The Strength-Based Teacher

Conference Chair: Professor Emeritus of Psychology, James Madison University; Former Executive Director and Founding Board Member, International Mind, Brain, and Education Society; Former Managing Editor, Mind, Brain, and Education Journal; Winner of the 2013 L&B/IMBES “Transforming Education Through Neuroscience” Award; Recognized in the “Top 1% of Educational Researchers Influencing Public Debate” in the US; Co-Author, “Toward an Ecological Science of Teaching” (2021, Canadian Psychology), “Educational Neuroscience: Are We There Yet?” (2019, Wiley Handbook on Education) and “Promising Principles: Translating the Science of Learning to Educational Practice” (2012, Applied Research in Memory and Cognition)

The Science of Rewiring Our Brains for Compassion, Optimism, Gratitude, and Awe

Professor of Psychology; Director, Berkeley Social Interaction Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley; Co-Director, Greater Good Science Center; Author, Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life (2023) and Born to Be Good: The Science of a Meaningful Life (2009); Co-Author, “Awe Sparks Prosociality in Children” (2023, Psychological Science), “The Magic of Hope: Hope Mediates the Relationship Between Socioeconomic Status and Academic Achievement” (2017, Educational Research) and Understanding Emotions (2013); Co-Editor, The Gratitude Project: How the Science of Thankfulness Can Rewire Our Brains for Resilience, Optimism, and the Greater Good (2020) and The Compassionate Instinct: The Science of Human Goodness (2010)

Autism and Education: Focusing on the Strengths of Neurodiverse Students

Autism Self-Advocate; Animal Scientist; Professor of Animal Science, Colorado State University; Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences; Feature of an HBO Emmy Award winning movie about her life; Author, Autism and Adolescence―The Way I See It: What Teens and Adults Need to Know (2024), Autism and Education: The Way I See It: What Parents and Teachers Need to Know (2023), Visual Thinking: The Hidden Gifts of People Who Think in Pictures, Patterns, and Abstractions (2023), and Thinking in Pictures: My Life With Autism (2006, Expanded Edition); Co-Author, Different Kinds of Minds: A Guide to Your Brain (2023), Developing Talents: Careers for Individuals With Autism (2024, 3rd Edition), and The Autistic Brain: Thinking Across the Spectrum (2013)

Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness

Director, Social Neuroscience Lab and Psychology One Program; Professor, Department of Psychology, Stanford University; Co-Founder, The People’s Science; Author, Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness (Forthcoming) and The War for Kindness: Building Empathy in a Fractured World (2019); Co-Author, "A Brief Intervention to Motivate Empathy Among Middle School Students” (2022, Experimental Psychology), “Social Belonging, Compassion, and Kindness: Key Ingredients for Fostering Resilience, Recovery, and Growth From the COVID-19 Pandemic” (2022, Anxiety, Stress & Coping), and “Empathy as a Moral Force” (2018, Atlas of Moral Psychology)

The Science and Power of Hope

Professor, Anne & Henry Zarrow School of Social Work; Founding Director, The Hope Research Center, University of Oklahoma; One of the World’s Leading Researchers on Hope; Co-Founder with Oklahoma First Lady Sarah Stitt and the Sarah Stitt Hope Foundation of “Hope Rising Oklahoma,” an Initiative whose mission is to empower people, families, education, and communities to better their lives through the science of hope; Co-Author, “Hope As a Buffer to Suicide Attempts Among Adolescents With Depression” (2023, School Health), “Hope and Resilience As Distinct Contributors to Psychological Flourishing Among Childhood Trauma Survivors” (2020, Traumatology), and Hope Rising: How The Science of Hope Can Change Your Life (2018)

Hacking Deficit Thinking: Strategies for Strength-Based Practices

Nationally Certified School Psychologist; Founder, School Psych AI; Former Director of Innovation and Founder, Lessons in SEL at 7 Mindsets; Former Assistant Director of Redesign, District of Columbia Public Schools, who led a school turnaround initiative that won the 2020 "Whole Child" Award; Recipient of the 2022 "Black SEL Summit" Award and the NASP 2019 "President's Certificate of Achievement" Award; Advocate for Strength-Based Teaching; Co-Author, Hacking Deficit Thinking: 8 Reframes That Will Change the Way You Think About Strength-Based Practices and Equity in Schools (2022)

The Science of Character: PRIMED for Changing the Character of Schools

Sanford N. McDonnell Endowed Professor of Character Education; Co-Director of the Center for Character and Citizenship; President’s Thomas Jefferson Professor, University of Missouri-St. Louis; Founding Co-Editor, Journal for Research in Character Education; Member, Board of Directors, Character.org; Former Board Member of the John Templeton Foundation, Jean Piaget Society, and the Association for Moral Education; Author, PRIMED for Character Education: Six Design Principles for School Improvement (2021) and Parenting for Good (2005); Co-Author, “Changing the Character of Schools: Promoting Servant Leadership Virtues to Solve Internationally Relevant Problems in Education” (2024, The Routledge International Handbook of Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Character Development) and “Advancing the Science of Character Education: Twenty Plus Years of Reviewing the Literature in Character Education” (2023, Second International Research Handbook on Values Education and Student Wellbeing); Editor, Moral Education (1985)

How Every Brain Is Different: Understanding Our Student's Strengths in Schools

Professor of Psychology, Neuroscience, and Linguistics, University of Washington; Researcher, Cognitive and Cortical Dynamics Laboratory; Investigator, Center for Cognitive Brain Imaging; Author, The Neuroscience of You: How Every Brain Is Different and How to Understand Yours (2022); Co-Author, “One Size Does Not Fit All: Idiographic Computational Models Reveal Individual Differences in Learning and Meta‐Learning Strategies” (2024, Topics in Cognitive Science), “Individual Differences in Reward‐Based Learning Predict Fluid Reasoning Abilities” (2021, Cognitive Science), and “The Role of Individual Differences in Working Memory Capacity on Reading Comprehension Ability” (2015, Handbook of Individual Differences in Reading)

Conscience: The Social Brain and Social Learning

Professor Emerita of Philosophy, University of California, San Diego; Adjunct Professor, Salk Institute, whose work focuses on morality and the social brain; Winner of the McArthur Prize in 1991 and the Rossi Prize for Neuroscience in 2008; Author, Conscience: The Origins of Moral Intuition (2019), Touching a Nerve (2013), Braintrust: What Neuroscience Tells Us About Morality (2011), Brain-Wise (2002), and The Computational Brain (1994); Co-Author, “Morality and the Brain: The Right Hemisphere and Doing Right” (2020, Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology) and “The Neurobiological Platform for Moral Values” (2014, Behavior)

Divergent Minds: The Power of Nuance and Neurodiversity in a World Desperate for Critical Thinking

Founder and Host, The Neurodiversity Project; Producer; Award-Winning Writer; Literary Series Producer, Greater Good Science Center, University of California, Berkeley; Author, Divergent Mind: Thriving in a World That Wasn’t Designed For You (2020), “How to Find Strength in Being Different” (2020, Greater Good Magazine), and “Why Marginalized Students Need Hope to Succeed” (2019, Greater Good Magazine)

The Power of Student Agency: Create the Conditions for All Students to Thrive

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)

Hacking Deficit Thinking: Strategies for Strength-Based Practices

Nationally Certified School Psychologist; Founder, School Psych AI; Former Director of Innovation and Founder, Lessons in SEL at 7 Mindsets; Former Assistant Director of Redesign, District of Columbia Public Schools, who led a school turnaround initiative that won the 2020 "Whole Child" Award; Recipient of the 2022 "Black SEL Summit" Award and the NASP 2019 "President's Certificate of Achievement" Award; Advocate for Strength-Based Teaching; Co-Author, Hacking Deficit Thinking: 8 Reframes That Will Change the Way You Think About Strength-Based Practices and Equity in Schools (2022)

How Every Brain Is Different: Understanding Our Student's Strengths in Schools

Professor of Psychology, Neuroscience, and Linguistics, University of Washington; Researcher, Cognitive and Cortical Dynamics Laboratory; Investigator, Center for Cognitive Brain Imaging; Author, The Neuroscience of You: How Every Brain Is Different and How to Understand Yours (2022); Co-Author, “One Size Does Not Fit All: Idiographic Computational Models Reveal Individual Differences in Learning and Meta‐Learning Strategies” (2024, Topics in Cognitive Science), “Individual Differences in Reward‐Based Learning Predict Fluid Reasoning Abilities” (2021, Cognitive Science), and “The Role of Individual Differences in Working Memory Capacity on Reading Comprehension Ability” (2015, Handbook of Individual Differences in Reading)

Teaching to Every Student's Strengths: Liberating the Brain's Hidden Assets and Talents

Owner/Founder of 2E Consults® LLC; Former Professor of Educational Psychology and Neuroscience, George Mason University, and was affiliated with the Department of Pediatrics, George Washington School of Medicine and Health Sciences; Former Adjunct Professor, Northern New Mexico College; studies and coaches neurodivergence and the relationship among talents, natural skills, and disability, and how the human brain supports ingenuity and problem solving across life; Former Co-Principal Investigator, National Science Foundation Group Brain Dynamics in Learning Project; Member, United States Department of State Committee on Exceptional Children; Author, Teaching to Every Kid's Potential: Simple Neuroscience Lessons to Liberate Learners (2021), “Twice-Exceptional Students: Gifted Students With Learning Disabilities” (2013, Fundamentals of Gifted Education) and "The Neural Plasticity of Giftedness" (2009, International Handbook on Gifted)

Strength-Based Mircohabits to Thrive as an Educator

Licensed School Psychologist; Founder, The Thriving Students Collective; Contributor, Greater Good Science Center, University of California, Berkeley; Former Clinical Psychologist, UCSF Autism Clinic, University of California San Francisco; Creator, “How to Teach Executive Functioning” course to support neurodiverse learners; Author, Small Habits Create Big Change (2024), The Thriving School Psychologist (2020), The Conscious Parent’s Guide to Executive Functioning Disorders (2016), The Conscious Parent’s Guide to ADHD (2015), and The Everything Parent’s Guide to Children With Executive Functioning Disorders (2013)

Your Child's Strengths: A Teacher's Guide to Discover, Develop, and Use Them in School

Strength-Based Educator; Poet; Artist; Curriculum Developer; Educational Consultant for PreK-12; Founder and Head of School, The Delta School, whose curriculum focuses around strength-based teaching; Author, My West (2023) and Your Child's Strengths: A Guide for Parents and Teachers (2009); Co-Author, The Differentiated Instruction Book of Lists (2011)

Using Cognitive Scaffolding to Strengthen and Support Student Learning

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 Strength-Based Teacher

Conference Chair: Professor Emeritus of Psychology, James Madison University; Former Executive Director and Founding Board Member, International Mind, Brain, and Education Society; Former Managing Editor, Mind, Brain, and Education Journal; Winner of the 2013 L&B/IMBES “Transforming Education Through Neuroscience” Award; Recognized in the “Top 1% of Educational Researchers Influencing Public Debate” in the US; Co-Author, “Toward an Ecological Science of Teaching” (2021, Canadian Psychology), “Educational Neuroscience: Are We There Yet?” (2019, Wiley Handbook on Education) and “Promising Principles: Translating the Science of Learning to Educational Practice” (2012, Applied Research in Memory and Cognition)

Autism and Education: Focusing on the Strengths of Neurodiverse Students

Autism Self-Advocate; Animal Scientist; Professor of Animal Science, Colorado State University; Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences; Feature of an HBO Emmy Award winning movie about her life; Author, Autism and Adolescence―The Way I See It: What Teens and Adults Need to Know (2024), Autism and Education: The Way I See It: What Parents and Teachers Need to Know (2023), Visual Thinking: The Hidden Gifts of People Who Think in Pictures, Patterns, and Abstractions (2023), and Thinking in Pictures: My Life With Autism (2006, Expanded Edition); Co-Author, Different Kinds of Minds: A Guide to Your Brain (2023), Developing Talents: Careers for Individuals With Autism (2024, 3rd Edition), and The Autistic Brain: Thinking Across the Spectrum (2013)

Divergent Minds: The Power of Nuance and Neurodiversity in a World Desperate for Critical Thinking

Founder and Host, The Neurodiversity Project; Producer; Award-Winning Writer; Literary Series Producer, Greater Good Science Center, University of California, Berkeley; Author, Divergent Mind: Thriving in a World That Wasn’t Designed For You (2020), “How to Find Strength in Being Different” (2020, Greater Good Magazine), and “Why Marginalized Students Need Hope to Succeed” (2019, Greater Good Magazine)

A Strength-Based Model of Neurodiversity: The Strengths and Talents That Neurodiverse Bring to Education and the Workplace

Researcher; Principal Investigator, Fung Lab; Director, Stanford Neurodiversity Project; Director, Neurodiversity Clinic; Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University; Author, “Strength-Based Models and Neurodiversity” (2024, Neurodiversity and Work) and “Neurodiversity: From Phenomenology to Neurobiology and Enhancing Technologies” (2021, American Pediatric); Co-Author, "Self-Compassion Changed My Life”: The Self-Compassion Experiences of Autistic and Non-Autistic Adults and Its Relationship With Mental Health and Psychological Wellbeing” (2023, Autism and Developmental Disorders) and “Neurodiversity: An Invisible Strength?” (2022, JOM)

Character Strengths and Abilities Within Disabilities

Counseling Psychologist; Professor, Academic Director, Core Faculty, Spirituality Mind Body Institute, Teachers College, Columbia University; Review Editor, Positive Psychology and Frontiers in Psychology; Developer, Interactive Behavioral Therapy (IBT) and Positive-Interactive Behavioral Therapy (P-IBT); Author, The Positivity Effect (2023), Learned Hopefulness (2020), Confessions of a Former Child (2008), and Action Methods in Group Psychotherapy (1998); Co-Author, Character Strengths and Abilities Within Disabilities (2023) and Healing Trauma (2005)

Seeing the Hidden Strengths and Potential in Neurodiversity in an AI Age

Assistant Professor of Education, George Fox University; Technology Specialist; Former 6-8th Grade Teacher; Co-Founder/ Tech Developer, “Write About”; Author, The A.I. Roadmap (2023) and Vintage Innovation: Leveraging Retro Tools and Classic Ideas to Design Deeper Learning Experiences (2019); Co-Author, New Teacher Mindset (2024), Empower: What Happens When Students Own Their Learning (2017), and LAUNCH: Using Design Thinking to Boost Creativity and Bring Out the Maker in Every Student (2016)

Hidden Brilliance: Unlocking the Intelligence, Talents, and Strengths of Autism

Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Child Development, Stanford University School of Medicine; Co-Developer, Pivotal Response Treatment; Clinical Director, Koegel Autism PRT, who appeared on ABC's hit show, Supernanny, to work with children with autism; Editor-in-Chief, Autism and Developmental Disorders; Co-Author, Hidden Brilliance: Unlocking the Intelligence of Autism (2023), Pivotal Response Treatment for Autism Spectrum Disorders (2018), Overcoming Autism (2014), Growing Up on the Spectrum (2010), and Freedom From Meltdowns (2008)

Bold Gratitude to Optimize Happiness, Relationships, and Performance

Educator; Innovative Learning Communities Consultant; Institute for Leadership Development Consultant, Orange County Department of Education; Apple Distinguished Educator; Google for Education Certified Innovator; Contributing Writer, Thrive Global and Edutopia; Author, Evolving With Gratitude: Small Practices in Learning Communities That Make a Big Difference with Kids, Peers, and the World (2022); Co-Author, Evolving Learner: Shifting From Professional Development to Professional Learning From Kids, Peers, and the World (2020); Contributor, Because of a Teacher: Stories of the Past to Inspire the Future of Education (2021)

The Science of Rewiring Our Brains for Compassion, Optimism, Gratitude, and Awe

Professor of Psychology; Director, Berkeley Social Interaction Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley; Co-Director, Greater Good Science Center; Author, Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life (2023) and Born to Be Good: The Science of a Meaningful Life (2009); Co-Author, “Awe Sparks Prosociality in Children” (2023, Psychological Science), “The Magic of Hope: Hope Mediates the Relationship Between Socioeconomic Status and Academic Achievement” (2017, Educational Research) and Understanding Emotions (2013); Co-Editor, The Gratitude Project: How the Science of Thankfulness Can Rewire Our Brains for Resilience, Optimism, and the Greater Good (2020) and The Compassionate Instinct: The Science of Human Goodness (2010)

The Psychology of Gratitude and Well-Being

Professor of Psychology; Director, Evolution and Human Behavior Laboratory, University of California, San Diego, whose research is concerned with the evolutionary and cognitive underpinnings of prosocial behaviors and moral sentiments such as forgiveness, revenge, gratitude, empathy, and trust; Author, The Kindness of Strangers: How a Selfish Ape Invented a New Moral Code (2020) and Beyond Revenge: The Evolution of the Forgiveness Instinct (2008); Co-Author, To Forgive is Human (2009) and The Psychology of Gratitude (2004)

Gratitude in Schools: The Science of Building Character

Professor, Psychology Department, College of Natural and Behavioral Sciences, California State University, Dominguez Hills; Director, “The Youth Gratitude Project,” a part of the Expanding the Science and Practice of Gratitude Project at the Greater Good Science Center, University of California, Berkeley, a research program that develops assessment tools and interventions to promote student success and wellness in primary and secondary schools; Author, Thanks! A Strength-Based Gratitude Curriculum for Tweens and Teens (2018); Co-Author, “Gratitude in School: Benefits to Students and Schools” (2022, Handbook of Positive Psychology in Schools), “A Playbook for Character" (2021, Character Lab/McGraw HIll), and Making Grateful Kids: The Science of Building Character (2014)

Measuring Concern for Others Among Adolescents: Connecting Compassion, Empathy, and Prosocial Behavior

Associate Research Scientist, Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, Yale University; Former Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Greater Good Science Center, University of California, Berkeley; Co-Author, "Gifted and Talented Learned From the Pandemic Educators" (2023, Teaching for High Potential) and "Social and Emotional Learning For the Greater Good: Expanding the Circle of Human Concern” (2023, Social and Emotional Learning)

Conscience: The Social Brain and Social Learning

Professor Emerita of Philosophy, University of California, San Diego; Adjunct Professor, Salk Institute, whose work focuses on morality and the social brain; Winner of the McArthur Prize in 1991 and the Rossi Prize for Neuroscience in 2008; Author, Conscience: The Origins of Moral Intuition (2019), Touching a Nerve (2013), Braintrust: What Neuroscience Tells Us About Morality (2011), Brain-Wise (2002), and The Computational Brain (1994); Co-Author, “Morality and the Brain: The Right Hemisphere and Doing Right” (2020, Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology) and “The Neurobiological Platform for Moral Values” (2014, Behavior)

The Science of Character: PRIMED for Changing the Character of Schools

Sanford N. McDonnell Endowed Professor of Character Education; Co-Director of the Center for Character and Citizenship; President’s Thomas Jefferson Professor, University of Missouri-St. Louis; Founding Co-Editor, Journal for Research in Character Education; Member, Board of Directors, Character.org; Former Board Member of the John Templeton Foundation, Jean Piaget Society, and the Association for Moral Education; Author, PRIMED for Character Education: Six Design Principles for School Improvement (2021) and Parenting for Good (2005); Co-Author, “Changing the Character of Schools: Promoting Servant Leadership Virtues to Solve Internationally Relevant Problems in Education” (2024, The Routledge International Handbook of Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Character Development) and “Advancing the Science of Character Education: Twenty Plus Years of Reviewing the Literature in Character Education” (2023, Second International Research Handbook on Values Education and Student Wellbeing); Editor, Moral Education (1985)

The Character Gap: How Good Are We?

A.C. Reid Professor of Philosophy, Wake Forest University; Director, The Honesty Project; Past Director, The Character Project; Science Contributor, Forbes; Author, Honesty: The Philosophy and Psychology of a Neglected Virtue (2023), “Technology and the Virtue of Honesty” (2023, Technology Ethics), Moral Psychology (2021), The Character Gap: How Good Are We? (2017), and Character and Moral Psychology (2014); Co-Author, Integrity, Honesty, and Truth Seeking (2020)

Academic Integrity: From Threat to Opportunity With AI in Education

Senior Lecturer, Graduate School of Education, Stanford University; Co-Founder, Challenge Success; Co-Host, “School's In” Podcast; Author, “Doing School”: How We Are Creating a Generation of Stressed Out, Materialistic, and Miseducated Students (2001); Co-Author, "Cheating in the Age of Generative AI: A High School Survey Study Of Cheating Behaviors Before and After the Release Of ChatGPT" (2024, Computers and Education: Artificial Intelligence), "Helping Students Learn and Grow" (2024, Phi Delta Kappa), "What Students and Teachers Do to Build Positive Reciprocal Relationships: A Study Co-Led by Youth and Adult Researchers" (2023, American Journal of Education), “A Caring Climate That Promotes Belonging and Engagement” (2022, Phi Delta Kappa), Overloaded and Underprepared: Strategies for Stronger Schools and Healthy, Successful Kids (2015) and “Academic Integrity: Cheat or Be Cheated” (2014, Edutopia)

The Philosophy and Psychology of Honesty

A.C. Reid Professor of Philosophy, Wake Forest University; Director, The Honesty Project; Past Director, The Character Project; Science Contributor, Forbes; Author, Honesty: The Philosophy and Psychology of a Neglected Virtue (2023), “Technology and the Virtue of Honesty” (2023, Technology Ethics), Moral Psychology (2021), The Character Gap: How Good Are We? (2017), and Character and Moral Psychology (2014); Co-Author, Integrity, Honesty, and Truth Seeking (2020)

Deep in Thought: A Practical Guide for Teaching Intellectual Virtues

Professor of Philosophy, Loyola Marymount University; Founder, Intellectual Virtues Academy of Long Beach; Administrator, Educating for Intellectual Virtues; Author, Deep in Thought: A Practical Guide to Teaching for Intellectual Virtues (2021), "Intellectual Virtues, Critical Thinking, and the Aims of Education." (2019, Routledge Handbook of Social Epistemology), "Is Intellectual Character Growth a Realistic Educational Aim?" (2016, Journal of Moral Education), and The Inquiring Mind (2011); Editor, Intellectual Virtues and Education (2015)

The Kindness Crisis: Solving Empathy in a Lonely World

Co-Founder, CharacterStrong, which currently serves 10,000 schools across 50 states and 49 countries helping to support the teaching of character and social emotional skills in education; Kindness Advocate, who has been featured on Good Morning America, CNN, Hallmark, and other media on developing a more empathetic, kind world; Curriculum Developer; Author, Be Kind: A 52-Week Journal for Practicing Kindness (2023) and Deep Kindness: A Revolutionary Guide for the Way We Think, Talk, and Act in Kindness (2020)

Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness

Director, Social Neuroscience Lab and Psychology One Program; Professor, Department of Psychology, Stanford University; Co-Founder, The People’s Science; Author, Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness (Forthcoming) and The War for Kindness: Building Empathy in a Fractured World (2019); Co-Author, "A Brief Intervention to Motivate Empathy Among Middle School Students” (2022, Experimental Psychology), “Social Belonging, Compassion, and Kindness: Key Ingredients for Fostering Resilience, Recovery, and Growth From the COVID-19 Pandemic” (2022, Anxiety, Stress & Coping), and “Empathy as a Moral Force” (2018, Atlas of Moral Psychology)

The Science and Power of Hope

Professor, Anne & Henry Zarrow School of Social Work; Founding Director, The Hope Research Center, University of Oklahoma; One of the World’s Leading Researchers on Hope; Co-Founder with Oklahoma First Lady Sarah Stitt and the Sarah Stitt Hope Foundation of “Hope Rising Oklahoma,” an Initiative whose mission is to empower people, families, education, and communities to better their lives through the science of hope; Co-Author, “Hope As a Buffer to Suicide Attempts Among Adolescents With Depression” (2023, School Health), “Hope and Resilience As Distinct Contributors to Psychological Flourishing Among Childhood Trauma Survivors” (2020, Traumatology), and Hope Rising: How The Science of Hope Can Change Your Life (2018)

The Hopeful Brain: Building Schools and Classrooms of Hope

Founder, The School of Hope LLC; Developer, Building H.O.P.E.© Framework; Strategic Instructional Model Professional Developer, University of Kansas; Main Contributor, George Lucas's Edutopia; Featured Speaker, TED Ed; Collaborator with Thrively on the Global Hope Measurement and Growth; 2023 Recipient of the Virginia ASCD Impact Award for Transforming Schools; Author, The Hopeful Brain: Unlocking Mental Power of Motivation, Success, and Happiness (Forthcoming) and the Best-Selling Corwin book, The School of Hope: The Journey From Trauma and Anxiety to Achievement, Happiness, and Resilience (2022)

The Power of Hope in Education

Associate Professor of Medical Education; Associate Dean of Student Affairs, School of Medicine, University of Texas at Tyler; Director of Research, The Shine Hope Company; Co-Author, "Social Support and Positive Future Expectations, Hope, and Achievement Among Latinx Students: Implications by Gender and Special Education” (2024, Social and Personal Relationships), "Promoting Hope: Preliminary Investigation Into a College-Level Hope Curriculum" (2024, American College Health), "The Benefits of Buddies: Strategically Pairing Preschoolers With Other-Gender Classmates Promotes Positive Peer Interactions" (2023, Early Education and Development), and "A Preliminary Investigation of Collective Teacher Efficacy and Student Hope: Understanding the Role of Student-Teacher Relationships" (2022, Social Psychology of Education)

Leading With Hope: Strategies for Empowering Educators and Students

Founder, The School of Hope LLC; Developer, Building H.O.P.E.© Framework; Strategic Instructional Model Professional Developer, University of Kansas; Main Contributor, George Lucas's Edutopia; Featured Speaker, TED Ed; Collaborator with Thrively on the Global Hope Measurement and Growth; 2023 Recipient of the Virginia ASCD Impact Award for Transforming Schools; Author, The Hopeful Brain: Unlocking Mental Power of Motivation, Success, and Happiness (Forthcoming) and the Best-Selling Corwin book, The School of Hope: The Journey From Trauma and Anxiety to Achievement, Happiness, and Resilience (2022)

Learned Hopefulness

Counseling Psychologist; Professor, Academic Director, Core Faculty, Spirituality Mind Body Institute, Teachers College, Columbia University; Review Editor, Positive Psychology and Frontiers in Psychology; Developer, Interactive Behavioral Therapy (IBT) and Positive-Interactive Behavioral Therapy (P-IBT); Author, The Positivity Effect (2023), Learned Hopefulness (2020), Confessions of a Former Child (2008), and Action Methods in Group Psychotherapy (1998); Co-Author, Character Strengths and Abilities Within Disabilities (2023) and Healing Trauma (2005)

Nurturing Hope and Self-Care: Strategies for Personal and Professional Well-Being

Founder, The School of Hope LLC; Developer, Building H.O.P.E.© Framework; Strategic Instructional Model Professional Developer, University of Kansas; Main Contributor, George Lucas's Edutopia; Featured Speaker, TED Ed; Collaborator with Thrively on the Global Hope Measurement and Growth; 2023 Recipient of the Virginia ASCD Impact Award for Transforming Schools; Author, The Hopeful Brain: Unlocking Mental Power of Motivation, Success, and Happiness (Forthcoming) and the Best-Selling Corwin book, The School of Hope: The Journey From Trauma and Anxiety to Achievement, Happiness, and Resilience (2022)

Professional Development Consultant; Graduate Course Instructor, State University of New York at New Paltz; Co-Author, Transformative Teaching: Changing Today's Classrooms Culturally, Academically, and Emotionally (2015); Author, Motivating the Unmotivated (2008), Dealing With Difficult Parents: Powerful Strategies for Parent/Teacher Interactions (2005), and Respectful Discipline: Your Guide to Effective Classroom Management (2003)

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)

Building Student Ownership and Self-Direction

Assistant Professor of Education, George Fox University; Technology Specialist; Former 6-8th Grade Teacher; Co-Founder/ Tech Developer, “Write About”; Author, The A.I. Roadmap (2023) and Vintage Innovation: Leveraging Retro Tools and Classic Ideas to Design Deeper Learning Experiences (2019); Co-Author, New Teacher Mindset (2024), Empower: What Happens When Students Own Their Learning (2017), and LAUNCH: Using Design Thinking to Boost Creativity and Bring Out the Maker in Every Student (2016)

Evolving Learners: Inquiry Based Strategies to Cultivate Strengths, Compassion, and Autonomy in a Digital Age

Educator; Innovative Learning Communities Consultant; Institute for Leadership Development Consultant, Orange County Department of Education; Apple Distinguished Educator; Google for Education Certified Innovator; Contributing Writer, Thrive Global and Edutopia; Author, Evolving With Gratitude: Small Practices in Learning Communities That Make a Big Difference with Kids, Peers, and the World (2022); Co-Author, Evolving Learner: Shifting From Professional Development to Professional Learning From Kids, Peers, and the World (2020); Contributor, Because of a Teacher: Stories of the Past to Inspire the Future of Education (2021)

Locating and Growing Student Agency in the Science of Reading and in the Classroom

Professor of Language, Literacy & Technology, College of Education, Washington State University; Chair of the Research Committee, Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers; Area Co-Chair, Literacy Research Association Early and Elementary Literacy Processes; Author, Student Agency in the Classroom: Honoring Student Voice in the Curriculum (2021), "What is Student Agency and Why Is It Needed Now More Than Ever: Theoretical Implications for Practice" (2020, Student Agency: Theory Into Practice), Co-Author, Overcoming Reading Challenges: Kindergarten Through Middle School (2024), Accelerating Learning Growth for All Students (2023), and "Making Agency Visible Through Picture Books" (2022, The Reading Teacher)

Teaching Students to Drive Their Learning

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)

The Power of Student Agency: Create the Conditions for All Students to Thrive

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)

Don't Blame the Students: The Surprising Science of Classroom Attention

Classroom Teacher; Founder/President of Translate the Brain, a professional development consultancy; Author, The Goldilocks Map: A Classroom Teacher’s Quest to Evaluate ‘Brain-Based’ Teaching Advice (2021), Learning Grows: The Science of Motivation for the Classroom Teacher (2019), and Learning Begins: A Teacher's Guide to the Learning Brain (2017); Blogger, Learning & the Brain Blog