Whether it’s a small statewide teacher convention or a nationwide education conference, the benefits of attending a professional development gathering are numerous! If you’re on the fence, check out a few of the reasons we highly recommend attending an educational conference below. Ready to register but need to justify attendance to administrators?
Click here to download a fillable conference justification letter template!
Why should I attend a professional development conference?
From the New Jersey Science Conference to the California Science Education Conference, and the nationwide NABT and NSTA conventions, MiniOne is proud to exhibit and present workshops at a wide range of science education conferences every year. We love getting to connect with familiar customers and meet new ones, share our new equipment and lab kits, and learn how educators are integrating new ideas and products into their curricula. For us, attending these conferences is a no-brainer!
As a teacher, you might be wondering if it’s worth the expense as well as taking the time off work and traveling away from the home and your classroom. However, the benefits of attending a conference are invaluable, and here are just a few:
Network and interact with peers and thought leaders
Day to day, you likely spend the most time with your students, teachers, and administrators of your institution. At conferences, however, you’re brought together with your peers from around your state or even the country! You’ll meet and share ideas and commiserate with science educators who understand the highs and lows of your profession, and in will get to enjoy a keynote from a respected leader in the STEM fields (for example, last year’s STAT CAST keynote speaker was Dr. Temple Grandin! What an inspiration!)
Enjoy professional development workshops
This is probably our favorite part of conferences. Maybe you’re looking for tips on supporting underserved students, or need ideas for integrating new standards. Maybe you just want to get hands-on with some fun biotech equipment! Educational conferences offer a myriad of workshop opportunities to help you enrich your teaching experience. At nearly every gathering we attend, we present one or more hands-on workshops where teachers can try our game-changing biotech systems and lab kits free of charge, while we share how they can use real-world scenarios to help students grasp science practices.
These vetted workshops inspire and engage teachers, who leave the conference feeling excited to bring new technology and ideas to their students.
Check out new products
Acquainting yourself first-hand with new equipment that would benefit your students may give you the concrete evidence you need to approach your administration about purchasing it for your own classroom. In the exhibit hall, you’ll have the chance to see, touch, and learn about all the new products geared towards improving and enhancing the teaching and learning experience.
Boost your CV
Your state may require you to attend professional development periodically, and a conference that includes PD workshops is a great chance to fulfill those requirements! Even beyond the required PD, attending (or better yet, presenting!) is a compelling item to add to your resume or CV.
Have fun!
Meeting new friends, taking in a new city, socializing and snagging freebies in the exhibit hall – doesn’t sound half-bad! We have a great time at every conference we attend and truly appreciate the connections we make with hardworking educators around the country. We’re sure you’ll love it too (psst – come by and visit us if we’re exhibiting and say HI!).
How can I justify attending an educational conference to my administrators?
Attending an educational conference is an invaluable chance to network, learn, and enrich your career as a teacher. However, many schools require a justification letter to convince administrators that your attendance at these conferences will benefit you and your campus community. Not sure where to start?
Download this free, easy-to-fill justification letter template!
What conference are you excited to attend? We hope to see you there!
