Pre-Conference Workshops

This workshop will cover how the self evolves and continues to evolve throughout life. You will learn how early attachment patterns shape self-concepts and how they show up in your classroom today. You will explore how both brain and self development occur together. This interactive workshop will provide many lessons, strategies, and activities that you can bring back to your classroom to help your students find their sense of self, their passions, and a purpose in school and in life.

In this workshop, Gravity Goldberg applies the research on mindset and goal setting to help educators better understand why we may be cultivating compliant instead of independent readers, and why without independence and curiosity, no real and lasting learning can occur. Dr. Goldberg will share a framework called the 4Ms, for Miner, Mirror, Model, and Mentor, which helps you support true independence every day. This independence stems from having a growth mindset and a deep sense of ownership and curiosity. These qualities can be supported by teachers, and in this workshop, you will learn specific moves to encourage independence and curiosity.

Do you feel stressed and overwhelmed with all you have to accomplish these days? You are not alone. The good news is that current brain research shows that educators who prioritize self-care and self-compassion in their lives actually have better results with their students, both behaviorally and academically. In this workshop, you will learn about this research and be inspired to develop healing tools you can build into your "self" and your daily life -- small moments to rest and renew. Learn mindfulness practices, relaxation techniques, ways to be more self-compassionate, and discover strategies for bringing these practices into your classroom.

This two-part workshop will explore evidence-based practices and will offer research and examples on social-emotional learning that work with students and faculty and foster greater academic success. In the first part, Elise Cappella will describe key SEL competencies and how teaching practices and peer relationships create opportunities for social-emotional development in children from diverse backgrounds and school contexts in elementary and middle school students. Dr. Cappella will present evidence-based approaches schools can use to support teaching practices and peer relationships that advance children's self-regulation, social skills, self-concept, and academic behaviors. In the second part, Rachel Poliner will explore research on brain development and ways to fully integrate SEL in the classroom culture. She will offer ways to translate that research into daily practices that support academic success and healthy development in K-12, especially in the middle and high school levels.

This workshop will explore the obstacles that lead to self-doubt and avoidance of failure and ways to move people toward letting go of both so they can embrace success. Neuroscientist, Dr. Mandy Wintink, and Designer, Jennifer Chan, bring together two disciplines to show how people can use failures as a tool for achieving success. Through neuroscience, you will understand self-doubt and feelings of defeat from a neurobiological perspective while also learning how to navigate the discomfort and fear of failure so students can succeed. Through design tools, you will understand the value of iterations and why failing fast, means failing often.

Research is finding that by becoming more self-aware as a teacher and more aware of your students as learners, you can improve student performance. One way to do this is to develop a "teacher profile." This practice-based workshop will explore the five awarenesses of teaching and will allow you to create your own developmental teacher profile and set goals for increasing your self-awareness and awareness of your students. Learn strategies for developing your five awarenesses (awareness of learner, interactions, self as teacher, teaching practices, and the context of what is happening socially, politically, and economically in the larger world) so you can become a more self-aware and effective educator.