2025 Spring Convening: Preparing Educators to Foster Belonging, Connection, and Growth

Students learn best when they feel safe, included, and supported—an understanding that is at the heart of effective teaching and a cornerstone of effective education preparation for today’s schools.

EdPrepLab’s 2025 Spring Convening will bring together members of the public and the EdPrepLab network to celebrate the forthcoming report, “Teacher Preparation Grounded in the Science of Learning and Development (SoLD).” The convening will explore how educator preparation can be strengthened with a focus on safety, belonging, and positive developmental relationships. Approaches that promote belonging and connection are essential for children and families, as well as educators and those who prepare them.

2:00–3:15 p.m. ET | Public Session

The public session will feature keynote speaker, Rita Kohli, Professor, University of California, Riverside, and small-group discussions that connect key SoLD ideas to participants’ own practices and experiences.

3:30–5:30 p.m. ET | Members Only Session

EdPrepLab members will engage in deeper conversations focused on how preparation programs bring these principles to life. This session will explore a variety of facets of positive developmental relationships and highlight the voices of practicing educators who have graduated from EdPrepLab programs, as well as deans and other leaders who are building robust professional communities of practice among their faculty. Speakers will include:

• Alumni from EdPrepLab-affiliated institutions

• Kathryn Chval, Dean, College of Education, University of Illinois Chicago

• Jodi Eastberg, Dean, School of Professional and Graduate Studies, Alverno College

• Sumi Hagiwara, Associate Dean, College for Education and Engaged Learning, Montclair State University

• Marvin Lynn, Dean, School of Education and Human Development, University of Colorado Denver