While the pandemic has left many students feeling stressed and uncertain about the future, schools can become places that help students learn and thrive in this uncertainty.
Psychological science research has found that providing a sense of purpose and meaning, fostering love and social connections, and encouraging curious exploration can help children thrive despite rising anxiety, trauma, economic hardship, and challenges. In fact, Psychologist Scott Barry Kaufman proposes that Abraham Maslow’s “Hierarchy of Needs” is more like a ship than a pyramid where the sails that propels self-actualization and helps buffer against fear and uncertainty are purpose, love, and exploration.
This virtual conference will show how students, teachers, and leaders can cope, grow, learn, and thrive in a new normal of uncertainty. It will explore the science and benefits of promoting purpose, restoring connections, supporting self-stories, and cultivating curiosity. Discover ways to create thriving schools and classrooms, meaningful learning, a sense of belonging, teamwork, and collaboration, resilient students, and curious classrooms that will boost learning and thriving in an uncertain Post-COVID Age.
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Cognitive and Humanistic Psychologist; Adjunct Associate Professor, Barnard College, Columbia University; Host of the #1 Psychology Podcast, The Psychology Podcast, with over 12 million downloads; Columnist, “Beautiful Minds,” Scientific American; Author, Transcend: The New Science of Self-Actualization (2020), “Post-Traumatic Growth: Finding Meaning and Creativity in Adversity” (2020, Scientific American), and “Self-Actualized People in the 21st Century: Integration With Contemporary Theory and Research on Personality and Wellbeing” (2018, Journal of Humanistic Psychology); Co-Author, Wired to Create (2016) and “Imagination Is the Seed of Creativity” (2018, The Cambridge Handbook of Creativity)
Kenan Distinguished Professor; Director, Positive Emotions and Psychophysiology Laboratory (PEP Lab), University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Author, “Biological Underpinnings of Positive Emotions and Purpose” (2016, The Social Psychology of the Good Life), Love 2.0: How Our Supreme Emotion Affects Everything We Feel, Think, Do, and Become (2013), and Positivity (2009); Co-Author, “Staying ‘In Sync’ With Others During COVID-19: Positivity Resonance Mediates Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Links Between Trait Resilience and Mental Health” (2020, In Review), and “The Lay Concept of a Meaningful Life: The Role of Subjective and Objective Factors in Attributions of Meaning” (2020, In Review)
Founding Co-Director, Mindful Awareness Research Center; Faculty, Center for Culture, Brain, and Development; Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles; Contributor, Greater Good Magazine, Greater Good Science Center, University of California, Berkeley; Distinguished Fellow, American Psychiatric Association; Author, The Developing Mind: How Relationships and the Brain Interact to Shape Who We Are (2020, 3rd Edition), Mind, Consciousness, and Well-Being (2020), and The Power of Showing Up (2020); Co-Author, The Yes Brain: How to Cultivate Courage, Curiosity, and Resilience in Your Child (2018)
CEO, Mindsteps Inc.; Middle School Administrator; Former Teacher and Instructional Coach; Author, Stop Leading, Start Building!: Turn Your School Into a Success Story With the People and Resources You Already Have (Forthcoming, 2021), "Making Every Teacher a Master Teacher" (2019, Educational Leadership), Never Work Harder Than Your Students and Other Principles of Great Teaching (2018, 2nd Edition), Never Underestimate Your Teachers: Instructional Leadership for Excellence in Every Classroom (2013)
Director, Emotional Brain Institute ; Principal Investigator, Center for Neural Science, New York University; Researcher, Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research; Author, The Deep History of Ourselves: The Four-Billion-Year Story of How We Got Conscious Brains (2019), Anxious: Using the Brain to Understand and Treat Fear and Anxiety (2016), Synaptic Self: How Our Brains Become Who We Are (2003), and The Emotional Brain (1996)
Senior Scientist, Center for the Advancement of Well-Being; Professor, Department of Psychology, George Mason University; Winner of the American Psychological Association's Distinguished Scientific Award for Early Career Contribution to Psychology; Author, “The Five Benefits of Curiosity” (2019, Experience Life); Co-Author, “Meaning in Life Buffers the Impact of Experiential Avoidance on Anxiety” (2020, Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science), The Upside of Your Dark Side (2014), and Curious? Discover the Missing Ingredient to a Fulfilling Life (2009)
Doctoral Student in Clinical Psychology at Catholic University; Instructor in Positive Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania; Author of the book, The Power of Meaning (2017), which was an international bestseller that has been translated into 16 languages; Journalist and Writer on psychology and culture whose articles have appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and The Atlantic; Former Managing Editor of The New Criterion; Presenter who delivered a popular TED talk in 2017 called “There’s More to Life Than Being Happy”
Professor, Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health; Director, Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University; Founding Member of the Campaign for Trauma Informed Policy and Practice; Member of the American Academy of Pediatrics National Advisory Board on Screening; Director, the National Data Resource Center for Child and Adolescent Health; Co-Author, "Physical Distancing With Social Connectedness" (2020, The Annals of Family Medicine) and "Family Resilience and Connection Promotes Flourishing Among US Children, Even Amidst Adversity" (2019, Health Affairs)
Cognitive and Humanistic Psychologist; Adjunct Associate Professor, Barnard College, Columbia University; Host of the #1 Psychology Podcast, The Psychology Podcast, with over 12 million downloads; Columnist, “Beautiful Minds,” Scientific American; Author, Transcend: The New Science of Self-Actualization (2020), “Post-Traumatic Growth: Finding Meaning and Creativity in Adversity” (2020, Scientific American), and “Self-Actualized People in the 21st Century: Integration With Contemporary Theory and Research on Personality and Wellbeing” (2018, Journal of Humanistic Psychology); Co-Author, Wired to Create (2016) and “Imagination Is the Seed of Creativity” (2018, The Cambridge Handbook of Creativity)
CEO, Mindsteps Inc.; Middle School Administrator; Former Teacher and Instructional Coach; Author, Stop Leading, Start Building!: Turn Your School Into a Success Story With the People and Resources You Already Have (Forthcoming, 2021), "Making Every Teacher a Master Teacher" (2019, Educational Leadership), Never Work Harder Than Your Students and Other Principles of Great Teaching (2018, 2nd Edition), Never Underestimate Your Teachers: Instructional Leadership for Excellence in Every Classroom (2013)
Doctoral Student in Clinical Psychology at Catholic University; Instructor in Positive Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania; Author of the book, The Power of Meaning (2017), which was an international bestseller that has been translated into 16 languages; Journalist and Writer on psychology and culture whose articles have appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and The Atlantic; Former Managing Editor of The New Criterion; Presenter who delivered a popular TED talk in 2017 called “There’s More to Life Than Being Happy”
Lecturer, Stanford University; Social Entrepreneur who has developed experiential education programs for mindfulness education (Inward Bound Mindfulness Education), wilderness education (Back to Earth), and social innovation (Brown University’s Social Innovation Initiative); Founder, Director, and CEO, Project Wayfinder - an educational organization funded by the Stanford University d.School to equip students and teachers with tools and skills to create purposeful lives; Former Fulbright Scholar; Author, Redesigning American High Schools for the 21st Century” (2016, Stanford Social Innovation Review)
Professor of Psychology, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences; Director, Adolescent Moral Development Laboratory, Claremont Graduate University; Former Research Fellow, Stanford Center for Adolescence, Stanford University; Author, Purpose in Life: A Critical Component of Optimal Youth Development (2013); Co-Author, “Purpose Among Youth From Low-Income Backgrounds” (2020, Child Development), “Youth Purpose During the Great Recession” (2018, Journal of Positive Psychology), and “Persevering with Positivity and Purpose” (2014, Journal of Happiness Studies)
Former Teacher; Former Director of Education, UK Department of Education; Co-Founder and Board Director, Innovation Unit; Founding Member and Co-Chair, Global Education Leader Partnership; Senior Advisor, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and its Project 2030; Contributor to the World Summit on Innovation in Education; Member, National Committee on Creativity in Education; Co-Author, Thrive: The Purpose of Education in a Changing World (2020, 2nd Edition) and Redesigning Education: Shaping Learning Systems Around the World (2013)
Founder and Executive Director, Institute for the Future of Learning, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping transform the 'one size does not fit all' model of education; Co-Founder and President, Academic Leadership Group; Advisor, Innovation Lab, Harvard University; Recipient of the “Harvard Hero” Award for outstanding contributions to the university; Author, The Human Side of Changing Education: How to Lead Change With Clarity, Conviction, and Courage (2018)
Chair, Department of Educational Leadership, San Diego State University; Classroom Teacher, Health Sciences High and Middle College; Co-Author, The Distance Learning Playbook, Grades K-12: Teaching for Engagement and Impact in Any Setting (2020), The On-Your-Feet Guide to Building Authentic Student-Teacher Relationships (2019), Teaching Hope and Resilience for Students Experiencing Trauma: Creating Safe and Nurturing Classrooms for Learning (2019), All Learning Is Social and Emotional: Helping Students Develop Essential Skills for the Classroom and Beyond (2019), The Teacher Clarity Playbook (2018), Building Equity: Policies and Practices to Empower All Learners (2017), Better Than Carrots or Sticks: Restorative Practices for Positive Classroom Management (2015)
Professor, Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health; Director, Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University; Founding Member of the Campaign for Trauma Informed Policy and Practice; Member of the American Academy of Pediatrics National Advisory Board on Screening; Director, the National Data Resource Center for Child and Adolescent Health; Co-Author, "Physical Distancing With Social Connectedness" (2020, The Annals of Family Medicine) and "Family Resilience and Connection Promotes Flourishing Among US Children, Even Amidst Adversity" (2019, Health Affairs)
President/CEO, Resiliency Inc.; Former Teacher; Former Mental Health Director and Consultant; Author, The Poverty Problem: How Education Can Promote Resilience and Counter Poverty’s Impact on Brain Development and Functioning (2021), The Education Revolution: How to Apply Brain Science to Improve Instruction and School Climate (2016) and A Brain-Based Approach to Closing the Achievement Gap (2008)
Garonzik Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University; Author, The Curse of the Self (2007); Co-Author, “Self-Judgements of Authenticity” (2020, Self and Identity), Selfhood: Identity, Esteem, and Regulation (2019), and “Self-Compassion and Responses to Negative Social Feedback” (2018, Self and Identity); Co-Editor, Handbook of Self and Identity (2013)
Lecturer, Yale School of Management; Faculty Director, Yale Executive Programs and Women’s Leadership Program, Yale University; Science Director, Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education, Stanford University; Co-Editor, The Oxford Handbook of Compassion Science (2017); Author, The Happiness Track: How to Apply the Science of Happiness to Accelerate Your Success (2017)
Former Teacher; Instructional Coach; Professional Developer; Author, 180 Days of Self-Care for Busy Educators (2019), Take Time for You: Self-Care Action Plans for Educators Using Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and Positive Psychology (2018); Co-Author, Motivation and Inspiration: Strategies to Awaken the Learner - Helping Students Connect to Something Greater Than Themselves (2016)
Research Scientist, Center for Healthy Minds; Chief Contemplative Officer, Healthy Minds Innovations, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Co-Author, “The Plasticity of Wellbeing: A Training-Based Framework for Cultivating Human Flourishing” (2020, Proceeds for the National Academy of Sciences) and “Mindfulness and Contemplative Life: Pathways to Connection, Insight, and Purpose” (2019, Current Opinion in Psychology)
Benediktsson-Karwa Professor of Mathematics, Harvey Mudd College; Past President of the Mathematics Association of America; Creator of the Award-Winning "Math Fun Facts" website and app; Co-Author, Mathematics for Human Flourishing (2021)
Teacher, Plainwell Community Schools; Instructional Coach; Trainer and Speaker, Top Youth Speakers; Creator of an Award-Winning Positive Psychology Program for at-risk 10th graders; Author, The Burnout Cure: Learning to Love Teaching Again (2019)
Behavioral Health Clinician and Educator; Lead Faculty for Behavioral Science; Associate Teaching Professor of Psychology, Northeastern University; Author, "How We Find Resilience During Impossible Times" (2020, Psychology Today), Mentalligence: A New Psychology of Thinking (2018) and RESET: Make the Most of Your Stress: Your 24-7 Plan for Well-Being (2014)
Kenan Distinguished Professor; Director, Positive Emotions and Psychophysiology Laboratory (PEP Lab), University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Author, “Biological Underpinnings of Positive Emotions and Purpose” (2016, The Social Psychology of the Good Life), Love 2.0: How Our Supreme Emotion Affects Everything We Feel, Think, Do, and Become (2013), and Positivity (2009); Co-Author, “Staying ‘In Sync’ With Others During COVID-19: Positivity Resonance Mediates Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Links Between Trait Resilience and Mental Health” (2020, In Review), and “The Lay Concept of a Meaningful Life: The Role of Subjective and Objective Factors in Attributions of Meaning” (2020, In Review)
Founding Co-Director, Mindful Awareness Research Center; Faculty, Center for Culture, Brain, and Development; Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles; Contributor, Greater Good Magazine, Greater Good Science Center, University of California, Berkeley; Distinguished Fellow, American Psychiatric Association; Author, The Developing Mind: How Relationships and the Brain Interact to Shape Who We Are (2020, 3rd Edition), Mind, Consciousness, and Well-Being (2020), and The Power of Showing Up (2020); Co-Author, The Yes Brain: How to Cultivate Courage, Curiosity, and Resilience in Your Child (2018)
Chief Academic Officer, EL Education; Annenberg Foundation Teacher Scholar; Co-Author, We are Crew: A Teamwork Approach to School Culture (2020), Learning That Lasts: Challenging, Engaging, and Empowering Students With Deeper Instruction (2016), Leaders of Their Own Learning: Transforming Schools Through Student-Engaged Assessment (2014), and Transformational Literacy (2014)
Associate Professor, Elementary Literacy and Special Education, University of Central Arkansas; Co-Author, Conflict Recovery (2020), Success Favors Well-Prepared Teachers: Developing Routines and Relationships to Improve School Culture (2016), Civility, Compassion, and Courage in Schools Today (2015) and “Improve Teaching: Your Role, Relevance, and Relationships” (2013, Women in Higher Education)
Lecturer, Grand Valley State University; Former Teacher at New Tech Project Based Learning School; Author, The Collaborative Classroom: Teaching Students How to Work Together Now (2019) and The Epic Classroom: How to Boost Engagement, Make Learning Memorable, and Transform Lives (2017)
Educational and Developmental Psychologist; Senior Lecturer, School of Education, Monash University; Honorary Senior Fellow, The Centre for Wellbeing Science, University of Melbourne; Founder and Co-Director, Global Belonging Collaborative; Editor-in-Chief, Educational and Developmental Psychologist and Journal of Belonging and Human Connection; Author of The Psychology of Belonging (2020); Co-Author, Boosting School Belonging: Practical Strategies to Help Adolescents Feel Like They Belong at Schools (2019) and School Belonging in Adolescents Theory, Research and Practice (2017), "What Schools Need to Know About Fostering School Belonging" (2018, Educational Psychology Review), and "Belonging: a review of conceptual issues, an integrative framework, and directions for future research" (2020, Australian Journal of Psychology); Co-editor, Pathways to Belonging: Contemporary Research in School Belonging (2018)
Autism and Inclusion Specialist; Director, Program for Inclusion and Neurodiversity Education (PINE), Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, New York University, an online professional development program that partners with schools committed to understanding and supporting their increasingly neurodiverse communities; Co-Author, Everyday Classroom Strategies and Practices for Supporting Children with ASD (2013)
Consultant, Program for Inclusion and Neurodiversity Education (PINE), Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, New York University, an online professional development program that partners with schools committed to understanding and supporting their increasingly neurodiverse communities; Mental Health Clinician, KIP Therapy
Director of Curriculum and Instruction, Momentous Institute; her educational experience includes designing curricula, coaching programs, and professional learning experiences; Co-Author, Coaching for Momentum (2021), Changemakers: An SEL Curriculm (2016), and "Two-Year Impact of a Mindfulness-Based Program on Preschoolers’ Self-Regulation and Academic Performance" (2016, Journal of Early Education and Development)
Director of Educational Training, Momentous Institute; Certified Teacher in Elementary and Early Childhood; Expert in Child Development and Curriculum; Co-Author, "A Self-Oriented Mindfulness-Based Curriculum Improves Prekindergarten Students’ Executive Functions" (2018, Mindfulness)
Executive Director, Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning; Co-Designer, NeuroTeach Global; Dean of Studies, St. Andrew’s Episcopal School; Co-Author, "Every Educator Needs to Know How the Brain Works" (2020, ASCD Express) and Neuroteach: Brain Science and the Future of Education (2016)
Middle and High School Science Teacher; Associate Director of Research, Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning; Coordinator, Science of Teaching and School Leadership Academy, St. Andrew's Episcopal School
Member, Leadership Team, Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning (CTTL); Director, DEI, St. Andrew’s Episcopal School; Cohort Leader, Science of Teaching and School Leadership Academy; Certified, All Kinds of Minds Trainer; Principal Consultant, The Glasgow Group
Humanities and English Teacher; Middle School Diversity Coordinator, St. Andrew’s Episcopal School
Senior Scientist, Center for the Advancement of Well-Being; Professor, Department of Psychology, George Mason University; Winner of the American Psychological Association's Distinguished Scientific Award for Early Career Contribution to Psychology; Author, “The Five Benefits of Curiosity” (2019, Experience Life); Co-Author, “Meaning in Life Buffers the Impact of Experiential Avoidance on Anxiety” (2020, Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science), The Upside of Your Dark Side (2014), and Curious? Discover the Missing Ingredient to a Fulfilling Life (2009)
Associate Professor, Division of Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics; Associate Research Professor, Center for Human Growth and Development, University of Michigan; Co-Author, “Emotional Regulation in Children and Adolescents” (2020, Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics) and “Early Childhood Curiosity and Kindergarten Reading and Math Academic Achievement” (2018, Pediatric Research)
Assistant Professor; Principal Investigator, Research in Education and Learning Lab, University of Virginia; Co-Author, “Curiosity in Schools” (2018, The New Science of Curiosity), “Children's Scientific Curiosity: In Search of an Operational Definition of an Elusive Concept” (2012, Developmental Review) and “Children's Recognition of Uncertainty and Exploratory Curiosity” (2009, Society for Research in Child Development)
President and CEO, McREL International; Former Teacher; Author, Building a Curious School: Restore the Joy That Brought You to School (2020) and Out of Curiosity: Restoring the Power of Hungry Minds for Better Schools, Workplaces, and Lives (2018); Co-Author, Learning That Sticks: A Brain-Based Model for K-12 Instructional Design and Delivery (2020) and Pursuing Greatness: Empowering Teachers to Take Charge of Their Professional Growth (2019)
Master Teacher; CIO, Infinite Horizons; Co-Author, Transformative Teaching: Changing Today's Classrooms Culturally, Academically, and Emotionally (2015), Developing Growth Mindsets in the Inspiring Classroom (2011), Inspiring Elementary Learners (2008), Inspiring Middle and Secondary Learners (2007), and Differentiation for Real Classrooms (2009)
Cognitive Scientist; Associate Teaching Professor in the Curriculum, Teaching, Learning, and Leadership, Doctor of Education Program, Northeastern University; Former Teacher; Member of the World Economic Forum’s Expert Network; Author, Game On? Brain On! The Surprising Relationship Between Play and Gray (Matter) (2020) and Designed to Learn: Using Design Thinking to Bring Purpose and Passion to the Classroom (2019)
Cognitive Neuroscientist; Senior Research Fellow, School of Psychology; Director, Motivation and Memory Lab, Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), Cardiff University; Co-Author, “States of Curiosity and Interest Enhance Memory Differently in Adolescents and in Children (2021, Developmental Science) and “Curiosity and Learning: A Neuroscientific Perspective” (2019, The Cambridge Handbook of Motivation and Learning)
Director, Emotional Brain Institute ; Principal Investigator, Center for Neural Science, New York University; Researcher, Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research; Author, The Deep History of Ourselves: The Four-Billion-Year Story of How We Got Conscious Brains (2019), Anxious: Using the Brain to Understand and Treat Fear and Anxiety (2016), Synaptic Self: How Our Brains Become Who We Are (2003), and The Emotional Brain (1996)
Sherrell J. Aston Professor of Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Virginia; Winner of the Association for Psychological Science’s “William James Fellow Award” for a “lifetime of significant intellectual contributions to the basic science of psychology”; Author, Redirect: The Surprising New Science of Psychological Change (2011) and Strangers to Ourselves (2004); Co-Author, The Handbook of Self-Knowledge (2012) and Social Psychology (2012, 8th Edition)
Education Sociologist; Senior Research Fellow at LMIS, The Graduate Center, City University of New York; Former Adjunct Professor, New York University; Author, The Power of Student Agency: Looking Beyond Grit to Close the Opportunity Gap (2020)
Licensed social worker, author, speaker and life coach. For over twenty-five years Paula has written and spoken extensively to support teens, young adults, caregivers and educators as they navigate and understand the intricacies of child development and mental health. She developed social emotional learning curriculum, and co-created a free online platform to facilitate teaching and learning about mental and physical health (www.YourSelfSeries.com). For over ten years, Paula has spoken nationwide on issues pertaining to health and wellness, neuroscience, identity development and education.
Founding Director, thinkSRSD; Adjunct Professor, Columbia University; Former Learning Specialist, United Nations International School; Co-Author, Releasing Writers: Evidence-Based Strategies for Developing Self-Regulated Writers (2020) and Using Formative Assessment to Differentiate Middle School Literacy Instruction (2012); Editor, Differentiated Instruction in Literacy, Math, and Science (2011)
Assistant Superintendent of Instruction, Mamaroneck Union Free School District, NY; Co-Author, From Striving to Thriving: How to Grow Confident, Capable Readers (2017)