The Latest: Get Across the Finish Line 🏁

👋 Welcome to the April edition of The Latest, where our email inboxes are overflowing with last-minute requests. 🌊

This month’s newsletter is 1,147 words — a 4-5 minute read.

Dr. Stephanie Cawthon (left) with doctoral students Ana Guadalupe Vielma and Ryan Mata. [Image description: Three people in a conference hall are standing by a digital poster. There are two in the back and one in the front. They are wearing professional clothing and yellow lanyard name tags. The woman in the front is holding up a blue business card that says “Ryan Mata”.]

👉 The Main Takeaway: How Do You Set People Up for Success?

As a graduate student advisor and faculty mentor, I take the task of setting people up for success very seriously — especially with a major conference like the 2023 American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Meeting last week in Chicago.

For my doctoral student Ryan Mata, AERA was a major professional launch!

We put the time into advanced prep to make sure he was ready to roll.

Here’s what I advised him to do to make the most of it.

Own your space on the internet. We worked with a graphic designer to launch ryanamata.com – ready to go the week before the conference.

Share the love. We also designed and printed a custom business card. Even in the digital age, it’s nice to have something to hand out as you network. Ryan’s card is a reflection of who he is: accessible, grounded, and committed to equity.

Communicate clearly. Research translation skills can be learned from the get-go, not just after the degree is conferred. Ryan’s poster stood out from the crowd at AERA because he effectively communicated his research’s main points in a modern and appealing way.

Engage audiences. I was there at the beginning of the poster session — his first ever as the lead author — to model how to engage with attendees. For students and employees who have been in online workspaces and classrooms for the past few years, we might be out of practice with the different ways we engage in person with different audiences about our work.

Every detail matters. There are some key travel hacks that can reduce stress and streamline energy during conferences For example, printing handouts at the conference site (and not lugging them through the airport) can be a game changer. I was happy to pass along hot tips for conference success.

Preparing our students, direct reports, or new hires for success doesn’t take a lot of effort, but it can have a lot of rewards — for them, us, and our organizations.

🎤 PSA: Use The Mic (Tweet of the Week!)

Presenting at a conference or a meeting? Use the mic!

No, your “teacher voice” is not enough.

Use the microphone.

Thank you,

Your Audience

🔆 Accessibility Lessons from #AERA23

It was an incredible week in Chicago! My entire team truly shone with their presentations on student-centered initiatives. Let's use that momentum to push the boundaries of what's possible in education — exciting things are on the horizon!

HOWEVER.

Large conferences can be a major black hole for accessibility.

AERA was no exception.

Here are ten ways to make your next large meeting or conference accessible for your disabled colleagues — amazing people with significant contributions who deserve to be full participants in professional spaces!

Communicate with your disabled attendees. If an accommodation request is made, respond and confirm that request. Don’t leave us hanging.

Choose a navigable location. Lots of steps, torn-up sidewalks, or sessions spread out across lots of hotels? Not so navigable.

Select an accessible platform for your app. Test for screen reader compatibility and require vendors to meet basic accessibility standards.

Say no to roundtable sessions. Large ballrooms with multiple tables and presenters all talking at once is very difficult for everyone involved.

Give accessibility guidelines to presenters. Make it clear that videos need to be captioned and information must be presented in accessible formats.

Is diversity a conference topic? Include disability in your lineup of keynotes and main themes.

Hold digital poster sessions. They are a game changer for presenters and audiences alike. Ditch paper sessions forever!

Offer quiet rooms. Overstimulation is real, and these designated spaces help a great deal.

Use alt text and captions on social media images and videos. Modeling this is critical for our leadership across the board.

Provide microphones for all presentations. So helpful, and as my PSA says: Use the mic! Bonus if they aren't bolted to the tables.

🤟 Happy Deaf History Month!

Every deaf person has their own story. Here's part of mine.

I am deaf. A lot of people are surprised to learn that.

My deaf identity has evolved over time. I grew up in a hearing family, before ADA and IDEA, laws that helped to support people with disabilities in the classroom and at work.

I mostly sat in the front of the room, equipped with hearing aids (most of the time) and used as much visual input as I could. I like to say that I was guessing the end of sentences long before AI and sentence completion bots!

I got by, but...

The "smile and nod" approach to communication was a mainstay. There were no other deaf people around. It was a very lonely place. I coped.

In my 30s, I had opportunities to learn American Sign Language, work with deaf people from diverse backgrounds, and follow my passion for language, learning, and access.

My identity as a deaf person is far more public in my 40s.

Founding and directing the National Deaf Center. Doing presentations and videos in ASL. Sharing my work and identity on social media. Advocating and leading in many settings. Living the umbrella deaf-inition.

As I enter my next decade, I look forward to what will come.

💥 DEI Peeps: Be Sure to Include Ableism In Your Work

I am often in meetings with leaders who are passionate about diversity, equity, and inclusion. But ableism, disability, and access are frequently missing from their work — and I’ve witnessed their shock and confusion when I point out this omission to them.

All oppression is connected!

Disabled people are held back by ableism — negative attitudes and systemic barriers to opportunity — and frequently omitted from dialogs about equity and inclusion. Raising awareness is the first step.

🎂 And Finally…

Next week marks my 50th trip around the sun! A few insights...

I'm still looking for ways to make a difference in this world. Some small, some large.

I have different energy levels than I once did. Not less, just different.

Even going through the motions of self-care helps. Just keep going.

My friends are the unsung heroes in my life. I hope I can be that for you.