Midway through the hardest school year in recent history, teachers and students alike are struggling with low morale and low levels of motivation as the pandemic rages on and keeps millions of physical classrooms shuttered. In this online summit, experts will discuss ideas and strategies to help address flagging teacher morale, find and support students who are not engaged with their learning, and share lessons learned from students who are thriving in remote learning.
Agenda
How School Leaders Can Support Teachers During a Stressful Year
Teacher morale has plummeted over the course of the pandemic, EdWeek Research Center data show, as teachers grapple with remote teaching, socially distant instruction, and constantly changing requirements and demands. Yet teacher well-being is intrinsically linked to student well-being. In this discussion booth, educators will share ways school and district leaders can support their teaching staff during this difficult school year.
Madeline Will is a reporter for Education Week who covers the teaching profession.
Patricia Jennings
Professor of Education,
The University of Virginia
Patricia (Tish) Jennings, a professor of education at the University of Virginia, is an internationally recognized leader in the fields of social and emotional learning and mindfulness in education. Her research places a specific emphasis on teacher stress and how it impacts the social and emotional context of the classroom. Jennings led the team that developed CARE, a mindfulness-based professional development program shown to significantly improve teacher well-being, classroom interactions, and student engagement. A former teacher, school director, and teacher-educator, Jennings is the author of numerous peer-reviewed journal articles and several books. Her latest book, Teacher Burnout Turnaround: Strategies for Empowered Teachers, was released in December.
Michele Lew
Assistant Principal,
Arcadia High School (CA)
Michele Lew is an assistant principal at Arcadia High School in Southern California. She has spent most of her 16-year career as a special education teacher, and her educational passion is infusing social and emotional learning into all aspects of school culture. She believes all students can reach their potential and is constantly looking for ways to give students more access and opportunities. Michele was the recipient of a Fulbright Distinguished Award in Teaching and spent time in the West Bank working with the government’s special education department. Outside of work, you can find Michele podcasting with her principal, hiking with her pups, or traveling the world.
Reaching Disengaged Students
An unknown number of students--often those who struggle the most with school in normal times--have fallen off the radar screen of schools and districts during the 2020-21 school year. This session will provide concrete suggestions for how to find these children and youth, and how to maintain meaningful contact with them so that they stay connected to their schools and engaged in their learning.
Daarel Burnette II is an assistant managing editor for Education Week.
How to Use Digital Games to Power Student Motivation and Learning
In an exclusive survey conducted by the EdWeek Research Center, 60 percent of middle and high school students said they’re playing digital games for instructional purposes more than they did before the pandemic, but only a quarter of those students said those games make learning more interesting. Teachers who already used digital games, as well as those who have just started, are working hard to employ games in the classroom in ways that fuel student motivation and benefit academic learning. This discussion will highlight successful strategies for using digital learning games with students as well as advice on mistakes to avoid.
Mark Lieberman is a reporter for Education Week covering technology and online learning.
Laura Steinbrink
Teacher & Educational Consultant
Laura Steinbrink, a teacher for 25 years, presents tech & instructional practices nationally. She is an educational consultant and the author of www.rockntheboat.com, a Feedspot Top 200 blog in Education. Laura has published articles for Matt Miller, author of Ditch That Textbook, Denis Sheeran, author of Instant Relevance; & articles for Kahoot, Getting Smart, Parent Square, the ISTE Educator Network newsletter, ISTE, & other EDU related companies.
Lessons Learned About Why Some Students Are Thriving Under Remote Instruction
Most students–especially those in special education—are struggling with virtual or hybrid learning models during the pandemic. Eighty-four percent of teachers say kids are making less progress now than they were before the virus hit, according to a survey by the Education Week Research Center. But, for a small number of students, the pandemic cloud has a thick silver lining: They are now learning better than ever. Why is that the case? And how should lessons learned about those students guide schools in determining the kinds of remote learning options they should be offering to all students in the future?
Alyson Klein is an assistant editor for Education Week.
Toxic Positivity: Why Being Relentlessly Upbeat in Stressful Times Backfires
“Look on the bright side” and “it could be worse” are statements we hear all the time, and likely even more so during the pandemic. Remarks like these might seem to inject much-needed optimism into a tough situation, but rather than motivating students or teachers to push through stressful times, experts say such statements often have the opposite effect. In this discussion, experts will explain what toxic positivity is, how it affects students and other staff, ways to address it, and what the qualities of more-productive positivity are.
Arianna Prothero is a reporter at Education Week who covers students and their well-being.
Leslie Blanchard
Executive Director, Leadership Development Institute,
Louisiana State University
Leslie Blanchard is the executive director the Leadership Development Institute at Louisiana State University where she directs her efforts toward improving outcomes in K-12 schools and districts through customized, strategic, and deliberate leadership development. Blanchard’s research focuses on the areas of leadership development and evaluation, particularly in K-20 education. Blanchard has developed and taught leadership courses at the undergraduate and graduate level for the past ten years, and has consulted and coached with individuals, teams, and large groups to facilitate organizational effectiveness and improved culture and climate. A former classroom English and Secondary Science teacher, Blanchard has worked in the field of education for more than 25 years.
Marc Brackett
Professor and Director,
Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence
Brackett is the founding director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence and a professor in the Child Study Center at Yale University. His research focuses on the role of emotional intelligence in learning, decision making, creativity, relationships, health, and performance. He has published over 150 scholarly articles, received numerous awards, and serves on a number of boards, including CASEL. Marc is the lead developer of RULER, an evidence-based approach to SEL that has been adopted by over 2,500 schools across the United States and in other countries. Marc is the author of Permission to Feel, published by Celadon, a division of Macmillan.
Development of independent content for this virtual summit is supported in part by a grant from the Allstate Foundation.
