MTSU’s Center for Educational Media hosts full summer calendar for professional development

Middle Tennessee State University’s Center for Educational Media is hosting and also leading multiple professional development trainings for educators this summer, recently hosting the ELL-Collaborative at MTSU event, for English Language Learner teachers, at the center’s headquarters in the McWherter Learning Resource Center on campus on May 19, 2023. (MTSU photo by Andy Heidt)

Summer vacation may have recently kicked off for educators, but the opportunities for their professional development from MTSU’s Center for Educational Media are in full swing as the center offers academies, workshops, conferences and more this June and July for educational professionals.

“We are proud to support these summer events which are aligned with our mission statement,” said Laura Clark, center director. “We serve MTSU, the College of Education faculty and staff and the greater K-12 education community through partnerships and professional development using state-of-the-art, high-definition video production. Our educational media outreach begins with the local community and extends globally via distribution through satellite, cable, print media and the web.”

Dr. Laura Clark, director, Center for Educational Media — Laura Clark

In addition to facilitating and supporting the professional development for these educator communities, the Center for Educational Media, or CEM, launched its own professional development initiative, dubbed the PK-12 Collaborative at MTSU, in 2017, which now features three different programs — the ELL Collaborative at MTSU for teachers of English Language Learners, the School Counselors Collaborative at MTSU for school counselors and the SPED Collaborative at MTSU for special education teachers.

All three Collaboratives are available to attend at no cost. Participants should check with their districts to determine if the sessions will quality for professional development points.

The center will serve as either host or host and leader of upcoming events, which will all take place at the CEM Professional Development Center in the Ned McWherter Learning Resources Center at 1558 Military Memorial Drive in Murfreesboro.

On Tuesday, June 13, the CEM will host the Reading Intervention: What Works for Middle and High School professional development led by Melinda Hirschmann, assistant director for education services at MTSU’s Tennessee Center for the Study and Treatment of Dyslexia.
On Friday, June 16, the CEM will host the final day of MTSU’s Digital Agriculture Center Summer Campprogram for K-12 students led by Song Cui, assistant agriculture professor.
On Tuesday, June 20, the CEM will host the Tennessee Association of Federal Program Administratorssummer conference.
On Thursday and Friday, July 6 and 7, the CEM will host and lead its ELL Collaborative Summer Academy from 8:45 a.m. to 4 p.m.
On Thursday, July 13, the CEM will host and lead its School Counselors Collaborative Summer Academyfrom 8:45 a.m. to 4 p.m.
On Thursday, July 20, the CEM will host and lead its SPED Collaborative Summer Academy from 8:45 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Registration is still open for the CEM Summer Academies all of which are held onsite, and those interested should visit the center’s website at https://www.mtsu.edu/cem/ or email Jenny Marsh, center coordinator, at Jenny.Marsh@mtsu.edu. Recordings will also be available to view on the website.

Clark said a key aspect of all three Collaboratives is the center’s partnership and collaboration with the Tennessee Department of Education and statewide professional organizations for educators.

“We partner with the state department and professional organizations because we want to be sure the information we’re presenting to our attendees is aligned with and not in conflict with what the state department is asking of teachers,” Clark said. “These are important relationships.”

Clark added that attendees can expect to hear from the Tennessee Department of Education, the professional organizations as well as current and former teachers during the Summer Academies.

“Participants can expect to hear from current or former teachers with practical ideas and strategies that will directly support their work with students and their classroom teaching,” she said. “From the Tennessee Department of Education, they can expect to hear updates on the department’s guidelines and policies for educators in Tennessee.”

Clark said the trend for the number of CEM-hosted or -led events has been on the increase in recent years, this summer included.

“We have an increase in the number of partners reaching out asking us to host events, an increasing number of participants attending the events and a couple more events than last year.”

To learn more about the professional development opportunities through the Center for Educational Media, visit the website at https://www.mtsu.edu/cem/.

— Stephanie Wagner (Stephanie.Wagner@mtsu.edu)