SEL Full Schedule

All times Central Daylight Time (CDT) 

Registration & Welcome

7:30 - 8:30 a.m. Maucker Union

Registration

8:30-8:40 a.m.

Welcome
Dean Colleen Mulholland, University of Northern Iowa College of Education

Keynote Sessions

8:10 a.m. - 9:10 a.m. Maucker Union

The Science and Practice of Social and Emotional Learning in Preschools and Schools 

Stephanie M. Jones, Harvard
Jones will review the science of social and emotional learning. She will focus on the essential skills across the K-12 years, their developmental progression, and the evidence documenting links between them and future outcomes. Jones will describe the critical role that social-emotional skills and related interventions play in children’s mental health, behavioral, and academic success and new translational work designed to build connections between the major conceptual and practice-focused frameworks for the field. Participants will expand their understanding of social and emotional development, as well as become acquainted with the terms, definitions, and approaches in this field. In addition, participants will be able to summarize a number of tensions in this area and discuss the opportunities they present for future evidence-based practice. 

Break 10 - 10:15 a.m. 

10:15 - 11:00 a.m. Maucker Union

The Power of Picture Books!

Susan Verde, Children's Book Author
Picture books are a wonderful way to support the social and emotional growth of kids in the classroom. Through story and representation, they are helpers on every level-tackling sensitive topics, mirroring and teaching feelings, self-reflection, and expression in a way that is not didactic and instead invites the reader and the listener to be curious and make connections. Join Susan Verde as she shares how being a former elementary school teacher as well as a yoga and mindfulness practitioner for kids and educators, has influenced her own picture book writing. She will even do a few breathing and movement exercises to share with your students and for your own well-being. 

Break/Walk to Schindler Education Center 11 - 11:15 a.m.

Breakout Sessions 11:20 a.m. - 12:15 p.m (SEC)

Regulation in Action: Strengthening SEL Through Modeling, Strategies, and Student Agency

Katie Simpson, University of Northern Iowa & Kristen Schrock, Cedar Falls Community Schools
This session explores the power of regulation for both educators and students. Participants will learn practical strategies for self-regulation, ways to support students in developing their own regulation skills, and how to intentionally model SEL competencies in everyday classroom routines. We’ll also highlight how positive affirmations and purpose-setting can build student agency, strengthen focus, and create a calm, supportive learning environment.

• Identify and practice effective self-regulation strategies and explain how adults can model these practices to support students’ emotional and behavioral regulation.
• Connect SEL competencies and indicators to classroom practice, describing what students need and what adults can intentionally do to teach, model, and reinforce these skills.
• Design daily routines that build student agency, including the use of positive affirmations and purpose-setting questions to help students regulate, focus, and engage.

Portraiture Pedagogy: Understanding and Supporting Multilingual Learners

Dr. Tipsuda Chamuangkhong, Dr. Aliza Fones, Doaa Ibrahim, Cody Boozell, University of Northern Iowa
Immigrant and refugee multilingual learners (MLs) bring unique skills, resources, backgrounds, and experiences to our schools. This session explores the specific ways in which specific considerations are necessary for supporting the SEL of these students. One approach highlights portraiture pedagogy as a bridge between multilingual education and SEL. Participants will see how portraiture cultivates SEL skills (i.e. empathy, reflexivity, advocacy) while positioning teachers to design instruction that honors children’s languages, identities, and lived experiences.

• Develop SEL tools specific to immigrant and refugee multilingual learners;
• Understand how portraiture as pedagogy supports teachers’ SEL growth by cultivating empathy, reflexivity, and relational listening;
• Take away strategies for integrating portraiture into their own SEL and literacy practices to foster inclusive and equity-centered classrooms.

The Path to Inclusion

Paul Greene, Inclusion Connection
The Path to Inclusion will equip participants to recognize what full inclusion looks like in diverse settings—where all individuals feel welcomed, valued, and empowered to participate fully. Attendees will learn to identify barriers to inclusion, assess current practices, and implement strategies for creating inclusive environments. Whether in schools, workplaces, or communities, this session offers guidance to foster belonging and equity for all.

• Understand how to identify full Inclusion
• Find ways to reach full Inclusion

 Preventing & Responding to Challenging Behaviors in a Restorative Way

Jill Hayes White, Cedar Falls Community Schools 
I will discuss simple practices that any educator can do to prevent and respond to challenging behaviors at school in a restorative way. My focus will be on recognizing the underlying causes of behavior (stress and anxiety), recognizing common ways that adults unintentionally create more stress and anxiety for students, and how to trade in those old habits for more productive and respectful ones. I'll also talk about how to respond to behaviors without escalating them, how to reconnect after a behavior happens, and how to have a restorative conversation with students.

• Learn how to respond to challenging behaviors in a productive and supportive way.
• Learn preventative practices to reduce the number of challenging behaviors at school.
• Will be able to have or facilitate a restorative conversation.

Survive, Thrive & Shake It Off 2.0

Becky Lins & Courtney N. Cook, Iowa School Counselor Association
Building on last year’s Survive, Thrive & Shake It Off, this 2.0 session moves from awareness to action. Using the Eight Dimensions of Wellness and the Joy Cycle, participants will engage in guided reflection and hands-on activities to identify strengths, uncover gaps, and design sustainable routines that support educator wellbeing. This interactive workshop centers adult SEL, community care, and intentional joy as essential practices for preventing burnout and sustaining longevity in emotionally demanding roles.

• Map personal wellness practices across SAMHSA’s Eight Dimensions to identify strengths, gaps, and growth areas.
• Develop customized routines that support ongoing joy, rather than occasional joy, using the Joy Cycle framework.
• Connect resilience, vulnerability, and community care to sustainable SEL-centered wellness habits that prevent burnout and support longevity.

Supporting the Whole Teacher: SEL and Effective Teaching Practices in Action

Allison Barness & Allison Pattee, University of Northern Iowa and Brandy Smith, Wartburg
We will share ideas to support the social-emotional development of young children. This will provide educators and caregivers with practical strategies and techniques to create nurturing environments that promote positive behavior and self-regulation. Through a blend of theory and real-world examples, this presentation will provide ideas needed to build strong relationships with children, manage challenging behaviors effectively, and foster a sense of belonging and emotional well-being. Presenters will share documentation ideas, lessons and books to use with young children and give time to share what works in your classrooms!

• Apply practical, evidence-based strategies to create nurturing and inclusive settings that support positive behavior and self-regulation.
• Implement effective guidance techniques for managing challenging behaviors while promoting emotional well-being and a sense of belonging.

 Fireside Chat & Advanced Book Signing 

Susan Verde, Keynote
Susan will engage in meaningful conversation, answering questions and read one of her books for all who join.  For priority book signing, plan to attend this session.

Going Deeper on SEL Strategies for PK-12: An Introduction to SEL Kernels

Stephanie M. Jones, Keynote
In this workshop Jones will review the core elements of successful practice in the social and emotional domain focusing on strategies and practices for children, youth, and classrooms. Jones will distill and describe research on the nature, content, and efficacy of social and emotional learning strategies and programs and will provide specific strategies to promote self-regulation and executive function, social skills, emotional competencies, and other essential social and emotional skills.

• Discover the links between SEL Kernels and trauma informed practices and mental health and wellbeing.

7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Student Style

Leader In Me, Cedar Valley 
Join us as student leaders from Cedar Valley Leader in Me schools introduce you to the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People in a fast, fun, and engaging way!

• Enjoy student leadership.
• Gain knowledge about the foundational curriculum of Leader in Me.
• Learn how the principles and practices of the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People apply to your life.

Lunch, Vendor Exhibits & Book Signing 12:15 - 1:30 p.m. (SEC)

• Lunch in SEC atrium lobby, 2nd floor
• Children's book author Susan Verde signs books in the TEACH Studio (ends at 1:00 p.m.)
• Vendor exhibits & UNI degree information, 2nd floor

Breakout Sessions 1:30 - 2:25 p.m. (SEC) 

Engaging Boys and Young Men: Social-Emotional Learning Practices for Healthy Relationships and Resilience

Wm. Michael Fleming, University of Northern Iowa
This session focuses on strengthening boys’ and young men’s social-emotional development during a time of unique challenges and opportunities. Participants will explore research-informed strategies for engaging boys in healthy relationship development, emotional expression, and violence prevention. Drawing from best practices in school-based programming, the workshop offers practical tools for educators and secondary school staff to support boys’ well-being, foster resilience, and create environments where they can thrive socially, emotionally, and academically.

• Identify key social-emotional and mental health challenges facing boys and young men in contemporary school settings.
• Apply evidence-informed strategies to engage boys in healthy relationship development, emotional expression, and violence prevention.
• Develop practical approaches for integrating boy-responsive SEL practices into secondary school classrooms and student support systems.

Self-Care Is a System, Not a Saturday: When SEL Burned Me Out (and Then Brought Me Back)

Nicole M. Cody, doctoral student, University of Memphis
This presentation blends humor, storytelling, and real-world insight to explore how SEL can either prevent or perpetuate burnout—depending on how it’s implemented. Through the lens of one teacher’s journey from burnout in a traditional brick-and-mortar school to renewal at a virtual school that prioritizes SEL above all else, this session challenges educators and leaders alike to stop treating wellness like a side project and start building systems that support the people behind the practices.

• Participants will be encouraged to reflect on how social-emotional learning (SEL) can support educator well-being—and challenged to stop viewing it as an individual responsibility.
• Educators will be inspired to prioritize their own mental health, while leaders will be called to fully embrace SEL as a systemic, schoolwide commitment.

“Acting Out”: Theater-Based Social-Emotional Learning in Early Childhood Education

Ben Siegel, St. Olaf College
Can theater nurture young children's social-emotional growth? This session shares results from a qualitative program evaluation of a theater-based social-emotional learning intervention for preschoolers. Centering teacher voices, we will reflect on program impacts, acceptability in central Iowa classrooms, and practical takeaways. Participants will explore how story, embodiment, audience participation, and play can guide innovative approaches to building children’s self-regulation, empathy, and emotion identification skills.

• Understand teachers' perspectives on the impacts and acceptability of a theater-based social-emotional learning (SEL) program piloted in central Iowa.
• Explore how participatory drama strategies, such as story, embodiment, and play, can be used to support preschoolers’ emotion identification, self-regulation, empathy, and co-regulation.

Teaching Through a Therapeutic Lense: What Every Classroom Can Learn

Jacee Nelson, HEART Therapeutic Program - Heartland AEA
This session explores how any classroom can integrate therapeutic teaching practices that center safety, connection, co-regulation, and predictable routines. Drawing from real experiences in a therapeutic program, participants will learn practical strategies to support student regulation, strengthen relationships, and use data compassionately. Educators will also deepen awareness of their own nervous system and leave with simple, sustainable tools to stay regulated so they can effectively co-regulate with students.

• Participants will be able to identify and apply key therapeutic teaching practices, such as co-regulation, relationship-building, emotional check-ins, and predictable routines, in any educational setting to support student safety and readiness to learn.
• Participants will develop an awareness of how their own self-regulation, nervous system state, and self-care practices influence classroom dynamics, and will learn at least 2–3 strategies to support their own regulation so they can effectively co-regulate with students.

SEL through the MTSS framework

Bryana Caviness, Webster City Community School District
Participants will engage in conversations about the MTSS framework and the research supporting its implementation, as well as explore the CASEL SEL competencies and their evidence-based impact. I will share innovative practices for embedding SEL competencies within the MTSS framework to promote holistic student success. Through guided reflection, participants will identify and address potential barriers to implementing SEL and MTSS effectively within their own educational settings.

• Participants will be able to identify social emotional learning competencies and the importance of data collection tools to drive our decision making.
• Participants will be able to identify indicators of the MTSS framework and the importance of data collection tools to drive our decision making.
• Participants will be able to embed and apply the social emotional competencies throughout the multi-tiered system of support structure.

Social Emotional Learning and the Secondary Learner: A Call to Intentional, Integrated Action

Katie Borton, University of Northern Iowa
Adolescents experience a second window of neurological development, making grades 6-12 vital spaces for social-emotional learning. Yet, secondary schools—especially high schools—show the lowest rates of SEL implementation and availability of resources. This session calls for intentional, integrated SEL practices that foster belonging, engagement, and cognitive growth. Participants will explore why SEL is essential during this developmental stage and how to embed it meaningfully into classroom experiences.

• Explain why SEL is critical for middle and high school learners in the context of engagement, mental health, and belonging.
• Describe how SEL supports adolescent cognitive development during a key neurological growth period.
• Identify and design strategies for integrating SEL into secondary classroom practices to create intentional, inclusive learning environments.

Follow What You Know: Using the 8 Highways to Strengthen Adult SEL, Prevent Burnout, and Lead with Realness

Courtney N. Cook, Iowa School Counselors Association
Educators know how to teach SEL… but living it in the middle of real stress, real burnout, and real emotions can feel like another story. In this session, Courtney Cook blends the “8 Highways” of the 8 to Great curriculum with practical strategies, humor, and honest stories from the field. Participants will explore concrete tools for sustaining their own social and emotional wellbeing while modeling healthy SEL for students and staff.

• Connect the “8 Highways” of 8 to Great to their own SEL practices as educators and leaders.
• Apply concrete, sustainable strategies for adult SEL that reduce burnout, increase emotional resilience, and reignite the "why" for educators.
• Reflect on personal stories, humor, and shared experiences to strengthen their own sense of authenticity, agency, and connection.

Supporting Social and Emotional Development in Early Childhood: What Can Early Childhood Educators Do? 

Stephanie Schmitz, University of Northern Iowa 
Research on SEL practices during the early years has increased over the past decade, with findings suggesting their benefits for all young children, and across multiple skills and skill areas. However, there is some debate on what type of strategies and/or interventions might be most effective in developing such skills for young children. This session will provide information on evidence-based strategies and interventions for use in the ECE classroom, including integrating SEL activities into children's play.

• Identify indicators of concerns with young children's social and emotional development.
• Learn about evidence-based SEL practices for use in the early childhood classroom.
• Consider integrating SEL activities within children’s play opportunities, while learning about possible challenges and barriers in doing so.

Modified Zones of Regulation for Students with Significant Needs

Kenzie Heusinkvelt & Sharmin Koppes, Central Rivers AEA, and Abby Martin & Tarissa Ollendieck, River Hills School 
River Hills School (a publicly sponsored special school for students with moderate, severe, and profound developmental disabilities) has modified the Zones of regulation curriculum to support our student SEBH needs. This presentation will include the process of how Zones was modified and share data from one year of implementation.  Our multidisciplinary (School psychology, Speech Language Pathologist, Occupational Therapist, and Student Success Coach) will share how we worked together to create this programming for our students.

• Participants will understand the modified framework.
• Participants will gather ideas on how to adapt teaching strategies to fit a variety of student's needs.
• Participants will learn how to work collaboratively with a multidisciplinary team to support student needs.

Break 2:25 - 2:35 p.m. (SEC)

Breakout Sessions 2:35 - 3:30 p.m. (SEC)

Listening to Behaviors

Evan Anderson, Buena Vista University - School of Education
This session reframes attention‑seeking as connection‑seeking, teaching educators to listen to behaviors, apply the four components of connection, presence / eye contact / playfulness / touch, and use routines and safe screentime practices. Participants learn brain‑based effects of screens, alternatives to devices, and proactive strategies—like calm‑down tools and when to step back—to support children’s social‑emotional regulation.

• Identify common attention‑seeking behaviors and recognize the four essential components of connection—presence, eye contact, playfulness, and touch—and apply those components deliberately to strengthen relationships.
• Explore how technology and screen time influence behavior and brain development, learn age‑appropriate screen time recommendations and safe use practices, and discover alternatives to screens (including embracing the joy of boredom) while prioritizing consistent routines that support emotional regulation.
• Gain proactive strategies for supporting children through dysregulation—when to pause and leave a child alone while a child is in that meltdown (fight or flight) stage, plus practical classroom tools and techniques (such as a teacher apron, proper use of a calm‑down cube, and calibrated routines) to teach social‑emotional skills and reduce reactive responses.

Transformational SEL Starts With Us: Why Educators Must Engage in Personal SEL Development to Create Inclusive Classrooms

Katie Borton & David Hernandez-Saca, University of Northern Iowa
Social Emotional Learning (SEL) is often framed as something we “do” to students, but transformational SEL begins with educators themselves. This session takes a critical lens on how SEL competencies are constructed and implemented, challenging approaches that unintentionally promote assimilation or overlook the diverse identities, experiences, and abilities of learners. Participants will explore why personal SEL development is foundational for creating classrooms where all students feel seen, heard, and safe—and where cognitive and emotional growth thrives. Together, we will examine strategies for fostering educator self-awareness and equity-centered practices that transform SEL from a compliance task into a tool for liberation and belonging.

• Analyze how the superficial implementation of Social Emotional Learning can unintentionally perpetuate assimilation, delineating transformational SEL from historic approaches to character and moral education.
• Reflect on our social-emotional competencies and biases to understand how educator SEL development impacts classroom climate and student identity affirmation.
• Identify ways in which transformational SEL implementation can look within the classroom. 

Supporting Social and Emotional Development in Early Childhood: What Can Early Childhood Educators Do? 

Stephanie Schmitz, University of Northern Iowa 
Research on SEL practices during the early years has increased over the past decade, with findings suggesting their benefits for all young children, and across multiple skills and skill areas. However, there is some debate on what type of strategies and/or interventions might be most effective in developing such skills for young children. This session will provide information on evidence-based strategies and interventions for use in the ECE classroom, including integrating SEL activities into children's play.

• Identify indicators of concerns with young children's social and emotional development.
• Learn about evidence-based SEL practices for use in the early childhood classroom.
• Consider integrating SEL activities within children’s play opportunities, while learning about possible challenges and barriers in doing so.

Using Cognitive Distraction for More Effective Student Breaks 

Jill Hayes White, Cedar Falls Community Schools
This presentation would highlight what we want out of breaks, how we know if they are working or not, teaching students how to recognize when they need to "change the channel" in their brain, and facilitating cognitive distraction breaks that help students regulate, refocus, and get back to learning.

• Recognize the purpose and intended outcomes of breaks for students.
• Provide more meaningful breaks for students who need them at school.
• Help ourselves to take more effective breaks when we experience stress or overwhelm.

Self-Care Is a System, Not a Saturday: When SEL Burned Me Out (and Then Brought Me Back)

Nicole M. Cody, doctoral student, University of Memphis
This presentation blends humor, storytelling, and real-world insight to explore how SEL can either prevent or perpetuate burnout—depending on how it’s implemented. Through the lens of one teacher’s journey from burnout in a traditional brick-and-mortar school to renewal at a virtual school that prioritizes SEL above all else, this session challenges educators and leaders alike to stop treating wellness like a side project and start building systems that support the people behind the practices.

• Participants will be encouraged to reflect on how social-emotional learning (SEL) can support educator well-being—and challenged to stop viewing it as an individual responsibility.
• Educators will be inspired to prioritize their own mental health, while leaders will be called to fully embrace SEL as a systemic, schoolwide commitment.

“Acting Out”: Theater-Based Social-Emotional Learning in Early Childhood Education

Ben Siegel, St. Olaf College
Can theater nurture young children's social-emotional growth? This session shares results from a qualitative program evaluation of a theater-based social-emotional learning intervention for preschoolers. Centering teacher voices, we will reflect on program impacts, acceptability in central Iowa classrooms, and practical takeaways. Participants will explore how story, embodiment, audience participation, and play can guide innovative approaches to building children’s self-regulation, empathy, and emotion identification skills.

• Understand teachers' perspectives on the impacts and acceptability of a theater-based social-emotional learning (SEL) program piloted in central Iowa.
• Explore how participatory drama strategies, such as story, embodiment, and play, can be used to support preschoolers’ emotion identification, self-regulation, empathy, and co-regulation.

Engaging Boys and Young Men: Social-Emotional Learning Practices for Healthy Relationships and Resilience

Wm. Michael Fleming, University of Northern Iowa
This session focuses on strengthening boys’ and young men’s social-emotional development during a time of unique challenges and opportunities. Participants will explore research-informed strategies for engaging boys in healthy relationship development, emotional expression, and violence prevention. Drawing from best practices in school-based programming, the workshop offers practical tools for educators and secondary school staff to support boys’ well-being, foster resilience, and create environments where they can thrive socially, emotionally, and academically.

• Identify key social-emotional and mental health challenges facing boys and young men in contemporary school settings.
• Apply evidence-informed strategies to engage boys in healthy relationship development, emotional expression, and violence prevention.
• Develop practical approaches for integrating boy-responsive SEL practices into secondary school classrooms and student support systems.

Cultivating Emotional Resilience Through Adult SEL

Roshawn Berry, Roshawn Berry Shares Harmonic Love
The session will explore the causes of teacher burnout and how focusing on adult social and emotional learning (SEL) supports personal well-being, professional balance, and authentic connection with others. Participants will learn to strengthen self-awareness, manage stress, and build emotional resilience. By the end of the session, attendees will leave with practical strategies to sustain their own SEL growth and create more compassionate, emotionally attuned learning environments.

• Analyze the underlying causes of teacher burnout.
• Apply SEL strategies to foster educator resilience.
• Demonstrate the use of meditation as a resilience tool.

How Schools Can Use Play to Increase Social and Emotional Learning and Mental Health

Rod Dieser, University of Northern Iowa
Friedrich Froebel was the founder of the kindergarten and one of the most influential educational reformers of the 19th century. This presentation will articulate how Froebelian play-based principles align with Haidt’s school psychologists' recommendations, to increase mental health and social-emotional learning. Practical ideas and recommendations will be shared.

• Articulate how play, outdoor recreation, and outdoor education develop social and emotional learning through the creation of a discovery mode mindset.
• Be able to create after-school play clubs and loose parts playgrounds, specifically designed to increase emotional and social learning.
• Implement the Froebell freedom with guidance principle as a foundational approach to childhood education, utilizing a child's autonomy to teach social and emotional learning.