First Annual Mentoring Conference

Research Mentoring Conference

“There was a sense of enthusiasm in the presentation hall,” explained Tim Smith. He was describing the first annual research conference of the McKay School held in mid-April in the Garden Room of the Wilkinson Student Center.  Smith continued, “Students were chatting with one another and mingling with faculty members from other departments. It was an excellent forum for sharing with one another the "fun" side of our professions --with a shared goal to promote scholarly contributions that benefit educators, children, and youth.”

Smith directs the Alliances for the Strength of Youth, an initiative newly structured by the McKay School of Education created to promote collaborative research by faculty and students. The McKay School first annual research conference showcased 77 poster presentations by 113 students who were assisted by 56 mentor professors.

“I personally learned more about the research being done within the School of Education in one and a half hours at the conference than I had previously,” continued Smith.

Shauna Valentine, a key individual within the Alliances, helped to organize the event. ”We are very excited about starting something that will only grow,” said Valentine. “People are excited to see other research being done in the school. We hope that this awareness will produce future collaborations.”

“This is a wonderful event to focus on all the research being done within the McKay School and to see some of the breath and depth of that research,” she added.

The purpose of the conference is to promote and solidify research done throughout the college by mentored students. Some of the participants are called research assistants. “Whatever the title, most students are being mentored by faculty,” explained Valentine.

Tim Smith

Topics for the presentations ranged from eating disorders and behavior programs to media literacy, and spirituality in graduate courses.

Peaceable Schools, a major initative of the McKay School of Education, had seven posters on various components of research. Topics for this initiative included the effects of Strong Kids Curriculum, evaluating the implementation of Positive Behavior Support  and data based decision making in schools, assessing general educators abilities to conduct Functional Behavior Assessments, the effects of consistent professional development when implementing the Peaceable Schools model, the effect of language skills of children with internalizing behavior disorders on the improvement of their academic performance, the effect of mentoring, and a study of the social validity of the project.

Students paid with mentored research funds will be required to participate in subsequent research conferences as a form of reporting.

“I was most impressed with the level of preparation that the students demonstrated,” concluded Smith.  “Students were very knowledgeable about their work and their findings, and their displays were of high quality. I look forward to the research conference becoming an annual tradition within the McKay School of Education!"