Propelling Ourselves Forward: Making Time and Space for Meaningful Collaboration
Professional track faculty often face competing demands that leave little room for collaborative endeavors. This interactive session provides strategies and frameworks for building and sustaining meaningful professional partnerships that propel individual and collective goals forward. Participants will engage in guided activities to identify shared interests, explore time management techniques, and brainstorm actionable steps for fostering interdisciplinary connections. Attendees will leave with practical tools to prioritize collaboration in their work and a network of peers with aligned interests.
Presenters
Shannon Kane is an Assistant Clinical Professor in the College of Education’s Teaching, Learning, Policy, and Leadership Department. Her work centers on literacy and teacher preparation. Beginning her career in international development, focusing on women and education, she later joined the inaugural cohort of DC Teaching Fellows. Dr. Kane has previously worked as a classroom teacher, instructional coach, curriculum writer, and school principal. She holds a doctorate in Reading, Writing, and Literacy from the University of Pennsylvania and master’s degrees in International Development and Elementary Education/TESOL. Her research explores literacy instruction, teacher development, and technology integration.
Loren Jones is an Associate Clinical Professor and Coordinator for the Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) Program in the Department of Teaching and Learning, Policy and Leadership in the College of Education. Dr. Jones is passionate about working with both pre-service and in-service teachers in supporting their learning and growth in effective instruction for multilingual learners. She teaches Foundations of Literacy and Biliteracy Development and Methods of Teaching Multilingual Learners. Her current research explores immersive technologies as an early field experience for pre-service teachers and the use of GenAI by both pre-service and in-service teachers.