Speaker and Sessions

DISTRESSED AND STRUGGLING STUDENTS AND EDUCATORS


Many school-aged students are struggling. Generation Alpha (born after 2010) and Generation Z (born 1996-2010) are facing challenges unlike previous generations, having grown up in an age of a pandemic and increased stress, mental illness, digital usage, distractions, and uncertainty. A 2020 survey found that today's students are the most distressed (60% reporting high levels of stress and mental health issues); the most disengaged (52% have less motivation to do schoolwork); the most digitally distracted (45% have a hard time concentrating on schoolwork); and the most discouraged (47% feel they are not learning as much as before the pandemic) compared to past generations. Many educators are also struggling. A recent RAND report found 59% of teachers and 48% of principals are burned out and 30% of teachers and principals say they are likely to leave their profession.

This interdisciplinary conference will bring together neuroscientists, generation researchers, medical experts, and education leaders to explore ways to help students who are struggling to learn and educators who are struggling to cope. Discover science-based strategies to reduce stress, burnout, and boredom, and improve mental health, motivation, engagement, learning, and focus for teachers, leaders, and a distressed generation.

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter (@learningandtheb / #LatB63) for conference updates and news.

This conference will be presented as a hybrid conference. You can either attend in person in Boston or participate virtually. Click here for more details.


LEARNING OBJECTIVES

You will gain knowledge about:

  • Improving mental health in a distressed generation
  • Strategies for stress, anxiety, burnout, and mental health
  • How Gen. Z and Alpha learn differently from past generations
  • Teaching to student strengths and empowering them to succeed
  • The science of struggling students and ways to improve learning
  • Strategies to motivate and engage bored and disengaged students
  • Ways to empower learning through play, agency, and active learning
  • Stress and motivation in students struggling in reading and math
  • Leading and teaching generations impacted by stress and COVID
  • How digital devices affect teen focus, health, and dependency

 

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
Superintendents, Principals, School Heads
Social Workers, Mental Health Professionals
College, University Professors
 

Featured Speakers

The Distressed Generation: How the Pandemic and Social Media Are Creating a Mental Health Crisis

Jean M. Twenge, PhD

Professor of Psychology, College of Science, San Diego State University; Researcher on teens and Generation Z; Author, Generations: The Real Differences Between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and Silents - and What They Mean for America's Future (Forthcoming 2023), iGen: Why Today's Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy -- and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood (2017), The Narcissism Epidemic (2009), and Generation Me (2006); Co-Author, “Associations Between Adolescent Depression and Self-harm Behaviors and Screen Media Use in a Nationally Representative Time-diary Study” (2021, Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology)

From Stressed to Resilient: Helping Distressed Children Through a Pandemic

Deborah Gilboa, MD

Family Physician; Founder of AskDoctorG.com; Winner of the Alpha Omega Alpha Volunteer Clinical Faculty Award as a Clinical Associate Professor for the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine; Resilience and Youth Development Expert featured on the shows TODAY, Good Morning America, and Rachael Ray; Author, From Stressed to Resilient: The Guide to Handle More and Feel It Less (2022), Get the Behavior You Want... Without Being the Parent You Hate! (2014), Teach Responsibility: Empower Kids With Great Work Ethic (2013), Teach Respect: That's My Kid (2013), and Teaching Resilience: Raising Kids Who Can Launch (2012)

The Stolen Years: How COVID Changed Children’s Lives and Learning

Anya Kamenetz, BA

Journalist; Education Correspondent, NPR; Staff Writer, Fast Company, and Contributor to New York Times and Slate; Winner of the “Edward R. Murrow Award for Innovation”; Expert on education and technology with Millennials and Generation Z students; Author, The Stolen Year: How COVID Changed Children’s Lives, and Where to Go Now (2022), The Art of Screen Time: How Your Family Can Balance Digital Media and Real Life (2018), The Test: Why Our Schools Are Obsessed With Standardized Testing–But You Don't Have to Be (2016), DIY U: Edupunks, Edupreneurs, and the Coming Transformation of Higher Education (2010), and Generation Debt (2006)

Just One Educator Can Completely Alter the Trajectory of a Child

Baruti K. Kafele, MA

Principal; Master Teacher and Transformational School Leader; New Jersey State Teacher of the Year; Recipient of more than 100 awards including New Jersey Education Association Award of Excellence, the prestigious Milken National Educator Award and the National Alliance of Black School Educators Hall of Fame Award; Author, "The Mental Balancing Act for School Leaders" (2021, Educational Leadership), The Assistant Principal 50 (2020), The Aspiring Principal 50 (2019), Is My School a Better School Because I Lead It? (2018), The Teacher 50 (2016), and Closing the Attitude Gap (2013)

Disconnected: Protecting Our Kids' Brains from the Harmful Effects of Digital Dependency

Thomas J. Kersting, MA, LPC

Licensed Counselor; Psychotherapist, Owner, Valley Family Counseling Center; TV Guest Expert on mental health and parenting in the digital age for shows such as Fox & Friends and The Today Show; Author, Raising Healthy Teenagers: Equipping Your Child to Navigate the Pitfalls and Dangers of Teen Life (Forthcoming, 2023), Disconnected: How to Protect Your Child From the Harmful Effects of Device Dependency (2020) and Disconnected: How to Reconnect Our Digitally Distracted Kids (2016)

A Generation in Crisis: Behavioral and Educational Best Practices for Students With Mental Health Challenges

Jessica Minahan, PhD, BCBA

Licensed and Board-Certified Behavior Analyst; Special Educator; Consultant; Blogger, The Huffington Post; Author, “Helping Anxious Kids Move Forward” (2017, Educational Leadership), The Behavior Code Companion: Strategies, Tools, and Interventions for Supporting Students With Anxiety-Related or Oppositional Behaviors (2014), and “Building Positive Relationships With Students Struggling With Mental Health” (2019, Phi Delta Kappan); Co-Author, "A Skill-Building Approach to Reducing Student’s Anxiety and Challenging Behavior" (2022, Phi Delta Kappan) and The Behavior Code: A Practical Guide to Understanding and Teaching the Most Challenging Students (2012)

Strategies for Leading a Pandemic Population of Students

Andrew McPeak, BA

Generation Z Researcher; Co-Host, "Leading the Next Generation" with Tim Elmore Podcast; Vice President of Content, Growing Leaders; Co-Author, Generation Z Unfiltered: Facing Nine Hidden Challenges of the Most Anxious Population (2019) and Marching Off the Map: Inspire Students to Navigate a Brand New World (2017); Contributor, The Pandemic Population: Eight Strategies to Help Generation Z Rediscover Hope After Coronavirus (2020)

The Disengaged Generation: Improving Student Engagement and Wellbeing in Schools

Andrew P. Hargreaves, PhD

Thomas More Brennan Chair; Research Professor, Lynch School of Education, Boston College; Visiting Professor, Director of Change, Engagement and Innovation in Education, University of Ottawa; Former Professor of Educational Leadership and Change, The University of Nottingham; Educational Researcher currently working on a $2.7 million project funded by the LEGO Foundation to develop and conduct research into a national network of schools that serve high needs populations through play-based learning; Honored with the “Horace Mann” Award in the US, the “Robert Owen” Award in Scotland for services to public education, and the “Excellence in Teaching With Technology” Award from Boston College; Elected President of the International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement and Elected Member of the National Academy of Education; Author, Leadership From the Middle (2023); Co-Author, The Age of Identity: Who Do Our Kids Think They Are . . . and How Do We Help Them Belong? (2023), Well-Being in Schools (2021), Five Paths to Student Engagement (2021), Teaching in the Knowledge Society (2016), Professional Capital (2013), and The Global Fourth Way (2012)

Dennis L. Shirley, EdD

Professor, Lynch School of Education and Human Development, Boston College; Fellow, Royal Academy of the Arts, UK; Editor, Journal of Educational Change; Author, The New Imperatives of Educational Change (2017); Co-Author, Well-Being in Schools (2021), Five Paths to Student Engagement (2021), The Mindful Teacher (2016), and The Global Fourth Way (2012)

1) DISTRESSED GENERATION: SUPPORTING STUDENT MENTAL HEALTH

From Stressed to Resilient: Helping Distressed Children Through a Pandemic

Deborah Gilboa, MD

Family Physician; Founder of AskDoctorG.com; Winner of the Alpha Omega Alpha Volunteer Clinical Faculty Award as a Clinical Associate Professor for the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine; Resilience and Youth Development Expert featured on the shows TODAY, Good Morning America, and Rachael Ray; Author, From Stressed to Resilient: The Guide to Handle More and Feel It Less (2022), Get the Behavior You Want... Without Being the Parent You Hate! (2014), Teach Responsibility: Empower Kids With Great Work Ethic (2013), Teach Respect: That's My Kid (2013), and Teaching Resilience: Raising Kids Who Can Launch (2012)

A Generation in Crisis: Behavioral and Educational Best Practices for Students With Mental Health Challenges

Jessica Minahan, PhD, BCBA

Licensed and Board-Certified Behavior Analyst; Special Educator; Consultant; Blogger, The Huffington Post; Author, “Helping Anxious Kids Move Forward” (2017, Educational Leadership), The Behavior Code Companion: Strategies, Tools, and Interventions for Supporting Students With Anxiety-Related or Oppositional Behaviors (2014), and “Building Positive Relationships With Students Struggling With Mental Health” (2019, Phi Delta Kappan); Co-Author, "A Skill-Building Approach to Reducing Student’s Anxiety and Challenging Behavior" (2022, Phi Delta Kappan) and The Behavior Code: A Practical Guide to Understanding and Teaching the Most Challenging Students (2012)

The Biology of Stress and Mental Health: Strategies to Help Struggling Children

Khadijah Booth Watkins, MD, MPH

Mental Health Expert; Associate Director, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Residency Training, Massachusetts General Hospital and McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School; Associate Director, The Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds; Member of the Board, The Floating Hospital; Advisor, Jed Foundation; Former Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center, who worked in the School-Based Mental Health Program

Stress and Learning: The Good, The Bad, and The Surprising

Jared Cooney Horvath, PhD, MEd

Educational Neuroscientist; Former Lecturer and Science of Learning Research Scientist, Melbourne Graduate School of Education, University of Melbourne; Director, LME Global; Director, The Science of Learning Group; Honorary Research Fellow, St. Vincent's Hospital; Author, Stop Talking, Start Influencing: 12 Insights From Brain Science to Make Your Message Stick (2019); Co-Author, 10 Things Schools Get Wrong (2020), Learning Analytics in the Classroom (2018), and From Laboratory to Classroom: Translating Science of Learning for Teachers (2016)

Future Tense: Rethinking Our Approach to Youth Anxiety During a Pandemic and Beyond

Tracy A. Dennis-Tiwary, PhD

Neuroscientist; Anxiety Researcher; Director, Emotion Regulation Lab; Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience; Hunter College of the City University of New York, who conducts NIH-funded studies of the neural bases of teen anxiety, youth risk for suicide, the impact of technology on social-emotional well-being, and novel digital therapeutics for mental health; Consutant for the NYC Department of Education; Advisor to the digital wellness organization National Day of Unplugging; Author, Future Tense: Why Anxiety Is Good for You (Even Though It Feels Bad) (2022); Co-Author, "Longitudinal Change in Adolescent Depression and Anxiety Symptoms From Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic" (2022, Journal of Research of Adolescence)

Understanding Risk and Resilience Among Students With Reading Difficulties

Joanna A. Christodoulou, EdD

Professor, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Institute of Health Professions, Massachusetts General Hospital; Adjunct Lecturer, Harvard Medical School; Adjunct Lecturer, Harvard Graduate School of Education; Research Affiliate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Director, Brain, Education, and Mind (BEAM) Lab; 2014 winner of the "Transforming Education Through Neuroscience" Award from the Learning & the Brain Foundation and the International Mind, Brain, and Education Society; Co-Author, "Socioeconomic Status and Reading Outcomes: Neurocognitive and Behavioral Correlates" (2022, PsyArXiv) and "Anxiety, Motivation, and Competence in Mathematics and Reading for Children With and Without Learning Difficulties" (2021, Frontiers in Psychology)

Teaching to Strengths: Supporting Students Living With Chronic Stress, Trauma, and Violence

Debbie Zacarian, EdD

Founder, Zacarian & Associates; Former Faculty, University of Massachusetts-Amherst; Consultant, Massachusetts Parent Information Resources Center and Federation for Children With Special Needs; Founder and Director, Center for English Language Education and Advancing Student Achievement, Collaborative for Educational Services; Former Kindergarten Entry Assessment Advisory Committee of the Delaware Governor’s Office, Children’s Department, and Office of Education; Co-Author, Beyond Crisis (2021), Responsive Schooling for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students (2020), Teaching to Empower: Taking Action to Foster Student Agency, Self-Confidence, and Collaboration (2019), and Teaching to Strengths: Supporting Students Living With Trauma, Violence, and Chronic Stress (2017)

2) DISTRACTED GENERATION: FOSTERING FOCUS & DIGITAL WELLBEING

The Distressed Generation: How the Pandemic and Social Media Are Creating a Mental Health Crisis

Jean M. Twenge, PhD

Professor of Psychology, College of Science, San Diego State University; Researcher on teens and Generation Z; Author, Generations: The Real Differences Between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and Silents - and What They Mean for America's Future (Forthcoming 2023), iGen: Why Today's Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy -- and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood (2017), The Narcissism Epidemic (2009), and Generation Me (2006); Co-Author, “Associations Between Adolescent Depression and Self-harm Behaviors and Screen Media Use in a Nationally Representative Time-diary Study” (2021, Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology)

Disconnected: Protecting Our Kids’ Brains from the Harmful Effects of Device Dependency

Thomas J. Kersting, MA, LPC

Licensed Counselor; Psychotherapist, Owner, Valley Family Counseling Center; TV Guest Expert on mental health and parenting in the digital age for shows such as Fox & Friends and The Today Show; Author, Raising Healthy Teenagers: Equipping Your Child to Navigate the Pitfalls and Dangers of Teen Life (Forthcoming, 2023), Disconnected: How to Protect Your Child From the Harmful Effects of Device Dependency (2020) and Disconnected: How to Reconnect Our Digitally Distracted Kids (2016)

Tech and the Teen Brain

Jared Cooney Horvath, PhD, MEd

Educational Neuroscientist; Former Lecturer and Science of Learning Research Scientist, Melbourne Graduate School of Education, University of Melbourne; Director, LME Global; Director, The Science of Learning Group; Honorary Research Fellow, St. Vincent's Hospital; Author, Stop Talking, Start Influencing: 12 Insights From Brain Science to Make Your Message Stick (2019); Co-Author, 10 Things Schools Get Wrong (2020), Learning Analytics in the Classroom (2018), and From Laboratory to Classroom: Translating Science of Learning for Teachers (2016)

DISTRACTED: Why Teens (and Teachers) Can’t Focus and How to Help Them

James M. Lang, PhD

Professor of English; Director, D’Amour Center for Teaching Excellence, Assumption College; Monthly Columnist for The Chronicle of Higher Education; Editor, West Virginia University Press; President, The Lang Family Foundation; Author, Distracted: Why Students Can't Focus and What You Can Do About It (2020) and Small Teaching: Everyday Lessons From the Science of Learning (2016); Co-Author, Small Teaching K-8: Igniting the Teaching Spark With the Science of Learning (2022) and Small Teaching Online: Applying Learning Science in Online Classes (2019)

The Science of Distraction, Motivation, and Memory: Fulfilling the Promise of Teaching and Learning With Technology

Michelle D. Miller, PhD

Neuroscientist; Professor of Psychological Sciences; President's Distinguished Teaching Fellow, Northern Arizona University; Author, Remembering and Forgetting in the Age of Technology: Teaching, Learning, and the Science of Memory in a Wired World (Forthcoming, 2022), Minds Online: Teaching Effectively With Technology (2014) and Minds Online: What Cognitive and Brain Sciences Tell Us About Teaching With Technology (2012); Co-Author, “Changing Counterproductive Beliefs About Attention, Memory, and Multitasking” (2020, Applied Cognitive Psychology)

Behind Their Screens: Supporting Our Students in A World of Digital Dilemmas

Carrie James, PhD

Research Associate; Principal Investigator, Project Zero, Harvard Graduate School of Education; Co-Director, "Digital Dilemmas" and "Reimaging Digital Wellness" Projects; Co-Author, Behind Their Screens: What Teens Are Facing (And Adults Are Missing) (2022), Disconnected: Youth, New Media, and the Ethics Gap (2014), and Young People, Ethics, and the New Digital Media (2009)

Emily Weinstein, EdD

Research Director, Principal Investigator, Project Zero; Co-Director, "Digital Dilemmas" and "Reimaging Digital Wellness" Projects; Lecturer, Harvard Graduate School of Education; Digital Learning Research Partner, Common Sense Media; Co-Author, Behind Their Screens: What Teens Are Facing (And Adults Are Missing) (2022), "15 School-Based Initiatives Promoting Digital Citizenship and Healthy Digital Media Use" (2022, Handbook of Adolescent Digital Media Use and Mental Health) and "Shelter in Place, Connect Online: Trending TikTok Content During the Early Days of the US COVID-19 Pandemic" (2021, Journal of Adolescent Health)

3) DISENGAGED BRAINS: MOTIVATING GENERATIONS Z & ALPHA TO LEARN

Motivating a Love of Learning: The Science of Questions, Curiosity, and Exploratory Play

Elizabeth B. Bonawitz, PhD

Cognitive Scientist; David J. Vitale Associate Professor of Learning Sciences, Harvard Graduate School of Education; Recipient of the James McDonnell Foundation Understanding Human Cognition Scholar Award and the Jacobs Early Career Research Fellowship; Former Associate Editor for Journal of Cognitive Science and Governing Board of the Cognitive Development Society and Children Helping Science; Co-Author, "Early Environments and Exploration in the Preschool Years" (2022, PsyArXiv), "Wow, I Did It: Unexpected Success Increases Preschooler Exploratory Play on Later Tasks" (2020, Cognitive Development), and "Choosing to Learn: Evidence Evaluation for Active Learning and Teaching in Early Childhood" (2018, Active Learning From Infancy to Childhood)

Improving Student Engagement and Behavior During Difficult Times

Jessica Minahan, PhD, BCBA

Licensed and Board-Certified Behavior Analyst; Special Educator; Consultant; Blogger, The Huffington Post; Author, “Helping Anxious Kids Move Forward” (2017, Educational Leadership), The Behavior Code Companion: Strategies, Tools, and Interventions for Supporting Students With Anxiety-Related or Oppositional Behaviors (2014), and “Building Positive Relationships With Students Struggling With Mental Health” (2019, Phi Delta Kappan); Co-Author, "A Skill-Building Approach to Reducing Student’s Anxiety and Challenging Behavior" (2022, Phi Delta Kappan) and The Behavior Code: A Practical Guide to Understanding and Teaching the Most Challenging Students (2012)

Strategies to Motivate Children to Learn in Challenging Times

Kathryn R. Wentzel, PhD

Professor of Human Development, Department of Human Development, Learning, and Quantitative Methodology, University of Maryland; Editor, Educational Psychologist; Author, "Peer relationships, motivation, and academic performance at school" (2017, Handbook of Competence and Motivation 2nd edition) and "Competence Within Context: Implications for the Development of Positive Student Identities and Motivation at School" (2015, Self-concept, Motivation and Identity: Underpinning Success With Research and Practice. International Advances in Self research); Co-Author, “Peer and Teacher Supports in Relation to Motivation and Effort: A Multi-level Study” (2017, Contemporary Educational Psychology), Handbook of Motivation at School (2016, 2nd edition) and Social Influences on Social-Emotional, Motivation, and Cognitive Outcomes in School Contexts (2016)

Motivated Teaching: Harnessing the Science of Motivation to Boost Attention and Effort

Peps McCrea, PhD

Dean of Learning Design, Ambition Institute; Director of R&D, Steplab; Advisor, Department for Education; Former Senior Lecturer in Education, University of Brighton; Author, Developing Expert Teaching: What Expertise Is, and How to Develop It (in Ourselves and in Others) (2022), Motivated Teaching: Harnessing the Science of Motivation to Boost Attention and Effort in the Classroom (2020), Memorable Teaching: Leveraging Memory to Build Deep and Durable Learning in the Classroom (2017), and Lean Lesson Planning: A Practical Guide to Doing Less and Achieving More in the Classroom (2015)

Get Ready for the Next Generation of Children and Families: Teaching and Raising Young Children

Valora Washington, PhD

Internationally recognized authority in early childhood education; CEO, the Cayl Institute; Founder of Voices for Michigan's Children and the Early Childhood Funders Collaborative; Former Vice President at Antioch College and Faculty Member, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Pioneering Early Childhood Educator who has served in leadership roles at Massachusetts Governor’s School Readiness Commission; Voices for America’s Children; NAEYC; Black Caucus of the Society for Research in Child Development; and the National Head Start Association Commission; Author, Changing the Game for Generation Alpha: Teaching and Raising Young Children in the 21st Century (2021); Co-Author, Ready or Not: Early Care and Education's Leadership Choices—12 Years Later (2019), and Guiding Principles for the New Early Childhood Professional (2017)

Helping Students Recover, Rebound, and Re-Engage in Challenging Times

John T. Almarode, PhD

Professor of Education, James Madison University; Co-Editor, Teacher Educator Journal; Co-Author, The Mathematics Playbook (2024), The Teacher Clarity Playbook, Grades K-12 (2024), The Early Childhood Education Playbook (2022), How Tutoring Works: Six Steps to Grow Motivation and Accelerate Student Learning (2021), How Learning Works (2021), Clarity for Learning (2018), From Snorkelers to Scuba Divers: Making the Elementary Science Classroom a Place of Engagement and Deep Learning (2017), Visible Learning for Science (2017), and Captivate, Activate, and Invigorate the Student Brain in Science and Math, Grades 6–12 (2013)

The Disengaged Generation: Improving Student Engagement and Wellbeing in Schools

Andrew P. Hargreaves, PhD

Thomas More Brennan Chair; Research Professor, Lynch School of Education, Boston College; Visiting Professor, Director of Change, Engagement and Innovation in Education, University of Ottawa; Former Professor of Educational Leadership and Change, The University of Nottingham; Educational Researcher currently working on a $2.7 million project funded by the LEGO Foundation to develop and conduct research into a national network of schools that serve high needs populations through play-based learning; Honored with the “Horace Mann” Award in the US, the “Robert Owen” Award in Scotland for services to public education, and the “Excellence in Teaching With Technology” Award from Boston College; Elected President of the International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement and Elected Member of the National Academy of Education; Author, Leadership From the Middle (2023); Co-Author, The Age of Identity: Who Do Our Kids Think They Are . . . and How Do We Help Them Belong? (2023), Well-Being in Schools (2021), Five Paths to Student Engagement (2021), Teaching in the Knowledge Society (2016), Professional Capital (2013), and The Global Fourth Way (2012)

Dennis L. Shirley, EdD

Professor, Lynch School of Education and Human Development, Boston College; Fellow, Royal Academy of the Arts, UK; Editor, Journal of Educational Change; Author, The New Imperatives of Educational Change (2017); Co-Author, Well-Being in Schools (2021), Five Paths to Student Engagement (2021), The Mindful Teacher (2016), and The Global Fourth Way (2012)

4) DISTRESSED EDUCATORS: RESTORING RESILIENCE TO TEACH & LEAD

Just One Educator Can Completely Alter the Trajectory of a Child

Baruti K. Kafele, MA

Principal; Master Teacher and Transformational School Leader; New Jersey State Teacher of the Year; Recipient of more than 100 awards including New Jersey Education Association Award of Excellence, the prestigious Milken National Educator Award and the National Alliance of Black School Educators Hall of Fame Award; Author, "The Mental Balancing Act for School Leaders" (2021, Educational Leadership), The Assistant Principal 50 (2020), The Aspiring Principal 50 (2019), Is My School a Better School Because I Lead It? (2018), The Teacher 50 (2016), and Closing the Attitude Gap (2013)

Stressed to Resilient: What Educators Need to Live Their Mission and Protect Their Mental Health

Deborah Gilboa, MD

Family Physician; Founder of AskDoctorG.com; Winner of the Alpha Omega Alpha Volunteer Clinical Faculty Award as a Clinical Associate Professor for the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine; Resilience and Youth Development Expert featured on the shows TODAY, Good Morning America, and Rachael Ray; Author, From Stressed to Resilient: The Guide to Handle More and Feel It Less (2022), Get the Behavior You Want... Without Being the Parent You Hate! (2014), Teach Responsibility: Empower Kids With Great Work Ethic (2013), Teach Respect: That's My Kid (2013), and Teaching Resilience: Raising Kids Who Can Launch (2012)

Strategies for Leading a Pandemic Population of Students

Andrew McPeak, BA

Generation Z Researcher; Co-Host, "Leading the Next Generation" with Tim Elmore Podcast; Vice President of Content, Growing Leaders; Co-Author, Generation Z Unfiltered: Facing Nine Hidden Challenges of the Most Anxious Population (2019) and Marching Off the Map: Inspire Students to Navigate a Brand New World (2017); Contributor, The Pandemic Population: Eight Strategies to Help Generation Z Rediscover Hope After Coronavirus (2020)

Demoralized Teachers Are More than Distressed and Burnt-Out: How Can They Stay?

Doris A. Santoro, EdD

Professor of Education, Bowdoin College, who studied the moral and ethical sources of teacher dissatisfaction and resistance; Senior Associate Editor, the American Journal of Education; Author, Demoralized: Why Teachers Leave the Profession They Love and How They Can Stay (2018), "Is it Burnout? Or Demoralization?" (2018, Educational Leadership), and "Good Teaching in Difficult Times: Demoralization in the Pursuit of Good Work" (2011, American Journal of Education); Co-Author, Principled Resistance: How Teachers Resolve Ethical Dilemmas (2018)

The Well-Balanced Educator: Taking Care of Yourself to Become the Teacher Your Students Need

Mike Anderson, MS

Former Elementary School Teacher; National Milken Educator Award recipient; Former Program Developer, Northeast Foundation for Children; Author, Tackling the Motivation Crisis (2021), What We Say and How We Say It Matter: Teacher Talk That Improves Student Learning and Behavior (2019), Learning to Choose, Choosing to Learn (2016), and The Well-Balanced Teacher (2012); Co-Author, What Every Teacher Needs to Know K-5 Series (2011)

Thriving, Not Just Surviving: Moving Beyond Social-Emotional Learning to Well-Being

Andrew P. Hargreaves, PhD

Thomas More Brennan Chair; Research Professor, Lynch School of Education, Boston College; Visiting Professor, Director of Change, Engagement and Innovation in Education, University of Ottawa; Former Professor of Educational Leadership and Change, The University of Nottingham; Educational Researcher currently working on a $2.7 million project funded by the LEGO Foundation to develop and conduct research into a national network of schools that serve high needs populations through play-based learning; Honored with the “Horace Mann” Award in the US, the “Robert Owen” Award in Scotland for services to public education, and the “Excellence in Teaching With Technology” Award from Boston College; Elected President of the International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement and Elected Member of the National Academy of Education; Author, Leadership From the Middle (2023); Co-Author, The Age of Identity: Who Do Our Kids Think They Are . . . and How Do We Help Them Belong? (2023), Well-Being in Schools (2021), Five Paths to Student Engagement (2021), Teaching in the Knowledge Society (2016), Professional Capital (2013), and The Global Fourth Way (2012)

Dennis L. Shirley, EdD

Professor, Lynch School of Education and Human Development, Boston College; Fellow, Royal Academy of the Arts, UK; Editor, Journal of Educational Change; Author, The New Imperatives of Educational Change (2017); Co-Author, Well-Being in Schools (2021), Five Paths to Student Engagement (2021), The Mindful Teacher (2016), and The Global Fourth Way (2012)

5) DISCOURAGED BRAINS: STRATEGIES FOR STRUGGLING LEARNERS

The Stolen Years: How COVID Changed Children’s Lives and Learning

Anya Kamenetz, BA

Journalist; Education Correspondent, NPR; Staff Writer, Fast Company, and Contributor to New York Times and Slate; Winner of the “Edward R. Murrow Award for Innovation”; Expert on education and technology with Millennials and Generation Z students; Author, The Stolen Year: How COVID Changed Children’s Lives, and Where to Go Now (2022), The Art of Screen Time: How Your Family Can Balance Digital Media and Real Life (2018), The Test: Why Our Schools Are Obsessed With Standardized Testing–But You Don't Have to Be (2016), DIY U: Edupunks, Edupreneurs, and the Coming Transformation of Higher Education (2010), and Generation Debt (2006)

Teaching Vulnerable Learners: Strategies for Students Who Are Bored, Distracted, Discouraged, and Likely to Drop Out

Suzy Pepper Rollins, MA

Education Consultant, Fast Lane Learning, LLC; Founder, Math in the Fast Lane; Former Remedial Education Coordinator; Expert in remedial education and learning acceleration; Author, Teaching Vulnerable Learners: Strategies for Students Who Are Bored, Distracted, Discouraged, or Likely to Drop Out (2020), Teaching in the Fast Lane: How to Create Active Learning Experiences (2017), and Learning in the Fast Lane: 8 Ways to Put ALL Students on the Road to Academic Success (2014)

Understanding Risk and Resilience Among Students With Reading Difficulties

Joanna A. Christodoulou, EdD

Professor, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Institute of Health Professions, Massachusetts General Hospital; Adjunct Lecturer, Harvard Medical School; Adjunct Lecturer, Harvard Graduate School of Education; Research Affiliate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Director, Brain, Education, and Mind (BEAM) Lab; 2014 winner of the "Transforming Education Through Neuroscience" Award from the Learning & the Brain Foundation and the International Mind, Brain, and Education Society; Co-Author, "Socioeconomic Status and Reading Outcomes: Neurocognitive and Behavioral Correlates" (2022, PsyArXiv) and "Anxiety, Motivation, and Competence in Mathematics and Reading for Children With and Without Learning Difficulties" (2021, Frontiers in Psychology)

Teaching to Empower: Taking Action to Foster Student Agency, Self-Confidence, and Collaboration

Debbie Zacarian, EdD

Founder, Zacarian & Associates; Former Faculty, University of Massachusetts-Amherst; Consultant, Massachusetts Parent Information Resources Center and Federation for Children With Special Needs; Founder and Director, Center for English Language Education and Advancing Student Achievement, Collaborative for Educational Services; Former Kindergarten Entry Assessment Advisory Committee of the Delaware Governor’s Office, Children’s Department, and Office of Education; Co-Author, Beyond Crisis (2021), Responsive Schooling for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students (2020), Teaching to Empower: Taking Action to Foster Student Agency, Self-Confidence, and Collaboration (2019), and Teaching to Strengths: Supporting Students Living With Trauma, Violence, and Chronic Stress (2017)

Teacher-Led Instruction vs. Student-Centered Learning: Why Can't We Have Both?

Jim Heal, EdLD

Director of Impact Academy, Deans for Impact, who is development research-to-practice strategies for schools and school systems; Former Director of Practice, Research Schools International, Harvard Graduate School of Education; Former Senior Facilitator, Public Education Leadership Project, Harvard University; Former Teacher, Upper School Principal, and Specialist Leader in Education; Co-Author, How Teaching Happens (2022); Contributor, “Mobilizing Aspiring Teachers as Tutors: Policy Solutions to Accelerate Student Learning and Strengthen Teacher Pipelines” Report (2023, Deans for Impact), “Practice With Purpose: The Emerging Science of Teacher Expertise” Report (2016, Deans for Impact) and “The Science of Learning” Report (2015, Deans for Impact)

The Disintegrating Student: Struggling but Smart and How Educators Can Turn Them Around

Jeannine M. Jannot, PhD

School Psychologist; Adjunct Instructor, Georgia State University; Student and Parent Coach/Productivity Coach, Peachtree Psychology, LLC; Founder and CEO, The Balanced U; Founder and CEO, The Balanced Student, LLC; Author, The Disintegrating Student: Struggling but Smart, Falling Apart, and How to Turn It Around (2021)

Small Teaching K-8: Reigniting the Spark for Learning and Teaching With the Science of Learning

Sarah Connell Sanders, MEd, DESE

Media and Library Specialist licensed in English K-12 and School Administration 5-8, Worcester Public Schools; Writer, Worcester Magazine, School Arts Magazine, Telegram and Gazette, and other publications; Podcast Co-Host, Pop It; Co-Author, Small Teaching K-8: Igniting the Teaching Spark With the Science of Learning (2022)

Understanding Cognitive Diversity: Applying Science-Based Learning Principles to Help Struggling Learners and Maximize Their Potential

Javier Arguello, MPA, MBA

Founder and Executive Director, COGX, a research and development firm in applied cognitive science; Former Founding Director, FUNIDES, a think tank to advance social policy for modernizing education; Co-Author of a series of online graduate level courses on the science of learning for educators titled "Developing Sophisticated Learners"

Rosario Bernabeu, MA

Learning & Development Manager, COGx; Former Science of Learning Instructor, WL Educators; Former Spanish Immersion and WL Teacher; Former Adjunct Professor of Sociology, Valencia University, Spain