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CREATING THRIVING SCHOOLS IN UNCERTAIN TIMES

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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“Imagine if schools weren't only a place to learn standardized academic material but were also places of wonder, awe, and self-actualization, as well as hope for humanity.”
— Scott Barry Kaufman, PhD, Columbia University


LEARNING OBJECTIVES

You will gain knowledge about:

  • Leading and changing schools for a changing world
  • The science of purpose and creating purposeful classrooms
  • Helping students, teachers, and leaders cope, grow, and thrive
  • The science of social connections and moving from just “me” to “we”
  • How curiosity counters anxiety and how to create curious classrooms
  • Strategies for self-care, resilience, and change for educators and leaders
  • Benefits of games, design thinking, and curiosity for math and reading
  • The need for purpose, meaning, and exploration in uncertain times
  • Ways to strengthen student resilience and agency for achievement
  • Creating schools of belonging and promoting positive self-stories
  • Providing purposeful, meaningful collaboration and teamwork

 
Registrants who are unable to view a live conference presentation on April 17 or April 18 will be able to view a recording of any conference presentation for the one month following the virtual conference.



This Unique Conference Will Provide You With:

  • 2 days of LIVE keynote presentations and breakout sessions from renowned psychologists and cognitive scientists
  • LIVE Q&A periods with experts and ways to connect with colleagues through our social networking features
  • Up to 12 hours of LIVE Professional Development
  • More than 30 hours of conference recordings for a limited time after the conference
  • Access to slides and resources from presenters
  • The latest research on thriving, purpose, meaning, social connections, curiosity, and more...



WHO SHOULD ATTEND

Educators, Parents
Curriculum, Staff Developers
Speech-Language Pathologists
PreK-12 Teachers, Administrators
Learning Specialists, Special Educators
Psychologists, School Psychologists, Counselors
Early Childhood Educators, Professionals
Reading, Math, Science, Technology Teachers
Superintendents, Principals, School Heads
Adolescent Educators, Clinicians, Counselors
Social Workers, Mental Health Professionals
Guidance, Career, College Counselors
College, University Professors

Featured Speakers

Setting Sail: The Need for Purpose, Meaning, and Exploration in a Sea of Uncertainty

Scott Barry Kaufman, PhD

Cognitive and Humanistic Psychologist; Founder and Director, Center for Human Potential; Former Adjunct Associate Professor, Barnard College, Columbia University; Honorary Principal Fellow, Center for Wellbeing Science, University of Melbourne; Former Scientific Director, The Imagination Institute, University of Pennsylvania; Host of the #1 Psychology Podcast, The Psychology Podcast, with over 30 million downloads; Columnist, “Beautiful Minds,” Scientific American; Author, Transcend: The New Science of Self-Actualization (2020), Twice Exceptional (2018), and Ungifted: Intelligence Redefined (2015); Co-Author, Learned Helplessness (2020), Choose Growth: A Workbook for Transcending Trauma, Fear, and Self-Doubt (2022), Wired to Create: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Creative Mind (2016), and “Imagination Is the Seed of Creativity” (2018, The Cambridge Handbook of Creativity)

Building Our Children’s Resilience, Wellbeing, and Prosociality Through Positive Connections

Barbara L. Fredrickson, PhD

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)

The Neurobiology of Me and We (MWe): Integrating Both for Belonging and Thriving Relationships After COVID    More Info

Daniel J. Siegel, MD

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)

From Leadership to Buildership: Build Better Schools While Thriving in Your True Purpose

Robyn R. Jackson, PhD

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)

The Deep History of Ourselves

Joseph E. LeDoux, PhD

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)

Leveraging Curiosity: Detailing Pathways for Maximal Student Wellbeing, Resilience, and Learning

Todd B. Kashdan, PhD

Professor, Department of Psychology, George Mason University; Director, Well-Being Laboratory; Awarded 2013 Distinguished Early Career Researcher Award by the American Psychological Association; Author, The Art of Insubordination (2022), The Upside of Your Darkside (2017), Mindfulness, Acceptance, and Positive Psychology (2013), Designing Positive Psychology (2010), Curious? (2009); Co-Author, "Social Anxiety Is Associated with Similar Emotional Impairments During Digital and Face-to-Face Communication in Daily Life" (2020, PsyArXiv), "Gratitude Across the Life-Span: Age Differences and Links to Subjective Well-being" (2019, Positive Psychology), "When Empathy Matters: The Role of Sex and Empathy in Close Friendships" (2017, Personality)

The Power of Meaning

Emily Esfahani Smith, MA

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”

The New Science of Thriving: Helping Children Flourish in a Post-COVID World    More Info

Christina D. Bethell, PhD

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)

1) PURPOSEFUL BRAINS: CREATING SCHOOLS OF MEANING & PURPOSE TO HELP KIDS THRIVE

Setting Sail: The Need for Purpose, Meaning, and Exploration in a Sea of Uncertainty

Scott Barry Kaufman, PhD

Cognitive and Humanistic Psychologist; Founder and Director, Center for Human Potential; Former Adjunct Associate Professor, Barnard College, Columbia University; Honorary Principal Fellow, Center for Wellbeing Science, University of Melbourne; Former Scientific Director, The Imagination Institute, University of Pennsylvania; Host of the #1 Psychology Podcast, The Psychology Podcast, with over 30 million downloads; Columnist, “Beautiful Minds,” Scientific American; Author, Transcend: The New Science of Self-Actualization (2020), Twice Exceptional (2018), and Ungifted: Intelligence Redefined (2015); Co-Author, Learned Helplessness (2020), Choose Growth: A Workbook for Transcending Trauma, Fear, and Self-Doubt (2022), Wired to Create: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Creative Mind (2016), and “Imagination Is the Seed of Creativity” (2018, The Cambridge Handbook of Creativity)

From Leadership to Buildership: Build Better Schools While Thriving in Your True Purpose

Robyn R. Jackson, PhD

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)

The Science and Power of Meaning

Emily Esfahani Smith, MA

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”

Promoting Purposeful Learning in Teens and Schools

Patrick Cook-Deegan, BA

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)

Helping Children and Teens Discover Their Purpose in Life and Thrive

Kendall Cotton Bronk, PhD

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)

Thrive: Reinventing the Purpose of Schools for a Changing World

Valerie Hannon, MEd

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)

The Human Side of Education: Authentic Leadership in Turbulent Times    More Info

Julie M. (Wilson) Jungalwala, MEd

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)

Purposeful, Meaningful Classrooms: Establishing Purpose for Yourself and Your Students

Douglas B. Fisher, PhD

Chair, Department of Educational Leadership, San Diego State University; Classroom Teacher, Health Sciences High and Middle College; Co-Author, Teaching Foundational Skills to Adolescent Readers (Forthcoming), Rigor Unveiled (Forthcoming), Teaching Students to Drive Their Learning (2023), The Vocabulary Playbook: Learning Words That Matter (2023), Teaching Reading (2022), Confronting the Crisis in Engagement (2022), and Improving Adolescent Literacy (2011)

2) THRIVING SCHOOLS: RAISING RESILIENCE IN STUDENTS, TEACHERS, & SCHOOL LEADERS

The New Science of Thriving: Helping Children Flourish in a Post-COVID World

Christina D. Bethell, PhD

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)

A Neuroscience Approach to Improving Student Resiliency in Uncertain Times

Horacio Sanchez, MEd

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)

The First Step to Resilience: Don't Make Things Harder on Yourself

Mark R. Leary, PhD

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)

Building Resilience and Psychological Thriving in Times of Chaos and Uncertainty

Emma Seppälä, PhD

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)

Taking Time for You: Self-Care for Educators

Tina H. Boogren, PhD

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)

Training the Brain to Thrive: A Framework for Promoting Purpose, Connections, and Curiosity

Cortland Dahl, PhD

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)

Teaching Mathematics for Human Flourishing and Thriving

Francis E. Su, PhD

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)

The Thriving Educator: Empowering Wellbeing Through Purpose, Perspective, and Perseverance

Chase W. Mielke, MEd

Award-Winning Educator; Instructional Coach; Speaker, Top Youth Speakers; Creator of an Award-Winning Positive Psychology Program, which received a Michigan Association of School Administrators’ “Winner’s Circle Award” and teaches concepts of positive emotion, engagement, meaning, and accomplishment to hundreds of students each year, especially at-risk high schoolers; Winner of multiple honors, including "Michigan Teacher of the Year" nominee and an Allegan County “Outstanding People for Education” recipient; Author, Illuminating the Way: The School Leader's Guide to Addressing and Preventing Teacher Burnout (2023) and The Burnout Cure: Learning to Love Teaching Again (2019)

Thriving in Today's Age of Anxiety and an Education Mental Health Crisis: Teaching Collective Efficacy to Cultivate Resilience, Mindfulness, and Reframe Self-Stories

Kristen Lee, EdD, LICSW

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)

3) CONNECTED BRAINS: BUILDING SCHOOLS OF BELONGING, COLLABORATION, & TEAMWORK

Building Our Children’s Resilience, Wellbeing, and Prosociality Through Positive Connections

Barbara L. Fredrickson, PhD

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)

The Neurobiology of Me and We (MWe): Integrating Both for Belonging and Thriving Relationships After COVID

Daniel J. Siegel, MD

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)

We Are Crew: Creating Schools of Belonging and Teamwork

Ron Berger, MEd

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)

Rebuilding Relationships and Conflict Recovery After COVID-19

Candice D. Barnes, EdD

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)

Purposeful, Meaningful Collaboration: Teaching Students How to Work Together

Trevor Muir, MA

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)

The Psychology of Belonging: Boosting a Sense of Belonging in Schools

Kelly-Ann Allen, PhD, FAPS

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)

Neurodiversity in Schools: Creating a Culture of Belonging

Lauren Hough Williams, MSEd

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)

Neurodiversity in Schools: Creating a Culture of Belonging

Maxwell Schneider, MA, MHC-LP

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

Flexing Muscles: Re-Awakening Atrophied Social Connections and Skills Needed for Post-Pandemic Learning

Karen S. Norris, PhD

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)

Flexing Muscles: Re-Awakening Atrophied Social Connections and Skills Needed for Post-Pandemic Learning

Rhonda Vincent, PhD

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)

4) CURIOUS MINDS: CULTIVATING CURIOSITY FOR LEARNING, COPING, & MENTAL HEALTH

Leveraging Curiosity: Detailing Pathways for Maximal Student Wellbeing, Resilience, and Learning

Todd B. Kashdan, PhD

Professor, Department of Psychology, George Mason University; Director, Well-Being Laboratory; Awarded 2013 Distinguished Early Career Researcher Award by the American Psychological Association; Author, The Art of Insubordination (2022), The Upside of Your Darkside (2017), Mindfulness, Acceptance, and Positive Psychology (2013), Designing Positive Psychology (2010), Curious? (2009); Co-Author, "Social Anxiety Is Associated with Similar Emotional Impairments During Digital and Face-to-Face Communication in Daily Life" (2020, PsyArXiv), "Gratitude Across the Life-Span: Age Differences and Links to Subjective Well-being" (2019, Positive Psychology), "When Empathy Matters: The Role of Sex and Empathy in Close Friendships" (2017, Personality)

Thriving and Curiosity: Ensuring Young Children’s Wellbeing, Achievement, and Curiosity

Prachi E. Shah, MD

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)

Curiosity in the Classroom: Promoting Curiosity, Exploration, and Scientific Thinking

Jamie J. Jirout, PhD

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)

Building a Curious School

Bryan R. Goodwin, MA

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)

Creating Curious Classrooms

Kathleen M. Kryza, MA

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)

The Future of Education: Applying Cognitive Science, Design Thinking, and Games to Bring Purpose, Passion, and Curiosity to the Classroom

Lindsay Portnoy, PhD

Cognitive Scientist; Associate Teaching Professor in the Curriculum, Teaching, Learning, and Leadership, Doctor of Education Program, Northeastern University; Former Teacher; Co-Founder of Immersive Science Learning Company, Killer Snails; Author, “An Opportunity for an Improved Post-Pandemic Education” (2021, Age of Awareness), 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)

The Neuroscience of Curiosity: How Curiosity Affects Learning in Children and Adolescents

Matthias J. Gruber, PhD

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)

5) STORYTELLING BRAINS: SUPPORTING SELF-STORIES, AUTHENTICITY, & AGENCY

The Deep History of Ourselves

Joseph E. LeDoux, PhD

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)

Redirect: Strengthening Students by Editing Their Self-Stories

Timothy D. Wilson, PhD

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)

The Power of Student Agency: Developing Purpose, Grit, and Positive Change

Anindya Kundu, PhD

Sociologist; Assistant Professor, Educational Policy Studies, Florida International University; Member, Career and Technical Advisory Council, The NYC Department of Education; TED Resident Speaker with over 6 million views; Author, The Power of Student Agency (2020) and “Making Distance Learning Vibrant: Student Agency is Key” (2020, Education Week); Co-Author, “The Unique Agency of Parenting-Strivers: An Anti-Deficit, Asset-Based Exploration of Black and Latinx Students with Children” (2022, Education for Students Placed at Risk) and "Grit and Agency: A Framework for Helping Students in Poverty to Achieve Academic Success" (2017)

A Neurological Approach to Thriving: Building Student Strengths and Self-Stories in Schools

Paula Prentis, LMSW

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.

Strengthen Literacy by Focusing on Self-Efficacy, Relevance, Agency, and Authenticity

Leslie E. Laud, EdD

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)

From Striving to Thriving: Creating, Curious, Capable, and Confident Readers

Annie Ward, MEd

Assistant Superintendent of Instruction, Mamaroneck Union Free School District, NY; Co-Author, From Striving to Thriving: How to Grow Confident, Capable Readers (2017)

Co-Sponsors Include:

The Greater Good Science Center, University of California, Berkeley

The Integrated Learning Initiative, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Mind, Brain, and Education Program, Harvard Graduate School of Education

Laboratory for Learning Engineering & Neural Systems (brainLENS), University of Connecticut and University of California, San Franscisco

The Neuro-Educational Initiative, Johns Hopkins University

LEARNING & the BRAIN® Foundation

Dana Foundation