all of her students currently taking her courses EDCI 4322 Human Development & Instruction and EDSC 4322 Human Development & Instruction in the School of Education at the University of Texas at Brownsville (UTB/TSC).

The 3rd CESTL showed research conducted by all of our student researchers during the summer session, who spent this whole semester investigating one research topic of their interest under Dr. Boyanton’s guidance and supervision. Specific research method used was self-study, through which our students explored their own growing up experiences and stories as a learner.

This conference covered a wide range of topics related to classroom teaching and learning including learning and motivation, learning environment, learning process, learning conditions, peer relationship and learning, parenting and learning, teacher characteristics and learning, learning disability, race and learning, as well as culture and learning


A Powerful Learning Experience

Like the previous CESTL, the third conference was once again extremely successful. Although this conference lasted for almost eight and half hours (from 1:00pm to 9:30pm), which most of the students did not think they could sit there for such a long period of time and still enjoy it, all students reported that they actually enjoyed the whole conference. Not only did they enjoyed every single presentation, they also enjoyed “every single minute.”

The 3rd CESTL has received overwhelmingly positive feedback from the student presenters as well as some of the parents, who described this experience as “great,” “exciting,” “inspiring,” “motivating,” “entertaining,” “emotional,” “touching,” “powerful” “amazing” “respectful” “stimulating,” “interesting,” “incredible,” and “informative.” The list goes forever…

Heathcliff shared his experience that when he first heard that they were going to have to present at a conference for eight and half hours, he wasn’t too excited. He said, “I was not exactly looking forward to being there for a long time. Yet, despite this predisposition, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. There was not a single person who went up there who I didn’t enjoy their presentation.”

Ruben also said expressed his concern that “I was a bit worried about being contained in one room, forced to listen to 40 (or so) other people’s stories.” But he found himself “was pleasantly proven wrong.” “It was such a great experience to consider the motives of other future educators. Some of the colleagues’ presentations were very emotionally stirring. Their experiences truly had an effect on them, and they were passionate about their work. I’m really grateful Dr. Dengting brought that out in all of us.” “The CESTL was a great experience!” He said.

Tania shared similar feelings, “At the beginning I thought eight hours was going to be a long time, but once we were there, time flew fast.”
Erika also said that “I have to admit I did not like the idea of having to spend so many hours in the conference, but once the conference got started and I started to listen and learn from everyone’s stories and experiences, I lost the track of time. Time went by so fast, and I enjoyed every minute of the CESTL.”

The 3rd CESTL was also a unique conference in the way that most student presenters conducted their research through self-study, which was to reflect their own growing-up experience as a learner. This special format of research method made many students very emotional and sentimental during their presentations. Many students said that they felt like crying or actually cried many times during the conference. Dr. Boyanton herself broke into tears during her own presentation. She was also deeply touched by many of her students’ presentations and cried many times. “It was really hard for me to listen to my students’ stories and know how much they have been through and how hard they had tried to just be where they are today. Their strength, will-power, resilience, and hard work really touched my heart!” Dr. Boyanton said.

Student Rosalinda, a fifty-year-old lady, gave her presentation with tears on her fact almost during the whole presentation. Rosalinda had always wanted to attend school since she was a child, but her dream of attending school were denied many times because of her family were unable to afford the tuition. Rosalinda couldn’t help crying when she recalled how all the hardships in her life kept her from attending college.

Anais, another presenter started her presentation with a sweet smile, but broke into tears in the end when she was stating how her parents had influenced her as a person in Spanish to her parents, who were sitting right in the very front. Her parents sure looked very touched and also proud to be there.

Noelia, another strong woman whose presentation touched the whole room, cried almost during her entire presentation, when she recalled how much hardships her parents had been through and how her college dreams had been delayed again and again due to all kinds of challenges and obstacles! She felt really blessed to have the opportunity to study at UTB today.

Margarita, another strong woman who had to hold her head up very high so that tears would not falling down her face, had also touched many of the audiences when she shared her growing-up experiences and how her parents affected her parenting style today.

Many parents and family members were also touched by the students’ presentation and cried as well. Michelle noticed that her father was crying during presentation. She said “My dad is really big on family and gets really sentimental when he hears us tell them that we appreciate them for everything they have done. As soon as I started my presentation, he was crying, so soon after I couldn’t hold it.”

There were also many laughters in the CESTL. For example, Vanessa Lope's presentation on how age had affected her learning definitely lightened up the spirit of the room. The funniest presentation would be Eleazar, who was determined to make make people laugh during his presentation. Well, he sure succeeded in doing that. People were very amused and entertained by his presentation during the whole time. However, although he intended to make his presentation funny, his deep love for his mother was obvious and still touched many of the audience!

What have the students learned?

The students reported that they have learned a lot out of this CESTL experience. Some students learned that public speaking is not as fearful or scary as they originally thought was. They learned that the main thing was to push themselves and give it a try first before they told themselves “no.” As a result, many students started to feel much more confident and comfortable about public speaking in the future. For example, Patricia mentioned that presenting at the CESTL helped her overcome her fear of public speaking and she said,

“I personally had never been involved in something like this; it made me feel as if I can accomplish anything now. I had always been terrified of public speaking, but after last night, I always have to remind myself that I did it once, I can do it again. I was pretty satisfied with my presentation because like I said I was always shy and afraid of public speaking.”

Frank said that “What I learned about myself was mostly that I am going to get more comfortable in public speaking, which is very important for me since I’m going to be an art teacher.” Erika also said that “After I was done with my speech, I felt proud of myself for getting through it. I definitely learned to get over one of my biggest fears: public speaking.”

Monique, another student who was scared of public speaking, said that: “It was a big learning experience for me. After talking in front so many people, I feel that now I am able to do any presentation. I will probably still be nervous, but at least I know now that I am capable of doing it.”

The most important thing is that the students learned about each others’ struggles and passion to teach, and they felt very inspired and motivated to teach and learn after hearing each other’s stories.

“I feel I have learned a lot from this experience. First of all, I have learned that there are amazing teachers out there who will go to the limit to help their students feel comfortable and important. I think we all have Dr. Boyanton to thank for everything. I also learned a lot from my peers. They shared stories in the CESTL that will stick with me forever. I learned good ways to be and affective teacher and bad ways.” Said Patricia.

“I learned a lot from this experience; it was great to see other people’s perspective on education and their points of view on what they think can affect a student. I though it was great and I learned a lot from everyone.” Said Kesia.

Rosalinda also said that she learned a lot from the CESTL experience, “The experience with the CESTL was wonderful, I learned a lot not only from all the participants but from myself. I never thought that I could stand in front of a big group and talk about my life. It was very emotional, but even with that I could do it. I am glad that I decided to take this class and specially with you Dr. Boyanton, I learned a lot from you as a caring person, an excellent teacher, and a professional professor. It is an honor to have teachers like you in our university.”

Crespin also said that he was really moved by some of the presentations and it made him realize that he wasn’t the only one who struggled to get to where he is today. “Some of the presentations made me sad, and I realized that some students lived a harder life than I did and still found a way to keep learning and did well in school. It was really interesting to hear my classmate’s personal struggles and I have a new respect for all of them. I don’t think I will ever forget any of them and I hope they won’t forget me, either.” Said Crespin.

Michelle said that she enjoyed learning about each presenter as a person, which she thinks is very important, “You learn about how there are different lifestyles and backgrounds to everyone. We need to learn how to adapt to them and not judge them by a simple statistic or by how we think they are. We should take our time to meet with everyone individually and find that inner personality they have.”

Cristina shared similar feelings and said that “I can honestly say that I have known most of my classmates in a deeper perspective and hopefully made new friends. I hope all of my classmates and Dr. Boyanton as well have every dream fulfilled and that they can achieve them with positive outcomes.”

Monique learned that family support is a very important factor in one’s success, “I also liked this conference because it gave us a chance to learn a lot about everybody’s life, and it allowed me to see how important family is to most of us. Family support is very important and that is the reason most of us are in college today. We all want to make our families proud.”

Margarita expressed that she learned how to be a strong person, and how one should not to let the past obstacles affect their future lives and happiness. She said,

“I am glad I got the courage to come out in the open and talk. I wanted everyone to see that regardless of how we grew up, we could make changes of our own. That I learned from my past to stay strong and keep going. I am really glad I got the chance to share my story. Thank You, Dr. Boyanton for believing in each one of us to be able to go up there and speak. I will always look back at this conferent as an incredible learning experience for me as an educator and as a parent.”

Karina learned the importance of parenting in our life, “The CESTL made me realize that other people have many problems as well as me. I learned that parenting is a big influence in their children. I got to learn about other people's lives, the way they grew and I got ideas about how to raise my children in the future. I learned about what things to do and not to do to help my own children and also future students.”


How did the students feel about their presentation?

Needless to day, almost all of them felt extremely nervous at the beginning and not sure if they could do it or not. Cristina’s experience can be a good representative of most students’ experiences,

“I was so nervous that I felt like crying as soon as I stepped in the room. Once I saw our classmates it made me feel even more uneasy because they were all dressed up professionally. I thought that with our wardrobe we actually already looked like teachers which made me feel anxious. I started seeing everyone go up to the front and present. All of them were doing so well that it made me feel as if I was going to do horrible. As soon as I had to sit on the chair to wait for my turn, I started shaking all over. I couldn’t control my legs and my hands.”

Crespin shared similar feelings when he first arrived at the conference,

“As I was driving to the education building for our CESTL conference I started to feel very nervous and started sweating. As I walked into the room, I saw many of familiar faces that made me feel a little more comfortable. I had attended the other EDCI classroom about two weeks earlier which gave me the opportunity to meet some of those students who were at the conference. After being there for a couple minutes, I said to myself, “This is no big deal. I can do this,” and I started feeling better and more confident. I started to realize that everyone was just as nervous as I was and that helped me.”

However, once the presentation started, most students found themselves actually calmed down and able to concentrate on their presentation. For example, Cristina said that she actually felt so confident there presenting that she almost felt awkward, and she never had this kind of confident feeling before.

“Well, I actually didn’t even feel as myself up there, I had this confidence that I actually never have, it was interesting to feel it. I remember getting some questions from others and answering them… But as soon as I sat down I didn’t even remember what I had answered or said. I doubted myself and thought, 'Did I actually just do that?' I did it! I was relieved and I felt so hot afterwards.” Said Cristina.

In general, almost all students felt very pleased with their presentation. Kesia said that she felt very pleased with her performance, she felt the sense of proud, as well as the sense of achievement.

“I am so happy that we finally did the CESTL. I was very nervous at first, but after seeing everybody go up, and I felt very proud of everyone, and I felt that I worried too much because it was not that hard, it was very challenging but I feel it was another accomplished goal. I feel very satisfied with my performance, I talked about my research and I felt very familiar with everyone, I did not feel nervous once I was there in front of everyone and for that I feel very satisfied and proud of myself.” Said Kesia.

Ruben said that “I was fairly satisfied with my performance. I think my explanations and PowerPoint flowed nicely.” Frank, a student who shared his passion about art at the CESTL, also felt pleased with his presentation, “I thought my presentation went very well. I received several questions, which I thought I was not going to get.”

Many students felt proud after their presentations. Monique, who was extremely nervous about presenting at the CESTL and felt very unsure if she could do it or not, felt very proud of her own performance afterwards, and she said,

“I have to say that I am very proud of my performance and everybody else’s. I really believe that we all did such a great job. I couldn’t believe that I did it! I can actually say that I am very proud of my performance. I am usually not satisfied with my performances but this time I was. When I first had to do it in class, I hated the way it turned out because I felt that I had skipped so many things and I wasn’t able to get my points across, but when I did it at the conference, I felt that I was able to make my points and tell my complete story.”

Nidia, another student who had fear of public speaking, also felt proud afterwards, “I think that I did a good job and I feel proud of myself.”

Rosalinda, who broke into tears during her presentation, said that although she was not very satisfied with her presentation because she could not control her tears (although she actually did a great job), she was very proud that she did it. “About my performance I can not said that I was satisfied, I was emotional and nervous. But I am proud that even with that I did it!!!!!!!!!”

Some students also felt more prepared about future teaching career. As Jerome said “Everyone did a terrific job presenting last night. I am glad that we got to have that experience. It is just another way in which you (Dr. Boyanton) have helped to prepared us—your students, for what challenges we may face as educators.”

Many students also felt motivated after this experience, and started to thinking about obtaining masters and Ph.D.s after receiving the bachelor’s degree. “I know that many of my classmates/friends will go on to obtain their master degrees as well as be fantastic teachers wherever they teach. Some will get their PHD’s and hopefully do positive things for the future of students in this or any country abroad if they chose too.” Said Jerome.


Overall Evaluation of CESTL

Over all, the students were very satisfied with their own performances at the CESTL, and their impression of the CESTL was very positive.

Heathcliff said,
“I’m glad that I had the experience of attending and presenting at CESTL. The stories I heard were touching and emotional. Some were funny and humorous. Overall, regardless of how much I wasn’t looking forward to it initially, I definitely would like to do something like this again and I, without doubt, am glad that I took this course with Dr. Dengting and had the opportunity to share my life experiences and learn from the lives of my peers.”

Erika said
“I would not change any thing about the castle conference. Every thing was well planned and organized and everybody looked so professional. It was a great practice and introduction for what the future has in store for us as future educators. I thank Dr. Boyanton for bringing the best out of us and for showing us what we are capable of.”

Patricial said,
“I am speechless when it comes to last night’s CESTL conference. Everyone was so supportive and everyone I feel did an amazing job presenting. The environment was a lot more comfortable that I had expected being with another class that we did not know too well. I ended up knowing a few other people from the class and they were all respectful and supportive to all of us.”

Nidia said,
“I really learned that no matter what obstacles you confront in your way, always continue to be optimistic and motivated to succeed throughout life. I really think that everything came out so perfect that I don’t think there’s any suggestion to improve in future CESTL Presentations.”

Sandra said,
“Wow! I was really amazed about everybody’s presentation, it was really emotional and touching, I learned a lot from everyone. This was my first experience ever in giving a story of my life to strangers. But you know it was worth it, after a while I felt that all those people, I knew them from a long time. I am really glad that Dr. Boyanton made us participate on this presentation.”

Karina said,
“I really enjoyed the red ribbon dance!! It was amazing to see how you are able to control the ribbons and create such beautiful shapes according to the music. I would never thought I would have the opportunity to see such a great performance in my life.”

Suggestions for Future CESTL

While sharing their high praise about the 3rd CESTL, the students also provided their insightful suggestions on how to improve future CESTL events. Dr. Boyanton found these suggestions to be extremely valuable and she would definitely consider those suggestions in the future CESTL planning.

Some suggestions students gave included having students loaded their ppt slides to the computer desk top a day earlier, enforcing punctuality, providing folders for each person’s evaluation forms, not allowing people to come in during presentation to avoid interruption (instead, asking them to wait till that person finishes), having the pizza break a little earlier, being more strict with the time limit, having the presentation evaluation criteria more clearly explained to the presenters ahead of time, inviting more parents and families to attend, inviting previous CESTL student presenters to share their working experiences after graduated from UTB/TSC.

As for Rosalinda, her advice, is to encourage Dr. Boyanton keep CESTL going. She said, “My advice is that never stop doing CESTL, the students will really benefit from it!”


Acknowledgements

The CESTL would like to express its deepest appreciation for all of the generous help and support with this event provided by the School of Education and Curriculum & Instruction. Without their support, we could not have done it or done it so well! The CESTL would like to particularly thank Dr. Brogdon and Dr. Ramirez for providing the funding, Monica and Lupita for arranging the food and the drinks, Janie for printing the programs and evaluation forms, Norma for helping with spreading the news within the SOE community, and many others volunteers whose names we don't know.

The CESTL would also like to thank the Distance Education office for providing the video-taping service for the whole conference, which meant a lot for the students!

Lastly, the CESTL would like to express its greatest appreciation for all the student presenters’ hard work and support with this event. It is their excellent presentations which made the 3rd CESTL so successful, meaningful, and enjoyable. Without their contribution, this 3rd CESTL wouldn’t have been possible!

To view the 3rd CESTL pictures:

http://picasaweb.google.com/D.Boyanton/3rdCESTLConferenceBrownsvilleTexas

To watch the 3rd CESTL Videos, please copy and paste the links in a new browser:

CESTL Video Part 1

mms://streaming.utb.edu/su-08/3cestl_part1.wmv

CESTL Video Part 2

mms://streaming.utb.edu/su-08/3cestl_part2.wmv

CESTL Video Part 3

mms://streaming.utb.edu/su-08/3cestl_part3.wmv

CESTL Video Part 4

mms://streaming.utb.edu/su-08/3cestl_part4.wmv