Distinguished Educators,

As a foundation school that aims at providing the best education our children deserve as well as equipping them for the future, it is very important for us to collaborate with the educators.

We cannot prepare our children for the future unless we closely follow recent developments. The interest and participation of educators in the conferences we host every year is an indicator of how each and every one of us is doing the best we can to achieve this goal.

This year, we are holding our 15th Handan Oktar Early Childhood and Primary Years Conference with the aim of passing on international developments in the field of education to the teachers, who play a key role in “early childhood and primary years education”, and helping them experience creative and innovative education models through practice.

Saturday, March 8, 2025

09.30-10.00 Registration

10.00-11.00 Session 1: Foundations of Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

Topics Covered:
Origins and science behind UDL
Diversity in learning: designing for inclusivity
The "how and why" of developing UDL practices

11.00-11.15 Coffee Break

11.15-12.30 Session 2: Addressing Barriers to Learning through UDL

Topics Covered:
Understanding student variability and debunking the ‘mythical average’
Identifying barriers to learning and strategies to overcome them
Practical application of UDL guidelines in teaching

12.30-13.30 Lunch and school tour

13.30-14.45 Session 3: UDL Principles in Practice and Cultural Competency

Topics Covered:
Deep dive into UDL principles: Representation, Action & Expression, Engagement
Alignment of UDL with IB's equity and learner agency focus
Exploring cultural competency within a UDL framework

14.45-15.00 Coffee Break

15.00-16.30 Session 4 UDL and ATL: Fostering Student Agency & Q&A

Topics Covered:
Intersection of UDL and Approaches to Learning (ATL)
Strategies for teaching ATL skills to promote independence and self-regulation
Enhancing student engagement through UDL and ATL integration

Dianne Blackburn

Dianne is an independent Educational Consultant providing bespoke education solutions to international schools world-wide. She has many years of consultancy experience in pedagogical leadership, change management and educator training solutions.

As a facilitator and designer of professional development for teachers, coordinators and Heads of Schools throughout the world, Dianne has been responsible for the implementation of educational programmes in international schools, introducing new methodologies and technologies. In-school, she was responsible for the management of diverse teams, stakeholder engagement, change management, and training.

In addition to her consultancy, Dianne also works for the International Baccalaureate as a Lead Educator, Field Representative, Chair and IBEN Workshop Leader building on her experience as an MYP Coordinator and Principal Examiner.

As an experienced Lead Educator, Dianne has recently focused on supporting educators to meet the demands of our rapidly changing educational climate. She has designed and facilitated PD workshops and seminars enabling schools to align pedagogies such as Universal Design for Learning and Inquiry Based Learning, enabling teachers to implement and provide high-quality, engaging education. As a specialist in Universal Design for Learning, Dianne has facilitated workshops at IB regional conferences in The Hague, Adelaide, Dublin, Budapest and will shortly visit Singapore to share her expertise at the next regional conference.

* 20% VAT is included in the fee.
* Students must submit their student certificates.
* Cancellation requests should be communicated as an e-mail to [email protected] . The fees are non-refundable for cancellations made after March 5, 2025.

Services that are included in the fee: Participation in the conference, snacks and lunch, coffee breaks, conference documents, city buses.

In order to complete the registration process, the registration fee should be transferred to the bank account below and the payment document should be sent as an e-mail to [email protected]. All participants are required to register.

Bank Details for Registration

Hesap Sahibi (Owner of the Account): Çimentaş Eğitim ve Sağlık Vakfı Okul İktisadi İşletmesi
Banka Adı (Name of the Bank): Garanti Bankası
Banka Şubesi (Branch) : Bornova Şubesi
Hesap No (Account No): 6297380
IBAN No: TR56 0006 2000 0310 0006 2973 80
It is very important to include the information below while making the payment since invoices cannot be issued when the following explanation is not written fully.

Explanation (for corporate payments): Name of the Institution, Number of Participants Explanation (for personal payments): TR Identity Number and Name & Surname of the Participant

If you have any questions, please contact us.
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: +90 232 462 71 00 dahili 102
Address: 6240/5 Sok. No:3 Karacaoğlan Mah. Yeşilova İzmir, Türkiye