Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning

This is episode #49 with someone who is one of today’s leading Leadership and Marketing Strategists and is also a long-time good friend, mentor and colleague of ours here at Achieveit360. Dr. Jeff Magee works with C-Suite, Business Leaders, Military Generals and the top CEOs across America. We first met Dr. Jeff Magee back in 2009 when we partnered with his Professional Performance Magazine and created the Teen Performance Magazine. You can watch the interview on YouTube here. Jeff is the Author of more than 20 books, three college graduate management texts, four best sellers, and is the Publisher of PERFORMANCE/P360 Magazine,[i] former Co-Host of the national business entrepreneur program on Catalyst Business Radio,[ii] and a Human Capital Developer for more than twenty years. You can download a FREE version of the Teen Performance Magazine here.[iii] Welcome Dr. Jeff, it’s incredible to see you and sorry it’s been so long. You literally just popped into my head this morning on my hike and emailed you the minute I returned to my desk. This has been the fastest reply I’ve ever had, but I expect that of you. You don’t waste a second of your time. Thank you so for spending some time with me today. Jeff, I was thinking--just a few hours ago and wondering what other high performers like you are doing to stay focused during these scary times. Can you share how maybe some of your experiences working with the Army National Guard and Military Generals have prepared you for this time, and what are you doing differently? I know that most of your training happens in live events or in person, so how have you pivoted your business the past few weeks? What about your mental mindset? I know in the past when I have been stuck with my business, and I’ve contacted you for ideas, I’ve come away with a list of 20 new ideas to help me to move forward. What are some ways that people can get past places they might be stuck? Perhaps thinking of people who are working from home and now have their children at home that they need to keep busy? What are you doing with your time to add new skills? How has your schedule been the past few weeks? How is it the same or different? What have your learned about yourself and your business the past few weeks? What are you taking away from this experience to improve what you do at JeffreyMagee.com? Any final thoughts, or something I might have missed that you think is important for us to think about as we prepare for the next few months? Thank you so much for the quickest reply I have ever had! If anyone wants to learn more about you and your online training programs they can go to jeffreymagee.com[iv] and find you on social media @drjeffmagee on Twitter. What’s the best way for people to reach you and learn more? REFERENCES: [i] https://www.professionalperformancemagazine.com/ [ii] http://www.catalystbusinessradio.com/index.php [iii] https://www.magcloud.com/browse/magazine/77535 [iv] https://www.jeffreymagee.com/

This is episode #48. Welcome to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast, my name is Andrea Samadi, I’m a former educator whose been fascinated with understanding the science behind high performance strategies in schools, sports and the workplace for the past 20 years. I’ve always loved this quote, and it just seems relevant today. “In a time of drastic change, (like our world today) it is the learners who inherit the future. The learned (those who think they know it all) usually find themselves beautifully equipped to live in a world that no longer exists.” (Eric Hoffer, Philosopher) Today’s episode will focus on some strategies to help you to remain productive at work, whether you are working from home, or home schooling your children, AND working, let’s take a look at some evidence-based strategies with the application of the most current, fascinating brain research to help you to stay focused, so when all of this chaos that’s happening in our world today comes to an end, (because it will) you will emerge as stronger, more efficient and knowledgeable, with perhaps a different outlook of some new and improved ways of living your life. I just learned some new ways of thinking from Jim Bunch, who is known as “The Ultimate Life Entrepreneur” –he spent years working side-by-side with Tony Robbins. Jim’s mission is to inspire happiness, health, and wealth worldwide. He is the founder of The Ultimate Game of Life app[i] that I have been using for the past 504 days. I’m counting only because my plan was to use the app for 30 days to recover from a surgery and get my workouts back on track—and 504 days later, I realized there was much more to the app than meets the eye. This week, Jim was talking about some new ways of thinking and reminded us that during these strange times, you’ll notice some things that you have been doing that give you energy and make you stronger.[ii] Think about what they are and amplify those activities. Do more of what gives you energy, and less of what is draining. You’ll notice some things that are becoming obsolete in your life. Notice them and take note of what is replacing them. Are these new ways better than the old way? Be aware of your new way of living and see what you can learn from this time to improve life when it returns to its new normal. What will you keep doing more of, and what will you think about changing or deleting? What new strategies and knowledge can you gain? This can be a powerful time of renewal. Brain Network Theory: The New Brain Science of Reducing Stress Before we dive deep into this week’s episode, let’s take a closer look at the new brain science of overcoming stress and avoiding work burnout called Brain Network Theory—that we should all be aware of to increase positivity, reduce stress and anxiety and increase our work productivity and results. Remember, just like Theory of Mind from EPISODE 46[iii], this is also a theory. Brain Network Theory is now being talked about all over the place, so if you follow the most current neuroscience research, I’m sure you will have heard about it. There are many books being written on this NEW Brain Network Theory (I’ve mentioned Dr. Srini Pillay and his book about the power of the unfocused mind in past episodes). I’ve been working closely with Mark Waldman (from EPISODE 30)[iv] this past week and know that applying Brain Network Theory to our life at this point in time can be powerful. With any theory, just keep an open mind, listen to the ideas, and see how they can fit into your life. So what is Brain Network Theory? If you were to go to www.pubmed.gov and search for the most recent studies on the brain, instead of looking at different parts of the brain, like we used to do, we now know and study different networks in the brain to gain understanding, and we can measure and see the activity in each of these brain networks. Some people use fMRI scans, others use SPECT image scans, but I am sure you

This is episode #47 with Erik Francis, our first returning guest to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast. Erik was just on with us for episode 41 with “How to Use Questions to Promote Cognitive Rigor, Thinking and Learning” with his book, Now That’s a Good Question and because of these strange times we are in right now, I thought it would be perfect timing to ask Erik back to share his thoughts on how to transition from teaching and learning in the classroom, to teaching and learning at home. You can watch the YouTube interview here. Welcome back Erik! Thank you for your willingness to do this, especially on a weekend. Now Erik, we all could benefit from hearing your thoughts of exactly what you are doing to ensure that your girls are still learning while schools have been cancelled for longer than we could have anticipated. Question 1: What are you doing with your girls (middle school/highschool age?) to ensure they are still learning, without stressing everyone out over there? Question 2: I did see a great post from Learning A-Z[i] (the educational company that does the RAZ early readers). I will post a link to this article that I think is great because it covers some of the basics for learning at home. What does your day look like? How have you added in this new daily learning? And are you still keeping your usual daily routines? Question 3: I saw you and Greg Wolcott post something on social media about websites for read a louds and activities. I pulled this resource[ii] up but wasn’t sure what it was. Can you explain how to use these resources? Question 4: How can you tie DOK into what you are doing and make learning enjoyable instead of this “thing” we are doing now. I want to trick my kids into learning. Question 5: What other thoughts do you have on making learning fun, knowing that my next lesson is on Brain Network Theory, where I will be going deep into the 3 networks of the brain, and why rest is so important each hour in order to learn. How are you making this whole experience fun for your girls? I can be a bit of a drill sergeant with mine, so could use some tips to lighten up a bit. Thank you Erik for your thoughts on how to transition from teaching and learning in the classroom to teaching and learning at home. Do you have any other resources that you are working on that you want to direct people to? Stay safe and wishing all the listeners the same. If anyone wants to reach out to Erik for anything, you can email him directly at [email protected] REFERENCES and RESOURCES [i] https://www.learninga-z.com/site/breakroom/school-at-home-tips [ii] https://docs.google.com/document/u/0/d/1OH-_GM-eYefOa7JDNmM6wdUb9fsa1H8k8O_XgPih4m0/mobilebasic

This is episode 46. This week we are on our last solo episode of diving deep into Dr. John Medina’s Brain Rules. I wonder: how are you managing your time during these unexpected life events that are happening in our world today? “You can build up your ‘cognitive reserve,’ or your brain’s innate ability to get a job done, through different types of learning and or through new experiences.” People with a stronger and healthier cognitive reserve—one that’s been strengthened with learned experience—have been shown to be more capable of coping with unexpected life events.” (30 Amazing Facts About Your Brain).[i] I highly encourage using any extra time that you might have in your schedule for learning instead of reading the news or wasting time. This can be a time for all of us to ramp up with our knowledge if we are able to manage the inevitable distraction around us. Welcome to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast, my name is Andrea Samadi, I’m a former educator whose been fascinated with understanding the science behind high performance strategies in schools, sports and the workplace for the past 20 years. Each week we bring you an expert who has risen to the top of their industry with specific strategies that you can implement immediately, whether you are a teacher or student in the classroom, or working in the corporate world, to take your results to the next level. In episode 42[ii], Dr. John Medina gave us some new insights on applying 12 Brain Rules to our daily life. I could spend a year on these rules but have just taken a few of the concepts that stuck out to me as important, to dive deep into. Dr. Medina spoke a bit about Theory of Mind as being “as close to mind reading as brain science gets.”[iii] So why is Theory of Mind so important? Theory of Mind (ToM)[iv] is crucial for everyday social interactions with others[v] as it is used to analyze, judge and infer other people’s behaviors. It is an important “social-cognitive skill that involves the ability to think about mental states, both your own and those of others.”[vi] Psychologists have called this idea a theory because we really do not know exactly what is going on in someone else’s mind, we can only learn to make inferences based on life experience, intuition and practice. Why would this skill be important in the classroom? Imagine how much easier life would be if you could look at your students and be able to know if they were feeling anxious before a test, or even before a sporting event and be able to intervene with a quick strategy to calm their nerves. What about in the workplace? Imagine if you were working in a restaurant, how much easier it would be to serve your customers if you could read facial cues that come along with needing something like an empty water glass, or a utensil or maybe even something like warming up a plate of food that came out and wasn’t hot. The ability to look and read what someone else is thinking makes life much easier in these situations and is a skill that can be learned with practice. Before we take a deeper dive in ToM, I want to tell you when I first learned about this skill. When I was in high school, (In Toronto, Canada where I grew up) there was this awful span of time where there were crimes committed by someone the media called the Scarborough rapist (late 1980s-1990s). Anyone living in Canada at this time would remember when they finally caught this man, who committed these terrible crimes with his wife that ended up being the most horrific crimes in Canadian history, the media changed what they called them to the Ken and Barbie Killers based on their appearance. I remember asking my Mom at the time, “how would I ever know if someone is bad, if these two people could be so evil, yet they don’t look evil at a glance?” My Mom looked at me and said, “you can’t see it in their eyes?” and sat me down at the kitchen table and started what were known as our “reading the mind in the eyes” l

This is episode #45 with Dalip Shekhawat, an educator from Manitoba, Canada, who is no stranger to challenge. Last May, Dalip reached the summit of Mount Everest to raise funds for the St. Amand School (in Winnipeg, MB) and is now preparing for his next challenge, that is tied into raising funds for the Wounded Warriors of Canada where he will run a combined distance of more than 500 kilometres (311 miles) over different terrain, in different climates, and at different altitudes, to "simulate the physical adversities these warriors faced." You can watch the interview on YouTube as well. UPDATE: Watch the extended interview with more details on the trip up Mount Everest here. Welcome to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast, my name is Andrea Samadi, I’m a former educator whose been fascinated with understanding the science behind high performance strategies in schools, sports and the workplace for the past 20 years. Each week we bring you an expert who has risen to the top of their field with specific strategies or ideas that you can implement immediately, whether you are a teacher or student in the classroom, or working in the corporate world, to take your results to the next level. Welcome Dalip! I want to first of all thank my friend Sheryl Watt, from Winnipeg, for sending me your story. When I first read about your challenge to summit Mount Everest to raise funds for St. Amant center for people with developmental disabilities, I knew I needed to reach out to you. Then I find out you are in the middle of raising funds for another just as equally important challenge now for the Wounded Warriors[i]. Wow! Thanks so much for speaking with me bright and early on a Sunday morning. Question 1: Dalip, I’m an avid hiker here in Arizona, but I can’t imagine hiking up Mount Everest! What was behind the drive to motivate you to actually summit Mount Everest and then run more than 500 km for your next challenge? Question 2: How did you prepare for Everest last May? I read that you have climbed more than 15 other mountains. Which ones have you hiked and where were they? The last time I looked, I only saw 2 mountains in Manitoba. Also, how are you training for your distance run? Question 3: When I read that 2/6 of those you were hiking with didn’t make it back down, I wondered how on the earth you could prepare yourself for something like this? What mental strength did you need to develop to handle the things that you saw? Was there any point that it crossed your mind to turn around knowing you have a family back home? Question 4: What physical toll did the hike take on your body? And is it true that it takes 2 months to hike to the summit? Take me through the hike from start to finish. Question 5: How did this experience change you? What did you learn about yourself? Thank you Dalip for your quick reply to meet with me for this interview. I know there will be a lot of wisdom that comes from your experiences that others can learn from. For those who are interested in supporting your Wounded Warriors Challenge, I will put the link to the donation page in the show notes. Question 6: Can you give us your final thoughts on why you think it’s so important to raise funds for disadvantaged groups like the Wounded Warriors or the St. Amant School? Thank you again for your time today, Dalip. We look forward to seeing you raise the funds you need for the Wounded Warriors and see what other challenges you set up in the future. Have a wonderful rest of your day. REFERENCES and LINK TO SUPPORT DALIP'S WOUNDED WARRIORS of CANADA CHALLENGE [i] To support Dalip with his Wounded Warriors of Canada Challenge, in any way that you can, please visit and share this link! https://secure.e2rm.com/registrant/FundraisingPage.aspx?registrationID=4668411&langPref=en-CA#&panel1-3

This is episode #44. Welcome to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast, my name is Andrea Samadi, I’m a former educator whose been fascinated with understanding the science behind high performance strategies in schools, sports and the workplace for the past 20 years. This episode will be focused on “12 Mind-Boggling Discoveries About the Brain” that are outlined in Chapter 3 of my most recent book, Level Up: A Brain-Based Strategy to Skyrocket Student Success and Achievement.[i] Back in 2014 when I was urged to add the most current brain research into my programs, I consulted with one of the leading neuroscience researchers in the country, who I still work very closely with, Mark Robert Waldman. He shared with me some of these discoveries, and then I created the real-world application so that we can start to look at the world with a different lens and improve our own personal and professional awareness. These are my own Brain Rules with two being the same as Dr. John Medina’s. Let’s take a closer look and see how these 12 mind-boggling discoveries about the brain can be applied to your daily life. Mind-Boggling Discovery 1: Did you know that “Our eyes don’t see colors; they see light waves.” This fact reminds us of how colors are created inside our brain. The part of the brain that we actually “see” the world from is our frontal cortex (right above our eyes). What we see is like a movie that blends light waves and sound waves with our emotional experiences that forms a story that is far removed from the reality that actually exists. Colors from what we are looking at are decoded in the brain.[ii] If you can look at the image in the show notes, you will see how our brain really sees color. Light hits what we are seeing with our eyes. This reflected light goes into the pupil and to the back of the eye to the cone cells. These cone cells decode the light waves based on how excited they are, (based on how long their wavelenghts are) and the brain translates the color of what we are seeing. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN IN OUR DAILY LIFE? There is a lot more to what we see than meets the eye. If we think of all that we can “see” with our eyes, we can gain some appreciation for the world, and our place in it. Next time you are in nature, look around and marvel at the sky, the mountains, or the ocean. There is so much to see and experience in the world and when we put our minds and brain to work, we can actually bring our visions that begin in our mind, into reality. This is the creative process. Take time away from your work when you want to create a new result in your life. With this creative process, everything that you create begins first off in your brain, and then when you take action to create it, so it is important to think and imagine what you want in clear detail, in your brain first, where everything we see with our eyes first takes shape. Our brain is involved in everything that we do. This is one of the reasons why writing down our goals is so important because writing stimulates our goals and behavior. It’s the first step of the creative process. Mind-Boggling Discovery 2: Did you know that “Consciousness is created in the brain the minute we wake up?” Have your ever thought about what consciousness is? Stop the recording now and think about it. What is consciousness to you without looking up a definition. When I was first asked this question, I could just come up with the word “awareness.” Consciousness is something that after 2600 years of speculation, everyone agrees that it exists, but so far “no one knows what it is, or how it works.”¹ (Andrew Newburg M.D and Mark Robert Waldman “Words Can Change Your Brain). Various disciplines of science have tried to define what exactly our mind and our conscious awareness is, and Dr. Daniel Siegel tackles the definition with the idea that that “the mind, brain and relationships are all connected” ² (Daniel Siegel M.D. Mindfulness and Neural Integra

This is episode #43. Welcome to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast, my name is Andrea Samadi, I’m a former educator whose been fascinated with understanding the science behind high performance strategies in schools, sports and the workplace for the past 20 years. The next three episodes will be solo lessons to dive deeper into Dr. John Medina’s episode #42 that I could probably spend the next year on. For those who have not read his Brain Rules book, or would like a quick review, I’ll outline them briefly with thoughts on why they are so important to implement into YOUR daily life with some applicable strategies. Here are Dr. John Medina’s Brain Rules[i]: If you click on the link in the show notes, you will be taken to his website and can watch a video on each rule. I also highly recommend reading the book, because there are so many examples that will bring these rules to life. RULE 1: EXERCISE: Exercise boosts brain power. Did you know that “aerobic exercise, just twice a week, halves your risk of general dementia? It also cuts your risk of Alzheimer’s by 60 percent.” (Summary Rule 1, Brain Rules, Page 28). I also heard this from Dr. Daniel Amen in his “Thrive by 25”[ii] online course where he talks about a recent study that rigorous aerobic exercise over a 12-week period, was just as effective for those suffering from depression as taking an anti-depressant. This class talked about the fact that aerobic exercise, like brisk walking, swimming, running or cycling seems to solve EVERY brain or health problem. The solutions were always to improve your diet and add aerobic exercise. This should be incentive enough for everyone to be sure they are moving at least 3 times a week for at least 20 minutes, or that’s what Dr. Medina would say will have an impact on your brain and improve cognition, problem solving and emotional regulation. I found it interesting that he mentions that strength training did not improve cognition in the studies, but I still think both strength training and aerobic exercise are important to do on a weekly basis, regardless of whether one is making you smarter or not. The latter will definitely make you stronger and is important to include as we age. RULE 2: SURVIVAL: The human brain evolved, too. I’m sure by now you have heard that the brain’s main function is to keep us safe, something that’s been built in for our survival. If we think about evolution and the survival of the fittest, what happened with the human brain when it evolved and adapted over time was that the brain got smarter with evolution, not stronger. We can clearly see how the human brain and cognition is vastly different than other animals. The human brain consists of 3 main parts (the hindbrain that developed first, that keeps us breathing, the midbrain that keeps us alert and where our emotions are stored and the last part of the brain to develop, the forebrain that holds the most power with our thinking/reasoning, emotional regulation, and cognitive functions. Our ability to think and reason is what separates us from the animal kingdom and a feature of our brain that we shouldn’t waste or take lightly. Since we have this unique ability, I think it’s our responsibility to pay attention to this important part of our brain and continue to develop and improve our thinking and reasoning skills. RULE 3: WIRING: Every brain is wired differently. The experiences that you have in your life, “what you do and learn in life physically changes what your brain looks like—it literally rewires it.” (Summary Rule 3, Brain Rules). This explains why we are all different since “no two people’s brains store the same information in the same place.” (Summary 3, Brain Rules, Page 70). This rule is important to understand since each person we interact with throughout our life will be different with their life experience. We have to learn to read and understand people better, and this can be done with Theory of Mind

This is episode #42! If you are in the field of education, our next guest doesn’t need an introduction. I want to introduce a concept that he would say is “like fairy dust to the brain”[i], and use “virtual transportation” or mental time travel to take a trip down memory lane, visualize and remember when you first heard about Dr. John Medina and his Brain Rules Series[ii] that he wrote with the idea in mind to redesign our schools and workplaces. I was given my first copy of Brain Rules when I worked as an inside sales rep, in a cubicle, for Pearson Education, (2009) by my Sales Manager, who knew I needed to read this book. At the time, I had no idea just how important these Brain Rules would be for me, however, 5 years after this, when my Character and Leadership Programs were chosen by the State of AZ for a Grant, and I was urged by an educator to incorporate brain-based learning into these programs, it was Dr. Medina’s Brain Rules that I grabbed off my bookshelf to understand how the brain impacts learning and achievement. If you have read his book, and it’s impacted you in any way, you must listen to today’s interview. You can listen to the interview here, or watch the visuals on YouTube. Welcome to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast, my name is Andrea Samadi, I’m a former educator whose been fascinated with understanding the science behind high performance strategies in schools, sports and the workplace for the past 20 years. Each week we bring you an expert who has risen to the top of their industry with specific strategies that you can implement immediately, whether you are a teacher or student in the classroom, or working in the corporate world, to take your results to the next level. Welcome Dr. John Medina. John, before we get into the questions, I’ve got to tell you that I emailed you back in 2014 to ask if I could use your book cover and your headshot in my presentations as I mentioned you as an early influencer with my work. Of course, you said yes, and I presented a slide with your book series ever since then so you would understand why I’m thrilled to speak with you today as your work has significantly impacted mine, and I can see that many others feel the same way. Thank you so much for being here today. Question 1: Dr. Medina, I know that you wrote Brain Rules (the 2nd book in your series) to redesign classrooms and workplaces with the brain in mind. These rules are all brilliant, with so much research to validate each rule. Can you give us some concrete examples for those of us looking to implement these rules in the K-12 school or workplaces. Where have you seen your Brain Rules working really well? What exactly would a school or a workplace of the future look like to you? Of your 12 Brain Rules, which ones do you think would impact schools and our workplaces the most? Question 2: Everyone loves this topic, which is obvious with how much interest and feedback I have had with this podcast, but there’s so much pseudoscience out there. What would be some best practices that you suggest preventing the repetition of some of the most common myths, and stay true to current evidence-based research? Question 3: We all want the best for our children and students, (and I know that you feel the same way) and as a parent, there’s nothing I want more for my 2 girls than their happiness. With the clear fact that anxiety and depression are a nation-wide epidemic, (it is so bad where I live in Chandler, AZ that audiences gasp when I talk about the statistics of teen suicide within my local community) so I’m always looking for ways that I can be a better parent and spread the word to change these dismal statistics. What does the research say about the best ways to raise our children/students these days, to be confident, resilient and hopefully bypass anxiety and depression? Question 4: When I was researching your work, watching your Talks at Google[iii] you mention Art Linkletter an

This is episode #41 with Erik Francis, an international author of the book Now THAT'S a Good Question! How to Promote Cognitive Rigor Through Classroom Questioning[i] published by ASCD and presenter with over 20 years of experience working as a classroom teacher, a site administrator, an education program specialist with a state education agency, and a professional development trainer. He’s conducted trainings at K-12 schools, colleges, and universities throughout the United States and internationally in Canada and Singapore. You can watch the interview with visuals on YouTube. Welcome to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast, my name is Andrea Samadi, I’m a former educator whose been fascinated with understanding the science behind high performance strategies in schools, sports and the workplace for the past 20 years. Each week we bring you an expert who has risen to the top of their industry with specific strategies that you can implement immediately, whether you are a teacher or student in the classroom, or working in the corporate world, to take your results to the next level. Today, we have Erik Francis, the owner of Maverik Education[ii], where he provides academic professional development and consulting to K-12 schools, colleges, and universities on developing learning environments that challenge students to demonstrate higher order thinking and communicate depth of knowledge (DOK). Welcome Erik. Thank you so much for being here today (on Valentine’s Day of all days) and for the support you’ve given me over the years as I have been navigating my programs and services in the K-12 school market. It’s always a blessing to have a good friend with your knowledge and understanding so thanks for always lending a hand to help us over here and for coming on today to share your knowledge with others. Before I get into the questions I have for you, can we first of all talk about cognition or acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience and the senses. This is a powerful concept as to actually think…takes a lot of effort. Then to think up questions takes even more effort. Q 1: Why did you decide to write your book tying in asking good questions to promote cognitive rigor? When I saw the title of your book, Now That’s a Good Question…it made me think about The Four Agreements and the fact that we all need to get better at asking questions to gain clarity. Q 2: What is cognitive rigor and how can we use questions to challenge anyone to think? What about thinking in the corporate world? Can these concepts transfer into the modern workplace? Q3: I’m really into creating frameworks or graphics of ideas to help bring clarity to complex thoughts or concepts. Then I heard you speak about how someone created a framework of depth of knowledge that spread across the country and was adopted into every state, but it was inaccurate. Can you explain what exactly is depth of knowledge, where the concept came from, and why the D.O.K. Wheel is inaccurate? Other Thoughts: When you created your graphic, did you consult with other educators? What can we learn from this? Can Depth of Knowledge be translated into the workplace? What about in sports? Dok 1- What is the knowledge? Recall and Reproduce. Dok 2- How can that knowledge be used? Apply it or explain it with basic reasoning. Dok 3- Why can this knowledge be used? Think strategically. Dok 4- How else can this knowledge be used? Think extensively. Apply to the Classroom, workplace, sports? Q 4: I’m thinking of when I first saw a graphic created by Casel.org for the 5 sel competencies. I had been working with concepts that we used to call soft skills since the late 1990s and used Casel’s 5 competencies, adding in carol dwecks growth mindset to come up with my framework for SEL. Having a framework brings clarity to complex ideas. When did you first recognize that this graphic needed to be changed? What did you do next to instigat

This is episode #40 with Frank Shankwitz, the co-founder of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, who was identified as one of the "10 Most Amazing Arizonans"[i] and if you don’t already know who Frank Shankwitz is, I hope that you will go and find his biographical movie on Netflix (The Wish Man) and watch it. I have been following the making of his movie for at least the past 5 years, as we both belong to a networking group that supports entrepreneurial visions. There are few words to describe someone like Frank, but I think it goes so much deeper than just one of 10 amazing Arizonans. Watch the visuals on YouTube here. Frank is a former Arizona Highway Patrol officer turned Wish Man, who granted the "wish" of a 7-year old boy with leukemia, whose wish was to be a Highway Patrol officer. If you watch the movie, you’ll see how Frank made his wish come true and the rest is history with his vision of The Make-A-Wish Foundation. Frank has spent most of his adult life seeking to fulfill the dreams of others no matter how big or small. If you have ever met a child who has gone through leukemia, it’s devastating for the family as well as for the child. A few years ago, my husband’s best friend from high school, called one night to let him know that his daughter, who was my husband’s god daughter, was diagnosed with leukemia and we watched first-hand the years of treatment involved along with everything that goes into ensuring the well-being of that child. Back then, I didn’t realize it was Frank who was behind the Make-A-Wish Foundation (even though I was following the making of his movie, The Wish Man) and that it was his idea behind the organization that gives so much back to families in their years of treatment, to offer some stress relief, peace and support. Frank has changed the lives of thousands of people through his generosity, grit, and belief in the human spirit. Because of his work, he has received the President's Call to Service Award[ii], the Making a Difference in the World, and the Ellis Island Medal of Honor awards.[iii] Frank, it is such an honor to speak with you today. I just wish we could be speaking face to face since we are both located in Arizona. Before we even get into the questions about your book and movie, I do have to first of all honor you for all the years you dedicated to law enforcement through AZ Department of Public Safety. My husband, along with his fulltime job, is a commander with the sheriff’s posse with the Maricopa Sheriff’s office, so we have a deep understanding of the sacrifices that are made by law enforcement officers on a day to day basis when they are going out every day to help, give back, give away their time and often put themselves in the seat of danger, to make a difference. Thank you for these years of service that I see from your LinkedIn began a year after I was born! Question 1: Frank, I watched the formation of your book turn into a movie, though our mutual friend Greg Reid, and I didn’t fully know your story back then until I watched your movie and then followed you through social media. Can you give an overview of where this all started? How did your life become a book, and then a movie which I just watched was in the running for an Oscar? Question 2: Who helped you with all that you needed to know to take your movie to these heights? There are so many little details that you would have needed to know, especially the criteria for an Oscar. Who helped/guided you along the way? Question 3: In our podcast, we talk about social and emotional skills that we see are missing in today’s world. Skills that I know you recognize like empathy for others and giving back. They are making their way into schools, but students are not prepared for the workplace with these basic skills (we call them emotional intelligence skills in the workplace). What skills do you think are missing from our schools, and how do you see this impacting the workplace and society? Question 4: With al

This is episode #39 with neuroscience researcher and clinician Stefanie Faye, whose research is focused on brainwaves, heart rhythms and micro-movements[i] that influence our ability to self-regulate and build healthy relationships. Listen to the interview here or watch the YouTube for the visuals. Welcome to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast, my name is Andrea Samadi, I’m a former educator whose been fascinated with understanding the science behind high performance strategies in schools, sports and the workplace for the past 20 years. Each week we bring you an expert who has risen to the top of their industry with specific strategies that you can implement immediately, whether you are a teacher or student in the classroom, or working in the corporate world, to take your results to the next level. I’ve got to give you a bit more background on Stefanie Faye Frank, whose graduate research at New York University and fieldwork at the NYU Phelps lab for neuroscience research, the NYU Institute for Prevention Science and Yeshiva University's Albert Einstein College of Medicine focused on the cross-section of self-directed neuroplasticity, empathy and social justice. For the past decade, she’s been teaching and consulting in countries all over the world by combining scientific insights and her training in monasteries with meditation masters from India, Africa and Vietnam. She has delivered a series of workshops for Google's Analytics Academy in London, Chicago, Tel Aviv, Munich and Singapore focused on the Science of Learning. Stephanie, I am so grateful to have you here today, to share some of your fascinating research with our listeners. I found your work through YouTube[ii], one night, when I was looking to take my understanding of Growth Mindset just a bit deeper for the programs that I offer in the school market. Then I came across one of your videos, that led me to your Mindset Neuroscience Podcast[iii], and then your interview with Maria Xenidou on How to Develop a Growth Mindset[iv] and from here I was blown away with your work, how simple you made everything seem, and I was hooked and wanted to learn everything. I love the FREE online courses you have on your website http://stefaniefaye.com/ and the fact that you are also Canadian (from Calgary) and I grew up in Toronto. Welcome Stefanie! Question 1: Stefanie, I watched your “Mindset Neuroscience” video course, and thoroughly enjoyed the way you connected neuroscience to building a growth mindset. We have covered Growth Mindset on this podcast with episode 20[v] with “Strategies for Overcoming Obstacles and Cognitive Biases.” I’ve mentioned an Ed Week survey that found that “the vast majority of educators believe that a growth-oriented mindset can help improve students’ motivation, commitment and engagement in learning. But the study found that applying those ideas to practice, and helping students shift their mindset around learning, remains an elusive challenge.”[vi] So applying growth mindset has proven to be something that has not been simple or easy to do—whether in the classroom, workplace, or even in the field of athletics. With your experience why is applying growth mindset proving to be so difficult? What’s happening or not happening at the brain level that we can learn from, to improve the application of these strategies? Question 2: You talk about some keys to building a Growth Mindset in your video course and one of the keys is to understand neuroplasticity (the ability for the brain to continually change over our lifespan) or how the brain creates high priority pathways with skills that we are practicing and then eliminates low priority pathways with skills we ignore. Can you explain how the brain re-wires itself using myelin and why patterned repetition is so important at the brain level for those skills we want to improve, develop and keep? Question 3: This is definitely the era where we are coming around mo

This is episode #38 with the assistant coach for the Winnipeg Jets, Todd Woodcroft, who has built up a 20-year career that has taken him all over the world in the field of ice hockey. His NHL resume includes stops in Minnesota, Washington, Los Angeles, and Calgary, before joining the Winnipeg Jets in 2016 as an assistant coach. You can watch this interview on YouTube here. Todd won a Stanley Cup in 2012, during his second of four seasons with the Kings. Internationally, he has two gold medals on his resume. One in 2004 with Canada at the International Ice Hockey Federation World Championship, and in 2017 he earned another one with Sweden at the same event. These days you can find him standing behind the Winnipeg Jets next to their head coach, Paul Maurice, where he is challenged on a daily basis to take their team to the end result of making the finals, and then winning the Stanley Cup. Welcome to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast, my name is Andrea Samadi, I’m a former educator whose been fascinated with understanding the science behind high performance strategies in schools, sports and the workplace for the past 20 years. Each week we bring you an expert who has risen to the top of their industry with specific strategies that you can implement immediately, whether you are a teacher or student in the classroom, or working in the corporate world, to take your results to the next level. Welcome Todd, it’s so good to see you face to face after all these years! For those who don’t know, Todd has been a good friend of mine since the late 1990s…we actually sat in teacher training classes together at the University of Toronto, and it’s been crazy Todd, to watch your success over the years. Let me get straight to the questions, so you can get back to work over there…and where are you right now, by the way? Todd, where did this all begin for you? I always knew you were into hockey, but can you give a quick overview of how you broke into coaching in the NHL, some of your early influencers, the coaches and players you have worked with to give our listeners an overview of your background? I know it’s easy for those of us watching a sports game to notice when the team is in synch, working together, really well. How does the identity of a team form to where players begin to work together like clockwork? And then how does it change throughout the season? I’ve heard your team be called “the best face off team in the NHL by far” and know this is your expertise. With skill building, we’ve heard from researchers (we just covered this on our last episode with John Dunlosky) that the best way to learn anything new is with spaced repetition of a skill. In athletics you practice a skill over and over again but how do you know what skills are most important to practice (like puck drops), how do you make these skills priority with such a busy schedule, or without things getting boring? Todd, you’ve got a unique background with your training in education that I’m sure helps you as a coach. With your teaching background in mind, can you think of why the proven method to learn/master a skill works so well in athletics, but it’s really hard to translate into the classroom? We all know to practice a sport over and over again to improve performance (or even a musical instrument or for a dance recital) but when it comes to studying for a test, some students still fall back to cramming vs the evidence-based method of spaced repetition. If you were to visit a classroom, what advice would you offer teachers/students with your experience working with pro athletes on learning new skills? After watching some of the interviews with your players and coaches, and some of your games, I saw that there were quite a few games where you won by just one goal, many in overtime and in the last few minutes or seconds of the game. I’ve also seen that the opposite can happen—in the last few seconds, with a frustrating loss. Ther

This is episode #37 with Dr. John Dunlosky, a Professor of Psychology at Kent State University, who has contributed empirical and theoretical work on memory and metacognition, including theories of self-regulated learning and metacomprehension. You can watch this interview on Youtube for the visuals. Welcome to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast, my name is Andrea Samadi, I’m a former educator whose been fascinated with understanding the science behind high performance strategies in schools, sports and the workplace for the past 20 years. Each week we bring you an expert who has risen to the top in their industry with specific strategies that you can implement immediately to take your results to the next level. I’m so excited to introduce you to Dr. John Dunlosky. John’s research has focused on understanding three inter-related components of self-regulated learning: (1) the monitoring of learning, (2) control of study time, and (3) the application of strategies during learning. These three components of learning fall under the rubric of metacognition, which is about people's cognition (the mental processes like thinking, knowing, remembering, judging and problem-solving, all involved in gaining knowledge and comprehension).[i] By studying metacognition in students across the life span, a major goal of his research involves developing techniques to improve student learning and achievement. Welcome John! Thank you so much for taking the time away from your important work to be here to share your research and thoughts for improving student learning. Question 1: I first heard you back in 2016 on an Edweek Webinar, speaking about “deliberate practice” being one of the most effective learning strategies, vs cramming, and I wrote that down and that concept has ended up in all my presentations for the K-12 school market ever since. I recently watched your presentation from the McMaster Symposium on Cognition, Learning and Education[ii] where you dive deep into your research. Can you give an overview of what launched your research with learning strategies and do you think that we can learn ANYTHING with enough deliberate practice over time? Question 2: When you were doing your research to find which learning strategies work the best, what surprised you the most, and what feedback did you hear about your discoveries? Question 3: Knowing what strategies scored the highest in your research (distributed practice—spacing study sessions out over time vs cramming) and retrieval practice or practice test taking using multiple choice, fill in the blanks, or essay type recall) do you see that these methods are used more frequently now by students? What have you seen with the application of your research? Question 4: What happens next? Once a student uses distributed practice and retrieval practice, what is successive relearning? Question 5: It caught my attention that a major aim of your research is to develop techniques to improve the effectiveness of people’s self-regulated learning because self-regulation is the most requested topic I see when working with schools, especially with older students (middle school and high school) and it seems to be the skill that challenges most adults (thinking where we are at the start of the year setting new goals for ourselves and many goal-setter fall off their plan before January is complete). Why did you choose self-regulation opposed to let’s say growth mindset or something, and what are your current goals with your Metacognition and Education Lab?[iii] Note- Self-Regulation is one of the six social and emotional competencies that we dive deep into here on the podcast (episode 14).[iv] Question 6: I was reading your book on the weekend, the first textbook to be written on metacognition, can you share what metacognition is, and why it’s so important for the learning process? Question 7: Is there anything else that’s important that you have uncovered to help improve

This is episode #36 with the creator of The Learning Pit®,[i] a sought-after keynote speaker and author of 9 books about teaching, learning and leadership, James Nottingham,[ii] from Northumberland, UK. Within a few minutes of posting about this interview on my social media channels, I had good friends who are deeply invested in teaching and learning from around the world, message me about how excited they were to hear this interview. You can listen to the interview here, or watch the visuals on YouTube. It’s not surprising that The Swedish Teaching Union describes James as “one of the most talked about names in the world of school development.” James’ most recent book, Challenging Learning (2017) describes the theory and practice of guiding students through the “Learning Pit” encouraging them to step out of their comfort zone. This practical book is filled with ideas for making lessons engaging, thought provoking and collaborative. Welcome James! Thanks, so much for taking the time to be here today all the way from the UK. Q1: James, we all know that our educational system worldwide has been under a microscope of discussion for transformation the past few years and that some countries that you are working with are leading in this transformation over others. Just a note, here in Arizona, USA, we are ranked near the bottom[iii] which is scary for me as a parent, but it motivates me to want to do more. Where did your vision to improve education begin and did you ever imagine that you would be creating such an impact? Q2: I dove right into your book, Challenging Learning,[iv] this weekend, and should have known from the title that I would be drawn in as challenge is actually one of my Top 5 values. I don’t work well without it and now have a completely different perspective as to why. Can you explain a bit more about how you Challenge Learning with The Learning Pit®? Q3: Why is challenging students “to question, to wonder, to challenge together”[v] such an important life skill? How does this improve their self-esteem, help them to become more self-reliant and achieve more? Q4: I saw your TEDx about Labels that Limit Learning[vi] and it did surprise me as I thought we are on track over here with our 2 girls, implementing Growth Mindset now, being careful not to tell them they are “so smart” (Carol Dweck) and now I see I’m going down the wrong path with labels even with ones I would think were positive. I often say “just do your best” (with school or sports) not thinking at all that they might translate for them into “they must be THE best” dropping their expectation. Can you explain the research by Jacquelynne Eccles about how labels can lower expectation and impact the effort someone will put into something? Q5: I’ve heard before that we always remember the people in our lives who have challenged us to “think” differently or think at all. And I had some early influencers who impacted me this way, and from reading your book, I can see that you have also. Can you share some of your early influencers and how you went from idea to action with the Ready, Aim, Fire concept with your work? (Clay Shirky/Michael Fullan-who was the Dean of the Faculty of Education at the University of Toronto when I was in teacher’s college in the late 1990s)? Q6: What is your vision with your company Challenging Learning and The Learning Pit® with such a broad audience and staff in 6 countries. Where are you going with this vision in the next few years? Q7: Is there anything else that you think is important that I might have missed? REFERENCES: [i] https://www.jamesnottingham.co.uk/learning-pit/ [ii] https://www.jamesnottingham.co.uk/ [iii] https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/rankings/education [iv] https://www.jamesnottingham.co.uk/books/ [v] James Nottingham, Learning Challenge (Learning Pit) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IMUAOhuO78 [vi] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viHaslVc9cc

This is EPISODE #35, focusing on understanding how the brain works to break those bad habits that zap your energy so you can have a highly productive 2020. Welcome to the “Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning” podcast, my name is Andrea Samadi, I’m a former educator who has been fascinated with understanding the science behind high performance strategies in schools, sports and the workplace for the past 20 years. As we are well into our New Year, and new decade, I am sure you have been thinking about ways that you want to improve this year over the last. Have you thought about what specific actions you’ll take? Have you thought about the activities that you’ll start, stop, and continue? This is a good place to start as we are evaluating what worked for us last year, and keep doing more of what’s working, with an awareness of what didn’t work. Once we know what we want to change, then we will look at how the brain forms habits, so we can break them. WHAT YOU WILL START THIS YEAR: Think about positive behaviors that you would like to implement in your life. Do you want to be more self-aware? More proactive? More forgiving? Do you want to take more action, or more doing vs thinking and planning? Look at the START/STOP/CONTINUE graphic in the show notes and think about what actions you want to begin this year. WHAT YOU WILL STOP: Do you have some habits that you need to let go of? You know what they are, the ones that zap your energy, with an impact on your productivity. If you have some habits that are draining you, you’ll be well aware of what they are. Write them down. There’s never a better time than now to become aware of what needs to go this year. WHAT YOU WILL CONTINUE: Think about the things in your life that gave you energy, joy, and happiness. You will probably want to keep those things on your list for 2020. Whatever brought you focus and inspiration, should stay this year. How Exactly Do We Break Bad Habits? This article was originally published on Achieveit360.com blog. We Must Understand How the Brain Learns to Forms Habits, in Order to Break Them. I learned the idea of "neurons that fire together, wire together" from Mark Robert Waldman, (from EPISODE 30)[i] the world's leading expert on communication, learning and the brain. If you think about it, it’s kind of obvious—where your attention goes, your energy flows. Never underestimate your own power and be mindful of where you place your attention, especially when you want to improve your focus. This year be intentional about where you are placing your attention. When "neurons are out of sync, they fail to link"[ii] so when you are not working on or thinking about something that you want, maybe because your attention is being taken away by something else, the neurons will not link, the neural pathways will not be formed, and eventually the neurons for what you want will prune away, since you have not applied the correct focus with your attention. This is exactly why people fail to achieve what they want. They have not properly applied their attention. So how can we safeguard ourselves from this happening in 2020? Let’s dive deeper into our brain to see what’s happening. We have around 100 billion brain nerve cells called neurons that connect the brain to the body. "If you took 100 billion sheets of paper and stacked them on top of each other, it would be 5,000 miles high. That's the distance from Los Angeles to London!" (Dr. Joe Dispenza, TED TALK, Feb 8, 2013). This puts the vastness of your brain into perspective. Each neuron has one axon with many tails (terminals). When you are learning, the axon terminals send electrochemical messages to other neurons across tiny spaces called synapses. Learning creates a synaptic connection when you are thinking, feeling, or actually doing something new. New neural pathways are formed. This is how you create a new habit. Breaking a habit is just the opposite; by avoiding certain thoughts, feelings

This is episode #34 with Chris Farrell, host of the podcast “Setbacks and Success”[i] where Chris, a former radio/TV presenter turned lifestyle entrepreneur, shares the struggles, obstacles and hurdles in life, and how we can overcome them. Be sure to check out Chris’ podcast where you will see his first episode with the creator of Baywatch, who I am sure I recall he met on an airplane, who shares how this billion dollar brand almost failed, and his second episode is with one of my favorite podcasters, Lewis Howe’s with his School of Greatness[ii]. You can hear this flashback interview here, or on YouTube. Welcome to the “Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning” podcast, my name is Andrea Samadi, a former educator who has been fascinated with understanding the science behind high performance strategies in schools, sports and the workplace for the past 20 years. Our guest today, Chris Farrell is one of the most respected and successful internet marketers in the industry. Chris’s training products and websites have already helped tens of thousands of people create and grow their online business and I was blessed to be mentored by Chris when I was creating our online courses for Achieveit360. Chris is a popular in demand public speaker – having worked with and spoken on stage with Brian Tracy, the late Dr Stephen Covey, Gary Vaynerchuck, Robert Cialdini, Daymond John, and Harv Eker amongst others. In 2017, Chris began his podcast Setbacks & Success, showcasing the highs and lows of business owners, entrepreneurs, and people doing great things. He travels the world and has one of those personalities where he is drawn to meet people and when he gets to know you, he’s always looking for ways that he can bring value and wants to genuinely help others reach those higher levels of success. He’s Originally from London, England (which explains his accent) – but relocated to Los Angeles. I hope you enjoy this flashback interview, that I felt was very relevant for the launch of this New Year. Even though this was at the start of the year in 2014, I am sure you will find his success strategies helpful and inspiring. REFERENCES: [i] https://setbacksandsuccess.com/podcast/ [ii] https://lewishowes.com/sogpodcast/

This is episode #33 with Kent Healy, the co-author of The Success Principles for Teens[i] with Jack Canfield and the co-creator of The Uncommon Life[ii] where you can go to learn more about this phenomenal writer, thinker, entrepreneur and now family man. You can listen to the podcast here or watch Kent's visuals on YouTube. Welcome to the “Neuroscience Meets SEL” podcast, my name is Andrea Samadi, a former educator who has been fascinated with understanding the science behind high performance strategies in schools, sports and the workplace for the past 20 years. Today we have a flashback interview with Kent Healy, someone I discovered by chance, over 14 years ago, when I was researching the most popular books for teens and success, before the release of my first book, The Secret for Teens Revealed. [iii]I came across Jack Canfield’s “Success Principles for Teens” and since I owned his National Bestseller The Success Principles: How to Get From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be,[iv] (if you have never looked at this book—I highly recommend it). After seeing Kent’s connection to Jack Canfield,[v] who is the co-author of the Chicken Soup for Soul Books with Mark Victor Hansen, I thought I had better find out who Kent Healy was, and get to know him better. Back then I wasn’t on Facebook, and don’t remember how I searched to learn more, but I did find out that Kent had written a few books, and he was in his 20s. After a few minutes of thinking about the time I had wasted in my 20s, before I started to manage my time, I read his books and was blown away by the dedication, awareness and motivation that this young man had at an early age. Since I was always looking for high performers, I knew that he could help inspire some of the young people I was working with at the time, and when I needed help with launching Achieveit360 (2012), Kent was the first person I asked to say a few words of inspiration to help this next generation of learners. I hope you enjoy Kent’s thoughts on how the most successful people in the world manage their time, our greatest asset, and think of some ways that you can better manage your time in 2020. Kent Healy: Welcome to AchieveIT360.com my name is Kent Healey. I am the co author of the Success Principles for Teens and the cocreator of TheUncommonlife.com. So I assume since you're on this website you're looking for more, maybe more from yourself, more from your life. I really respect that-- the challenge is, you know, in order to get more, we often start with this question, do I have what it takes to get me to that next level? The problem with this question is it usually leads to a game of comparison, a game that we usually end up losing. So it's one thing to look at somebody else and appreciate and respect, you know, the talents and the skills that they've built. It's another to look at it and then compare yourself to those talents and skills that you're still in the process of building. Basically to say that you're not a leader is to compare yourself to somebody else and focus only on those differences. But if we had to focus on what was most common, one thing that we often overlook is the fact that we all have the same amount of time. It doesn't matter who the person is, you know, whether they're a successful athlete, or a successful business owner or successful in any other way. It's not that they have more hours in a day or more days in a week. It's that they use that time extremely well. And this is why I always say that talent is overrated. So hands down, time is the greatest asset that we have. Time is really the great equalizer more than anything else. It's how we use our minutes that matter most. Successful individuals realize that time is more valuable than skill, than money, than almost any other resource there is. Because with enough time you can hone skills, you can raise capital, you can nurture relationships, and you can summon whatever is required to lead an exceptional life

This is episode #32 with John Assaraf, one of the leading mindset and behavior experts in the world, who has appeared numerous times on Larry King Live, Anderson Cooper and The Ellen DeGeneres Show. You can watch this Flashback interview on YouTube. Welcome to the “Neuroscience Meets SEL” podcast, my name is Andrea Samadi, a former educator who has been fascinated with understanding the science behind high performance strategies in schools, sports and the workplace for the past 20 years. Today we have John Assaraf—he has built 5 multimillion-dollar companies, written 2 New York Times Bestselling books and has been featured in 8 movies, and today, he is the founder and CEO of NeuroGym, a company dedicated to using the most advanced technologies and evidence based brain training methods to help individuals unleash their fullest potential and maximize their personal and professional results. In 2014 when my company was awarded grant funding to run character programs in Arizona schools, I knew I needed to find someone who had a proven path for business success to make sure I had the right systems in place, so I immediately looked up John to see what courses he was teaching and applied to join his “Cloning for Business Success Class” that he was teaching at the time. For those interested, you can see a similar business acceleration mastermind he is currently accepting applications for called The Escape Velocity Mastermind.[i] I had no idea that this class would lead me to brain-training (I was given a FREE course to try that has been a part of my daily routine for the past 6 years), and that this decision would lead me to Mark Robert Waldman, and eventually adding the most current neuroscience research to my programs. It all started with John and with anyone who has met him, or knows his work, you would know that this was a pivotable point in my career as he has such a wealth of knowledge, is an expert at helping people change their behaviors to get the results they want, and he sincerely wants to see other people succeed. To learn more about John, go to www.myneurogym.com and enjoy this Flashback interview from 2016. Keep in mind this was 4 years ago, when he speaks about research that has just emerged. We apologize for the sound quality, but sure you will agree with me that this information is powerful. [i] See John’s most current course Escape Velocity 212 Mastermind http://links.myneurogym.com/EV212 Andrea Samadi: So John, can you explain your story. What were you doing that wasn't working and what made you decide to choose a different path for your life? John Assaraf: You talking about when I was younger, the kid getting myself into a whole lot of trouble. Andrea Samadi: Yes. What made you decide to move past that and stop going that direction that you were going, to the pathway that you're on now? John Assaraf: Well, I grew up with loving parents who taught me right from wrong. What they didn't teach me is how to overcome or even recognize my low self-esteem and that I didn't think I was smart enough or good enough and I don't think, they knew that I thought that way. And I don't, no. That they have the tools to know themselves to grade three and grade five is where my parents finished school. I knew that when I was getting myself into a lot of trouble and that it was the wrong thing to do. But I also didn't know that there was a better way. And it wasn't until I was 19 years old where I met a mentor, somebody who saw a good young kid who was just doing the wrong things. That showed me that there was a different path and he showed me that I could do something that I really loved to do instead of doing what I thought I had to do, which is well, and I had a job, a company that was an electronics company is Phillips Electronics. John Assaraf: And that as the scenario, you know, for eight hours a day and the little three by five cards writing when inventory came in and when inventory went out, and that was, it was m

Welcome to EPISODE #31, this is Andrea Samadi, a former educator who has been fascinated with understanding the science behind high performance strategies in schools, sports and the workplace for the past 20 years. Today we have a flashback interview from 2016. Over the next couple of weeks, I’ll be sharing some of our high-level interviews that are hosted in our online learning portal for schools and the workplace. These interviews are eye-opening with some of the most powerful insights from world leaders, and high achievers from around the globe. This interview was audio only, but there are some visuals on YouTube of Nik's work. Today I want to introduce you to The Thrillionaire® Entrepreneurial Alchemist, Civilian Astronaut, Extreme Adventurer, and Keynote Speaker. Nik Halik is the founder and CEO of Lifestyle Revolution and 5 Day Weekend®. He became a multi-millionaire and amassed great wealth through savvy investments in property, business and the financial markets. Nik’s group of companies have financially educated and life coached over 1 Million clients in over 57 countries. Nik has trekked to over 157 countries, dived to the wreck of the Titanic to have lunch on the bow, been active as a mountaineer on some of the world's highest peaks, performed a HALO skydive above the summit of Mt Everest in the Himalayas, climbed into the crater of an exploding erupting volcano [1,700 Degrees Fahrenheit] for an overnight sleepover and just recently, entering the hermit kingdom of North Korea to expose a sweat shop factory operating illegally for an American conglomerate. To learn more about Nik Halik visit www.nikhalik.com or find him on Twitter @nikhalik or Facebook Nik Halik. He was the back-up Astronaut for the NASA / Russian Soyuz TMA-13 flight to the International Space Station in 2008. He currently remains in mission allocation status for a future flight to Earth's only manned outpost in orbit– the International Space Station with the Russian Federation. Andrea Samadi: He has a crazy background. If you look him up, you can see, and when you get to know Nik, you learn that he's humble down to earth with zero ego. He just wants to do as much as he can to help others. Take a listen to what Nik has to say. His story is so powerful, it will blow your mind on how he's taken his vision for his life and created a screenplay for that vision and how he's living that out now. QUESTIONS NIK WILL UNCOVER Question 1: I’ve never seen anyone who has set and achieved such high goals for themselves. What was the situation that ignited your passion to live life to its fullest? Question 2: How did you heal your body so you could go out into the world and accomplish your goals? Question 3: Nik, you make everything look so simple. Was what you have done difficult? How do you approach the obstacles you have faced? Question 4: Do you still count down each day in your life so you live each day to it’s fullest? NOTE: The ticker website is no longer working, but the concept or idea is valuable. Question 5: What do you do in your down time? Do you watch tv and if so, what are you watching/learning from these days? Introduction: For the first decade of his life, Nick Halik was medically confined to his bedroom, so at age eight he drafted the screenplay of his life, including his top 10 list of goals. At age 14 he opened up his very first business. At age 17 he relocated to Hollywood, California to perform live on stage. At age 19 he bought his very first investment property. Five years later, he became a multimillionaire. Now he owns private homes in the most beautiful places on earth, nature versus the planet and pursues exciting how your adrenaline and Epic adventures. He has summited the highest mountains in the world and visited over 100 countries. He's dived down five miles and had lunch on the bow of the ship wreck Titanic. He empowers thousands of individuals, passionately sharing his life story and insights on how to live a true lif

This is episode #30 with Mark Robert Waldman, one of the world’s leading neuroscience researchers on consciousness, communication, and spirituality, and his discoveries have been published in journals throughout the world. You can listen to the podcast here, or watch the interview and presentation on YouTube. Welcome to the “Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning” podcast, my name is Andrea Samadi, a former educator who has been fascinated with understanding the science behind high performance strategies in schools, sports and the workplace for the past 20 years. Today we have one of the leading neuroscience researchers in the country who I was blessed to be mentored by 5 years ago when I needed to add the most current brain research to my programs. Mark has an international practice as a NeuroCoach, training students and business leaders how to use the latest discoveries in neuroscience to enhance personal and professional development. I can say that if I was able to learn this information, well enough to teach it to others, that anyone can. Mark took his time and was patient as I learned the basics of neuroscience and he taught me in such a way that I never once felt that the information was too difficult to grasp though it did take effort and focus to learn these new concepts. Mark has authored 14 books, including the bestseller How God Changes Your Brain, an Oprah pick in 2012. His new book called NeuroWisdom: The New Brain Science of Money, Happiness, and Success contains 100 evidence-based strategies, with guided audios and videos, showing you how to manipulate and balance the major networks of consciousness, awareness, and imagination. These tools are now used in schools, health centers, and businesses throughout the world. He teaches at Loyola Marymount University and his work has been featured in Time Magazine, the Washington Post, the New York Times, Forbes, Entrepreneur, and Oprah Magazine. He has been on hundreds of radio and television programs including PBS and NPR. For more information, go to www.MarkRobertWaldman.com. You can find Mark on Twitter @MarkRWaldman, LinkedIn or Facebook. Welcome Mark! It’s always fun to speak with you. I’m so grateful for all that you’ve taught me. I know you have a presentation planned and will share your screen with us. Before we dive into your lesson: Can you explain what exactly “Neurowisdom”[i] is (the title of your most recent book) and how we can discover this new voice to guide us towards a greater sense of awareness? Questions Mark will uncover during presentation: Can you explain the new research that shows “you can consciously teach your brain to lower neural activity that generates negativity and fear and increase neural activity that generates confidence and positive decision-making?”[ii] Why is mind-wandering essential for problem-solving and decision-making? “If you don’t allow your brain to enter this highly imaginative state of mental activity before a challenging task, your memory, performance and mental health will be compromised.”[iii] Last summer, I watched the baseball player Wilson Ramos[iv], from the NY Mets, sit and meditate before his game while the other players were warming up. His performance in this game was phenomenal with a homerun and focused play and I did wonder about the science behind his focused mind before the game. What exactly do you mean when you say that “Daydreaming and mind wandering give you direct access to creative talents that are unique to human beings?”[v] Is this our intuition? What talents do we have? When we get flashes of insight how do we know what they mean? Can we misinterpret what we see? How can we best use this talent/skill? How do you teach mindfulness to your Executive MBA students, so they learn to “remain calm, relaxed, and highly focused on achieving more goals with little stress?” [vi] Can you explain what happens when your values are not aligned with your work and why this causes “increase

Welcome to the “Neuroscience Meets SEL” podcast EPISODE #29, my name is Andrea Samadi, a former educator who has been fascinated with understanding the science behind high performance strategies in schools, sports and the workplace for the past 20 years. Let’s dive right into this topic on “How to Re-Wire Your Brain for Happiness and Well-Being to Optimize Learning.” You can watch this episode on YouTube for the visual effects for more impact and learning. I’m sure most of us are aware that stress is the number one cause behind anxiety, depression, low energy, work burn-out, and cardiovascular disease[i], but do you know how stress impacts our brain? Did you know that: Chronic stress and depression causes measurable brain shrinkage?[ii] “51% of us will have a mental health issue (post-traumatic stress, obsessive-compulsive, personality, anxiety, addiction, or an eating disorder to name a few) at some point in their life”[iii] and that 1/5 students struggle with depression, while ¼ struggle with anxiety which means we have reached epidemic levels with today’s youth. And these shocking statistics impacts society with: Work burn-out Anxiety and Depression Cardiovascular Disease Neurological Disorders and eventually leading to Death Also Impacting our Students: A recent study[iv] shows that if the educator is stressed, the student will also be stressed Stress is impacting our ability to learn Student behavior was also impacted, contributing to more stress for educators Dr. Daniel Amen, a psychiatrist and brain disorder specialist of the Amen Clinics[v] and the father of Chloe Amen from podcast #25 with “Strategies to Change Your Brain to Change Your Grades”[vi] explains that “if you struggle with attention, focus, sadness, anxiety, worry, flexibility, stubbornness, or impulsivity, welcome to the club—this is normal.”[vii] These days it is more normal to have a problem, than not have a problem. Most of us will have a mental health issue in our lifetime—and when it happens, we think that we are the only one and that no one else understands. Dr. Amen has a book coming out in March 3, 2020 called “The End of Mental Illness: How Neuroscience is Transforming Psychiatry and Helping Prevent or Reverse Mood and Anxiety Disorders, ADHD, Addictions, PTSD, Psychosis, Personality Disorders and More.”[viii] If left untreated, these brain disorders can have “serious personal, interpersonal, occupational and social consequences.”[ix] In this podcast episode, we are going to look at the neuroscience of happiness, anxiety, stress, learning and retention with some ideas and strategies to naturally improve each area, so that we can get a handle on life’s largest challenges with an understanding of our brain chemistry. Our goal is to intentionally set ourselves up for success with this new level of awareness. We will cover: A reminder of the recipe for peak performance (fun, fear, focus) from episode #27. What’s the neuroscience of happiness—and how to boost our serotonin levels to generate more happiness. What’s the neuroscience of anxiety (our body’s natural response to stress that can become a mental disorder when someone regularly feels unusually high levels of anxiety) and stress (which is our body’s response to a challenge or demand) with strategies to calm our limbic, emotional brain. What’s the neuroscience of learning and how can we be sure that our brain is primed to learn? All of the answers to these questions can be found within the chemistry of our brain and with how active or hard certain parts of the brain are working. The best course I have taken to understand how my own brain is working is Dr. Amen’s Thrive by 25 Online Course[x] where he outlines some of the most common problems he sees within the brain with natural solutions to overcome each challenge. The most interesting fact I found was that diet and exercise were solutions to the most common brain problems he spoke about, (anxiety/depression/emotional issues) so i

Welcome to the “Neuroscience Meets SEL” podcast, my name is Andrea Samadi, a former educator who has been fascinated with understanding the science behind high performance strategies in schools, sports and the workplace for the past 20 years. This episode is available on YouTube and we highly recommend watching the visuals that go along with this interview for a more immersive experience. This is episode #28 with Dr. Dan Siegel, a clinical professor of psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine and executive director of the Mindsight Institute where you can find his courses, workshops, books and tools to help anyone understand and apply what can sometimes be complicated scientific concepts and make them easy to understand and applicable to our daily lives. He has dozen books the last time I counted with his most recent parenting book with Dr. Tina Payne called The Power of Showing Up: How Parental Presence Shapes Who our Kids Become and How Their Brains Get Wired[i] coming out Jan. 7th, 2020. Be sure to pre-order your copy as it has already hit the top 20 books in cognitive neuroscience, child development and neuropsychology. Also, he is working on the 3rd edition of his book The Developing Mind. Welcome Dan! Dr. Siegel, I can personally say that I’m a more mindful[ii] parent, more aware[iii] of myself and others, have learned some no-drama discipline[iv] strategies, feel prepared for when my 2 girls reach their teenage years[v], with the reassurance that I don’t have to be perfect, and that I can repair relationships when my buttons have been pushed—all from reading your books the past few years. It’s such an honor to have you here—your influence is significant with the thousands of people around the globe you’ve been helping with your books, mnemonics to remember your strategies, and tools like your Wheel of Awareness Meditation. Thank you for being so accessible so we can take a deeper dive into some of the important concepts of your work. Q1: Dr. Siegel, before I get into the questions I have for you, I wanted to ask what led you to write all of these books and create tools to help our next generation become more aware and connected to each other? Q2: I know we can’t train the next generation of students for the old world; we must do things differently. On our podcast we have been speaking to leaders about the emergence of social and emotional learning skills in our schools and emotional intelligence training programs in the workplace (with people like Casel’s Clark McKown on measuring SEL to Marc Brackett and the importance of Emotional Intelligence and recognizing and naming our feelings. I know you have been working with the Blue School[vi] in New York City. What skills do you think have been missing in our schools and how do we bring these missing skills back for our next generation of students so that we can prepare them for success in the workplace? (3Rs and what else is missing?) Q3: When I was in my late 20s I started to study the mind with a motivational speaker and learned some strategies that really helped me as an adult related to thinking positively, having a good attitude, awareness, you know those skills we used to call “soft skills” but 20 years ago, there just wasn’t the research behind SEL and mindfulness. Then I heard you mention that when you began surveying mental health professionals around the world who should know about the mind that “95% of them had never even been given a lecture on the mind, and probably couldn’t even tell you what the definition of the mind was”[vii] ) so you wondered how can we expect to develop it, without this understanding and explore the concept of the mind in your book, Mindsight: The New Science of Personal Transformation[viii] where you prove that you can define what a healthy mind is, not just describe it. In your book Mindsight, you say that “Mindsight is the potent skill that is the basis for both emotional and social intelligence.” What is Mindsight? W

This is episode #27 with a Pioneer in the field of Neuroleadership and author of the book, The Leading Brain, Friederike Fabritius,[i] all the way from Dusseldorf, Germany. You can watch the interview on YouTube here. Welcome to the “Neuroscience Meets SEL” podcast, my name is Andrea Samadi, a former educator who has been fascinated with understanding the science behind high performance strategies in schools, sports and the workplace for the past 20 years. Today we have an inspiring speaker who I’ve been following for the past 3 years. FRIEDERIKE FABRITIUS, MS, is a neuroscientist and pioneer in the field of neuroleadership. She trained at the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research and is an alumna of McKinsey & Company (helping organizations to create change). Friederike delivers brain-based leadership programs to Fortune 500 executives and organizations around the globe to transform how they think, innovate, and navigate change. Her book The Leading Brain: Neuroscience Hacks to Work Smarter, Better, Happier has been translated into several languages and has received numerous awards. Her most recent presentation this year was at Talks at Google[ii] where she describes the recipe for achieving peak performance. Welcome Friederike! I am beyond excited to be speaking with you today. A warm welcome today as you join us here in Arizona, USA all the way from Germany! I wanted to let the listeners know that I recorded an episode yesterday[iii] “Simple Strategies for Avoiding the Pitfalls of the 3 Parts of the Brain” so that today we could dive a bit deeper with our time together. If you are listening now and have not heard that episode, be sure to go back and listen to episode #26 as an overview for today. Q1: I first found you on YouTube when I was searching for a way to understand how our neurotransmitters work in peak performance. I found this video where you explained neuroleadership[iv] just beautifully to top executives in Barcelona, Spain and how we can create peak performance[v] or that flow state we all seek for those high levels of achievement. Can you explain what we need to do to get into peak performance/flow state whether we are an employee looking for improved results in the workplace, an athlete in the field, or a student in the classroom? Q2: What does flow look and feel like? What can we do to stay in this flow state longer to experience that increased productivity you mention in your book where productivity increases by fivefold?[vi] What is guaranteed to throw us out of flow—so that we don’t do that? Q3: On our podcast here “The Neuroscience of SEL” we have spoken a lot about self-awareness and understanding our self so we can make the changes needed for improved results. Can you explain why some people need to be challenged in order to perform at their very best, while others need to have less challenge and less stress to do their best work, and what do these people look like in an organization so people listening can recognize what type of person they are on that performance/stress scale? Q4: We know that the PFC is important for executive functions (like logical thinking, decision-making, or planning) and it’s the part of our brain that determines our level of success in life and with our careers. What strategies do you personally do to strengthen this part of your brain to operate at its best for these high levels of performance? Q5: What do you think are the next most important parts of the brain for anyone to understand specifically for those who are looking to take new actions or create new habits to achieve higher levels of performance? Q6: What about mindfulness and meditation? In your book, you mention that “mindfulness has been shown to physically change several regions of the brain in as little as 8 weeks.” Can you explain what parts of the brain mindfulness improves and how this could help people improve their results in life and at work Q7: In your book, you mention 2 examples of

This episode focuses on understanding the three main parts of your brain and I had to write this lesson and record this prior to the next podcast tomorrow with Dr. Friederike Fabritius as many of my questions to her will rely on the understanding of these three parts of the brain so I thought it was important to record this first. Let’s take a closer look at the human brain, so that the insights Dr. Fabritus will share tomorrow, will have more of an impact. The human brain is the most complex organ in the body. Parts of the brain communicate with each other and enable us to enjoy food, communicate, and feel emotions; the brain shapes our entire world and all of our experiences. Understanding how to harness the power that exists within your own body is the key to unlocking the code that controls your results and future. What this future looks like is up to you. Once you have an understanding of how your brain works, and you have some strategies to overcome the pitfalls associated with the three main parts of your brain, you can set yourself up for a razor’s edge advantage over someone else who might not be paying attention to the largest and most complex organ in the human body. To be honest, I was not paying attention to this part of the body until just a few years ago. No one had ever asked me what I was doing for my brain health—not until I started researching in the area of neuroscience did I know these strategies existed. So, don’t worry if this is new to you. We all start at this place. There are three parts of the brain that I think everyone should understand, whether you are five years old, or 55 years old, we can all understand the basics of how our brain operates for improved results. Understanding the Reptilian Brain: The Ancient Instinctual Brain also known as The Hindbrain The brain stem (imagine this part at the top of your spine on the back of your neck) is the oldest part of the brain and is often referred to as the reptilian brain.[i] This is where vital body functions such as heartbeat, respiration, body temperature, and digestion are all monitored and controlled. The brain stem also holds the reticular activating system (RAS), which is responsible for the brain’s alertness—regardless of whether we’re asleep or awake. This part of the brain functions to keep us alive and safe and works closely with the entire body as well as the limbic system to create our emotional state of mind. The brain stem does not work alone. It is linked to the limbic system above it (in the middle of the brain) to assist, for example, in creating both our fighting states when we feel anger and our fleeing states when we feel fear.[ii] This Ancient Instinctual Brain Controls Our- Sensory motor functions (how our body runs) Survival instinct of fight, flight, freeze, faint[iii] When we understand that we can't help the fact that when we feel fear with something, consciously or unconsciously, our Reptilian Brain reacts on its own with the urge to fight, flight, or freeze. FIGHT- is when we react instead of responding to a situation (those times when we let our emotions take control) FLIGHT- is when we run away FREEZE- is when we stay frozen and don't even try To overcome the pitfalls of the Reptilian Brain, we just need to learn strategies for overcoming our fears that are natural, and instinctual, coming from the part of our brain that was designed to keep us alive. Those who are longtime meditators speak of the ability to take the time to respond to a situation rather than reacting but if you are looking for a quick fix, try these simple strategies.[iv] S-STOP whatever you are doing T-TAKE deep belly breaths to bring more oxygen to your brain O-OBSERVE and think “how am I feeling right now in the moment?” Can you name the emotion? When you can name the emotion, science has proven that soothing neurotransmitters are released to calm you down.[v] P- PROCEED with whatever you are doing with a new awareness. Our next gu

Welcome back to the "Neuroscience Meets SEL" Podcast episode #25 this is Andrea Samadi. This interview will also be available on YouTube. Today we have Mick Neustadt, a retreat teacher at Inward Bound Mindfulness Education,[i] a company that holds in depth mindfulness programs for teens, young adults and parents. Their programs that teach the skills we have been talking about on this podcast like self-awareness, compassion, ethical decision-making, hold retreats across the US, Canada and United Kingdom. Mick is a long-time mindfulness and meditation practitioner and clinical social worker. As a result of 20 years of personal practice Mick has experienced the profound benefits of mindfulness. He realizes that we have a great capacity to connect deeply with our full selves and others. Through dedicated practice we can transform the way that we relate to ourselves, those closest to us, and the world. With his rich background as a therapist, former schoolteacher and coach, Mick brings a wide range of skills and dedication to helping young people on their journey of self-exploration. Since 2011 he has formally taught mindfulness to teens in schools, on retreats and weekly groups. Welcome Mick, thank you for taking the time out of your day to share more about mindfulness, meditation and the philopophy of iBme. Q1: Can you define what “mindfulness” is since this term is used so often these days. Everyone seems to have an idea or thought about what mindfulness programs are. Q2: Can you explain why mindfulness is so important for young people (and adults) to develop especially these days where anxiety and depression are at an all-time high? Q3: How does your retreat work compared to someone using an app like Calm or a guided meditation? Can you explain a bit about your process? (I can see a calendar on your website.)[ii] Can you explain how your retreats work? Q4: Can you explain what the research[iii] says about mindfulness programs? What are the long-term effects of the retreat practice of meditation and mindfulness? 3 months after the retreat, what did the participants notice? And also, would someone receive similar benefits if they just started their own mindfulness practice at home? Q5: I have heard Jon Kabat Zinn who I know has worked with your organization mention that “the real meditation is with how we live our lives.”[iv] –meaning how we change from being stressed, rushed, to being calmer and more present. What parting thoughts would you like to leave us with about how to get started with a meditation program in our daily lives (perhaps from a parent point of view, student, or someone in the workplace) so anyone can learn how to go from knowing to doing, and reap of the benefits of a mindfulness program. Thank you so much Mick for sharing your extensive knowledge in this field. If anyone wants to learn more about you and the programs at iBMe, they can go to ibme.com. What’s the best way for them to reach you? [i] www.ibme.com [ii] https://ibme.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/iBme_Sample-Daily-Schedule.pdf [iii] https://ibme.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Galla-Research-on-I mpacts-of-iBme-Research.pdf [iv] Jon Kabat Zinn “From Doing to Being” YouTube published Feb. 16, 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-2QoTYujNg

Welcome back to the “Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast” episode #24 this is Andrea Samadi. This interview will also be available on YouTube. Our very special guest today, Dr. Jeff Rose, is the founder of Leading Ed Solutions[i], a community of school superintendents and leaders providing solutions, strategy and support so that no one has to lead alone. His successful podcast, Leading Education[ii] focuses on innovative conversations surrounding the most important topics that our modern schools face that are relevant to anyone who wants to lead in education and beyond. The topics he tackles are applicable to any leadership position, providing the most up to date ideas and strategies around these enormous concepts that require new ways of thinking for improvement and change. Jeff has a proven track record of innovation and an unrelenting focus on student achievement. He’s the former Superintendent of Fulton County Schools (which is Atlanta, Georgia’s 4th largest school district) responsible for the leadership, administration and management of over 96,000 students, 105 schools, 14,000 employees and a $1.1 billion general fund budget. During his 23 years in education, he has served as a classroom teacher, principal and a director of school improvement. Welcome Jeff. Thank you so much for coming on the podcast today to share what you are doing to support educational leadership. Jeff, I love your work and your podcast inspired me to get moving on mine over the summer. I want to dive into some questions to hear your perspective on a few of the topics that I thought were the most relevant in our schools and communities today. Q1: I’ve heard you describe education as “the perfect mess” because when you are working, you will have challenges, and everyone has an opinion about these challenges. I’ve also heard this as it relates to business. When you are taking action, things will go wrong and it can all feel like a mess. When you are doing nothing, you won’t have problems to solve, but also won’t have any impact for change. What led you to launch your company, Leading Ed solutions and tackle some of the most challenging problems education has seen in the past few decades to impact change and when did you first think about starting this idea? Q2: There are so many important concepts that you speak about—I love hearing your point of view— but one concept stuck out to me from the earlier episodes when you spoke about how lonely leadership is, when you first felt being lonely at the top and how you got used to this feeling. Unless someone is walking in the shoes of a school superintendent, administrator, or District leader, (or even equate this to those who lead in the corporate world) I know it could be easy to make up what others think your job entails and say things like “Oh, it must be nice….with their xyz assumption.” Hearing your perspective on what leadership is like for those who are given this responsibility is important for anyone who must learn to lead themselves. (We all have heard that to be a good leader is to be a good follower).[iii] Was this why you launched your podcast to give more insight to bridge this gap that exists between school leadership, schools and the community and shed some light with what this leadership role really entails? Q3: You mention that one of the biggest concerns you hear from parents and the community is the rise in student anxiety these days (episode 4)[iv] and I’m seeing it here in my local community in Chandler, Arizona, USA where this time last year we hit 31child/teen suicides in 15 months.[v] This issue is a huge concern and goes on past the pressure to perform academically in the K-12 system to higher education. (I just heard another podcast by Jay Shetty where he interviewed Laurie Santos[vi] who created the most popular course at Yale to combat this issue when she saw how stressed her students were to perform academically at the beginning of their University career.) Your inter

If I were to ask you what are the qualities that you most want for your children, students, employees, or even for yourself so that you can reach those optimal levels of health, well-being and happiness, (no matter what part of the world you are listening from), the answer would probably sound something like this. “I want to them to develop a healthy mind, to pursue excellence, to have the skills needed to excel independently, to have compassion and empathy for others, to acquire the skills needed in this ever-changing world, or to adopt the mindset of lifelong learning that’s needed to thrive not just survive in this world” –something along those lines that focuses on developing the minds of our next generation with social and emotional skills. In order to bridge this gap between knowing and actually implementing these skills, we must first of all have a clear understanding of what they are. If social and emotional skills are skills that we could say are of the developed mind, and we are moving into cognitive skills of the brain, it leads us to question what is the difference between the mind and the brain before we continue further? Once we have a clear definition of each of these, it’s much easier to continue to develop and implement these strategies needed for improved results. Have you ever thought about what your mind is? What about your brain? And how are they different? Dr. Dan Siegel, a clinical professor of psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine and the founding co-director of the Mindful Awareness Research Center at UCLA, (who I’m so excited to share will be coming on the podcast later next month) has spent a considerable amount of time defining the mind.[i] He was shocked when he first started to study the mind and began surveying mental health professionals around the world who should know about the mind that “95% of them had never even been given a lecture on the mind, and probably couldn’t even tell you what the definition of the mind was”[ii] so he wondered how can we expect to develop it, without this understanding? He explores the concept of the mind in his book, Mindsight: The New Science of Personal Transformation[iii] where he proves that you can define what a healthy mind is, not just describe it. His book allows that Mindsight “is the potent skill that is the basis for both emotional and social intelligence.”[iv] He explains that psychology means the study of the mind and behavior and elaborates that “when a parent senses the inner mental life of their child, (their mind) their child does really well in life. This ability to see the mind actually changes the structure of their brain. It’s called neural integration.”[v] Siegel further explains that when we can adopt this practice of “seeing the inner-life” or the minds of our students, children, friends or family members, it makes a considerable difference in the results and well-being that they achieve. Even developing our own practice of being more mindfully present of our own inner mind can “change the ends of the chromosomes in your cells”[vi] proving that what you do with your mind, makes a difference for the health of your body and your relationships. Dan Siegel explains that a neuroscientist would define the mind “as the activity of the brain”[vii] but he could not settle on this definition as a therapist since this would mean our brain would control everything that we do. He came up with a definition in the mid-1990s that made the most sense to him and his colleagues and it was that the mind “is an embodied and relational process—since it’s in the body and it’s in our relationships with one another—that regulates the flow of energy and information.”[viii] This definition really got me thinking. I probably listened to it for a good week. It got me thinking about the flow of energy and information and how it comes into our body through our senses, and what we do with this information to cause the results in our life. One of my fi

Watch this interview on YouTube here. Marc Brackett, Ph.D., [i]is the Founder and Director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence [ii]and a Professor in the Child Study Center of Yale University. He is the lead developer of the RULER approach,[iii] (the 5 skills of emotional intelligence). RULER is an evidence-based approach to social and emotional learning that has been adopted by nearly 2,000 pre-K through high schools across the United States and in other countries and the approach is seeing huge success.[iv] He also serves on the Board of Directors for the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (known as CASEL)[v]. Marc’s new book, Permission to Feel (Celadon/Macmillan) inspires a new mindset around the power of emotions to transform our lives. Instead of the idea that our “emotions get in the way of our success, they are actually the key to it.”[vi] Using science, passion, and lively storytelling, this book serves as a guide for understanding our own and others’ emotions, as well as provides innovative strategies for developing emotional intelligence in adults and children so that emotions help, rather than hinder, our success and well-being. I haven’t been able to put his book down because it captivated me! Welcome Marc! Q1: I am thrilled, excited, motivated, and inspired to be speaking with you—all of those yellow (high energy and pleasant feelings) on your Mood Meter Chart—that tool you developed to help people become aware of their feelings—that’s in the first few pages of your book. I actually watched your Talk at Google[vii] and learned so much—before I had started to read “Permission to Feel” I thought I would introduce this concept of “how do you feel” to my girls (ages 10 and 8) and that it would be just like how we added Growth Mindset into our homework slot. But I had an eye-opening situation that showed me we are not as emotionally literate as I had thought in my household. Can I tell you the story of what happened to get your point of view on the situation? So, a couple of weekends ago we went to see the movie, Lion King, and my two girls were the only kids in the theatre bawling their eyes out when Musafa, the Dad, dies. I thought, let me see if I can give them “Permission to Feel” and implement Marc’s book —so I say, “Why are you crying?” expecting they would say “because the Dad died and I don’t want my Dad to die” and we would start a conversation about that but my oldest just grunted and pushed me away, and the youngest was crying too hard to say anything at all. I realized that we could be doing a better job with talking about emotions in our home. Marc, what happens when we deny the “Permission to Feel” and where would you suggest anyone begin when implementing your RULER approach, whether we are a parent, teacher or employee in the workplace? Q2: Now that I know this approach—and know that knowledge and application are poles apart, can you explain what are the biggest things we should avoid, and what should we watch for to be sure we are properly implementing the RULER approach? Q3: When I first opened your book “Permission to Feel” and saw the Mood Meter Chart I went straight to where I hang out most of the time. (Upbeat, cheerful, lively, focused, and joyful) that’s me—but to get here—takes daily work (meditation and exercise) that has taken some time to figure out what I must do to be my best self. Then I thought about some other people in my world working in high stress careers who hang out in stressed, anxious, frustrated, and worried with different work responsibilities and priorities. What are some strategies you suggest helping people who might be hanging out in the red quadrant who are pressed for time to create this work/life balance? Q4: Can you give a quick background for why this book is so important and timely with such a rise in mental health issues these days? We all know the shocking statistics for our nation’s youth with the current suicide

You can watch the interview on YouTube here. Today we have someone I have been watching, cheering on, supporting and giving him all the love I can possibly imagine because when I first heard about his goal to create an educational documentary to impact change on our struggling schools, I knew he would be the one to accomplish this. Spencer Taylor is a filmmaker, the co-founder of Vybesource (a movement of conscious thinkers dedicated to mind, body and soul) and he has spent the past 3 years traveling the world from the US, Canada, Finland, and China, to interview leaders in education for his upcoming documentary “The Death of Recess.” Welcome Spencer from the road…on your way to LV! It’s great to have you here to share what you have been up to the past 3 years. Q1: Can you give some background on your vision for this film that you have been working so hard on, and why you saw the need to get this information into the world? Also, how will this documentary be different than what we are used to watching on Netflix? Q2: What are some of the challenges you have learned about from this interview process and how will someone watching your film be able to make changes? Q3: What are some of the main differences you saw going from the US to Canada and into schools in Finland—where their educational system is labeled as the best in the world with school hours cut in half, little homework, no standardized tests, 50 minute recess and free lunch[i]. What changes do you think we need to focus on here? Q4: What other issues does the film covers and what do you hope to accomplish with the release of this film? Q5: Who was the most impactful interview you did and why? Thank you so much Spencer for taking the time to share the vision of this documentary. This is important work and I know you are beyond busy. I appreciate your time, and all you are doing. What is the best way to support the release of the film moving forward? Contact [email protected] if you are a school with an innovative story that you would like to share. Thanks Spencer! [i] https://news.stanford.edu/news/2012/january/finnish-schools-reform-012012.html

Welcome back to the “Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast” EPISODE 20 this is Andrea Samadi. I want to thank everyone who has been tuning into these episodes. In just a few short months of launching, we have reached 20 countries and the feedback has been incredible. Not only am I hearing that the topics are relevant and applicable, but the need is very clear to continue to interview new leaders in this field of social and emotional learning/emotional intelligence and neuroscience and continue to offer ideas and strategies that can be implemented immediately. If you do have feedback or want to reach me directly, you can find me (Andrea Samadi) on LinkedIn or Twitter or send me an email to [email protected] Our initial goal with this podcast was to close the gap recent surveys show exists in our workforce where 58 percent of employers say college graduates aren’t adequately prepared for today’s workforce, and those employers noted a particular gap in social and emotional skills. Research shows that social-emotional skills like social awareness, self-regulation, and growth mindset (the skills that we have been covering in the past episodes) are crucial to college and career readiness. The outcomes of developing these intelligences are vast as they impact our performance, leadership, personal excellence, time management, and decision-making. As we have progressed, these episodes are bringing together leaders and practitioners in the field who have programs, products, books, and ideas to share, with an urgent need to get this message out to impact our schools, communities, and workplaces. As Clark McKown, the President of xSEL Labs, SEL Assessment mentioned in our podcast interview EPISODE 10, “it’s important that we bring people to have conversations (around SEL/emotional intelligence) to propel us forward—bringing the different strands of the SEL movement together—and having them coordinate is going to be (the) key. There’s potential for a whole that’s greater than the sum of its parts.”[i] I hope that you agree with me how important this work is, and if you are finding these episodes helpful, please do share them on your social media so that others can gain access. So far, we’ve covered five of the six social and emotional learning competencies to dive deep into and tie in how an understanding of our brain can facilitate these strategies. The sixth social and emotional competency, Mindset, fits in to the Social and Emotional Track with the ability to understand your own emotions (when you feel like something might be difficult and you become frustrated and ready to give up) as well as the Cognitive Track, using the executive functions of our brain—with the needed ability to persevere, problem solve, and come up with a different strategy. With each competency, we investigate the best practices that you can use to develop and improve your own SEL/Emotional Intelligence and well-being practice, before extending these strategies to your districts, schools, classrooms, workplaces and communities. We must first of all practice the concept ourselves, before we teach others because if we haven’t developed a practice ourselves, our students will pick up on the lack of authenticity and won’t take the concept seriously either. The interviews are designed so that you can hear directly from experts in the field who are using these skills on a daily basis. We want the ideas you take away with you to be actionable whether you are an educator working in a school, an employee or manager in a corporation, or someone just looking to take their skills to the next level. Be sure to look for the resources in the show notes section if you would like to dive deeper into this topic. Moving onto the topic of “Mindset” it’s important to notice that ten years after Carol Dweck’s essential finding that for “children who have a “growth mindset” their intelligence can be developed (and students) are better able to overcome academic stumbling

Welcome back to the “Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast” EPISODE 19 this is Andrea Samadi. This interview will be broadcast on YouTube as well as on the regular podcast channel, so be sure to look for the YouTube link in the show notes if you would like to view the video. Today we have Bob Jerus, author of “Mind Matters: Applying Emotional Intelligence for Personal and Professional Success”[i] among five other books on the topic of communication, leadership and sales. His focus is on making performance, teamwork and organizational development happier and more result driven. He’s a certified human resource professional with over 30 years of experience in staffing, development, engagement and organizational development. He founded Success Dynamics International and developed the EIQ-2 Learning Systems. As a university professor and administrator, he developed, taught, administered, delivered and assessed both curriculum and courses at graduate and undergraduate levels for traditional, adult education and on-line programs. He’s taught marketing, management, HR, adult development and psychology with a focus on measurable, sustainable results. Bob has been a trusted advisor for the work we do with Achieveit360, and someone I reach out to often for advice with his in-depth knowledge in a wealth of different areas. Welcome Bob! It’s great to speak to you face to face for a change. Q1: It’s interesting and timely that we are speaking on World Suicide Prevention Day since the one of the last times I reached out to you for advice was to get some help in this area with some challenges I was seeing in our local schools. Can you provide some background on where you started your career and perhaps any words of advice on suicide prevention, since this is your area of expertise? Q2: We see a movement these days to implement social and emotional learning/emotional intelligence programs in our schools and workplaces. Why do you think programs like this are so important right now? Q3: Your book “Mind Matters: Applying Emotional Intelligence for Personal and Professional Success” explains every facet imaginable for success using Emotional Intelligence for Personal and Professional Success. I love how it’s written in a how-to style, connecting the brain and the most recent neuroscience research, with many graphics and visuals to guide the reader towards implementing the wisdom in each chapter. Can you explain why you wrote “Mind Matters” and what is your favorite/most important concept this book teaches? Q4: Self-regulation (managing one’s emotions) is always the most requested topic I am asked about when working with schools. Obviously, this is a skill that must be trained, but in your experience, why is it so difficult to perceive, understand and manage our emotions so that we can find that balance of self-leadership that’s so important in the workplace? Q5: What is your current vision now for your work with Success Dynamics and bringing Emotional Intelligence into the workplace? Q6: Is there anything that I might have missed? Any final words of wisdom that you would like to leave with us to help us to stay focused on applying emotional intelligence for more success in our life? [i] Mind Matters: Applying Emotional Intelligence for Personal and Professional Success” https://www.amazon.com/Mind-Matters-Emotional-Intelligence-Professional/dp/1502441918 RESOURCES: Robert Jerus Article from LinkeIn “Suicide: The Final Answer?” https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/suicide-final-answer-robert-jerus-sphr-always-on-your-mind-2e/?trackingId=RjS3pyL0TOeDZnHnxFtEOQ%3D%3D Emotional Intelligence Training with Bob Jerus http://www.eiq-2.com/

Welcome back to the “Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast” EPISODE 18 this is Andrea Samadi. This interview will be broadcast on YouTube as well as on the regular podcast channel, so be sure to look for the YouTube link in the show notes if you would like to view the video. Today we have someone I have been friends with for almost 10 years. I’ll never forget seeing the review he left for my first book[i] on Amazon and when I saw his interest in what I was doing, I reached out to him to learn more about how he was using books like mine in schools, to see how I could improve. Dr. Kohutek has spent his adult life working in the fields of psychology, neuropsychology and education. Through the experience of working with a myriad of students in settings ranging from Charter, Title I, Parochial schools, residential treatment centers, and psychiatric hospitals. He’s able to provide examples of situations which many elementary and middle school students experience in today’s educational system. I’ve been interested in his books[ii] over the years, and this is our second interview. We spoke many years ago about enhancing children’s cognitive abilities, years before educational neuroscience was so prevalent in our schools. I was thrilled and honored when he asked me to write the Foreword to his most recent book, “Chloe and Josh Learn Grit and Resilience with Grit Gal” volume 1, available this week at Barnes and Noble[iii] and Amazon[iv] Welcome Dr. Kohutek, who is on campus today at St. Dominic Savio Catholic High School in Austin, Texas. Q1: I love this book, especially with it being the first Foreword I have ever written, thank you for this opportunity! Can you tell me what inspired you to write a book on Grit, Mindset and Resilience? Q2: For years I envisioned tools and books like this in our classrooms and am excited to see the results it will produce. What made you intertwine the social and emotional competencies with the cognitive capabilities—which is exactly what I am doing here on the podcast? Q3: I love how the book covers these skills connected to stories because our brain looks for and stores memories based on emotions and stories are one way to elicit that emotion. Was there a particular student who made you think of Grit Gal providing the insight to overcome each of the seven stories? Q4: Why do you think the discussion questions with each chapter are so important? How can you see each chapter helping a student whether they are working with their teacher in the classroom, or at home, with their family? Q5: Why do you think this book is so timely? Why do most people never develop Grit? Q6: What is your vision for this book? I see that you are already working on Volume 2. What topics are coming up next? Q7: What are your final words of wisdom for us on this topic? Anything that we might have missed that you think is important to share? Q8: Where is the best place for someone to find your book? How can they reach you with any questions? Thank you very much for taking the time out to speak with me today and share this new book. I’m excited to hear about the results it creates for students and teachers as well to follow this series. Best of luck and thanks for all you are doing for students and schools. I know it’s not easy to write a book with a busy schedule of working in at [i] https://www.amazon.com/Secret-Teens-Revealed-Teenagers-Leadership/dp/1604940336 [ii] https://www.amazon.com/Childrens-Cognitive-Enhancement-Program-Combined/dp/0989116441/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=kohutek&qid=1568050887&s=digital-text&sr=1-5-catcorr [iii] https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/chloe-and-josh-learn-grit-and-resilience-with-grit-gal-kenneth-j-kohutek-ph-d/1133283703?ean=9781982231224 Barnes and Noble [iv] https://www.amazon.com/Chloe-Josh-Learn-Grit-Resilience-ebook/dp/B07XMJBDPQ/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=chloe+and+josh+learn+grit&qid=1568050783&s=gateway&sr=8-1 Amazon

Welcome back to the “Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast” EPISODE 17 this is Andrea Samadi. This interview will be broadcast on YouTube as well as on the regular podcast channel, so be sure to look for the YouTube link in the show notes if you would like to view the video. Today we move into our Cognitive Track with Jenny Woo the founder of award-winning Emotional Intelligence games, 52 Conversations and 52 Essential Relationships and Harvard Graduate School of Education researcher of social and emotional learning. With her game, "52 Essential Conversations,[i]" Jenny has created a tool for parents, counselors, and teachers to support children's social-emotional development that comes with her own podcast channel “52 Conversations to inspire children for life”[ii] where she has in depth episodes on topics that match the lessons in her cards. I have both sets of cards here and have been using them with our family the past few weeks and have been having a blast with them. The game is designed for ages 5 to adult, covering six categories (That align to Casel’s competencies[iii] that we have been covering here on this channel) (self-awareness; relationship skills; self-management; social awareness; responsible decision-making; and diversity, equity, and inclusion) and ask questions such as What is fairness? or What is luck? They can be used in a multitude of ways — as conversation prompts during dinner or daily errands, or in place of playing cards in a game of Go Fish. I used the cards to help stimulate discussion with my own children (ages 7 and 9) on the topic of friendship when my youngest was struggling with this at school. We all gave examples of what being a good friend means, and the examples I am sure will extend outside of our family discussion into her daily life. We all had a blast with the cards and look forward to learning more as we implement them. Her game allows parents and children to learn about one another while developing life skills and preparing them for the world. These cards are used in over 40 countries, all 50 States, in schools and in the workplace, so you can see why I jumped at the chance to speak with Jenny Woo. Welcome Jenny! Thanks so much for taking the time to be here today. As we move into our cognitive track on the podcast, I was looking for experts to interview and was so excited when we connected on Linkedin. Q1: Can you give us some background to how you went from the Corporate world in management consulting to Harvard’s Graduate School of Education and how this switch helped you to find your true calling and create such a timely product to help develop social and emotional skills for children, as well as life skills for adults? Q2: “We’ve seen tremendous advances over the decades in the learning sciences but there are still so many myths out there. Can you help clear up some of the most common myths? For those of you interested, please visit Jenny’s website (in the show notes) for a quiz to see your knowledge of these brain myths.[iv] We only use 10% of our brain. If a child cannot sit in a classroom by 3rd grade, then he/she has an undiagnosed learning disability? The brains of boys/girls develop at different rates? Academic achievement can be negatively affected by skipping breakfast? Some children are born naturally creative. Children learn best when information is presented in their preferred learning style? Some people are left brain/right brain, and this explains how we learn best? Listening to classical music increases children’s cognitive reasoning ability? A common sign of dyslexia is seeing letters backwards. Teens circadian rhythms cause them to sleep/wake up later? Q3: From your research, can you give some strategies that you’ve incorporated into your game to help students/adults with their mindset, knowing that there are days we are all thrown off course? Q4: I recently posted something on Instagram on Cognitive Biases. It was a graphic where I quoted “Did you know t

Welcome back to the “Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast” this is Andrea Samadi. This interview will be broadcast on YouTube as well as on the regular podcast channel, so be sure to look for the YouTube link in the show notes if you would like to view the video. Background and Introduction: Today we have two pioneers in the field of educational neuroscience; Lori Desautels and Michael McKnight. I first found Lori from her TEDx Talk from Indianapolis[i] when I was searching for anything in the field on educational neuroscience back in 2014. It was 5 years ago that I partnered with Arizona’s Dept of Education and was urged from an Arizona educator to write another book that focused on the brain science behind learning, and back then there wasn’t as much information out there as there is now in this field. I found Judy Willis[ii], and learned about the amygdala highjack, read David Souza’s “How the Brain Learns” and John Medina’s “Brain Rules” and hired a neuroscience researcher (named Mark Robert Waldman[iii] ) so I could be sure I had the correct understanding of the brain and learning, but still needed some help to tie everything together. Finally, I found Lori, and watched her videos to understand the other parts of the brain and how they are interconnected. In Lori’s Ted Talk, she mentioned that “neuroscience and education have come together” and it’s a huge connection because every day experiences change the brain structurally and functionally—and I thought, this is incredible that we can finally explain how we can accelerate learning with this understanding of the brain. And then through Lori, had a chance to see Michael’s work and dive deeper into understanding Adverse Childhood Experiences. So, thank you for all you are both for pioneering this field, and helping so many around the world to understand what at first might seem like complex concepts, (if like most of us, we’ve not had a crash course in how our brain works) so this is groundbreaking by making this all so relatable for everyone. I’m thrilled to finally “meet” you both, face to face, after many years of emails, social media replies. Please do follow Lori and Michael’s pages as they both share often about the impact; they are igniting in our schools today. I will add their bios in the show notes, so you can learn more, but want to get straight into some questions. Welcome Lori and Michael! Q1: For new people who are getting to know your work, can you give some background on how you both met and began working together, leading to you writing your two books “Unwritten, The Story of a Living System”[iv] and your most recent book that I haven’t been able to put down “Eyes are Never Quiet: Listening Beneath the Behaviors of our Most Troubled Students”[v] and if you could explain the new movement of being trauma informed? Q2: I can ask this next question two ways, the first focuses on the problem when I ask “what could we possibly do to make an impact on our schools and students today knowing we are in a crisis with drug use, bullying, suicide and suicide ideation, and anxiety” or I could ask it from this point of view where we change the narrative and focus on the solution by asking “how does shifting away from the traditional disciplinary approach to acknowledge the impact of stress on behavior and our students’ ability to focus and learn” shift the results you are both seeing in our schools today? Q3: Can you explain what educators, and parents should understand about the brain and how our emotions impact learning? Q4: I know firsthand about stress in the classroom—my first teaching assignment was a behavioral class back in the late 1990s. Like many teachers, I burned out before I even got started and if you were to ask ANY of my friends back then, I was the least likely to quit. Chapter 1 of your book “Eyes are Never Quiet” was eye-opening and even brought tears to my eyes with the advice that Michael gave an educator (who Lori shared was her d

Welcome back this is Andrea Samadi, thanks so much for your continued support with this podcast. As we are completing our 15th episode, I’m getting a lot of feedback via social media messages and would love to hear more about what you think about these competencies/episodes...and how they might be of use to you whether you are working with students in the classroom, teams in the boardroom, or you are just looking to take your results to that next level. I can clearly see that the last lesson on “Self-Regulation” that the strategies offered were valuable—it does help me when I receive your feedback on what lessons you like and how they are helpful. This was the most requested competency when I was working with the school market, as everyone wants our students to learn how to self-regulate. It’s also a crucial skill for adults to learn. This podcast is not only for you, but I’m learning with each interview and episode. When we started, the end of June, it was to provide tools and resources for you—however, in this process, I am getting the best education—which is a testament to the fact that we learn more when we teach others. Today we have another student who we’ve brought back after 5 years of studying this material, to see how these skills really do transfer from high school into your career for future success. There’s nothing more exciting to me than watching those who can take their results to these higher levels—we all have the ability to do it and then experience the freedom of the life we know we created and had as a vision for—usually one that seemed so far off from reality, but with time, effort, and following that daily grind—one day we wake up and realize we are living the life we had imagined. Then we are amazed, as we look back, connecting the dots, that it wasn’t rocket science, but just following a few simple principles through to completion. So few people follow the principles, or do things in this certain way—to get to these levels, which is why I’m hoping these episodes will offer tips, ideas and strategies to help more people implement these concepts into their daily life. Today’s guest is someone who has been a friend of mine since we published the Teen Performance Magazine back in 2009. His name is Donte Dre Winrow and he learned the power of networking when he was in high school helping him to break into a career path that he’d never had the opportunity for without knowing certain people. Let’s hear how Donte broke through to reach these higher levels of achievement. Click the link to view the video of this interview on YouTube. I’m excited for the cognitive track coming up...as we are nearing the end of the social and emotional competencies. Stay tuned for the last SEL competency and moving into the next track of learning. Thanks for listening. Right now, we are reaching 16 countries, all just from organic sharing on social media, no paid advertising. please do send me a message with your thoughts on these episodes, what you like, what you’d like to see....so I can improve moving forward. You can find me on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.

Welcome back to the “Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast” this is Andrea Samadi. Our goal with this podcast is to close the gap recent surveys show exists in our workforce where 58 percent of employers say college graduates aren’t adequately prepared for today’s workforce, and those employers noted a particular gap in social and emotional skills. Research shows that social-emotional skills like social awareness, self-regulation, and growth mindset are crucial to college and career readiness. The outcomes of developing these intelligences are vast as they impact our performance, leadership, personal excellence, time management, and decision-making. We’ve chosen six social and emotional learning competencies to dive deep into and tie in how an understanding of our brain can facilitate these strategies. With each competency, we’ll investigate the best practices that you can use to develop and improve your own SEL/Emotional Intelligence and well-being practice, before extending these strategies to your districts, schools, classrooms, workplaces and communities. We want the ideas you take away with you to be actionable whether you are an educator working in a school, an employee or manager in a corporation, or someone just looking to take their skills to the next level. Be sure to look for the resources in the show notes section if you would like to dive deeper into this topic. Our next competency is self-regulation.What is Self-Regulation and Why is it So Important? Self-regulation is “the ability to manage your emotions and behavior in accordance with the demands of the situation. It includes being able to resist highly emotional reactions to upsetting stimuli, to calm yourself down when you get upset, adjust to a change in expectations and (the ability) to handle frustration”[i] In other words, it’s the ability to bounce back after a setback or disappointment, and the ability to stay in congruence with your inner value system. The ability to control one's behavior, emotions, and thoughts is an integral skill to be taught to young children as well, so they can form and maintain healthy relationships and connections later in life.[ii] As an adult, self-regulation is important in day to day life as we must learn how to handle and bounce back from life’s challenges and disappointments in our personal and professional lives. This skill is crucial to develop as we all know that life is full of ups and downs and we must be able to navigate through challenging situations before we can reach any level of achievement and success. We all know people who seem to bounce back after adversity. It’s not by luck or chance, it’s because they have learned how to self-regulate and intentionally get themselves back on course. This is a learned skill and one that we must teach or model to our students/children for them to be able to master it as adults. Scott Bezsylko, the executive director of the Winston Prep school explains that they approach self-regulation skills “in the same way (they) approach other skills, academic or social: (they) isolate that skill and provide practice. When you think of it as a skill to be taught — rather than, say, just bad behavior — it changes the tone and content of the feedback you give kids.” [iii] Just like we would create a drill for improving dribbling for a basketball player, or practicing vocabulary words for a spelling test, we can create practice for self-regulation. Self-Regulation Tips for Children The key to teaching these skills to children is to model them, coaching younger children, until they can produce the results on their own.[iv] MODEL SELF-TALK: This works well with younger students as they learn how to identify their emotions. Teachers can model self-regulation in class by naming the emotions they are experiencing since we learn by watching others. Help students to recognize the emotions they have (for example-today I am feeling frustrated because I am stuck on my math problem) and of

Welcome back to the “Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast” this is Andrea Samadi. This interview will be broadcast on YouTube as well as on the regular podcast channel, so be sure to look for the YouTube link in the show notes if you would like to view the video. Today we have a very special guest. She is someone who has helped us at Achieveit360.com with ideas, video editing, student voice and customized art work since 2015. If you have a copy of the Level Up book, she’s the teen artist on the back cover who designed the original cover of the book for a school administrator who requested a customized version for his school and you can also see more about her story in the history and testimonial section. She was involved in creating the name of the book and program, Level Up, and the videos in the program, all with the teen in mind. She learned how to take action on her ideas at an early age, without any limits in her mind, and we are so excited to share her most recent news. She just accepted a 4 year, all paid, prestigious leadership scholarship at the University of AR Fort Smith and begins this adventure this week! Welcome Sam. Can you give us an example of when you FIRST started to use your voice as a young teen, and the results that you created by staying true to yourself and developing your strengths/passions/talents with your artwork? Looking back now, what skills would you say you learned as a teen that helped you with the success you’ve attained with you most recent achievement? What advice do you have for other students as they are navigating through HS to stay focused on the end result vs drama that can be a part of this time period? What tips do you have for students who would like to apply for a scholarship like you did? Where do they begin? How do you ever find out about scholarships like this? How about parents of teens? How can we help our kids be more successful? What should we do more of/less of? What about secondary school educators? How can they help their students be more successful? What has winning this scholarship been like for you? How did it feel when you first got the news? What are you learning there? What will this year look like for you? What types of courses/programs will you receive that are different than a typical 4-year student? (Extensive Team Building, and other?) Where do you see yourself AFTER your scholarship? What are you most excited about learning? Is there anything that you think is important that we have not covered yet about your journey to get to this point? Thank you for taking the time out of your day to share your story with us. We are thrilled to see the results that you have created for yourself and know that this is only the beginning. You are destined for a very bright future. Well done.

Welcome back to the “Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast” this is Andrea Samadi. I want to first of all thank YOU for listening and providing feedback of the episodes. Since launching the end of June, without any paid advertising, we are on our 12th episode and we have reached 12 countries so far! This is incredible! Thanks for all the DMs with feedback on the content and how you are implementing these ideas—I do appreciate hearing how these episodes are being received and how you are using this information. If you’d like to reach me with any questions, you can always find me on Linkedin, Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. Just search Andrea Samadi. For those who don’t know the background of why we launched the “Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast” it began with the growing movement and interest in social and emotional learning in our schools and need to take these skills into the workplace with emotional intelligence training. Our goal is to close the gap recent surveys show exists in our workforce where 58 percent of employers say college graduates are not adequately prepared for today’s workforce, and those employers noted a particular gap in social and emotional skills like self and social awareness, and growth mindset that are crucial to college and career readiness and are finally being introduced into our schools. We want the ideas you take away with you to be actionable whether you are an educator working in a school, an employee of manager in a corporation, or someone just looking to take their skills to the next level. As a recap, in our first episode, we shared with you the “Why behind implementing an SEL/emotional intelligence training program in your school or workplace” with some strategies that we offered on how to get started. In the second episode, we introduced the first of the six SEL competencies (self-awareness). This episode has been the most popular so far, and the one I’ve had the most feedback on, showing me that self-awareness is of high interest to those interested in this work—both the school market, as well as the workplace. We’ve tied in interviews to connect you to these skills so you can hear directly from experts from the field and those who are implementing programs with success. With each skill we investigate the best practices and strategies that you can use either in the classroom or workplace to develop and improve your own program and practice, before extending these strategies to others. Don’t forget to look for ideas, tools and resources in the show notes section if you want a deeper dive into the content. Today we are on the fourth competency, out of six—Responsible Decision-Making. Understanding the neuroscience[i] behind decision-making can be an important tool when looking for new results. In our last episode with Chloe Amen, we discussed the importance of brain development and results and the fact that “your brain is not fully developed until the age of 25 for females and 28 for males”[ii] so it is critical that we take care of our brain to ensure that we are able to make sound decisions later in life. An understanding of our brain’s functions and form are crucial to our future success, since our brain is involved in literally everything that we do. In the Brain Thrive by 25 Online Course (by Dr. Daniel Amen) that was designed to help teens and young adults improve brain function and performance, Chloe Amen (from our last episode) participated in the teen panel and noted that “People don’t realize the decisions they make now (as teens or young adults)—will affect their life later because we aren’t thinking about this at all! Decisions can affect our future—So how can I be my best self?”[iii] Imagine if we had all grown up protecting the organ that controls everything that we do? When I was thirteen, no one ever mentioned the importance of protecting my brain, or how it relates to my future success. We were all told to work hard, go to school and study, with the goal to graduate a

Welcome back to the “Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast” this is Andrea Samadi. This interview will be broadcast on YouTube as well as on the regular podcast channel, so be sure to look for the YouTube link in the show notes if you would like to view the video. Today I want to welcome our special guest, Chloe Amen. If you follow Tana and Dr. Daniel Amen’s work on their Brain Warrior’s Way Podcast[i], she doesn’t need an introduction, because the past couple of weeks she’s been speaking about the soon to be released book that was written by her Dad, Dr. Daniel Amen, who draws on his experience as a neuroscientist and psychiatrist as well as the latest brain science to help you study more effectively, learn faster, and understand how your brain works to optimize results (whether we are talking about academic results or results in the boardroom) they both begin with an understanding of our brain. Chloe and her cousin Alizé Castellanos are major contributors to this book, offering modern day strategies that students and adults will relate to (Coming Sept 17th…you can pre-order it on AMAZON)[ii] “Change Your Brain, Change Your Grades.” Here’s more about Chloe so you can see the vast experience that has led her to be an expert and role model for others in this field at such a young age. Chloe Amen, now a junior in high school (a straight A student who has just finished sophomore classes) has been a part of the National Honor Society for the past three years. She was a guest star on the popular public television show Feel Better Fast[iii] (with Dr. Daniel Amen), and contributor and guest star in the high school program Brain Thrive by Twenty Five,[iv] which is designed to help teens improve brain function and performance. (This is the most thorough and engaging online course that I have ever taken, teaching the theories of brain development as it relates to life success) and has been used in forward thinking schools looking to give their students the leading edge that comes with these strategies. She is an intern for the Mayor’s Youth Council of Newport Beach, which participates in local government and community service. Chloe also has a passion for service and is an active volunteer for Girls Inc., an afterschool girl’s empowerment program. Chloe has a passion for performing arts, where she is currently pursuing a career. Volunteering at church in activities such as student leadership and campus cleanup has been an ongoing devotion. With her free time Chloe enjoys practicing martial arts, dance, songwriting and singing, and the arts. In elementary and early junior high, Chloe struggled with anxiety and organization which affected her academic performance. Through the techniques she has learned and shared in Change Your Brain, Change Your Grades, she has transformed her mindset and work ethic. As a result, she now has a 4.0 GPA and thoroughly enjoys learning. Welcome Chloe! It’s an honor to have you here today. Q1: Can you give us some background of growing up with brain strategies infused into your household and how you got involved with the modern version of this book, Change Your Brain, Change Your Life? Before your involvement with this new book, that’s coming out September 17th, you were already actively involved with helping others understand the power involved with their brain’s function as it relates to achievement. I took the Brain Thrive by 25 Course[v] at least 2 years ago, so am I correct to say that you were 13 when you filmed that? One of the biggest lessons I learned from watching you in the teen panel of was that your brain is not fully developed until age 25 for females and 28 for males. Q2: Can you give us some thoughts of how this fact has changed your decision-making process and perhaps some thoughts of things you know you will do differently with this knowledge as a young adult? Chloe mentions that she has always been taught to make decisions with her brain health in mind being raised by Dr. Daniel A

Welcome back to the “Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast” this is Andrea Samadi. This interview will be broadcast on YouTube as well as on the regular podcast channel, so be sure to look for the YouTube link in the show notes if you would like to view the video. Today we have Clark McKown, the Founder and President of xSEL Labs, an award-winning social scientist and a leading expert on SEL assessments. His work with SEL assessments began back in 2007 at Rush University and in 2016 he founded xSELLabs and their assessment called SELweb. In 2017 more than 50,000 children completed SELweb during the 2017-2018 school year and they continue to grow. Welcome Clark. I have some questions that tie into the language of SEL and assessment for others to gain some clarity with these terms. There’s a lot to navigate with all the terminology that often has different meaning for different people, so let’s dive right in. Q1: When I was referred to your work from Greg Wolcott, an Assistant Superintendent from Chicago, he mentioned you were the #1 person to look at with regards to SEL assessment in the US. We know from the feedback from the Edweek 2019 Social and Emotional Learning in Schools Summit that educators are “interested in social and emotional learning but aren’t always sure where to start” [i] and they are looking for “clear starting points in developing their own SEL strategies and programs.” I wanted to have you on today to share your research and knowledge in the growing field of SEL as many school districts begin to implement their programs[ii] but there’s a lot that I can see that could use some clarification for this field. Can you give an overview of where you see SEL now since you started xSELLabs, and where you see SEL going in the country to bring some clarity to this emerging field? Clark mentions the work Casel is doing with their Collaborating States Initiative[iii] as well as the Assessment Work Group[iv] that he is a steering committee member of. Q2: What first steps would you recommend a District consider when looking to go from intention to action with implementing an SEL program? You mention in your blog “Social and Emotional Learning Programs and Practices”[v] that there are 2 broad approaches—one being to adopt a widely used SEL program and the other being the kernel approach. Can you explain these approaches with the pros and cons of each? Clark mentions to begin with Casel.org and Casel’s District Resource Center[vi] for your first implementation steps. Q3: When Districts are choosing an SEL program, a program that is evidence-based, like those found in Casel’s program guides[vii], and data-informed SEL programs both matter. Q4: “One of the main reasons for the historic lack of engagement with social and emotional skill development in schools relates to issues of measurement. It was only a few years ago that a superintendent emailed me an article that asked the question of “how are we going to measure SEL competencies.” He was looking for my thoughts on this and I didn’t know the answer. The latest developments in social and emotional skills measurement allow these skills to be measured meaningfully.”[viii] Can you explain the difference between some measurement tools that are survey-based vs what you have created with SELweb and how SELweb measures SEL competence key performance indicators? How do they differ and why are they both important?[ix] Clark offers his recent book Assessing Students’ Social and Emotional Learning: A Guide to Meaningful Measurement[x] as a resource. Q5: To wrap this up Clark, what are the important ingredients that you think an SEL program should include? (Teacher Well-Being, Teacher Practices, SEL Competencies). Thank you, Clark, for the time you took today to explain how SEL assessments work with SELweb. If anyone wants to reach you to learn more, they can contact you through your website www.xsel-labs.com or on Twitter @xSEL_Labs REFERENCES: [i] Social and Emotional Le

Welcome back to the “Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast” this is Andrea Samadi. As a recap, in our first episode, we shared with you the “Why behind implementing an SEL/emotional intelligence training program in your school or workplace.” The second episode we introduced the first of six social and emotional learning competencies that we will be diving deep into over the next six weeks. (Self-awareness, Social Awareness, Relationships, Responsible Decision-Making, Self-Regulation and Mental Mindset). With each competency, we’ll investigate the best practices and strategies that educators/and the workplace can use for themselves to develop and improve their own SEL/Emotional Intelligence and well-being practice, before extending these strategies to their districts, schools, classrooms, workplaces and communities. We’ll offer ideas, tools and resources (in the show notes section)—be sure to take a look at the resources, so that anyone can apply these skills themselves, and then teach others for improved results, focus and productivity. Today we are going to dive deep into the relationship competency. We did cover this topic in an interview with Assistant Superintendent of Schools from Chicago, and author of the book, Significant 72: Unleashing the Power of Relationships in Today’s Schools, Greg Wolcott. Be sure to see episode 8 with Greg, to learn more about the research behind relationship building and academic achievement. In addition to schools, relationship building is proving to be the key to success and well-being and the attribute that ties all the pieces in your life together. Dr. Daniel Siegel, a clinical professor of psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine and Executive Director of the Mindsight Institute, proposes in his book “The Developing Mind” that “relationships represented the three aspects of one reality essential to human well-being”[1] (he calls these the 3 Rs, relationships, reflection and resilience) and that “human connections shape neural connections, and each contributes to (developing the) mind.”[2] He explains that “we need to teach more in schools than just reading, writing and arithmetic. We should have reflection, relationships and resilience as the 3 Rs.”[3] Let’s Dive Deeper into Understanding Communication, Relationships and Your Brain: If you want to strengthen your relationship with another person, relate to them better, and have them relate to or understand you better, you must remain “relaxed, observant, and nonjudgmental.” Otherwise, the person that you are interacting with will “feel and connect to your inner stress, causing their brain to assume a defensive stance”[i] and they won’t trust you. Having the ability to “watch a person’s face, their gestures, and their tone of voice”[4] will cause their brain to align with yours, forming a process called “neural resonance” that allows the closest connection between what two people are thinking and feeling. Here are Five Ways to Train Your Brain to Connect to Others Mindfully Remember to observe others mindfully. Before you engage with someone else, always take time to connect this person at the deepest level possible. If you notice facial expressions or body language, ask questions like “how are things going today?” to connect with them and learn more about what could be happening in their world. Always interact with others in a fair and kind manner. Listen to others without judgement and demonstrate that they matter to you by leaning towards them when they speak and then be sure your body language and facial expression matches what you want to convey, in a supportive manner. Show them that you are actually listening. Bring warmth to the tone of your voice with every person you interact with. “If you drop the pitch of your voice, you’ll automatically talk more slowly, allowing the listener to better understand you. This strategy was originally developed and tested in 2011 at the Department of Communication Science and Disorders at the

This episode is also available on YouTube. Our special guest today is Adam Avin, the founder of Wuf Shanti[1], a company that promotes health, wellness, and happiness in children, and encourages peace and positivity. Wuf Shanti was created by a kid for other kids, and started when Adam was younger, with his illustrations, voice and his dream to make a difference in the world. He shares his character, Wuf Shanti, with children across the planet, in the hopes of guiding them down a path of peace and positivity with his programs. His Wuf Shanti videos are in hospitals around the globe, helping children smile while they heal from their cancer treatments and in 25,000 schools across the country. I first met Adam this past Spring when he was hosting the Mindful Kids Peace Summit[2] (a five-day summit that I was a part of) that brought awareness to the need for immediate change in our schools today. It was incredible for me to see his knowledge and enthusiasm for social emotional learning (he understands the competencies just as well as the experts he interviewed) and his experience with mindfulness and meditation as he interviewed over 70 experts! Welcome Adam! It’s wonderful to speak with you. Q1: For those who have not yet seen your TEDTALK[3] where you explain this in detail, can you give us some background on your company, what exactly Wuf Shanti does, and the reason why did you started this company? Q2: I mentioned in the intro that you were a host of the Mindful Kids Peace Summit this year and interviewed over 70 experts. I know to do this well, you need to research your expert in order to ask questions and be able to speak on the topic you are asking them about. What did you learn from interviewing these experts, and hosting this summit? Q3: Watching your interview with the teacher from Marjorie Stoneman Douglas HS (Chelsea Briggs) was a part of the summit that I will never forget, since one of the main reasons I got involved with this work back in the late 90s was because of the Columbine tragedy (April 20, 1999). This is going back before you were born, I was working with a group of 12 teens who created a pin to honor the 13 lives lost in that tragedy. I kept the pin to remind me of why I am doing this work, and last year, I had the chance to meet Darryl Scott the father of Rachel Scott, the first teen shot that day, and he took a pin to remind him of the ripple effect that his daughter has had on the world. The Parkland shooting (not far from where you live) was 17 lives lost, the worst school shooting since Sandy Hook (20 children and 6 adults). How did speaking with the students and teachers at Marjory Stoneman High School in Parkland impact you and your work? ADAM: Mentioned that this event inspired him to work harder because the statistics[4] show the need is imminent for change. We agree as the research shows that “80% of children who struggle with mental health issues receive no treatment.”[5] Q4: We saw “student voice” emerge after the Parkland shooting and it remains a concept, I know schools are placing a focus on. How has Wuf Shanti helped you to bring “student voice” to the forefront? What do your friends think about your work? Have you helped any of your friends with success or coping strategies? Q5: On a lighter note, it was fun for me to watch your promoting the summit, especially when Maroon 5 noticed you on social media. How do you think bringing in a celebrity helped to spread the word and your goals for the summit? Q6: What’s your vision for Wuf Shanti? Where would you like to see your programs go? ADAM: His vision is to have mental health programs in all schools K-12 for students and educators. Educators need stress reduction techniques as well.[6] Q7: What final advice do you have for anyone listening to bring for mindfulness into their daily lives? (the tips you gave at the end of your TED TALK were perfect). Thank you for your time Adam. We think you are wise beyond your years and d

Welcome back to the “Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast” this is Andrea Samadi. This interview will be broadcast on YouTube as well as on the regular podcast channel, so be sure to look for the YouTube link in the show notes if you would like to view the video. Our special guest today is Greg Wolcott. He is someone who is “always on the cutting edge of education.” Greg is the author of the book Significant 72: Unleashing the Power of Relationships in Today’s Schools[i] and is on a serious mission to impact our schools with this movement. Greg currently serves as the Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning in a suburb of Chicago as well as an adjunct professor. As an educator in the Chicago area for over 20 years, he is passionate about developing opportunities for all students to succeed as well as finding ways for all teachers and staff members to utilize their strengths to maximize learning. I’m excited to have Greg share more about the “Significant 72” initiative that’s implemented in over two hundred schools across the United States and Canada. Welcome Greg. Q1: As we dive into the relationship competency, I know there isn’t anyone I could think of that could cover this topic better than you. Can you give some background on the reason why you wrote this book? I remember hearing you talking about the concept of “Significant 72” on an SEL Webinar back in 2016. I remember you mentioned it had to do with the importance of relationship building after 3-day weekends. Where did the concept begin, what does Significant 72 look like in a school (every day, every month and after long breaks)? Q2: When you mentioned the research you had done, and found the key attribute that all great teachers do—their ability to form strong, caring relationships with students, how did you take this information to help build on this strength to connect with students on a deeper level? Q3: We know from the research that “When students perceive that their teacher knows them both academically and personally, they are better positioned to take ownership of their learning.” (Edwards & Edick, 2013). We can all recall are favorite teachers who inspired us to learn, but how did they do it? There’s that fine line of showing you care and being too intrusive when asking students about their feelings or personal lives. How did you handle this to get the results you were looking for? GREG: It all began with John Hattie’s research on effect size and how relationship building yielded a gain of 2 years.[ii] Q5: Can you give us your TOP tips used in “Significant 72” for improving relationships with students? Q4: What are the outcomes and results from the schools using this method? How are you measuring this data? GREG: They use Panorama Education Surveys[iii] Q5: What is your 3-5 year vision of where you see “Significant 72” going? Q 6: To sum this all up, what are some final words of wisdom that you think we can all do (parents, as well as educators) to build stronger, meaningful relationships that foster that home/school connection? GREG: Connections Before Curriculum! Thank you Greg, for taking the time out of your day to speak with us and share your Significant 72 book, ideas and resources. If someone wants to learn more, they can go to www.significant72.com and find you on Twitter @GregJWolcott to reach you. [i] www.significant72.com [ii] https://visible-learning.org/hattie-ranking-influences-effect-sizes-learning-achievement/ [iii] www.PanoramaEd.com

In today’s episode we have Helen Maffini, a Canadian/British international educational consultant. You can watch the video of this interview on YouTube as well as listen on our regular podcast channel. Helen is the host of the Mindfulness in Education and Peace Summits, a doctoral researcher, author and educator and will share with us her experience as the host of "The Mindful Peace Summits" that bring educators, business leaders, researchers and experts in the field together in one place, to share their ideas, resources and expertise on the future of "Mindfulness and Meditation" in our schools. With time, these practices will be implemented in more and more schools worldwide, and workplaces will follow the way (like in the UK where meditation is used in parliament). Here Helen's thoughts on the following questions. Q1: I’ve been blessed to be interviewed by you for your Mindful Peace Summits where you interview leaders across the world in the area of SEL and neuroscience with guests like Dr. Daniel Siegal, the author of Brain Storm: The Power and Purpose of the Teenage Brain (and countless other books) as well as many others. Why did you create the Mindful Peace Summits? What have YOU learned from your interviews? Q2: It was powerful watching 14-year-old Adam Avin hosting your last Mindful Peace Summit in February. I think that student-voice is trending in the country, and Adam is spearheading his way. How did Adam impact your Summit? What did you notice about his participation? Q3: I know we have similar visions for where we see education going, and we have both come from similar backgrounds. Where do you think SEL is right now in the US opposed to Canada and Internationally? Is the US behind/at the same pace? (I see Canada as being ahead from the fact that in 2016 they hired me to present on SEL/Neuroscience whereas the US is just catching onto this topic). Curious what you think? Q4: Can you explain your MindBe Curriculum and how it’s impacting schools in Asia? What is your vision for your curriculum? (Canada/USA)? Q5: What’s on the 3-5 year plan for you? I know you are always working on something. What’s next?

Our goal with this podcast is to close the gap recent surveys show exists in our workforce where 58 percent of employers say college graduates aren’t adequately prepared for today’s workforce, and those employers noted a particular gap in social and emotional skills. Research shows that social-emotional skills like social awareness, self-management, and growth mindset are crucial to college and career readiness. We have chosen six social and emotional learning competencies to dive deep into over the next 6 episodes to use as a springboard for discussion and tie in how an understanding of our brain can facilitate these strategies. We want the ideas you take away with you to be actionable whether you are an educator working in a school, an employee or manager in a corporation, or someone just looking to take their skills to the next level. We have done all of the research for you and look forward to hearing about the results that you create. As a recap, in our first episode, we shared with you the “Why behind implementing an SEL/emotional intelligence training program in your school or workplace.” In the second episode, we introduced the first of the six SEL competencies (self-awareness). With each competency, we’ll investigate the best practices and strategies that you can use to develop and improve your own SEL/Emotional Intelligence and well-being practices, before extending these strategies to your districts, schools, classrooms, workplaces and communities. We’ll offer ideas, tools and resources (in the show notes section) so that anyone can apply these skills themselves, and then teach others for improved results, focus and productivity. Our next competency is social-awareness. What is Social-Awareness and Why is it Important? “Social awareness is the ability to take the perspective of and empathize with others from diverse backgrounds and cultures.” [i] Being socially aware means that we have the ability to: Recognize our own emotions in addition to other people’s emotions Use information about our emotions to help guide or direct our thoughts, feelings, actions and behaviors Be aware of the thoughts, feelings and motivations of others Be able to take another person’s perspective “As an educator, part of our role is to help students see the world through others’ eyes.” [ii] How can we become more socially mindful of others? We know that research shows that students with strong social awareness adapt easily to their environment, are empathetic to others, and have fewer behavioral problems.” [iii] This creates a setting where students can focus on learning. Findings also show that students who demonstrate strong social awareness are better able to engage in effective communication with their peers to resolve conflicts and challenges when they arise. In the workplace, there are a lot of components to think about. We are all equals (men vs women) and of diverse backgrounds and everyone on the team can contribute in a different way to achieve the end goal. We’ve must learn to communicate between different departments-- marketing can’t work without sales and sales can’t operate without marketing. It’s important to learn strategies to connect with all our colleagues. Tap into Your Own Social-Awareness in 4 Steps There is a way to train your brain to increase social awareness and create substantial neural changes in your social brain. This practice will help you to change your behavior and in turn, will cause others to trust and connect with you more. Imagine you have a team meeting and you know the outcome that you want from the meeting. There are some steps that you can take BEFORE the meeting that can prime your brain for these results. STEP 1: Prepare yourself to engage in the present moment. Yawn, stretch, relax and release any negative thoughts and feelings that might be on your mind. You don’t want to carry anything into the meeting to affect the outcome that you want. STEP 2: Find your power word. Think o

Welcome back to the “Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast” this is Andrea Samadi. This interview will be broadcast on YouTube as well as on the regular podcast channel. Today we are speaking with Jennifer Miller, she’s an author and illustrator of the blog Confident Parents, Confident Kids[i] with over 22,000 followers. She has her master’s degree in Instructional Leadership with a focus on social and emotional development, and has a new book coming out just shortly after the SEL Exchange[ii] this October called Confident Parents, Confident Kids: Raising Emotional Intelligence in Ourselves and Our Kids — From Toddlers to Teenagers.[iii] Welcome Jennifer, it’s great to meet you after following your work for the past few years. I was excited to see you as a speaker at Casel’s SEL Exchange this coming October where you will be showcasing your research with educators nationally and internationally. This is very exciting! Q1: Can you give us a sneak peak of the insights you will be sharing at Casel’s pre-conference institute this fall? Q2: I know we’ve both heard this question many times, and it’s often the question kicked around in many different settings. I hope that this interview can shed some light on some solutions to bridge the gap that exists with the question. The question is….“Whose job is it to educate our kids?” Of course, we know the role of our schools to educate students, but teachers can’t be the only solution. With the fact that students are with their teachers around 6 hours/day, about 180 days/year, [iv] we can’t rely on only the school because there’s a lot of time they are not in school, bringing us to you, for your expertise. Whose job is it? Q3: What can/should parents be doing at home to support their child’s social and emotional learning? What does SEL look like integrated into family life? (examples for young children-teens) Q4: How do parents access and translate the robust knowledge base from schools to support them in raising confident, responsible children? What should parents be doing more of to support this new and emergent field? Q5: How can schools who prioritize social and emotional learning authentically partner with families to maximize success with our children? Q6: What would be your top 5 tips for a parent to improve their role to support their local school/educator? Q7: Would be your top 5 tips for teachers to improve their role to support/connect better with parents? Q8: I’m looking forward to the release of your book Confident Parents, Confident Kids: Raising Emotional Intelligence in Ourselves and Our Kids — and look will do all I can to promote your book to help more families. Can you give us some background on why you wrote this book, and the support it will provide for parents? Q9: Thank you Jennifer for taking the time out of your day today. Is there anything you think we have missed, any final thoughts for parents/educators who either watch the video on YouTube, or hear the podcast, to learn more about supporting the home/school connection with social and emotional learning? [i] https://confidentparentsconfidentkids.org/ [ii] https://selexchange.casel.org/ [iii] Pre-order Jennifer Miller’s Book on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Confident-Parents-Kids-Emotional-Intelligence/dp/1592339042/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=jennifer+miller+parenting&qid=1563316995&s=gateway&sr=8-2 [iv] Leading Education Podcast with Jeff Rose https://www.leadingedsolutions.com/about

Welcome back to the “Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast” this is Andrea Samadi. This interview will be broadcast on YouTube as well as on the regular podcast channel, so be sure to click on the link if you would like to view the video. In this episode we have a special guest, Ron Hall, the Executive Director of Valley Day School[i] in Morristown, Pennsylvania to discuss how his school improved behavioral outcomes with a neuroscientific approach. If you take one look at Valley Day Schools website in the News Section you can see the forward-thinking nature of this school that is applying cutting edge technology in PE class that combines movement with intellect, challenging students to think while they move. They are using virtual reality to travel to different regions of the world and develop empathy. Teachers hold community meetings with students to get to the root cause of behavioral problems over punishment, and they teach their students about table etiquette, and social/emotional intelligence though advanced technology tools.Welcome Ron, thanks for joining us today. When I saw the article written about your focus on social support rather than the old punitive approach, I knew I had to contact you so you could share your experiences to help other schools that might be thinking of implementing a program like yours. The more I read on your In the News Section of your website, the more excited I got to speak with you to learn more. I know that summer time is a time to get some rest to rejuvenate for the next year, so I do appreciate you speaking with me during the summer break to help others to see some of your strategies. Let’s dive into the questions… In your recent interview “Lessons in Leadership: How an Alternative School Improved Behavioral Outcomes with a Neuroscience Approach”[ii] from educationdive.com you mentioned how you were interested in using an understanding of the brain to facilitate learning prior to being hired at Valley Day School over 15 years ago. It was just a bit longer than that when I was a teacher in the classroom and looking for something like this to help me manage a classroom of behavioral students. My principal sent me to a Tribes workshop, but this was not even close to what I needed. What made you look at brain-based learning back then and what did you discover? We know that 15 years ago there wasn’t the research around social and emotional learning that we now know impacts student achievement and behavior. What do you think is different now than 15 years ago with schools using these strategies to help improve student behavior that we know is tied into achievement? How are you teaching these skills? What happens if some staff do not buy in, or you see some outliers? How do you handle that? Can you explain the demographics of Valley Day School so that other schools can learn from your experience and model your approach? When I looked up your website valleyday.org right on your home page banner under “Cutting Edge Technology” I see a student on a computer with a brain jumping out of the screen. It looks like augmented reality (something I have been following for some time now). What program is that? How are you raising funds for such innovative tools? Where do you see neuroeducation going in the next 5 years and I’m really curious what’s on your roadmap for your next steps in innovation? I really do wish I knew these strategies back when I was in the classroom. It was probably one of the reasons I burnt out of the profession. I know that you believe that to “effectively manage behavior and improve learning, all staff members need to have a thorough understanding of how the brain operates.” Where would you suggest a school begin when looking to implement a neuroscientific approach to prevent teacher burnout? What are the most important components that teachers should grasp about the brain? Ron suggests starting with Harry Wong’s book, The First Day of School.[iii] What do you think s

In this episode, we will introduce the first of six social and emotional learning competencies (self-awareness) that we will be diving deep into over the next six weeks. With each competency, we’ll investigate the best practices and strategies that educators/and the workplace can use for themselves to develop and improve their own SEL/Emotional Intelligence and well-being practices, before extending these strategies to their districts, schools, classrooms, workplaces and communities. We’ll offer ideas, tools and resources (in the show notes section) so that anyone can apply these skills themselves, and then teach others for improved results, focus and productivity. With the buzz of the importance and need of social and emotional learning in our schools (and emotional intelligence training in our workplaces), we all know that developing a child’s SEL skills is just as important as their academic content to ensure student motivation and success throughout their school years as well as in their future careers. We do know that students with strong SEL health “demonstrate self-control, communicate well, problem solve, are empathetic, respectful, grateful, gritty and optimistic.”[i] All of the skills our workforce is actively looking for. We also know that neuroscience has advanced our understanding of these SEL skills. We know that there is a clear connection between educator cortisol increase and student cortisol increase, (meaning that when teachers are stressed, the students will in turn be stressed) and that teachers who demonstrate social and emotional learning competencies (like self-awareness, social awareness, self-regulation, decision-making, relationship building) are more likely to stay in the classroom longer because they are able to work more effectively with challenging students—one of the main reasons for educator burn out. This is something I remember well—since this was one of the reasons I left the classroom over 20 years ago. I wish I knew the research and had some of the tools that I know now, and the importance of working on myself, before considering an impact on others. I hope these ideas, can help offer solutions to deepen the student/teacher relationship as well as connect teachers back to their profession, providing them with that feeling of autonomy, and peace that we all are looking for in our workplace. In the corporate world, these skills aren’t new, but they are “newly important” and of high urgency to develop in our future generations. A recent survey showed that 58 percent of employers say college graduates aren’t adequately prepared for today’s workforce, and those employers noted a particular gap in social and emotional skills. Our goal with this podcast is to close this gap by exploring six social and emotional learning competencies as a springboard for discussion and tie in how an understanding of our brain can facilitate these strategies. We want the ideas you take away with you to be actionable whether you are an educator working in a school, an employee of manager in a corporation, or someone just looking to take their skills to the next level. We have done all of the research for you and look forward to hearing about the results that you create. Self-Awareness Today we will begin with Self-Awareness to kick off our first SEL competency since to “know thyself” is the most substantial achievement we can have in our lifetime. “The major value in life is not what you get. It’s what you become.” (Jim Rohn, American author, speaker and entrepreneur). So let’s take a deeper look. What is self-awareness, why do we need it, and how can we get more of it? Self-awareness is “the ability to see ourselves clearly, understand who we are, how others see us and how we fit into the world.”[ii] When we have self-awareness, we have a power within ourselves because there is a comfort in knowing who exactly who we are and where we fit into the larger world around us. Research shows that “people who

Welcome to our FIRST “Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast” this is Andrea Samadi. In this episode, we will be talking about the WHY behind setting up a social and emotional learning program in your school or district, or emotional intelligence training in the workplace. Today I have with me Majid Samadi, Corporate Sales Leader for the past 22 years, and my husband, and we will be talking about “The Why Behind Social and Emotional Learning or Emotional Intelligence Training for Schools and Workplaces” and offering his thoughts with his experience in mind. Andrea to Majid: As someone who works in the corporate world, why do you think teaching SEL in our classrooms is so important to develop our future generations? What skills do you think are missing? Majid to Andrea: What about you? Since you were a teacher in the classroom, why do you think SEL programs are so important in today’s classrooms? Why now? Hasn’t SEL always been important for preparing young people for the workplace? Sure, these skills have always been important, but the research wasn’t there 20 years ago. When I first started my career in education, in the late 90s, as a classroom teacher, I felt overwhelmed and frustrated by the lack of resources to help me to manage and teach my students (my first teaching assignment was a behavioral class) and I had to be creative to hold their attention, let alone teach what was required. I discovered social and emotional learning skills by chance through a motivational speaker. After seeing students working with skills that developed their attitude, mindset, confidence and goal-setting abilities, (you know, what we used to call soft skills) and it skyrocketed their results, (I saw kids who were able to go from C grades to A grades, from being a bench warmer to the starting line-up and improving their personal lives) I knew we were onto something. It actually hit me like a brick since I was really struggling to make an impact on the students in my classroom, and then here were these 12 teens talking about their results after only a few months of working with lessons that mirrored growth mindset, and self-awareness…and I knew I was meant to be doing this work back then. It’s been a 20-year journey and I am excited to share the resources and ideas with everyone here on the podcast. I know it won’t shock educators to know the statistics that support the need for students and SEL but did you know that: ¼ students struggle with anxiety 1/5 struggle with depression Research now shows us that students with strong SEL health “demonstrate self-control, communicate well, problem solve, are empathetic, respectful, grateful, gritty and optimistic.”[i] We also know that neuroscience has advanced our understanding of these SEL skills. Here’s more research of what we know now: “Success in life, and in college and career specifically, relies on student’s cognitive, social, and emotional development. (Integrating Social, Emotional and Academic Development: An Action Guide for School Leadership Teams) page 4 “Research shows that teaching these skills result in immediate and long-term improvement in academic achievements and are a better predictor of success than academic ability alone.” (Perspectives of Youth on High School and SEL Webinar, Dec. 11/18). (Research of over 200 studies show that students who studies SEL have an 11% gain in academic achievement). School climate, autonomy, educator health improves. We also know that there is a connection between educator cortisol increase and student cortisol increase. We know that teachers who demonstrate Social and Emotional Learning competencies are more likely to stay in the classroom longer because they are able to work more effectively with challenging students- one of the main causes of burn out. That’s why this topic is of such interest to so many people these days. “School leader support is the biggest predictor of whether change takes hold and is beneficial” (SEL and Principal