This is the seventh post in a series that highlights the speakers of this year’s 36th Annual Executive Function Conference, which will focus on promoting resilience and equity for ALL students.
This November, we are honored to feature the Director of the Institutes for Learning and Development (ResearchILD & ILD), Lynn Meltzer, Ph.D., who will speak about “Creating Strategic Classrooms: Re-Engaging Students to Promote Self-Understanding and Resilience.”
Dr. Meltzer is a fellow and past-president of the International Academy for Research in Learning Disabilities. She is the founder and program chair of the Annual Executive Function Conference, which she has chaired for over 35 years. For 30 years, she was an associate in education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and an adjunct associate professor in the Department of Child Development at Tufts University. Dr. Meltzer’s 40 years of clinical work, research, publications, and presentations have focused on understanding the complexity of learning and attention differences.
Dr. Meltzer’s extensive publications include articles, chapters, and books, most recently, Executive Function in Education: From Theory to Practice (2018), Promoting Executive Function in the Classroom (2010), and The Power of Peers in the Classroom: Enhancing Learning and Social Skills (2015). Together with her ResearchILD staff, Dr. Meltzer developed SMARTS, an evidence-based Executive Function and Peer Mentoring/ Coaching Curriculum for elementary, middle, and high school students.
2021 Executive Function Conference
Dr. Meltzer founded the “Learning Disabilities Conference” thirty-six years ago while at Harvard Medical School. This conference was the first of its kind, connecting theorists, researchers, and teachers to improve the lives of students with learning and attention difficulties. Over the years, the name of the conference has changed to emphasize students’ strengths and resilience. However, the focus has remained on executive function as the foundation of success for ALL students. At this year’s conference, you can hear from Dr. Meltzer and a number of distinguished speakers who will address issues related to executive function, resilience, and equity. Dr. Meltzer’s talk will focus on building strategic classrooms.
Strategy Use in the Classroom
How can teachers ensure that their classrooms are places where students can develop and refine their strategy use? At ResearchILD’s 36th Annual Executive Function Conference, Dr. Meltzer will describe how teachers can create strategic classrooms and learning environments. Dr. Meltzer will also highlight ways to promote students’ self-awareness and self-understanding. Self-understanding is a critical aspect of metacognition, which is the key to academic and lifelong success. Dr. Meltzer’s talk will cover strategies for promoting metacognitive awareness so we can help students to learn HOW to learn. She will also discuss the new MetaCOG Online survey system, an interactive executive function survey tool that highlights students’ perceptions of their executive function strategy use, self-concept, perceived effort, and persistence.
Learn More
You can learn more about Dr. Lynn Meltzer and her work:
- Visit researchild.org.
- Watch Dr. Meltzer’s videos about cognitive flexibility and metacognition.
- Attend ResearchILD’s 36th Annual Executive Function Conference to hear Dr. Meltzer speak about “Creating Strategic Classrooms: Re-Engaging Students to Promote Self-Understanding and Resilience.”
Raffle for New Registrants—starting 9/24! All new conference registrants will be entered into a special raffle through October 17. Choose one of many great options, including a full year’s access to the SMARTS Executive Function program, a seat at the upcoming Executive Function Essentials Workshops, or your own library of EF resources!
Caitlin Vanderberg, M.Ed., SMARTS Associate
SMARTS Executive Function Curriculum: smarts-ef.org
Research Institute for Learning and Development: researchild.org
The Institute for Learning and Development: ildlex.org