NCMLE 2025 Middle School Matters Conference

Why does anxiety seem to be so prevalent these days? What is it, and how does it show up? Since avoidance is a typical response (for both staff + students), we tackle this challenge by describing the brain process and providing practical solutions to mitigate this common concern.

Embark on an enlightening journey with our 'Language of Behavior' session where we dive into the profound impacts of trauma on brain development, neural pathways, and physical architecture. Gain insight into how this contributes to student behavior issues and explore alternative approaches such as our relationship inventory, and learn practical strategies that integrate into everyday instruction. You'll walk away confidently with tools to effectively support student well-being and foster an optimal learning environment!

Early career teachers face significant challenges, learning about content, classrom management, and collaborating with colleagues. By focusing on 3 P's (pausing, pondering, and persisting), beginning teachers can build the realationships and resilience needed to make an impact on students' learning and students' lives. If you are a beginning teacher (or someone who supports beginning teachers), this session is for you.

Learn how to connect your student leaders to your classrooms, school, other schools, and the community by creating leadership opportunities that are both traditional and nontraditional. Create a movement! The best way to have a sustainable, positive culture is to let the students drive it. Fired Up Student Leadership creates a responsive culture of belonging through dignity. Offer leadership opportunities for everyone rather than just the top prospects. Eradicate the barriers; learn activities & methods to empower your school with Leadership Camps, Summits, Exchanges, Rallies.

Do you recall being told “sticks and stones will break your bones, but words will never hurt you?” We all know this is NOT TRUE! A teacher's words can be tools of torture or vehicles of encouragement and hope. Using positive language in the classroom can have an incredible impact on student learning and development. Through a review of evidence-based practices and neuroscience discoveries, participants will gain skills in boosting motivation, maximizing engagement, and building positive relationships with students. This highly engaging session will include short lectures, group discussions, and structured experiences to equip participants to use positive language to promote classroom and school success. Participants will leave the session reinvigorated and excited to use what they’ve learned.

Explore multiple ways to teach and learn through inquiry and by questioning with good questions that are standards driven and student supportive. Transform academic standards and learning targets into good questions that will set the instructional focus, serve as assessments, personalize learning, and spark curiosity. Pose good questions that will prompt students to demonstrate and discuss the depth and extent of their learning. Leverage generative artificial intelligence (AI) to create good questions that will promote deep student inquiry. Most importantly, discover how teaching and learning with an inquiring mind can make the experience educational, engaging, and enriching for everyone.

Have you ever felt discouraged when a student you believed needed an IEP was not approved? Do you find it challenging to interpret psychological and educational testing results? Are you unsure about how decisions are made or how the MTSS and EC processes align? If so, this workshop is designed for you! Join John, a seasoned School Psychologist, and Cathi Gann, an experienced EC Teacher, as they share insights and knowledge gained from their combined 60 years of experience working with students with special needs.

Using instruction that's responsive to the needs of varied learners in your classroom is essential. But it can be time-consuming to do it well. Generative AI offers tools that can streamline planning and save time. Many of these tools offer supports for differentiated or individualized instruction. But which ones are worth your attention, and how should you use them efficiently? This session will take an in-depth look at three popular tools that can be used to 1) individualize instruction for multilingual learners, exceptional children, students with advanced proficiency, or those reading below grade level, or 2) differentiate instruction based on readiness, interest, or learning profile. We'll review specific features of MagicSchool, Diffit, and ChatGPT, including examples, strengths, and limitations. We'll also offer concrete guidelines for using each one efficiently and ethically, and participants will practice using one of the tools. This session targets new and experienced users of these tools.