In-Service Workshops

Providing K-5 students with a cognitive behavioral approach to teach how to identify and to process feelings will result in developing strategies to cope with difficult situations. These skills will lead to improved self-regulation in students as well as increase increased ability to be actively engaged in learning.

Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook foster a culture of peer comparison and entice users to stay online longer than they intend, which can foster discouraging or negative feelings. Snapchat locations and Instagram stories cause FOMO (Fear of Missing Out), contributing to anxiety, depression, and loneliness. Teachers and parents will learn individual and group strategies to optimize students' use of social media.

Creating a trauma-sensitive classroom fosters an environment for all students to learn because educators are uniquely positioned to help students overcome challenges and build resilience. Participants will review preliminary information and definition of terms and explore ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) before delving into academic instruction techniques and relationship building for teaching students impacted by trauma. This workshop will also examine misconceptions about trauma, the effect trauma has on the brain, and review common challenges when working with students impacted by trauma. Participants will have an opportunity to share and reflect on their current practices and to learn ways to improve their self-care to ensure that the classroom is a safe space for all learners to grow.

Are you stressed? This can often be due to workload, the type of work you’re doing and relationships with your colleagues. This interactive workshop will explore solutions to all three of those issues, getting you to explore what your personal stress points are and giving you the tools you need to come up with a plan to reduce or even eliminate them.

Students identified with High Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), formerly known as Asperger's Syndrome, present behaviors that require more subtle and relationship-oriented interventions compared to an ABA approach. This presentation reviews some of the challenges inherent in this diagnostic profile, including addressing the question as to what interventions are necessary. Also detailed are social skills challenges those students encounter, with specifics addressing young students needs vs. adolescents.

Research shows that youth who identify as LGBTQ+ are at significantly greater risk for harassment and discrimination, mental health challenges, and academic challenges. Fortunately, school-based interventions have been shown to reduce these disparities and help students to feel more supported. This workshop will review theories of identity development related to LGBTQ+ youth and how this may present to today’s world. This in-service workshop will also review common risk factors for behavioral and academic challenges Finally, participants will learn how to create safe and supportive learning environments for students with diverse sexual orientations and gender identities.

This interactive training will enhance staff's understanding of the reasons behind students' behavior and how they can help their students achieve their goals. The training will cover practical student support strategies that are proactive, compassionate, and student-centered and the importance of responding to behavior with consistency and predictability in the classroom. Participants will explore how to approach their work with a neurodiversity affirming approach and how to effectively flow through challenging situations. This workshop is offered as a single session, multiple sessions, half-day training, or full-day training.

Dive into the world of neuroscience and psychology as this workshop offers a deep dive into how the brain reacts to social media. Explore the relationship between the brain on social media and peer feedback, peer influence, human connection, sleep, and evolutionary psychology. Learn to identify certain signs of addiction in children and adolescents and analyze fMRI scans to see how the neurochemistry of the young and developing mind is changing because of digital overload. How can we replace the dopamine we receive from social media with other forms of dopamine? Is social media a drug? How does social media addiction compare to other forms of addiction such as alcohol and substance abuse? These are just some of the topics to be explored by this presentation by Keegan Lee, a psychology and neuroscience researcher at The University of North Carolina.

Do your kids spend a lot of time on Tiktok, YouTube, or playing Fortnite? Do you as parents struggle to understand everything that is going on in their online lives? You may also be wondering how your own relationship with technology might be healthier. You’re in the right place! Coming out of the pandemic, many of us have spent more time on screens than ever before, and the lines between home, work, and school are blurry, making it challenging to unplug from our devices. Join us as we discuss navigating this balance with tips and tools to: • Achieve sustainable, positive digital practices with family and at work. • Optimize your digital habits for better mental health and family connection. • Prevent and recover from sensory overload and digital overwhelm. • Positively shift your relationship with your devices so they fuel vs. fatigue your relationships.

We think of alcohol as a beverage, but we know that it’s also a drug. Teens discuss “drinking” beer, “drinking” games and “drinking” as an activity unto itself, but what if we were to replace the word “drinking” with “drugging” in those contexts? If alcohol use creates changes in decision-making or mental status, we’re drugging with alcohol, and it’s important to understand alcohol in that context. This presentation examines alcohol as a drug, considering alcohol’s actions, side effects, dosing and overdosing, addiction and dependence risks, legal and health consequences and more.