Seung Eun (Sunny) McDevitt, Ph.D., Delivers Keynote in Shenzhen, China

Shenzhen, China- Seung Eun (Sunny) McDevitt, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the Department of Education Specialties was one of the selective collaborators invited to deliver a keynote address on October 20, 2019 at Dami he Xiaomi Child Development Center.  This was the 5^th anniversary symposium on inclusive early childhood education.  

McDevitt has been involved with Dami he Xiaomi since 2018, conducting a research study on teacher development for culturally relevant curriculum with collaborator Hui Jiang.  The collaboration between McDevitt and Jiang, a doctoral student at Rutgers University is ongoing.   

McDevitt’s address centered on promoting peer interactions for children with autism in early learning environments. 

"It was a workshop about developing social skills for parents who have children with autism and for teachers who work with them in China,” said McDevitt. 

Her portion focused on peer-mediated instruction and intervention, while Jiang’s centered on using culturally relevant social stories in the development of social skills. 

Almost 10,000 participants at Dami he Xiaomi heard McDevitt live, with additional listeners joining by broadcast in remote locations.