Conference Program

While problem-based learning has been shown to increase student engagement, students require more than generic scenarios. We argue that PBL with a culturally responsive focus not only increases students' level of engagement but also adds value to what they bring to the classroom— their cultural capital. This instructional approach, culturally responsive project-based learning (CRPBL) not only provides maximum engagement but also ensures a high level of rigor and relevance. This session will take participants through a highly engaging CRPBL activity. We will also provide resources and ongoing supports for those who intend to create their own CRPBL activities.
This session will be repeated:
Thursday, July 21
8:00 AM - 9:00 AM
Location: High Plains 3
Room Level: Vineyard Tower (Level 1)
Friday, July 22
8:00 AM - 9:00 AM
Location: Palomino 3
Room Level: Lone Star Tower (Level 3)

Strong staff-student relationships are the foundation for getting students excited about and engaged with their learning. In this session, we will explore the relationship between social-emotional learning  and career and technical education. CTE courses give students an opportunity to gain exposure potential careers and choose career pathways of the most interest to their future goals. In this session, participants will learn activities that they can use with students to not only review their CTE content but also infuse SEL, career exploration and relationship-building into their instruction. Participants will leave understanding that we are better together when we incorporate SEL into our CTE classrooms.
This session will be repeated:
Wednesday, July 20
4:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Location: Dallas 3-4
Room Level: Ballroom Level (Level 3)
Thursday, July 21
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Location: Grapevine Ballroom BD: Table 12
Room Level: Ballroom Level (Level 3)

In this session, hear from a panel of Texas students who participate in esports leagues. You'll learn what motivated them to join and how esports have affected them both personally and academically. Students will share their stories of triumph and success! Participants will be provided with access to an extensive digital library of resources aligned to this presentation about how to get started. Did you know? Esports -- multiplayer video games played competitively -- have become hugely popular with today’s generation and have gained audiences larger than many conventional sports. Esports are not just a novelty: They promote accessibility, diversity, inclusion and fun. They also bring kids together with the common goal of promoting both curricular and extracurricular activities. Student participation has led to increased attendance, learner engagement, interest in STEM-related fields and improved academic performance.

Although grit, toughness and resilience are as essential to achieving career and life goals as any academic knowledge and skills, students rarely have learning experiences that cultivate and strengthen these attributes. This session will focus on how the adversity and challenges associated with standards-based assignments can nurture students' efficacy and prepare them to experience success in academia and beyond. We'll discuss the role that grit plays in one's trajectory for career and academic success after high school and how to use praise to engage students in completing challenging tasks.
This session will be repeated:
Thursday, July 21
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Location: Appaloosa 3
Room Level: Lone Star Tower (Level 3)
Friday, July 22
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Location: Palomino 1
Room Level: Lone Star Tower (Level 3)

In order to create authentic math tasks, teachers need a strategy for harnessing their ideas and turning them into engaging learning opportunities. I use the GRASP method (Given, Required, Analysis, Solution and Paraphrase) to create math tasks that are not only authentic but fun and engaging, too. In this session, I'll explain the GRASP method of creating performance tasks, show exemplars of performance tasks in my classroom, model how to use the vertical alignment of curriculum standards to differentiate learning tasks, and show you how to convert a traditional word problem into an engaging performance task.
This session will be repeated:
Tuesday, July 19
9:30 AM - 10:30 AM
Location: Appaloosa 3
Room Level: Lone Star Tower (Level 3)
Wednesday, July 20
9:30 AM - 10:30 AM
Location: Grapevine Ballroom BD: Table 6
Room Level: Ballroom Level (Level 3)

Do you need to reestablish systemic teacher agency — the connection between instruction and student impact? Do your schools need help with learning leaps and accelerated student learning? A mix of historical practices and the difficulties of educating students during a pandemic poses a brand-new challenge for students and their teachers as no one is quite sure what students have learned and what they do not know. This session will cover the basics of research-proven methods to facilitate learning leaps and accelerate your students' skills recovery. It will specifically address the time frame and steps necessary to do this.
This session will be repeated:
Thursday, July 21
8:00 AM - 9:00 AM
Location: Appaloosa 3
Room Level: Lone Star Tower (Level 3)
Friday, July 22
8:00 AM - 9:00 AM
Location: Escondido 2
Room Level: Vineyard Tower (Level 1)

Why are video games like Fortnite and Roblox so addicting? As educators, we often wonder why so many students remain so disengaged -- even when billions have been spent on solutions to help students learn digitally. That’s because solution-providers don’t understand gamification.

In an age of "info-whelm" and "hyperinformation", students are constantly inundated with massive amounts of information that compete with what we teach. How can we adopt strategies that help them sift through information overload while still retaining what they have learned in the classroom?
In this session, I'll explain how the minds of gamers work, what motivates them and how video games use incremental growth, rewards, achievements and peer engagement to keep students' attention. Then I'll share how the addictive strategies of gamification can be translated into your daily classroom practice. You'll receive access to an extensive digital library of resources aligned to the presentation.

Document-based questions and historical inquiries can seem dull. All historians or fans of history know that history is anything but dull because good historical narratives are provocative. Due to our fears of these discussions getting out of hand, many middle and high school teachers avoid historical controversies and stick to memorization of facts and vocabulary. This session focuses on the creation and curation of provocative historical inquiries while still recognizing and respecting the diversity and inclusivity needed in our classrooms. It also demonstrates a way to teach historical analysis based on documents and facts in which many students will be excited to participate.
This session will be repeated:
Tuesday, July 19
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Location: Appaloosa 3
Room Level: Lone Star Tower (Level 3)
Wednesday, July 20
9:30 AM - 10:30 AM
Location: Grapevine Ballroom BD: Table 2
Room Level: Ballroom Level (Level 3)

Students need to read, write and think daily to learn math conceptually. Join us as we tie literacy skills to students' mathematical success. Practical literary strategies will be shared that will enable students to connect mathematical representations such as coordinate pairs, slope and similar concepts to the real-world situations they represent. We'll take a look at some of the storybooks that lend themselves to math lessons, strengthening students' understanding of mathematical relevance and their reading comprehension. Best teaching practices that encourage students to think will be reviewed. We'll also share leadership strategies that help principals and instructional coaches know what to look for in the literacy-based math classroom.
This session will be repeated:
Tuesday, July 19
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Location: San Saba 4
Room Level: Vineyard Tower (Level 1)
Friday, July 22
9:30 AM - 10:30 AM
Location: Appaloosa 3
Room Level: Lone Star Tower (Level 3)

Do you need to reestablish systemic teacher agency — the connection between instruction and student impact? Do your schools need help with learning leaps and accelerated student learning? A mix of historical practices and the difficulties of educating students during a pandemic poses a brand-new challenge for students and their teachers as no one is quite sure what students have learned and what they do not know. This session will cover the basics of research-proven methods to facilitate learning leaps and accelerate your students' skills recovery. It will specifically address the time frame and steps necessary to do this.
This session will be repeated:
Thursday, July 21
8:00 AM - 9:00 AM
Location: Appaloosa 3
Room Level: Lone Star Tower (Level 3)
Friday, July 22
8:00 AM - 9:00 AM
Location: Escondido 2
Room Level: Vineyard Tower (Level 1)

The role and responsibilities of school counselors are deeply rooted in SREB's Systems of Support focus area. This session will help counselors introduce students, parents and teachers to their comprehensive counseling programs. Join me to unpack the crucial role of school counseling programs in improving student outcomes and providing academic and social supports and career guidance.
This session will be repeated:
Thursday, July 21
9:30 AM - 10:30 AM
Location: Escondido 2
Room Level: Vineyard Tower (Level 1)
Friday, July 22
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Location: Escondido 1
Room Level: Vineyard Tower (Level 1)

Student teaching and mentoring do not end the day a preservice teacher exits student teaching and graduates from college. This is only the beginning of the learning process to build knowledge and skills to effectively teach and manage a classroom of students. During this session, I'll share knowledge and strategies learned from 15 years of experience mentoring new teachers as well as the interview data from preservice teachers from my award-winning dissertation on preservice teaching and school leadership. The lived, researched and interviewed data and experiences highlight the question, "What does mentorship look like?" This presentation aims to provide you with ideas to bring back to your schools to help build the capacity of your teachers to mentor our next generation of teachers.
This session will be repeated:
Wednesday, July 20
9:30 AM - 10:30 AM
Location: San Saba 3
Room Level: Vineyard Tower (Level 1)
Friday, July 22
9:30 AM - 10:30 AM
Location: Palomino 2
Room Level: Lone Star Tower (Level 3)

Presenters will share easy-to-replicate routines that establish patterns of thinking and provide opportunities for students to develop deep understanding and experience what it means to engage in a culture of thinking.
This session will be repeated:
Wednesday, July 20
2:30 PM - 3:30 PM
Location: Appaloosa 1
Room Level: Lone Star Tower (Level 3)
Friday, July 22
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Location: Appaloosa 4
Room Level: Lone Star Tower (Level 3)