The Johns Hopkins University School of Education Center for Technology in Education’s (CTE) Program Administrator for Leadership and Educational Impact Melanie Upright was invited to deliver the keynote address at the 24th International Conference and Workshops on Family-Centeredness of Early Intervention for Children with Developmental Delays at Chang Gung University in Taoyuan, Taiwan on November 4, 2023.
This opportunity is an extension of a long-standing collaboration dating back to 1989, when the Taiwan Ministry of Education and the Chiang Ching-Kuo Foundation for International Scholar Exchange of the Republic of China contributed funding in support of CTE’s research projects. The gift established the partnership between the National Taiwan Normal University in Taipei City and the Center, and allowed for the meaningful sharing of information between educators and researchers of the two universities. It also launched an exchange of publications, symposiums, research jointly conducted by faculty members on topics of common interest, and the exchange of faculty and students from both universities for teaching and advanced studies.
Upright’s keynote, entitled Bridging the Research-to-Practice Gap: Team-Directed Continuous Improvement in Early Learning, outlines recognized barriers to implementing evidence-based practices with fidelity and share the center’s unique team-directed continuous improvement approach — Dynamic Impact — designed to break through these barriers and improve outcomes for students and their families.
CTE’s Program Specialist Mary Hendricks, whose expertise lies in early learning evidence-based practices, was invited to virtually conduct a follow-up workshop — Team-Directed Continuous Improvement and Coaching for Systems Change: Applications in the Early Childhood Field — highlighting a successful case study that demonstrates that positive outcomes for children result when the Dynamic Impact and Routines-Based Interview methods are used together.
