Friday, April 25

8:00 AM – 11:00 AM

Cost per person: $199
By advance registration only. 
Add $30 fee if you are not attending the conference.

All pre-conference workshops will be offered LIVE in New York only. There is no virtual option.
 

1. Evidence-Informed Learning: Transforming Schools Through the Applied Science of Learning

Developing excellent teachers who understand how learning happens and what that means for teaching is a game-changer for schools and districts. Learn ways to strengthen your school system's ability to leverage key components of learning science to improve student learning and recruit and retain educators who are evidence-informed and equity-driven. This workshop will articulate a simple model of the mind, describing how learning happens; identify key learning science principles that ensure instructional effectiveness; analyze identified components of successful evidence-to-practice implementation in classroom practice and professional learning; and outline initial steps for building capacity for professional learning in your school or district.

Jim Heal, EdLD, Professor of Evidence-Informed Education Leadership, Academica University of Applied Sciences, Amsterdam; Lecturer and Former Director of Practice at Research Schools International, Harvard Graduate School of Education; Co-Author, Mental Models: How Understanding the Mind Can Transform the Way You Work and Learn (Forthcoming) and How Teaching Happens (2022); and Margaret (Meg) A. Lee, MEd, Director, Organizational Development Department, Frederick County Public Schools; Advisor, Implementation of Evidence-Informed Practice, Academica University of Applied Sciences, Amsterdam; Author, Mindsets for Parents: Strategies to Encourage Growth Mindsets in Kids (2023, 2nd Edition)

2. My Students Can’t Write: Advancing Achievement Through Cross-Curricular Writing in K-8

Countless teachers have identified a problem: their students can’t write. We are all writing teachers, and we have a responsibility to ensure writing is embedded into instruction across the disciplines. Writing about learning leads to greater brain activity, improved outcomes in reading, and the increased likelihood that students will retain and transfer knowledge and skills. In this workshop, you will explore cognitive writing in journals as a sustainable solution for writing to learn across subjects, including how to scaffold writing properly for all learners, multilinguals, and students with disabilities.

Paul Emerich France, MA, BEd, National Board-Certified Teacher; Literacy Specialist; Consultant, Make Teaching Sustainable; Author, My Kids Can’t Write, K-5: How to Advance Achievement Through Cross-Curricular Writing (Forthcoming) and Make Teaching Sustainable: Six Shifts That Teachers Want and Students Need (2023)

3. Formative Assessment in a Brain-Compatible Classroom: How Do We Really Know They’re Learning?

If you wait until you have planned your lesson to decide how you will assess it, you have waited too late! If you wait until the end of the lesson to determine if students have mastered essential learning, again, you have waited too late! Once you have decided what you want students to know and be able to do, the next question becomes, how will you know when they can do it? This workshop will enable you to: (1) create a brain-compatible environment conducive to optimal learning; (2) delineate over 50 products and performances that students can use to demonstrate what they are learning; and (3) develop practical rubrics for assessing those authentic forms of assessment. You will leave this session with four ways that enable students to succeed at any test.

Marcia L. Tate, EdD, Chief Executive Officer, Developing Minds, Inc.; Author, Formative Assessment in a Brain-Compatible Classroom: How Do We Really Know They’re Learning? (2024, Updated Edition), Preparing Children for Success in School and Life (2022, 2nd Edition), and 100 Brain-Friendly Lessons for Unforgettable Teaching and Learning (2019); Editor, Engaging the Brain: 20 Unforgettable Strategies for Growing Dendrites and Accelerating Learning (2024)

4. “What Does the Research Say?”: Practical Strategies to Critically Evaluate ‘Research-Based’ Teaching Advice

Teachers often hear that you should change the way you teach because “research says so.” And yet, of course, we should think critically before we accept research-based advice. Our experience matters! How do we get that balance just right? In this workshop, you will explore the questions to ask, the answers to doubt, and the responses to trust. Through expert questions and insider terminology, you can make thoughtful and balanced decisions about complex research topics. As a result, you can avoid fads and champion teaching practices that fit your classroom, your curriculum, your students, and the research.

Andrew C. Watson, MEd, Classroom Teacher; Founder/President of Translate the Brain; 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 (2017); Blogger, Learning & the Brain® Blog

5. What Makes Great?: Using the Science of Learning to Define Your School’s Guiding Principles for Leadership

Designed for leadership teams, this workshop applies cognitive science to help schools define what great teaching looks like. By developing a set of guiding principles grounded in research, leaders can create a shared framework that makes high-impact instruction clear and actionable for teachers. Participants will explore how to adapt these principles to their school’s unique context and see real-world examples of how schools have successfully embedded them into professional development and daily practice.

Tricia Taylor, MEd, Instructional Leader and Coach; Founder and Executive Director of TailoredPractice; Lead Educator at Mallorca International School; Former teacher and school leader in NYC and London; Former Associate Lecturer at Goldsmiths University; Ambassador for Leadership Matters; Author of Connect the Dots: The Collective Power of Relationships, Memory, and Mindset in the Classroom (2019) and “The Bad News and the Good News: Why and How to Teach about Memory” (Impact, Chartered College of Teaching, 2018) and Nina Dibner, MEd, Educational Consultant and Leadership Coach; Founder and Executive Director, PowerTools, LLC; Former Teacher in Minneapolis and Brooklyn, Advisory Program Coordinator in Brooklyn; Certified DISC practitioner; Contributor, Connect the Dots: The Collective Power of Relationships, Memory and Mindset in the Classroom (2019)