Session 1: 9:35-10:15

In this session you’ll learn Positive Psychology-informed strategies to improve the wellness of your students and yourself. Students perform better academically when they’re well, and you’ll perform better as a teacher when you’re well too. These strategies are adaptable for all ages and subjects, so everyone is encouraged to attend. 

Location: CERAS 308

Zoom Link

Throughout my teaching career, I have used music to build positive vibes and enhance language and literacy instruction in the classroom, contribute to school-wide events, and teach after-school classes. This presentation will demonstrate examples of how music can be employed at school, from singing songs and dancing with students to putting on concert assemblies to teaching an after-school ukulele class to all K-5 age groups. Attendees will come to know how music can help build community at school, connect culturally with students and families from all walks of life, and favorably change a school environment. The session will conclude with a little "hands-on" ukulele lesson, during which audience members can learn a chord or two on ukuleles I will provide.

Location: CERAS 204

Joyful and Inclusive Schools is a workshop designed to help stakeholders develop thriving and joyful classroom ecosystems. Despite a surge of awareness for asset pedagogy work in the last few years, our schools are still not meeting the needs of our students. Solutions can be found at the intersection of anti-racist, abolitionist, and culturally responsive work and JOY. We engage asset pedagogies and humanizing practices to reimagine what a classroom "management" and community could and should look like. Strategies rooted in joy and belonging instead of control liberate student potential, decrease teacher burnout and create more sustainable and transformative school environments. This workshop will explore both practices and mindsets to bring this vision into a reality. Participants will leave with tangible strategies to utilize in their classrooms, a framework for establishing a healthy classroom ecosystem and tools to respond to student challenges that center learning and community instead of punishment and control.

Location: CERAS 300

Zoom Link