Conference Sessions & Presenter Bios

Conference sessions are listed in no particular order.

The session schedule is available under the "Schedule" tab.

William Visco, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the School of Education at The University of Akron, where he began in 2020 after earning his doctorate from The University of North Texas. Before that he was a high school English teacher in both Florida and Texas for over 15 years teaching all grade and ability levels. Dr. Visco’s current research focuses on student/teacher perceptions of popular culture usage in the English classroom and training pre-service teachers to effectively use pop culture and technology to motivate, enhance, and improve student's literacy learning and as a way to develop social emotional learning practices to benefit all. Most recently he is the recipient of the 2023 Ohio Council of Teachers of English Language Arts Outstanding Educator of the English Language Arts award.

At the University of Akron Dr. Visco supervises ELA student teaching as well as the UA/Barberton School District Clinical Experience known as P.I.E.C.E.S. (Pre-Service In-School Educational Collaborative Experiences with Students). In addition, he teaches Techniques in Teaching AYA ELA, Content Area Literacy, and other education courses in the undergraduate and master's program.

When not presenting, researching, or teaching Dr. Visco enjoys traveling and has been to over 22 countries and 42 states and is co-teaching a class in Ireland for Akron students this summer. He also enjoys playing sports with his kids (Luke and London), watching movies, listening to music, and reading.

Amy Bouch is an 8th-grade English teacher at Chartiers Valley Middle School. She is the President of the Western Pennsylvania Council of Teachers of English (WPCTE) and a Teacher-Leader for the Western Pennsylvania Writing Project (WPWP). Amy is the 2022 Grammar Teacher of the Year, awarded by the Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar (ATEG). Her favorite parts of teaching include getting over-the-top excited when pairing students with books they’ll love, encouraging students to share their writing with wider audiences, and inspiring students to find the magic and power in grammar. Amy enjoys reading and writing beside her students any chance she gets! When she isn’t teaching, she is making her way through all of the U.S. National Parks and traveling the world with her husband and goldendoodle puppy.

Hannah Lewis is the Vice President of WPCTE, an eleventh-grade English teacher at PA Leadership Charter School, and a first-year writing instructor at the community college of allegheny county. Her primary interests include online education and writing pedagogy.

Laura Roop is the former director of the Western Pennsylvania Writing Project at University of Pittsburgh and the Oakland Writing Project at University of Michigan. She is the co-author of Doing and Making Authentic Literacies (NCTE, 2014) and Language and Reflection: An Integrated Approach to Teaching English (Macmillan, 1992) as well as a number of chapters, articles, and poems.

Richard Koch is the author of a 2020 book,""The Mindful Writing Workshop: Teaching in the Age of Stress and Trauma."" The book describes methods for ""tuning"" writing workshop so as to include both trauma-Informed pedagogy and mindfulness practices. Richard has taught writing at both the University of Iowa and Adrian College, Michigan. He has worked with the National Writing Project for over 30 years and now consults with the Western Pennsylvania Writing Project at the University of Pittsburgh. He has worked with educators K-12 at a number of places, recently in L.A. and Minneapolis. He is co-author of ""The Portfolio Guidebook"" (with Jean Petterson) and has written articles on teaching that appeared in Language Arts, English Journal, English Education, and other journals."

Mark Curcio is a high school teacher/scholar at Derry Area School District. At DAHS, Mark teaches six courses in the ELA curriculum and coaches the track and field team. He is currently pursuing his doctorate in Composition & Applied Linguistics from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, focusing on teaching writing, independent reading, rural learning, and etymology. He also has been published in The English Journal and has spoken at a handful of conferences. Mark lives with his wife, daughter, and dog and enjoys weight training, a well-placed guitar solo, and a Scrabble challenge.

Danielle Brody (she/her) has been an educator for eight years. She currently teaches high school English, photojournalism, and career development. In past she has taught middle school English, science, and social studies. She is always looking for new and exciting ways to engage learners, improve school culture, and bring joy to learning.

Andrew McGowan is the Program Manager for Film Pittsburgh’s Teen Screen. He joined Film Pittsburgh after earning his Language Arts teaching certification in Maine and completing work for the Austin Film Festival and the Rhode Island International Film Festival. He has written about film and media for a variety of publications and has worked in children’s entertainment development for Walden Media and Arkansas PBS. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in English and Education from Bowdoin College and a certificate in Creative Producing from the UCLA Film & Television Summer Institute.

Katie Trupiano is the Director of Education and Accessibility at City Theatre Company. She has served as a teaching artist for numerous theatre companies around Pittsburgh, including Bricolage Theatre Company, Pittsburgh Cultural Trust and the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. A graduate of Point Park University's Conservatory of Performing Arts, with a certificate in Arts and Culture Strategy from University of Penn/National Arts Strategies, Katie is eager to find new and courageous ways for all students to explore the arts. She is an avid romance novel reader and enjoys embroidering snarky phrases in her spare time.

Dr. Survinski is an Enrichment Facilitators at Hampton Middle and High School. After teaching Latin at HHS and HMS for several years, she transitioned to Enrichment. Dr. Survinski studied Latin and Education at Kent State University. Her Master's Degree is in Secondary Education from Duquesne University. Dr. Survinski holds a PhD in Instructional Management and Leadership from Robert Morris University. At HMS, Dr. Survinski enjoys working with students on creative writing, research (both scientific and academic), history, 3D printing, graphic design, theater and drama, art, math, novel studies, and career research. She has served on the editorial review board for the American Journal of Secondary Education, the teacher advisory board for the College in High School program at the University of Pittsburgh, and as a conference committee member for the Pennsylvania Association of Gifted Education. Dr. Survinski is also a Google Level 1 & 2 Certified Educator, a National Geographic Certified Educator, and most recently completed the Excellence in Leadership program at the Disney Institute.

Benoni Outerbridge has 28 years of experience working as a classroom teacher and administrator in several schools, including urban and suburban schools, public and independent schools, and elementary, middle, and high schools. He completed his MA in Education in 1995 and his MLIS in 2008. In 2012, he was hired as one of two librarians at the Falk Laboratory School, and he is still teaching there today.

Emma Kagan is currently a graduate student pursuing a degree in Library and Information Sciences (MLIS) and a Pennsylvania Instructional I teaching certification in Library Science, K-12. She was a student worker and a long-term substitute in the Falk School Library where she has lots of fun teaching Reader’s Theater. Currently she is a student teacher in the library of Barack Obama Academy of International Studies (Pittsburgh Public Schools). She will graduate in May 2023.

Lauren Spang is a fifth grade ELA teacher at Rostraver Elementary School in the Belle Vernon Area School District. She has been teaching fifth grade ELA for nine years at BVA, and she completed one year of teaching third grade in the Elizabeth Forward School District before landing her full-time position in Belle Vernon Area. She received her B.S. in Elementary and Early Childhood Instruction from Saint Vincent College in 2012, and then completed her Masters Degree in Elementary Special Education from California University of Pennsylvania, now known as PennWest University. During the Summer of 2016, she attended the Summer Institute for Teachers hosted by the Western Pennsylvania Writing Project. Lauren is a teacher-consultant for the WPWP and an active promoter of Writing Instruction in the elementary classroom setting.

Emily is one of those people who wakes up at 5 am to wake-up "just to get her day started," but she is also a voracious reader, lover of all things punny, and is deeply invested in becoming the best teacher of skills and concepts for all students. She has yet to pass by an opportunity to better her instructional toolkit and hopes to share what she's learned along the way with others. Her teaching experience includes Maryland, Colorado, and Pennsylvania in both special education and general education classrooms.

Nick DeFrancesco is a lifelong learner earning a dual Master's in Curriculum and Instruction (2023) and Education Leadership (2024). Having originally graduated from Penn State with a degree in Labor and Employment Relations, Nick recognized there was a gap in his career where the motivation and passion were supposed to be. Since then he has substitute taught while earning his certification in ELA, taught full-time ELA at Meade Senior High School in Maryland and currently teaches BCIT for Freedom Area High School in PA. Nick lives in Greensburg where he is attempting to revive his bowling career.

I have been a teacher for twenty-one years, primarily in upper elementary classrooms. I've taught third through sixth grades, currently teaching sixth grade Reading at North Strabane Intermediate School in the Canon McMillan School District. Holding graduate degrees in education and psychology, I am interested in teaching the whole child, believing that a student is most successful in a positive, joyful community of learners. My passion is literacy and I enjoy sharing that passion for reading and writing with students.

Dr. Aspen Mock, recipient of the 2022 Henry Ford Innovative Teacher of the Year award, is an ELA educator/ACE adjunct & writer in Western Pennsylvania, where she teaches AP Literature & Composition 12, Honors Composition and Composition 9. Her degrees include:BA(s) English Literature & Theater, French minor, MA Teaching English, and Doctorate in Educational Leadership and Administration. She provides innovative learning experiences in a creative, collaborative classroom community focusing on 21st century literacy skills, literature & writing, service-learning, arts-integration and critical thinking. Some of her professional credentials include: KQED Media Literacy Innovator, PBS Media Literacy Certified Educator, YWCA Tribute to Women in Arts & Letters Awardee, K-12 Principal Certificate, Yoga Certified Teacher, National Geographic Education Certified Educator/Grantee, Nearpod Certified Educator and Newsela Certified Teacher/Trainer. Plays she has authored have been performed for charities and at arts centers. She also teaches dance and theater. Her blog posts on innovative teaching have been published by NCTE, NatGeo Education, PBS and KQED.

Val Piccini has been in education for over 26 years. She has been a classroom teacher, Literacy Specialist, Title I teacher, and a member of an Administrative Team. She is a Teacher Consultant for the Western Pennsylvania Writing Project and Founding Director of a hub of the project, Writers of Westmoreland. Val is a Reading Specialist and Instructor at Carlow University and Director of Carlow’s International Dyslexia Association accredited MEd in Reading Specialist program with Dyslexia Certification. Val is also a National LETRS trainer for Lexia Learning, training thousands of teachers nationwide each year in the Science of Reading. She is a strong advocate for teachers having access and knowledge to implement evidence-based curricula and assessments, including ongoing support for using these tools in the classroom. Val also advocates for evidence-based intervention and for appropriate intervention time, so that ALL children learn to read and write.

Hi! I'm Dr. Sam Fecich, a professor of education, author, and a huge fan of pumpkin spice lattes (PSL) and listening to Christmas music all year round!

I work to support, empower, and encourage new teachers - like you - through your journey. I'm here for YOU!

I give keynote talks, host the EduMagic podcast, provide workshops and webinars to educational organizations, clubs, and groups, and write tips for preservice and new teachers.

I earned my Ph.D. in learning, design, and technology from Penn State University. In addition, I have an M.Ed. in special education and one in instructional technology, both from Penn State. My PA certifications include K-12 special education, K-12 elementary education, and Pre-K to sixth-grade teaching. I have taught education for nine years at a small liberal arts college in Pennsylvania. I am the author of "EduMagic: A Guide for Preservice Teachers" and 2 other books for new and future teachers.

Debbie has been a classroom teacher for over 13 years as a second career. She is certified as both a school librarian and as a business/technology teacher. She currently teaches a four year information literacy course that concludes with a senior capstone project. Debbie was the recipient of the TRETC Innovation in Education Award in January 2022. In addition to working with CSforPGH she also is a board member of CSTA Pittsburgh, the educational board for Chatham University’s Eden Hall K-12 program, and an ambassador for the News Literacy Project.

Dr. Tim Olakowski is an Associate Professor of English at Slippery Rock University. He has invited 5 students from his fall 2022 course Writing for Nonprint Media to showcase their initial multimodal assignments that they created and hope to assign in the future.

Nina Kneuer is a Secondary English Teacher at California Area High School.

Pop Culture and the Pedagogy of Possibility: How Utilizing Pop Culture Can Enhance ELA Content, Increase Active Engagement and Help Build Positive Relationships Through Social Emotional Learning - Bill Visco

Students’ lives are rich with narrative through popular culture. I’ll offer differentiated instruction techniques teachers can use to connect pop culture to ELA classroom content. Find out how pop culture can lead to rich discussion, active engagement, and opportunities for building positive relationships leading to social emotional learning experiences.

TEEN SCREEN— Film As Language Arts - Andrew McGowan

Film is a powerful form of literacy, one with which students are very familiar. Film Pittsburgh’s Teen Screen program aims to harness the cinematic medium by curating educational film programs and delivering them to classrooms for FREE. With global films covering a range of multi-disciplinary topics, Teen Screen offers unique and differentiated ways for students to engage with the language arts. Learn how to bring Teen Screen’s films and resources into your classroom to spark curiosity and create lasting learning experiences with your students.

Foundational Skills that Support Writing Development for ALL Students - Val Piccini

To ensure that writing develops in all students, we must adopt an integrated framework that recognizes and utilizes critical foundational components to support fluency in written expression. How do we create a space where all kids are given the necessary tools to be successful writers? How do we support all writers on their journey to writing proficiency? Explicitly teaching prerequisite foundational components is essential to ensuring ALL students succeed as writers.

Dance Poetica - Dr. Aspen Mock

Joyfully teach poetry with dance-infused strategies. Teach students to write original poetry, mastering poetic tools along the way. Interpret & perform existing poems to drive analytical writing. Discover how a poem’s sonic design and structure create space for rhythm, and how mood and tone are released through inflection, line length, scansion, and figurative meaning. Unearth how semantic choices move readers to understanding. The esoteric nature of poetry can sometimes cause a reader to cling to lines in confusion, stumbling along a winding, obscure path, however being led in dance along poesy’s pathway leads to the joy of confidently reading & writing poetry.

The JOY in Hybrid Literacy Centers - Emily Waggoner

In 2020, I started dabbling with how to "hybrid" word study instruction for learning support students that were attending school in a hybrid format (3 days in person, 2 days at home). I needed to figure out how to plan without losing my mind. Now I'm fully teaching in a hybrid format with 100% in-person students, however I find that it saves me for students with aggressive absenteeism, students who leave for extended educational trips, the current shift to utilizing technology, etc. etc. and I want to share it with everyone!

The Joys of Playwriting: City Theatre's Young Playwrights Festival - Katie Trupiano

Play with your words as we go through the Young Playwrights program in only 40 minutes! Collaborate, write and produce a short scene to explore the work of a professional playwright. This workshop focuses on the skills a City Theatre teaching artist would walk through with your students in a Young Playwrights residency, a comprehensive, dynamic arts education program serving teachers, students, and the Pittsburgh community. The program fulfills state Common Core and Academic Standards, including Arts and Humanities as well as English Language Arts.

Diving Between the Pages: Finding Excitement About the Writing Process with Novel Studies - Dr. Melissa Survinski

Explore Between the Pages, from UN GSD Ambassador and children’s book author Alane Adams, as a free tool to engage students in the writing process as they read their favorite books. This session will get you started using Between the Pages to plan a story study unit that you can use for enrichment or as a whole class activity. Then, experience the joy of using art and non-verbal communication to dive into novels as a way to spark creative writing and journaling with small groups of readers. Engage in example lessons and find ways to adapt this for your readers!

Reader’s Theater: Using Scripts to Improve Reading Fluency - Benoni Outerbridge & Emma Kagan

Reader’s Theater is an approach to developing fluency. Students read scripts based on children’s books or written by the students themselves. Ideally, students take turns reading different parts so that when the time comes to perform, they will have read the script multiple times. Additionally, direct instruction should be provided on how to convey meaning through accuracy (pronouncing words correctly with proper emphasis on the correct syllable), phrasing (putting proper emphasis on certain words), and expression (using different speeds, volume, tone, and emphasis). Session participants will experience what it’s like to participate in Reader’s Theater.

Using Picture Books as Mentor Texts to Spark Joy in the Upper Elementary ELA Classroom - Charlene Rinehart

Picture books are a powerful tool in the upper elementary ELA classroom. They're short texts that fit easily into busy days. They can also be used in multiple ways. Whether modeling a writing technique, highlighting a reading strategy, or fostering a sense of community, picture books make the perfect invitation for listening, fostering conversations, and reflecting on challenging topics. In this workshop, participants will be introduced to a plethora of picture books with lessons that can be used right away in the ELA classroom while helping develop a community of students who feel seen, valued, and heard.

Bringing Reading Back: Developing a Passion for Reading through Stamina - Mark Curcio

While speaking with numerous professors from local colleges, I asked them "How much does a freshman in college need to read to keep up?" There was a range of answers, but the most common was between 200-600 pages a week. True, high school students are not in college yet, but their reading stamina should start to develop now. By adding an independent reading aspect to your classes, their books are used to find connections to content, identify literary concepts, and hopefully, develop a passion for reading - the greatest lesson you can give a student as an ELA teacher.

Rewriting the Boundaries of Writing - Nina Kneuer

Students write academic papers, journal entries, and essay responses everyday. That is the norm, but isn't teaching about pushing the boundaries of the norm? Creative writing is something that allows students to explore their inner most creativity, while still learning the conventional aspects of writing. We will talk about the benefits of creative writing and how expanding our academic writing can encourage student's thinking everyday.

Multimodal Assessment in the ELA Classroom: The Joy of Creating - Tim Oldakowski with Annabelle Chipps, Taylor Marsh, Danni Ianuzzo, Abby Crossley, and Emily Smith

This session will highlight creative and multimodal projects created by pre-service teachers in their required class on Multimodal Assessment in the ELA Classroom. Whether students are responding to literature, or creating original compositions, students benefit from composing multimodal artifacts that require them to use modes that extend beyond writing.

Curating high quality sources for student access - Debbie Domingues-Murphy

How do your students determine what is a reliable source? How do they analyze a source for its purpose? How can you limit what students get when they search? If you have wondered about how to do this effectively in your class then come learn about The News Literacy Project and their evaluations tools. There is also a web based curriculum. Then, learn how to create a custom Google search engine for just those sources along with how to use RSS feed readers to curate specific sources, even YouTube channels which are completely searchable.

ChatGPT & AI in the Secondary English Classroom - Hannah Lewis

This session will include a mini-literature review about ChatGPT and other AI essay generators, as well as my personal experiences working with students. We will begin by discussing how to approach the topic of plagiarism and how to deal with it when it occurs, and then branch into useful ways to leverage AI in the classroom.

Painted Reflections: Connecting Art and Language - Danielle Brody

Looking for a way to spark joy and bring color into the classroom? In this hands-on session, educators will explore different strategies to engage learners in reflective practices using art. These versatile strategies are perfect for all learners.

Finding Hope through Purpose and Pathway: Writing Toward a Future - Laura Roop

In this workshop session, participants will try out and explore some writing activities and career/education pathway resources on behalf of their secondary students, drawing from a National Writing Project initiative currently being piloted in Wisconsin. They will leave the session with practical, actionable ideas for their classrooms. The session facilitator is the former director of the Western Pennsylvania Writing Project and project leader of Writing Future Me.

Adobe Express and Digital Storytelling - Nick DeFrancesco

Free programs such as Adobe express can be used for many purposes including creating digital stories. In this session you will consider a narrative teaching approach with Adobe Express as the engine to help you create your master pieces.

Poetry Playground - Amy Bouch

March 21 is World Poetry Day. Visit the Poetry Playground to discover various activities to write and share poetry. Participate by writing poems and creating products. Look forward to zines, buttons, contests, and more. This session will be self-guided with presenter support.

Artificial Intelligence for Educators: Building Competencies and Confidence in Implementing AI in the Classroom - Samantha Fecich

Given the number of tasks on a teacher's daily to-do list, it is no surprise they may feel like there are not enough hours in the day. Artificial Intelligence (AI) can help educators win back some of that precious time by automating many of their day-to-day tasks. Join Dr. Samantha Fecich for this hands-on, interactive workshop and discover ways that artificial intelligence can be used in the classroom, including personalized learning, adaptive tutoring systems, and educational games. Participants will also have the opportunity to explore a variety of AI tools for education and experience the power of artificial intelligence for themselves!

Mentor Sentences: From Frustration and Dread to Confidence and JOY! - Lauren Spang

Immerse yourself through a weekly process of how to customize and incorporate your own Mentor Sentences into your ELA classroom. Participants will walk away feeling empowered by knowing how to immediately be able to implement Mentor Sentences in their every day classrooms. Mentor Sentences are a simple, interactive method that teachers can use to immerse students in grammar and writing instruction. They teach students to take a deeper look into strong models for writing. Students learn why writers do what they do, learn revision strategies, and imitate the structure of their own individual sentence writing, thus, improving their writing all around.

Trauma-Informed Teaching is an Act of Love: Building It In Our Classrooms - Richard Koch

This session will help prepare educators to enact trauma-Informed teaching and mindfulness steps that can "tune" writing workshop so we help students heal as we work toward quality. The facilitator will engage participants in interactive demonstrations that show how to incorporate trauma-Informed practices and mindfulness steps into the classroom, along with sharing reasons for including trauma-Informed pedagogy and key principles. We will cover: 1. How to launch trauma-Informed teaching in your classroom, 2. Steps to build a classroom "cocoon of safety," 3. And writing activities that create both healing and quality, including the "Mindfulness Journal."

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