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Thursday, June 5
 

8:00am CDT

Revitalizing Our Curriculum: A Storyboard Approach
Thursday June 5, 2025 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Storyboards refresh the content foundations and dispositions of our curriculum into a compelling storyline that energizes the curiosity and engagement of our students.
Keynote Speakers
avatar for Allison Zmuda

Allison Zmuda

Co-Director; Co-Founder; Educational Consultant; Author, The Institute for Habits of Mind; Curriculum Storyboards
Allison Zmuda is an international curriculum consultant and author with over two decades of experience helping schools design educational systems that are dynamic, engaging, and relevant. Specializing in curriculum, assessment, and instructional planning, Allison collaborates with... Read More →
avatar for Dr. Bena Kallick

Dr. Bena Kallick

Co-Founder and Co-Director; Author; Educational Consultant, The Institute for Habits of Mind
Dr. Bena Kallick is an internationally recognized author, award-winning educational consultant, and co-found of The Institute for Habits of Mind. Armed with a deep understanding of the structures of the mind and learning, Dr. Kallick has devoted her career to improving education... Read More →
Thursday June 5, 2025 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Brauer Auditorium

9:15am CDT

Play Matters: the Power of Play in Education
Thursday June 5, 2025 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Play is the purest expression of our humanity. What is happening in our brain when we play? How can we incorporate more play into the lives of our students? And how can we get better at play as adults? Some say we are most alive when we play. Let’s get better at it. In this session, I will share the research on play, how it is a key component of what has made us human from the beginning of our existence, and practical ways we can incorporate play into our day.
Speakers
avatar for Denise Ford

Denise Ford

Gifted Teacher, Kirkwood School District
Passionate about Gifted Education, innovation, creativity, and learning.
Thursday June 5, 2025 9:15am - 10:15am CDT

9:15am CDT

When the Primary Goal is Real World Impact
Thursday June 5, 2025 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Marc Prensky has written books on unlocking the power of students to change the world by prioritizing student-led projects where real world impact is the goal, and learning happens along the way.  Letting go of my curriculum, state standards, and my understanding of what education looks like, I dove in with a team of teachers to see what happens when you unleash your students on the world’s challenges.  Come live vicariously through my students' experiences to learn about the pitfalls and successes of this approach.
Speakers
avatar for Mark Russo

Mark Russo

Integrated Studies Teacher, Principia School
Mark Russo began as a naturalist at state parks and outdoor education centers before finding his calling as a middle and high school classroom teacher. He has worked in traditional, non-traditional inner city classroom settings in Saint Paul, Minnesota since 2000, combining his love... Read More →
Thursday June 5, 2025 9:15am - 10:15am CDT

9:15am CDT

An Energy Storyline
Thursday June 5, 2025 9:15am - 11:45am CDT
Conservation of energy is a fundamental principle of the Universe. Yet, teaching and applying conservation of energy is rife with inconsistencies, unarticulated assumptions, and untenable definitions which leaves students without a strong framework which they can use to analyze any system. In this workshop, we will walk through an "energy storyline" starting with the energy of a particle, then the energy of a system of interacting particles, and then the energy of a macroscopic system. Although I will use a number of examples in physics, this workshop will apply to all physical, life, and earth sciences, and it will be useful for all science teachers.
Featured Speakers
avatar for Aaron Titus

Aaron Titus

Teaching Professor, Department of Physics, North Carolina State University
Aaron Titus is a Teaching Professor in the Department of Physics at North Carolina State University. Aaron’s contributions are at the intersection of undergraduate research, educational technology, computational physics, leadership, and student mentoring. In 1997, Aaron and Larry... Read More →
Thursday June 5, 2025 9:15am - 11:45am CDT

9:15am CDT

Blueprint for Learning: Storyboarding Your Curriculum
Thursday June 5, 2025 9:15am - 11:45am CDT
This session will focus on essential components of curriculum storyboard and provide illustrative examples and coaching tips to spark your design.
Keynote Speakers
avatar for Allison Zmuda

Allison Zmuda

Co-Director; Co-Founder; Educational Consultant; Author, The Institute for Habits of Mind; Curriculum Storyboards
Allison Zmuda is an international curriculum consultant and author with over two decades of experience helping schools design educational systems that are dynamic, engaging, and relevant. Specializing in curriculum, assessment, and instructional planning, Allison collaborates with... Read More →
avatar for Dr. Bena Kallick

Dr. Bena Kallick

Co-Founder and Co-Director; Author; Educational Consultant, The Institute for Habits of Mind
Dr. Bena Kallick is an internationally recognized author, award-winning educational consultant, and co-found of The Institute for Habits of Mind. Armed with a deep understanding of the structures of the mind and learning, Dr. Kallick has devoted her career to improving education... Read More →
Thursday June 5, 2025 9:15am - 11:45am CDT

9:15am CDT

Differentiating Instruction with Mastery Learning
Thursday June 5, 2025 9:15am - 11:45am CDT
This presentation describes ways to personalize and differentiate instruction for diverse students through the use of mastery learning instructional strategies. The practical issues involved in implementing mastery learning are presented, along with ways to adapt these procedures to personal teaching styles, specific classroom situations, and the needs of individual students. Participants will gain a clear understanding of the theory and practice of mastery learning and explore ways to effectively implement these strategies to help more students learn excellently.
Featured Speakers
avatar for Tom Guskey

Tom Guskey

Professor Emeritus, University of Kentucky
Thomas R. Guskey, PhD, is Professor Emeritus in the College of Education, University of Kentucky. A graduate of the University of Chicago’s renowned Measurement, Evaluation, and Statistical Analysis (MESA) program, he began his career in education as a middle school teacher, served... Read More →
Thursday June 5, 2025 9:15am - 11:45am CDT

9:15am CDT

It’s Time for Curriculum Mapping 3.0
Thursday June 5, 2025 9:15am - 11:45am CDT
Curriculum mapping is a well-established process for ensuring a coherent and vertically aligned curriculum across the grades. The first generation of curriculum mapping asked teachers to generate diary maps to identify the unit topics and skills they taught, placed on a calendar map to show when they were taught and for how long. Then, grade-level or department teacher teams would meet to share their individual maps and look for gaps or redundancies. The second generation of curriculum mapping emerged as states, provinces, and nations developed standards that teachers were expected to follow. Typically, teachers met in teams to create consensus maps showing the scope and sequence for the curriculum based on the standards.
These two types of curriculum maps basically identify the inputs – the content to be “covered” in a designated time period. While there is a need for a scope of sequence, the focus exclusively on the content to be taught may unwittingly promote a “coverage” orientation to teaching and learning. The third generation calls for a shift to outcomes or competencies by mapping out the performances that we want students to be able to do with their learning.
This session will make the case for curriculum mapping 3.0, show examples of curriculum maps of authentic performance tasks, and share a variety of practical and proven resources for creating such maps at the classroom, department, and school levels.
Featured Speakers
avatar for Jay McTighe

Jay McTighe

Author & Education Consultant, Jay McTighe & Associates
Jay McTighe brings a wealth of experience developed during a rich and varied career in education. He served as director of the Maryland Assessment Consortium, a state collaboration of school districts working together to develop and share formative performance assessments. Prior to... Read More →
Thursday June 5, 2025 9:15am - 11:45am CDT

1:40pm CDT

Beyond Assessments For Learning: Assessment That Improves Learning
Thursday June 5, 2025 1:40pm - 1:55pm CDT
Using assessments to improve student learning involves more than simply administering “formative” assessments. It requires teachers to make well-designed classroom assessments an integral part of the instructional process. This presentation describes how teachers can develop clear learning targets, gather useful information on students’ performance, offer effective feedback to guide improvements in teaching and learning, and then accurately document students’ learning progress. Participants will learn how to use classroom assessments as effective learning tools, how to integrate performance assessments with more traditional assessment methods, how to align assessment procedures with important learning goals, and how these procedures will allow them to better meet the needs of diverse learners.
Featured Speakers
avatar for Tom Guskey

Tom Guskey

Professor Emeritus, University of Kentucky
Thomas R. Guskey, PhD, is Professor Emeritus in the College of Education, University of Kentucky. A graduate of the University of Chicago’s renowned Measurement, Evaluation, and Statistical Analysis (MESA) program, he began his career in education as a middle school teacher, served... Read More →
Thursday June 5, 2025 1:40pm - 1:55pm CDT

1:40pm CDT

Curriculum Storyboarding Design and Feedback Session
Thursday June 5, 2025 1:40pm - 1:55pm CDT
This session is for those who are energized by the morning session (Blueprint for Learning: Storyboarding Your Curriculum) and would like immersive time to draft their ideas in a supportive environment. There will be opportunities to ask questions, seek out more illustrative examples, and receive feedback from Allison.
Keynote Speakers
avatar for Allison Zmuda

Allison Zmuda

Co-Director; Co-Founder; Educational Consultant; Author, The Institute for Habits of Mind; Curriculum Storyboards
Allison Zmuda is an international curriculum consultant and author with over two decades of experience helping schools design educational systems that are dynamic, engaging, and relevant. Specializing in curriculum, assessment, and instructional planning, Allison collaborates with... Read More →
Thursday June 5, 2025 1:40pm - 1:55pm CDT

1:40pm CDT

Develop Real World Skills Through Authentic Tasks and Projects
Thursday June 5, 2025 1:40pm - 1:55pm CDT
Authentic performance tasks and projects (PBL) can engage students in applying a variety of life-worthy skills including critical thinking, creative problem solving, group collaboration, and communication through various media. In this workshop, Jay will present examples of authentic tasks along with a set of practical and proven design tools. He will explore the use of Artificial Intelligence tools to generate ideas for such tasks and describe a set of task variables (e.g., time frame, student choice) to consider. Finally, he will share a 23-page hot-linked set of performance tasks and associated resources. These alone are worth the price of admission!
Featured Speakers
avatar for Jay McTighe

Jay McTighe

Author & Education Consultant, Jay McTighe & Associates
Jay McTighe brings a wealth of experience developed during a rich and varied career in education. He served as director of the Maryland Assessment Consortium, a state collaboration of school districts working together to develop and share formative performance assessments. Prior to... Read More →
Thursday June 5, 2025 1:40pm - 1:55pm CDT

1:45pm CDT

Authentic Research Experiences: A Pathway to STEM Identity, STEM Positionality, and a Sense of Belonging
Thursday June 5, 2025 1:45pm - 2:45pm CDT
The knowledge and use of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) skills are essential for thriving in the STEM community. However, the professional STEM community does not accurately represent the community of students present in STEM classes today. Many students, from populations that are traditionally underrepresented in STEM, lack a positive STEM identity, STEM positionality or sense of belonging in STEM classes. Some students do not thrive when it comes to traditional STEM classes in schools in the United States and therefore do not go on to join the STEM community. The overall purpose of this study was to investigate how Authentic Research Experiences (ARE) can be used to disrupt the narrative in the science classroom of what it means to do science and what it means to be a doer of science for students traditionally underrepresented in STEM.

In an effort to disrupt the narrative of traditional science education, this multiple case study determined how Authentic Research Experiences (ARE) influence student STEM identity, STEM positionality and sense of belonging in 6th grade students at one K-12 independent school in the United States. ARE incorporate discovery, original data and information, engagement with research practices and techniques, encourage collaboration, utilize iterative design and process skills, and incorporate mentors and expert knowledge (Burmeister et al., 2021; Gentile et al., 2017). ARE provide authentic opportunities for teachers to empower students and change the narrative on how students learn science. This could lead to an altering of the STEM pipeline in ways that are more inclusive and socially just. In this study, students were observed, surveyed, and interviewed to determine how ARE influence how students perceive themselves as a participant in the STEM classroom or are recognized as a STEM person (STEM identity), how experiences influence a students’ STEM positionality (all of the aspects that position a student as an insider or outsider in STEM), and how these experiences influence a student’s sense of belonging in science courses.
Speakers
avatar for Christine Pickett

Christine Pickett

Upper School Science Teacher, Mary Institute and Country Day School
Christine Pickett is an Upper School Science teacher at Mary Institute and Saint Louis Country Day School as well as a doctoral candidate in Curriculum and Instruction in the School of Education at Saint Louis University. Her dissertation research is titled Authentic Research Experiences... Read More →
Thursday June 5, 2025 1:45pm - 2:45pm CDT

3:00pm CDT

Inquiring Minds Want to Learn: Posing Good Questions to Promote Student Inquiry
Thursday June 5, 2025 3:00pm - 4:00pm CDT
Explore how to teach and learn through inquiry and by questioning with good questions. Understand how good questions prompt students to demonstrate different levels of thinking and discuss their Depth of Knowledge (DOK). Rephrase  learning expectations and targets into good questions that will set the instructional focus, serve as assessments, and personalize learning. Pose good questions that pique student curiosity and promote students to share and summarize their learning. Use generative AI to craft good questions that will engage students in deep inquiry. Most importantly, realize how teaching and learning with an inquiring mind ensures the experience is meaningful, measurable, and motivating.
Featured Speakers
avatar for Erik M. Francis

Erik M. Francis

Author / Educator / Presenter, Maverik Education
Erik M. Francis, M.Ed., M.S., is an international author, educator, presenter, and professional development provider with 30 years of experience in education. He is the author of Inquiring Minds Want to Learn: Posing Good Questions to Promote Student Inquiry (Solution Tree), Deconstructing... Read More →
Thursday June 5, 2025 3:00pm - 4:00pm CDT
 
Friday, June 6
 

9:15am CDT

Personalizing Learning by Design
Friday June 6, 2025 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
When we clearly identify desired results and carefully consider the necessary evidence, we are able to design the most relevant and engaging learning experiences. Our decisions about what to teach and how to teach are guided by the priorities in Stages 1 and 2 of the Understanding by Design framework and by what we know about the learner in terms of readiness, interest, and learning profile. In this session, we will explore resources and tools to support creativity and innovation in designing learning experiences that honor and amplify learners’ interests and passions while equipping them for success.
Speakers
avatar for Charity Meyer

Charity Meyer

Director of Elementary Learning, School District of Greenfield
Charity Meyer serves as the Director of Elementary Learning in the School District of Greenfield. In her role, she works side by side with leaders and educators, delivering coaching and professional learning experiences, emphasizing deep implementation of modern curriculum, assessment... Read More →
avatar for Patrice Ball

Patrice Ball

Director of Secondary Learning, School District of Greenfield
Patrice Ball serves as the Director of Secondary Learning in the School District of Greenfield where she facilitates the professional learning, curriculum, assessment, and instruction in grades 6-12. Previous roles include instructor of assessment courses in the graduate program at... Read More →
Friday June 6, 2025 9:15am - 10:15am CDT

9:15am CDT

Project Based Learning for the Traditional Classroom
Friday June 6, 2025 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Do you work at a college prep or traditional model school but want to push the envelope a little? ARTIful (Authentic, Relevant, Transferable, and Impactful) teaching by integrating authentic projects into student experiences has the capacity to move students from compliance to genuine interest. You can start small without sacrificing weeks of your class time and see the results of students’ critical thinking skills applied to your content. Authentic projects give students genuine opportunities to practice future ready skills such as cooperation and communication, and they allow students to push their creativity to the limits by creating a virtual museum exhibit for Cahokia Mounds, learning chemistry by creating a food truck business, or discovering energy and circuitry by wiring a basement or presenting to the St. Louis city planners about green energy. Participants of this workshop will learn the basic foundations of ARTIful project learning and how to find an authentic audience, choose a meaningful project, and create an assessment that holds students to your high standards.
Speakers
avatar for Mark Russo

Mark Russo

Integrated Studies Teacher, Principia School
Mark Russo began as a naturalist at state parks and outdoor education centers before finding his calling as a middle and high school classroom teacher. He has worked in traditional, non-traditional inner city classroom settings in Saint Paul, Minnesota since 2000, combining his love... Read More →
Friday June 6, 2025 9:15am - 10:15am CDT

9:15am CDT

The Depth is in the Discussion: Making Learning Visible with Depth of Knowledge (DOK)
Friday June 6, 2025 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
What does deeper learning look, sound, or feel like? How could you ensure your students are learning at the level demanded by academic standards, activities, and assessments? Examine how Depth of Knowledge establishes and evaluates the depth and extent students must demonstrate and discuss their learning. Understand how Depth of Knowledge categorizes and clarifies the complexity and demand of academic standards, activities, and assessments. Analyze which part of a learning expectation determines its DOK Level. Use the language of DOK to specify what exactly and how deeply students must comprehend and communicate their learning to demonstrate proficiency or perform successfully. Most importantly, discover how Depth of Knowledge ensures teaching and learning experiences are actionable, measurable, and visible.
Featured Speakers
avatar for Erik M. Francis

Erik M. Francis

Author / Educator / Presenter, Maverik Education
Erik M. Francis, M.Ed., M.S., is an international author, educator, presenter, and professional development provider with 30 years of experience in education. He is the author of Inquiring Minds Want to Learn: Posing Good Questions to Promote Student Inquiry (Solution Tree), Deconstructing... Read More →
Friday June 6, 2025 9:15am - 10:15am CDT

9:15am CDT

Designing a Research-Informed Class Period for Deeper Learning
Friday June 6, 2025 9:15am - 11:45am CDT
Teachers are both artists and scientists. Their canvas is the class period, and their science is grounded in research on how the brain learns. This session will workshop a practical model for structuring class periods based on key educational research findings. We will explore strategies like retrieval practice, fostering a sense of belonging, providing effective feedback, ensuring knowledge and skill transfer, using direct instruction, cultivating meta-cognition, employing formative assessments, enhancing memory, and assigning purposeful homework.
By the end of the session, teachers and school leaders will leave with a flexible research-informed framework that enables them to design class periods where students engage deeply and think critically about the targeted learning objectives and goals they are striving to meet.
Featured Speakers
avatar for Glenn Whitman

Glenn Whitman

History Teacher & Dreyfuss Family Director of the Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning, St. Andrew’s Episcopal School
Glenn Whitman is a History teacher and Dreyfuss Family Director of the Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning (CTTL) at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School (MD). Glenn is the co-author of Neuroteach: Brain Science and the Future of Education (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers... Read More →
Friday June 6, 2025 9:15am - 11:45am CDT

10:30am CDT

Empowered Learning: Lessons from Implementing ARTI-ful Learning (ABL) to Elevate Engagement and Teacher Practice
Friday June 6, 2025 10:30am - 11:30am CDT
When students are placed at the center of learning – given choice, voice, and real-world relevance – engagement soars, ownership deepens, and learning becomes more meaningful and lasting. However, shifting to student-centered learning through ARTI-ful Learning (ABL) requires a fundamental change in teacher practice.

This session, led by an educator who has implemented ABL across multiple grade levels and a school leader who guided elementary faculty through this transition, will explore what it takes to shift from teacher-directed to student-driven learning. Participants will gain practical insights from our experiences, including:
  • The Why of ABL - Why Authentic, Relevant, Transferable, and Impactful learning leads to deeper engagement and 21st century skill development.
  • How We Supported Teachers - Strategies we used to help teachers transition from traditional instruction to student-centered facilitation.
  • What Was Hard - The biggest stumbling blocks in shifting to ABL and how we overcame them.
  • What We Would (and Wouldn’t) Do Again - Lessons learned, missteps to avoid, and key actions that made the biggest difference.
Speakers
avatar for Rissa Arens

Rissa Arens

Principia School
Rissa is a career long elementary educator and classroom teacher. She thrives in leading teachers through change helping them develop a responsive classroom and techniques to inspire and engage students. She currently coaches teachers at Principia Lower School to create classrooms... Read More →
avatar for Peter Dry

Peter Dry

Director, The PDL Group
Dr. Peter Dry is an educational leader focused on innovation in schools and organizations. He specializes in strengths-based leadership and future-ready education.  He works with schools and teams to improve engagement and effectiveness.His experience includes leading strategic innovation... Read More →
Friday June 6, 2025 10:30am - 11:30am CDT

10:30am CDT

Structuring Group Projects for Student Success
Friday June 6, 2025 10:30am - 11:30am CDT
If group projects can be a powerful educational tool, why do so many teachers (and students) groan when the topic is brought up?  After years of trying different tactics, I realized that I need to teach the collaboration skills needed right along with my content. This session will cover six ways to change how you structure your group projects that will increase accountability, engage everyone in a meaningful way, and assess each individual student's contribution and skills.
Speakers
avatar for Mark Russo

Mark Russo

Integrated Studies Teacher, Principia School
Mark Russo began as a naturalist at state parks and outdoor education centers before finding his calling as a middle and high school classroom teacher. He has worked in traditional, non-traditional inner city classroom settings in Saint Paul, Minnesota since 2000, combining his love... Read More →
Friday June 6, 2025 10:30am - 11:30am CDT

12:30pm CDT

Using ERB’s Access 360 Reports to Enhance Student Achievement
Friday June 6, 2025 12:30pm - 1:30pm CDT
Discover how Woodward Academy is leveraging ERB’s Access 360 reports to drive meaningful improvements in student learning. This session will provide practical strategies for using ERB data to modify instruction, update curriculum, and implement targeted interventions for individual students and small groups.
We will demonstrate how to generate and interpret key reports that empower teachers to personalize instruction, address learning gaps, and enhance student achievement. Additionally, we’ll explore how Woodward Academy integrates social-emotional data from the SelfWise and Check-in Survey to provide holistic student support.
Participants will also gain insight into the “Using ERB Results” online support site, which helps teachers efficiently analyze student performance, access ERB intervention resources, and take actionable steps based on Milestones assessments—ensuring students are well-prepared for the CTP in the spring.
Finally, we’ll showcase how AI-powered tools can streamline the process of creating customized intervention strategies for remediation and enrichment, helping educators save time while maximizing student growth.
Key Takeaways:
  • Learn how to generate and apply key Access 360 reports to enhance student learning.
  • Explore Woodward Academy’s ERB Results Support Site and its role in individualizing instruction.
  • Gain hands-on experience using AI to create personalized student interventions.
  • Join us to explore practical, data-driven strategies for using ERB reports in meaningful ways to support student success!
Featured Speakers
avatar for Connie White

Connie White

Director of Learning Design & Innovation, Woodward Academy
Connie White is a visionary leader in education, serving as the Director of Learning & Innovation at Woodward Academy in College Park, Georgia, since 2015. With a background as an Upper School Physics, Chemistry, and Math teacher, she was among the pioneering Technology & Learning... Read More →
Friday June 6, 2025 12:30pm - 1:30pm CDT

1:40pm CDT

Belonging and the Brain: Creating the Conditions for Student Learning and Achievement
Friday June 6, 2025 1:40pm - 1:55pm CDT
Every day, every student in every school will have two essential things with them: their developing brain and their developing identity. They will never forget them. Teachers, schools, and districts that explore the science of how the brain learns side-by-side how students feel and experience a sense of academic and social belonging in school are creating the conditions for students to achieve their full potential. 
This session will explore how lesson planning, direct instruction, checks for understanding, retrieval practice, feedback, and formative assessment are not just teaching and learning strategies; they are belonging strategies. 
Participants will leave with “next-day” strategies and frameworks to share with their colleagues and apply to their instructional design and work with students. 
Prepare this session by reading “Setting the Conditions for Learning: Why Belonging and Great Teaching Always Matter.”
Featured Speakers
avatar for Glenn Whitman

Glenn Whitman

History Teacher & Dreyfuss Family Director of the Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning, St. Andrew’s Episcopal School
Glenn Whitman is a History teacher and Dreyfuss Family Director of the Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning (CTTL) at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School (MD). Glenn is the co-author of Neuroteach: Brain Science and the Future of Education (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers... Read More →
Friday June 6, 2025 1:40pm - 1:55pm CDT

1:40pm CDT

Designing and Facilitating Assessments for Students Agency
Friday June 6, 2025 1:40pm - 1:55pm CDT
Learner-centered assessment is not just about what we ask students to do; it’s about how we facilitate the assessment to support their sense of ownership and self-efficacy. In this session we’ll practice designing for three pillars: goal-setting, empowering processes, and authentic assessment of learning. We’ll learn and practice teaching strategies in each area that position students as active collaborators who exercise the core competencies that support agency like generative thinking, self-regulation, project management, and reflection. We’ll explore how to use the tools of learner-centered assessment (rubrics, portfolios, conferences, etc.) to elevate student voice and to guide students to do the hard but meaningful work of navigating complexity and embracing challenging work. Participants will then have a chance to reimagine one of their existing assessments in order to prioritize student agency.
Keynote Speakers
avatar for Eric Hudson

Eric Hudson

Facilitator & Strategic Advisor, Eric Hudson Consulting
Eric Hudson is a facilitator and strategic advisor who supports schools in making sense of what’s changing in education. He specializes in learner-centered assessment, human-centered leadership, and strategic program design. Most recently, Eric spent ten years at Global Online Academy... Read More →
Friday June 6, 2025 1:40pm - 1:55pm CDT

1:40pm CDT

Writing, Thinking, and The Brain: How Neuroscience Can Improve Writing Instruction
Friday June 6, 2025 1:40pm - 4:00pm CDT
Writing is the highest form of thinking, as evidenced by neuroimaging that shows that more neural networks are activated during writing than during any other cognitive activity. When repeated, this activation builds and strengthens the neural networks that undergird the wide variety of thinking capacities involved in writing through a process known as neuroplasticity, the physical changes in brain structure that constitute learning.  The learning sciences tell us that frequency and precision of practice, feedback (and feedforward), the development of metacognitive capacities, strong relationships and sustaining cultures are all essential to building better writers. ThinkWrite addresses writing from a holistic perspective, looking at all of the systems and subsystems involved in the process.

This session will acquaint you with a powerful new model of the writing process grounded in the research of Mind, Brain and Education science (MBE), the confluence of cognitive psychology, neuroscience and educational research. This presentation covers a brief overview of the neuroscience of learning, presents the 15 stages of thinking that support the writing process, and will familiarize teachers with the neural networks that underlie these thinking stages along with targeted ways to stimulate and strengthen them to maximize each individual’s writing potential. This model and these activities are geared to all levels of writing instruction from pre-K through 16 and beyond.

Teachers will be provided with tools in the form of activities that target the specific stages of thinking involved in writing and rubrics that will help them give feedback on the process and the otherwise invisible thinking involved in good writing. We will examine what it means for writing teachers to become thinking coaches, and tackle how to give feedback on thinking stages that may feel more unfamiliar to us as well as on the product, process, progress and promise of a student’s writing.

Today, new technologies such as generative AI hold great promise and potential for coaching thinking and writing; simultaneously, if not properly employed, for all of their promise, these same tools threaten to undermine the development of the brain structures needed for good thinking and writing by supplanting the agency of students in different phases of the writing process, eroding their thinking capacities, weakening both the individual student and the society and culture we hope they will sustain and build. This presentation will provide a brain-based framework for considering how and when to use such tools in writing instruction. We will interrogate the power and potential of the rapidly developing generative AI technologies through the lens of the most recent research.

Good writing is not simply the residue of good thinking; the practice of writing shapes our thinking capacities by changing the underlying neural structures within the brain. This growth within the brain is how we each learn as individuals.  What’s more, the thinking capacities grown through writing practice are essential to the proper functioning of democratic systems; capacities such as effective communication, evaluation of evidence and analysis, cognitive flexibility, emotional and cognitive empathy and perspective taking, along with the resilience due to better executive control of emotions in the face of setbacks and challenges benefit not just the individual student but the larger social systems that sustain us all. Teachers of writing will leave this session with a new, more precise model of the writing process and the knowledge of their essential role in both their students’ growth and in building a more resilient society.
Featured Speakers
avatar for Chris Rappleye

Chris Rappleye

Upper School English Teacher, Mary Institute & St. Louis Country Day School
Chris Rappleye has taught English at MICDS since January of 1989, primarily in the Upper School, and has coached cross country and track and field for almost as long. He has consulted and presented for the ACT as well as for the College Board's Advanced Placement program in English... Read More →
Friday June 6, 2025 1:40pm - 4:00pm CDT

1:45pm CDT

Enhancing Student Engagement Using Instructional Practices in Learning By Scientific Design Principles
Friday June 6, 2025 1:45pm - 2:45pm CDT
In this case study, the post-doctoral fellow collaborated with a K-5 Urban school to investigate the impact of instructional practices on student engagement. Due to consistent student behavior, the school generated the problem of practice that focused on developing the school-wide classroom management plan and social-emotional learning curriculum for students so that students can regulate their emotions effectively and teachers can deliver engaging lessons by building a conducive learning environment. The fellow partnered with the school leadership team to develop an instructional cycle that consisted of observing and providing feedback to the teachers on their goals set up using the Learning By Scientific Design Principles. In this instructional cycle, the teachers watch their GoReact videos and select the goals for themselves using teacher actions from Learning by Scientific Design Principles. The instructional coach and the post-doctoral fellow observed the teacher using the two observational rubrics that measured the teacher's instructional practices and student engagement. The feedback shared with the teachers was based on the implementation of those practices and the number of students engaged in the classroom with a focus on planning and preparing rigorous and challenging lesson plans that are aimed at improving student engagement and, thereby, increasing student outcomes. The student outcome was assessed by the exit card data for each lesson and the student engagement rubric, which played a crucial role in developing and enhancing different instructional practices as per the academic needs of the students.
Speakers
avatar for Natalie Bolton

Natalie Bolton

Associate Professor, University of Missouri-St. Louis
Natalie Bolton is an associate professor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis within the College of Education, Department of Educational Leadership and Preparation. She earned her Ph.D. in educational leadership from the University of Louisville. She has an M.A. in secondary education... Read More →
Friday June 6, 2025 1:45pm - 2:45pm CDT

3:00pm CDT

Cognitive Strategies to Increase Student Achievement
Friday June 6, 2025 3:00pm - 4:00pm CDT
Are you exhausted at the end of each day, while your students seem to leave with boundless energy? It’s time to turn the tables and empower your students to take charge of their own learning! Discover effective strategies to actively engage your students at a cognitive level throughout your lesson, with minimal preparation required. In this dynamic session, you’ll learn a variety of techniques, all of which are adaptable to any content area. Leave this workshop armed with practical, tangible strategies that will invigorate your classroom and empower your students to thrive.
Speakers
avatar for Tanya Garcia

Tanya Garcia

St. Louis RPDC Educational Consultant, EducationPlus
Tanya Garcia serves our member districts by developing tailored learning opportunities and professional development programs and working with area districts to provide supports for effective teaching and learning. Throughout her 15 years in education, Tanya has served in various roles... Read More →
Friday June 6, 2025 3:00pm - 4:00pm CDT
 
STLinSTL 2025
From $250.00
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