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Dr. David Smith and EDDE program slide

TPTE Deaf and Hard of Hearing program faculty and staff celebrate conference success

Theory and Practice in Teacher Education (TPTE) faculty and graduate students recently attended the Association of College Educators-Deaf & Hard of Hearing (ACE-DHH) conference trip to Chicago. Cheryl Shahan, clinical assistant professor of the education of the deaf and hard of hearing (EDDE) program and David Smith, research professor and director of the Center on Deafness, led a presentation along with TPTE alumnus / former doctoral student Gloshanda Lawyer and current doctoral student Leala Holcomb entitled, “Integrating social justice into a teacher preparation program.” The presentation highlighted the EDDE program’s efforts to take more of a critical pedagogical approach to deaf education. The presentation was very well received!

One academic participant told Professor Wolbers, “Wow, there’s such great things happening at UT” to which she responded, “I know! And more to come.” Professor Wolbers reported that the conference room was a full house, with attendees sitting on the floor and standing against the walls in order to accommodate the number of participants in the presentation session. Professor Wolbers said, “I felt honored to be a member of this team, working to provide an impactful, powerful preparation program that can lead to more just and equitable education for deaf and hard of hearing youth.”

Eight student interns from the EDDE program also attended the conference.  Students were able to attend presentations by the same researchers they have come to know through their coursework and own research. Students commented that they benefited greatly from attending the conference, and they even walked away with a few job opportunities!