Wednesday, December 1, 1:00 p.m.
Pick Your Path! Equity, Social-Emotional, Student Voice, or Future of Learning
Stephanie Boyce, Dante Dixson, Patrick Harris, and Andi McNair
Create your own learning experience with this one-of-a-kind MasterMind session! Listen to short talks from Stephanie Boyce, Dante Dixson, Patrick Harris, and Andi McNair in our MasterMind session before joining the speaker of your choice in an in-depth exploration of one of four learning focuses: equity, social-emotional learning, student voice, or the future of learning.
Pick Your Path: Equity
The FRESH Classroom: Why Culturally Relevant Education Can’t Wait!
Stephanie Boyce, Ph.D.
Now, more than ever, educators are looking for ways to engage students and craft lessons that pique their interest like never before. Dr. Stephanie Boyce will discuss racial bias, levels of culture, and teach practical strategies to empower teachers to create culturally relevant, standards-based classrooms. Instead of dismissing and devaluing the interest of their students, teachers will explore ways to connect to all students.
About Stephanie
Dr. Stephanie R. Boyce is an edupreneur driven by her passion to reshape the educational landscape by making culturally responsive teaching a way of life. For the last decade, Boyce has focused her studies and work on matters of racial justice and equity for historically marginalized people with a focus on educational spaces. She currently serves as the Chief Education Officer of Stephanie Boyce & Associates, LLC., the parent company of The FRESH Classroom, Professor & Director of the Writing Program at Paul Quinn College, and Lecturer of African American Studies at the University of Houston.
https://thefreshclassroom.com/videos
Pick Your Path: Social-Emotional Learning
Maximizing Psychosocial Factors in Gifted Education
Dante Dixson, Ph.D.
All advanced academic talent requires psychosocial factors (i.e., one’s thoughts, attitudes, and beliefs) to advance from academic potential to fully developed academic talent. In this session, Dr. Dante Dixson is going to discuss the role that psychosocial factors play in advanced academic talent development. Specifically, Dr. Dixson is going to discuss which psychosocial factors are most important for academic talent development, how psychosocial factors encourage advanced academic talent development, and how to cultivate success-oriented psychosocial factors.
https://www.thehopelab.org/the-principal-investigator
About Dante
Dante D. Dixson received his Bachelor’s degree (Honors) in psychology, Master’s degree in education, and Ph.D. in School Psychology from the University of California, Berkeley. Currently, he serves as a tenure-track faculty member at Michigan State University within the School and Education Psychology Programs and is certified for the practice of psychology both inside and outside of schools. The author or co/author of over 30 scholarly articles, research presentations, and book chapters, Dr. Dixson is a recipient of the Cota Robles Fellowship (from UC Berkeley) and an African American Success Foundation Research Grant. His areas of expertise include the role of hope in the educational and psychological functioning of children and adolescents, positive psychology, psychosocial precursors of achievement, at-risk youth, the achievement gap, academic talent development/gifted education, and the translation of psychological research findings into school-based practice.
Pick Your Path: Student Voice
We Need to Talk (and Listen)
Patrick Harris
COVID-19 has changed education forever because it forced us to stop and listen. But who have we listened to? Between the innovation and the rush back to normal, educators can improve the ways they remove themselves from a place of power and amplify student voice. As we begin a new school year, this is the perfect time to see teaching as human work and students as partners in schools. Patrick Harris will highlight the benefits of seeing teaching as human work, share strategies to amplify student voice regularly, and show the innovation that comes as a result.
About Patrick
Patrick Harris (@PresidentPat) is an award-winning educator, podcaster, and activist bringing light to injustices in education and fighting to end them from the ground up. A Detroit Native, Patrick is currently a Humanities Instructor at The Roeper School for the gifted. He was recently named a 2020 ASCD Emerging Leader and was honored on the International Literacy Associations 30 Under 30 list. Patrick is the founder of Good Trouble Media, which houses his notable podcast “The Common Sense Podcast”. Patrick has been featured on Education Week, ASCD, GQ Magazine, Huffington Post, ABC, and CNN.
https://www.downtownpublications.com/single-post/patrick-harris
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/common-sense-podcast/id1422426623
Pick Your Path: Future of Learning
The Future of Learning: What’s Next?
Andi McNair
What’s next? So much has happened in education, including gifted education, and our new reality has left many of us wondering what lies ahead and what can be learned from our current circumstances. In this learning experience, Andi McNair will share new ideas, new techniques, and even new perspectives regarding tried and true classroom strategies that can be used to move the needle forward. It’s a difficult but exciting time to be an educator. Join Andi to explore what lies ahead and discuss how educators can continue to innovate and shift their perspectives to engage and empower today’s learners.
About Andi
Andi was a classroom teacher for 16 years before pursuing her passion to change education by sharing practical ways to engage and empower today’s learners. She was named one of the Top People in Education to Watch in 2016 by the Academy of Education Arts and Sciences. She is currently a digital innovation and gifted/talented specialist at ESC Region 12 in Waco, Texas. Andi is passionate about utilizing meaningful technology in the classroom and finding innovative ways to engage and empower today’s learners. She has published Genius Hour: Passion Projects that Ignite Innovation and Student Inquiry, A Meaningful Mess: A Teacher’s Guide to Student-Driven Classrooms, Authentic Learning, Student Empowerment, and Keeping It All Together Without Losing Your Mind, and Ready-to-Use Resources for Genius Hour in the Classroom: Taking Passion Projects to the Next Level.
Thursday, December 2, 9:00 a.m.
Kintsukuroi: On Empathy and Other Things
S.C. Says
“It is, I think, the most powerful tool at our disposal to change the world around us.” Join national champion slam poet S.C. Says for an entertaining, engaging, and moving dialogue around empathy. The show uses performance poetry to illuminate necessary conversations around diversity appreciation, mental health awareness, and courageous vulnerability all looked at through the lens of empathy. You’ll snap, you’ll laugh, and you’ll never look at the value of empathy the same way again. 
About S.C.
Andre Bradford, a.k.a. S.C. Says, is an Austin based slam poet who has been performing slam poetry since 2014. He’s toured and featured at venues and universities across the country, and his work has been featured in the Huffington Post, The Edge radio, The Culture Trip, and Blavity. He is a two time Austin Poetry Slam Champion, a three time Texas Grand Slam Finalist, and was a member of the 2015 National Championship Team. He also once popped a bag of popcorn without burning a single kernel, which is arguably one of his greatest achievements. His poetry covers a gamut of topics ranging from being mixed race, to genuine authenticity, to mental health awareness, to never settling in relationships. Slam poetry is an art form he loves due to its raw vulnerability and its ability to cultivate transparency and dialogues into many different walks of life.
http://www.scsayspoetry.com/project-gallery-page
Friday, December 3, 10:15 a.m.
Tell Your Story
Todd Nesloney
Time after time we find ourselves getting lost in stories. We go on adventures, suffer heartache, celebrate wildly, and suspend belief as we consume the story of others. But how often do you find yourself sharing YOUR story? The work we do as educators is often misunderstood and misrepresented. That’s where the power comes in sharing our stories and the stories of our what happens in our G/T classrooms and on our campus. In this inspiring and energizing session, Todd Nesloney will share with you pieces of his story and how important it is for others to experience yours. He’ll share practical ways that you can take that first step, tools you can use, and ways to overcome that fear and self-doubt. He’ll help you leverage your experience so you can impact change and help others see the value in what you do. Why? Because every educator’s story matters.
About Todd:
Todd Nesloney is the Director of Culture and Strategic Leadership for the Texas Elementary Principals and Supervisors Association (TEPSA). He has also served as an award-winning principal of a PreK-5th Grade campus of over 775 students in a rural town in Texas. He has been recognized by the White House, John C Maxwell, the Center for Digital Education, National School Board Association, the BAMMYS, and more for his work in education and with children. Todd has written four books, including Kids Deserve It, Stories From Webb, Sparks in the Dark, and his brand new book When Kids Lead. He also recently released his first children’s book Spruce And Lucy. He hosts the podcast “Tell Your Story” and is very active on social media under the moniker Tech Ninja Todd. He is passionate about doing whatever it takes for our students and helping others tell their story.
https://www.toddnesloney.com/videos/
