From Nov. 19 to Nov. 23, Jones English teachers Caitlin Miller, Paul Anderson, Brady Gunnink and Jeremy Quach attended the National Council of Teachers of English conference in Denver, Colorado. Events such as these reap benefits for teachers and students alike.

The National Council of Teachers of English conference is an annual event which brings together educators of all backgrounds to share ideas and better themselves as teachers.

“It’s an opportunity to share ideas, to learn, to just spend time refreshing your professional cup…whether you’re able to learn about new tactics, new ideas, pedagogies, ways of classroom management…and really just engage in the English landscape and refresh certain things that you might not know about,” said Anderson. 

This year, the event featured a wide range of topics and presentations that sparked interest within the Jones English department. 

“I got to see a lot of really great sessions…I got to see a really cool session from a group of teachers from St. Louis about how they did research on their students’ view of feedback,” said Miller. “They were finding that their students were anxious around writing feedback, so they revamped their structures around giving feedback so that it accounted for student anxiety.”

The teachers contributed to the event by presenting their own findings on portfolio-based grading systems.

“Myself and Mr. Gunnink, Ms. Miller and Mr. Quach presented during one of our panel sessions,” said Anderson. “We had an hour and a half long session about the ungrading in the classroom and trying to move from a points based model to a portfolio based model…we talked about things that we changed from our initial implementation…and ultimately the metacognitive processes that students needed to employ to justify grades.”

A variety of factors motivated the educators to attend the event, with the most prominent being collaborating and discussing with fellow teachers.

“I go to this conference pretty frequently. I’m always motivated to be around other teachers and learn from them,” said Miller. “…It’s nice to be in a space that’s focused on literacy…I think as English teachers, we don’t always have the space to talk about it.”

Beyond conversing with like-minded people, the conference provides an opportunity for teachers to adapt in their jobs and change the flow of curriculum or ideas within their classrooms. 

“I think for teachers, it’s really important that we’re constantly learning alongside our students,” said Miller. “What I love about teaching is that I can do different things every day, and part of the reason that I have that momentum is because I seek out a lot of professional learning opportunities. And conferences are a big part of that.”

Ultimately, however, events such as these inspire more than better teaching: they often adapt the way students learn and work in an academic setting. 

“There was a lot of emphasis on AI at the conference this year…There’s a lot of emphasis on how to make sure that AI is not doing thinking for students,” said Anderson. “We want critical thinking to always be there. We want writing to not just be done for them…And looking at assignments and looking at units was something that was really beneficial to me going forward.”

Students see the impact that education conferences have on their teachers, and recognize the importance of a constantly adapting curriculum paired with a comfortable classroom environment. 

“I had Ms. Miller for AP Lang last year. Every time I had questions, she would sit down with me and really work through it with me…I thought the curriculum was amazing and I learned a lot,” said Alison Becker ‘26. “…I think that it’s important that teachers continue to learn and focus on new teaching methods that have been proven to be positive on the students.”

As the world of education continues to evolve, teachers see value in continuing to attend conferences beyond Denver.

“I definitely see myself attending more. There’s a benefit to not only myself as an educator, but an approach that whatever I learn, I’m able to implement with students,” said Anderson. “…and they hopefully will have a more robust experience in the classroom that leads to more engagement, higher skills, and ultimately benefits everybody.”