All sessions and meals will take place on the lobby level in the rooms listed below.
4:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Registration / Exhibits Open Carolina Foyer
6:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Reception / Exhibits Open Carolina Foyer
8:00 AM – 9:00 AM
Breakfast Buffet / Exhibits Open Carolina Foyer
9:00 AM – 11:00 AM
KEYNOTE
Speaker: Jessica Minahan, Behavior Analyst
Room: CAROLINA
With up to one in three children struggling with anxiety in this country, overwhelmed adults are in need of a new approach as well as an effective and easy-to-implement toolkit of strategies that work.
Through the use of case studies, humorous stories, and examples of common challenging situations, participants will learn easy-to-implement preventive tools, strategies, and interventions for reducing anxiety, increasing self-regulation, accurate thinking, and self-monitoring in students.
11:00 AM – 11:30 AM
Break / Exhibits Open Carolina Foyer
11:30 AM – 12:30 PM
BREAKOUTS:
Among the many reasons new teachers leave the field within their first five years, disruptive students are on the top of the list. Without intervention, these children are at risk for poor performance, diminished learning, and social/behavior problems in school. Overwhelming, negative, and inaccurate thoughts can contribute to student disengagement. When this is the case, traditional suggestions such as incentives, offering breaks, graphic organizers, or even checklists will not help the student initiate an activity. As a result of this workshop, participants will be able to easily implement preventive tools, strategies, and interventions for reducing oppositional behavior, increasing work engagement, initiation, persistence, and self-monitoring.
Speaker: Scott Hamilton, Clinical Psychologist, Understanding Minds
Room: GOVERNOR’S
Historically, there has been more neuroscience research devoted to literacy compared to mathematics. It is not surprising that academic support staff often report feeling more comfortable supporting struggling readers compared to students with math difficulties. Mathematical thinking is a complex interaction of cognitive and psychological processes, many of which may seem only tangential to mathematics. This session will provide an understanding of dyscalculia and related math learning challenges, with an exploration of the various breakdown points that can result in difficulty acquiring math skills. Based on the student’s strengths and challenges, implications for interventions and support will be introduced, with the goal of understanding the multiple factors that contribute to math learning.
THIS SESSION WILL BE RECORDED. All attendees will have access to an edited recording of this session about two weeks following the conference. The access link will be sent via email.
Speakers: Laura Portwood, Lower School Learning Support Teacher & Robin Talamo, Learning Support Services Coordinator, Episcopal School of Baton Rouge
Room: CARDINAL
Join this session to learn various avenues to engage parents in the collaborative process of helping students with academic support needs. For more than 10 years, Episcopal School of Baton Rouge has run a Parents U-Knighted group with a networking approach that provides education and support. The group offers education on a variety of topics; guest speakers, including former parents and 12th grade students, who share their expertise and journey; and two book studies and workshops as a way to stay current on the latest relevant information.
This session will provide recent book selections (including the book Make It Stick), topics, formatting, and information about previous parent meetings. Collaboration will be encouraged, so bring your best parenting successes including outreach, workshop programming, and partnership programs.
Speaker: Mike Frawley, Director of Educational Technology, Woodlynde School
Room: Mecklenburg
There are myriad free or inexpensive tools to help reluctant readers and writers engage with text (and math!) in the classroom. Increase comprehension and output with Immersive Reader, Read & Write, Equatio, OrbitNote, and Google Voice. After a brief overview of the tools, participants will have time to practice using them. Then, we’ll ask questions and generate ideas for novel applications in the classroom and beyond.
Be sure to bring your devices to the session!
12:30 PM – 1:30 PM
Lunch Buffet / Exhibits Open Carolina Foyer
1:30 PM – 2:30 PM
Academic support staff are frequently tasked with reading and translating psychoeducational assessment reports for faculty, as well as implementing the recommended strategies. In this session, participants will gain a more nuanced understanding of the various neuropsychological constructs found in reports, learn how to spot a quality versus poor evaluation, and discover how to build effective partnerships with psychologists in your community. Additional topics will include the practical implications of standard scores, the nature (and nurture!) of intelligence, and how a student’s psychoeducational assessment profile translates functionally at school. A primary goal is to take the mystery out of the evaluation process and to increase the confidence of academic support staff in their understanding and application of psychoeducational assessment results.
Speaker: Mike Gwaltney, Consultant, ISM
Schools and teachers often naturally default to using standardized and traditional assessment practices to assess student learning, without considering the many unique ways that students learn. Because learners are as unique as their fingerprints, a truly student-centered educator will employ frequent and varied assessment strategies that ask students to demonstrate what they know and can do in authentic, realistic ways that suit every student’s learning profile. In this session, we will remind ourselves of the goals of assessment, and investigate ways that schools and teachers can effectively collect evidence of student learning. Instructional coaches and learning specialists will learn ways to engage classroom teachers in conversations that lead to professional growth and improved pedagogy.
Speakers: Carolyn Kruk, Learning Specialist & Kristin McMurrer, Assistant Director of Admissions, Woodlynde School
Executive function skills: we all need them, and many of our students lack them. For a student with deficits in this area, a simple task like sharpening a pencil or completing a homework assignment can be a monumental hurdle. Through this session, we will offer practical suggestions for guiding students in understanding, applying, and evaluating strategies for a variety of executive function skills.
2:30 PM – 3:00 PM
3:00 PM – 4:00 PM
SMALL GROUP DISCUSSIONS
Facilitators: Lane Abrams, Achievement Center Director, Christ Church Episcopal School
Discussion Questions
Facilitator: Jessica Orians, Learning Specialist, Woodland Presbyterian School
Facilitators: Suzanne Billips, Learning Support, Greensboro Day School & Kathy Rawlins, Lower School Learning Specialist, The Bolles School
4:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Break
5:00 PM – 6:00 PM
6:00 PM
Exhibits Close
Breakfast Buffet Carolina Foyer
Speaker: Marydee Sklar, Owner, Executive Functioning Success
This interactive presentation interprets neuroscience to provide a clear knowledge base for the scope of executive functions and how they relate to time management, planning, and organization. With this foundation, attendees will come away with specific strategies and tools to support their students and themselves.
11:00 AM – 11:15 AM
11:15 AM – 12:00 PM
12:00 PM
Adjourn
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