From Practice to Presentation: Scaling Tools for Broader Impact 
Carolyn Siegel, Pinewood School 
October 15th, 2025

When I first began presenting at state-level conferences a decade ago, I realized that my passion for a topic was only part of the equation; equally important was considering the diverse educational contexts represented in the audience. In my first teaching presentation, public school teachers asked about state standards, which I hadn’t considered since they weren’t part of the curriculum design. This made me realize I needed to consider beyond independent schools for these presentations. As I prepare presentations, I draw on familiar tools and student stories I know well, presenting them so they resonate across broader contexts. 

I’ve come to see conference presentations as reflective processes by which I improve my own practice, translating individualized work into tools that empower a broader community of educators, such as my most recent presentation, Engage and Uplift: Strength-based Approaches in the College Process (NACAC 2025). As self-reflection and writing support are two of my core strengths, I often focus on these two areas when shaping a presentation proposal. I begin by identifying two to three students whose stories can anchor how I frame it. Next, I reflect on how I have guided them toward a stronger final personal or supplemental essay. I then think about: (1) What role did I play as that student’s college process unfolded? (2) What concrete steps, rooted in my strengths, helped them move forward? When a story clearly highlights my strengths in action, I record it in a brainstorming document to revisit later on.

As the semester progresses, I draw from books and professional development opportunities, periodically returning to my brainstorming document to add ideas and slowly refine my thinking. When I write my proposal, I think about what connects these stories. This year, the current political situation added a layer of complexity. I ended up revising my proposal’s DEI language so that I could present on content that uplifts students’ individual experiences and perspectives while ensuring public school counselors from certain states could still attend my session and get CE credits. Ultimately, I aim for a proposal that is sufficiently broad to allow for flexibility down the line. 

Over the years, the most consistent feedback I’ve received is the value of practical tools just as much as insights. Drawing from my background as a classroom teacher, I use this iterative reflective process to scale the work I do in one-on-ones and small group sessions at Pinewood School into tools that can be adapted for a variety of contexts. This year, in my NACAC presentation, I shared two reflective tools rooted in developmental theory.

Tool 1: By reframing sentence starters from Elena Aguilar’s The Art of Coaching and the University of Minnesota's CARLA’s graphic organizers, the Five Ws provides a reflective process so that, with or without a counselor’s intervention, a student can think through their initial personal statement idea in a methodical way. Drawing from Oyserman & Fryberg, I structured the activity and embedded language to guide students towards a hoped-for possible self, an optimistic future-oriented self-concept. 

Tool 2: Low-Key Leading is structured around a screenshot I had been using since spring 2024 from a Common App supplemental section activities checklist; however, this year, it is part of the primary application’s Activities section. This tool prompts students to reflect on how their home contributions or life challenges have helped them build skills for academic and professional success, inspired by Savitz-Romer and Bouffard’s interpretation of Bandura’s Social Cognitive theory of self-efficacy, in which students map their understanding of their ability to succeed in their everyday responsibilities onto an academic or professional domain.

The process of creating a presentation pushes me to think deeply about refining my own practice. If you’d like to access the tools referenced above or suggest essay-writing topics for future sessions, please complete this very brief survey. And, if you’re ever looking for a thought partner for a proposal or presentation, don’t hesitate to reach out. I find great joy in learning alongside colleagues and would be honored to collaborate!

References:

Aguilar, Elena. The Art of Coaching: Effective Strategies for School Transformation. Jossey-Bass, 2013.

CoBaLTT CARLA. Customizable Graphic Organizer Templates. Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition (CARLA), University of Minnesota, n.d. Web. [Date you accessed].https://archive.carla.umn.edu/cobaltt/modules/strategies/gorganizers/EDITABLE.HTML 

Common App, Inc. What’s New with Common App: 2025–26 Updates. 22 May 2025,www.commonapp.org/files/Whats-New-25-26.pdf.

Oyserman, Daphna, and Stephanie Fryberg. “The Possible Selves of Diverse Adolescents: Content and Function across Gender, Race and National Origin.” Race and Ethnicity: Cultural Roles, Spiritual Practices and Social Challenges, edited by Nova Science Publishers, 2010, pp. 113–135.