The National conference was always going to be special for me this year. John Catt and I worked out that, with my book draft submitted in spring, the release date would likely occur around this time. Sure enough, six months later, I had a very happy book launch day in and around the researchED National conference.
The conference was absolutely NOT all about my book. But the book launch brought to the fore some of my favourite things about these conferences, and the (on the whole!) eduTwitter community.
Connection: in the last 12 months, I have made lots of great connections with educators. Some of these are passing conversations at conferences, others turn into strong friendships and mutual support. In-person conferences have the power to bring people together to share, discuss, learn. It’s powerful. The night before, I was lucky enough to see many amazing people for a pre-conference dinner, although that was possibly less erudite than the following day.
Networks: there are growing networks popping up and doing incredible work. Subject-specific, pastoral, MAT-wide, cognitive science… the list could go on. Events like this give people a chance to engage in conversations that might help them find a network to connect with. It’s about so much more than just the day of the conference!
Support and encouragement: all of us share our work with a sense of trepidation and humility. At events like researchED, presenters are encouraged with warmth and energy. Everyone wants others to thrive and succeed. On a personal note, I was overwhelmed by well wishers on Saturday. From my close friends Nikki and Lekha ordering a special cake, to people I don’t know coming for a chat during the day (I’m the tall one, in case you want to say hello!), it was wonderful to see how supportive everyone was. I think that’s a universal experience at this type of event (other conferences, too, of course!
Range of expertise: the scale and diversity of sessions was incredible. You could have learnt about hundreds of different things on Saturday. There was everything. Where else do you have such a range of knowledge and experiences at your finger tips. I went to Sarah Cottingham’s talk and revelled in how much I still don’t know (though she did a brilliant job at teaching me a few things.
Thank you to those who came to my session on The Power of Teams. And those who didn’t, who’d like to find out more.
This was a quote that I read to my audience that I absolutely love – this is one step to achieving the real potential of your teams.
‘The best teams invest a tremendous amount of time and effort exploring, shaping, and agreeing on a purpose that belongs to them both collectively and individually. This purposing activity continues throughout the life of the team. By contrast, failed teams rarely develop a common purpose. For whatever reason – an insufficient focus on performance, lack of effort, poor leadership – they do not coalesce around a challenging aspiration.’
Katzenbach and Smith – The Discipline of Teams
Please get in touch if you have any questions, and thank you for your support.
Sam
Sam Crome 