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This Is What You Have Been Waiting For!
IASCE
Announces Its 2004 Conference
“Cooperation and Collaboration: Diversity of Practice, Great news! The IASCE conference is coming to Asia for the first time. The National Institute of Education, Singapore is proud to join IASCE in hosting this exciting event right in the heart of our bustling city state. This is a conference for everyone. Beginning teachers, experienced teachers, principals, researchers and the plain curious - all will find this conference refreshing, rewarding and engaging. Cooperation and collaboration are rapidly becoming essential learning strategies around the world. The pace has been especially quickening in Asia over recent years. What better time than now, then, to be party to a discourse on the global diversity of practices, cultural contexts and creative innovations in this growing trend? This conference will bring together local, regional and international experts, educators and researchers in the field of cooperative learning, to further their discussions. To appeal to participants with differing foci of interest and cultural contexts, the conference will adopt a flexible approach to make it as enriching as possible to the widest possible audience. A variety of presentation formats will be employed allowing for more varied opportunities for interaction. There will be internationally renowned keynote speakers, specialized workshops, paper presentations, panel sessions, poster sessions, roundtable sessions and book exhibitions. Keynote speakers include Elizabeth Cohen of Stanford University, speaking on “cooperative conditions for creative cooperation,” IASCE co-president Celeste Brody, speaking on “teacher beliefs and cooperative learning,” and Chong Kim Chong of National University Singapore speaking on “Confucian perspectives on cooperation.” The conference will cover a wide range of issues that have been collected into seven broad strands. These strands are: cooperative learning in content areas, assessment, technology-supported cooperative learning, equity issues, creativity and innovation in cooperative contexts, cooperative learning and teacher education and building cooperation in schools and communities. In addition to the conference proper there will be a pre-conference day featuring a mixture of top-notch speakers and highly enriching workshops. The pre-conference day will address two very specific issues. One issue is the area of collaboration and cooperation in early childhood education. Local and regional demand for guidance and information on this issue has been particularly keen and registration is expected to be highly competitive. The other strand to the pre-conference day will address issues of collaboration and cooperation in levels other than early childhood. There will also be post-conference heritage tours where participants will not only learn more about Singapore’s culture and history, but also experience a local application of cooperative learning in fieldwork experiences of students. And, for the more adventurous, there will be the opportunity to go on a thrilling Night Safari where participants will get up-close-and-personal with Asia’s nocturnal wildlife. The conference will close on a typically high note with participants engaging in experiential learning games and square dancing while sampling High Tea to the strains of a local band. The entire conference will be held in the York Hotel, which is situated within two minutes walking distance of Singapore’s famous Orchard Road. Bookshops, restaurants, large department stores and entertainment outlets are all but a stone’s throw from the hotel. While being centrally located, York Hotel, nonetheless, offers a quiet retreat from the city’s hectic hustle and bustle. Those who relish peace and quiet will not be disappointed. Registration fees are deliberately kept absurdly low to be attractive to everyone. All fees are to be paid in Singapore dollars (US$1 = about S$1.73; the rate fluctuates). For IASCE members and Early Bird registrants (by 29 Feb 2004) the fee is S$360 (approximately US$200). Registration fees for non-IASCE members and those who register after 29 Feb 2004 (but before 31 Mar 2004) will be S$400 (approximately US$230). For those who wish to attend the pre-conference day, a separate fee will be charged. More details are available at the conference website http://www.arts.nie.edu.sg/iasce and at http://www.iasce.net. So don’t delay. Mark your calendar for 21 June – 24 June 2004 and book your date with collaboration and cooperation.
Richard Dawson
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