Agenda
Friday, June 26th
EMU Student Center
8:15 am - 4:30 pm
Check-In will take place outside Room 310 from 7:45 am to 8:15 am.
EMU Student Center
8:15 am - 4:30 pm
Check-In will take place outside Room 310 from 7:45 am to 8:15 am.
Program Details
The Research Panel is charged with presenting the research on grit, growth mindsets, and quality youth programming and how each has been shown to improve academic outcomes for all students as well as at-risk youth. Each panelist will speak for 15-20 minutes. There will be a Q & A session afterwards.
- Dr. Lawson who will is from Carol Dweck's MindsetWorks Lab at Stanford will present the research on fixed/growth mindsets, how they help/hinder academic progress, how to recognize them, and how to change them.
- Dr. Raul Leon is an Assistant Professor in Educational Leadership here at EMU. He will be presenting findings from his extensive research on how education affects and is internalized by males of color in general and on improving academic outcomes for males of color in particular.
- Rebecca Nyquist who is from Angela Duckworth’s Grit Lab at Penn State will be defining grit and presenting the latest research on how grit affects academic, social, and life success.
- Dr. Charles Smith is the Director of the David P. Weikart Center for Youth Program Quality. He will be presenting the Center’s model for youth programming improvement. Dr. Smith will also be present the findings of research done by the Center to evaluate how the model has worked in educational programs both locally and nationally.
The Practice Panel is charged with building upon the research-based practices presenting by the first panel by addressing how to translate that research on best practices into specific teaching practices with respect to curriculum development, student assessment, and classroom management. Each panelist has extensive teaching experience and will have 15-20 minutes to present conference participants with the specific strategies they employ to nurture the non-cognitive skills that are key foundational elements of improving student resilience, leadership skills and student academic outcomes for at-risk youth. There will be time for Q & A after each panelist has spoken.
- Angelina Garner coaches and supports clients at the David P. Weikart Center. She has extensive experience in developing and implementing program improvement plans. She will be outlining specifically how the nationally recognized Center’s Youth Program Improvement model is implemented and how it supports and empowers young people.
- Dr. Jennifer Martin who is a leader in the field of coaching teachers – in classrooms and those studying to become certified as teachers- will be addressing specific strategies on how teachers can create classroom climates that promote inclusion, equity, and student leadership.
- Will Spotts is the Site Coordinator for the Bright Futures Program at Washtenaw International Middle Academy and our Bright Futures “Grit and Growth Mindset Guru”. He is a Nationally Board Certified Science teacher with nine years of teaching experience. He and Jessica Garcia, the principal at Washtenaw Intermediate Middle Academywill be speaking about how Bright Futures in general, and he specifically, has developed a grit and growth mindset curriculum and how he has integrated it into his daily program.
- Suzie Staley is the director of the Youth Mentorship Program at Henry Ford which has been nationally recognized for its success. This internship program offers at-risk youth the opportunity to develop meaningful life and work skills while fostering positive relationships with adult role models. She will be addressing how teachers can expand their role in the classroom to include student mentorship so that their students develop strong communication and interpersonal skills, responsibility, and the awareness that they can succeed.
The youth panel will consist of young adults who are, or have been, part of the Youth Mentorship Program at Henry Ford. The first half hour of the youth panel will give each of these youth a chance to tell participating teachers how teacher mentorship and authentic opportunities to develop resilience, social skills, leadership skills, and relationships with positive adult role models impacted their lives. For the last fifteen minutes, each of the young adults on the panel will join a table of participants so that they can explore their lived experiences with grit, growth mindset, and positive/quality youth programming in a more personalized way.
The afternoon’s “unconference” format is designed to empower participants to identify discussion topics to add to the conference agenda. Each small discussion group will have an expert facilitator (panelist or professor) to maximize opportunities to explore complex issues. Each discussion will be documented, shared during the reflection period and made available to participants to enable future collaboration and forward motion.