Lander’s College of Education Hosts Teacher Educator Conference

Lander University recently hosted the annual conference of the South Carolina Association of Teacher Educators, giving faculty and students from the College of Education the opportunity to share and learn from colleagues around the state.

The theme of the 2026 conference was “Building Bridges: Connecting Passion, Pedagogy, and Purpose.” The conference was packed with sessions on preparing future educators and featured current university students from across the state who are eager to become classroom teachers.

“The College of Education was honored to host the South Carolina Association of Teacher Educators Fall Conference and welcome teacher educators, school partners and teacher candidates from across the state,” said Dr. Stephen Bismarck, dean of the College of Education.

“This conference reflects our commitment to preparing exceptional teachers for South Carolina’s classrooms. We were especially proud to showcase presentations by Lander College of Education faculty and teacher candidates, highlighting innovative research, effective practices and the outstanding work taking place within our educator preparation programs. Hosting SCATE provided a valuable opportunity to strengthen partnerships, share ideas and reaffirm the critical role teacher educators play in developing the next generation of teachers.”

Two Lander students, Nahiem Lee and M. Osborn, were part of a keynote panel with fellow future educators from other institutions to talk about their experiences.

They talked about their passion for teaching, what they’re looking forward to about their teaching career and how their professors can help them, among other topics.

Responding to a question about the importance of relationships, Lee said forging relationships with his professors has gotten him through college.

“My professors have been an example of what relationships mean and how important it is for you to have a relationship with your students, and I’ve been seeing that with my mentorships and in my placements with my students,” he said.

Osborn agreed, saying their teacher education faculty should keep doing what they’re doing.

“Being a smiling face, being kind, remembering names, is all you need to do to have that connection with your students,” she said.