EnCorps Speaker Series
The EnCorps Speaker Series hosts interactive workshops as professional development sessions for prospective teachers, EnCorps Fellows, current teachers and STEMx Tutors. During our educational sessions, leading experts in STEM and Education discuss relevant trending topics, expand on best practices for the classroom, and present future forward engagement strategies for learners.
Register below for upcoming sessions and to access session recordings.
Enacting Educational Change through Sly Civility
Thursday | 2.13.25
4:30 – 5:45 PM PST
“Sly Civility”….what is that? We hope you join us for this informative webinar to learn more.
This webinar will take participants through a series of interactive activities that will introduce and reinforce the use of “sly civility” as an educational change/leadership strategy with the goal of enacting and ensuring educational equity for under-represented groups within the K-12 environment.
Hosted By:
Dr. Donna J. Nicol Ph.D
Dr. Donna J. Nicol is the Associate Dean for Personnel and Curriculum in the College of Liberal Arts at California State University Long Beach (CSULB).
She is the immediate outgoing Professor and Chair of Africana Studies at California State University Dominguez Hills. Dr. Nicol joined the faculty at CSUDH in Fall 2017 after a decade in the Women and Gender Studies Department at California State University Fullerton where she became the first woman of color to be granted tenure and promotion to Associate Professor in 2014. She is the recipient of the 2021 Faculty Excellence in Service Award at CSU Dominguez Hills. Dr. Nicol earned early promotion to full professor in 2021, making her the department’s first woman to achieve this academic rank.
Before joining the professoriate, Dr. Nicol spent seven years in higher education administration as a Program Coordinator, Program Manager and Director along with three years as a secondary social studies and language arts teacher for Los Angeles Unified School District.
Dr. Nicol is a proud alumna of California State University Fullerton (BA, History and African American Studies, 1995) and California State University Long Beach (MA, History, 1999). She earned a master’s degree in educational policy and leadership in 2002 and a Ph.D. in educational studies (with a specialization in African American educational history) in 2007 from The Ohio State University. Dr. Nicol’s research and teaching centers on history and politics of African American educational access with a focus on philanthropic foundations, university trustee boards, and African American women as faculty, university administrators and educational activists. She was a featured expert on the Al Jazeera documentary, The Big Picture: A Race for America, which aired in February 2021 and has subsequently published opinion and historical analysis articles for Al Jazeera English.
Dr. Nicol is a member of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, a life member of the Association of Black Women Historians, member of the California Faculty Association, and serves on the board of directors for the Historical Society of Southern California.
In her spare time, Dr. Nicol enjoys taking hip hop dance classes, cooking, debating politics and traveling with her husband.
How Metacognition Can
Optimize Learning
Wednesday | 4.9.25
4:30 -5:45 PM PST
Becoming a self-regulated learner can maximize your efficiency when studying and help in other areas of learning.
The act of thinking about our own thinking, or metacognition, plays a huge role in effective and efficient learning. By understanding how metacognition works, and what strategies tend to improve metacognition, we can harness it to improve learning and teach our students to do the same. In this session, cognitive scientist Megan Sumeracki explains practical strategies for leveraging metacognition in educational contexts.
Hosted By:
Dr. Megan Sumeracki
Megan Sumeracki is a tenured professor at Rhode Island College and co-founded The Learning Scientists in 2016 with Yana Weinstein. She holds a Master’s in Experimental Psychology from Washington University in St. Louis and a PhD in Cognitive Psychology from Purdue University. Her research focuses on applying cognitive science to improve learning in educational settings. Megan is also dedicated to science communication and passionate about enhancing meaningful learning in classrooms and independent study.
Recorded Sessions
Math Therapy: How to help ALL students build better relationships with Math
Get ready to transform the way you approach teaching math! This isn’t just about helping students solve equations—it’s about helping them let go of the anxiety and fear that’s been holding them back. In this session, you’ll learn powerful strategies to help your students break through their math trauma and build a healthier relationship with math. Whether you’re working with a student who’s been stuck in a negative mindset or just needs a confidence boost, you’ll walk away with actionable tools you can use.
Presenter:
Vanessa Vakharia CEO of The Math Guru
AI for STEM Educators: A Joint Webinar with Pedagog.ai
Explore how AI can revolutionize STEM education in our upcoming joint webinar hosted by Pedagog.ai. Topics Include:
- Introduction to AI in Education: Benefits and Examples
- Contextualizing AI for the STEM Educator
- Experiences of STEM Teachers in the Age of AI
- Adapting STEM Education to Embrace Teaching with and about AI
Presenters:
Amy Kim, Ph.D Executive Director of EnCorps
Dr. Yujia Ding, M.A., M.A.Ed., Ed.D: EnCorps Educator
Nina Bamberg: Director of Growth at Pedagog.ai
The Future of STEM Education in the AI Era
A pervasive topic in education, Priten Shah, the author of "AI & the Future of Education: Teaching in the Age of Artificial Intelligence," set out to demystify the implications of AI in the realm of education. This session will focus on AI's impact on STEM education as well as how to incorporate teaching AI literacy as part of STEM while workshopping AI Integration in the classroom.
Presenter:
Priten Shah Entrepreneur and Author
AI for STEM Educators: A Joint Webinar with Pedagog.
After a difficult first year of high school teaching, Rebecka discovered the One Good Thing blog. She found that highlighting the beautiful and positive experiences in her classroom helped her prevent burnout and to stay in the profession. In this session, Rebecka will show how to build relationships, focus on the moments of joy, and celebrate teaching and learning.
Presenter:
Rebecka Peterson
How to Make Math Interesting, Engaging & Cool
Before students can be motivated to achieve in math, they must first see its value in their own lives. In this fast-paced and engaging session, we’ll cover how to:
- Help students see the true value of math in their own lives.
- Persevere in math despite frustration.
- Deliver short & highly engaging math activities that will excite and engage students!
Presenter:
Alex Kajitani
Relationship Building with a DEIJ Lens
EnCorps recognizes that the key to creating impactful learning environments starts with building and maintaining relationships throughout the school year. In the Relationship Building with a DEIJ Lens workshop, EnCorps Educators will gain personal awareness, culturally responsive tools, and tangible action items to create a safe and effective learning environment for this upcoming school year.
Presenter:
Jessica Velasco
