Innovative Strategies to Motivate and Build Resilience in Every Student

Format

Individual Presentation

Presenters

Christian MooreFollow

First Presenter's Institution

WhyTry Organization

First Presenter’s Email Address

eventmanager@whytry.org

First Presenter's Brief Biography

Christian understands the challenges students face. He was diagnosed with severe learning disabilities, and teachers told him he wasn’t college material. Nevertheless, he completed a masters degree and became a social worker. He turned his insights into the WhyTry Program, a proven model used by over 30k organizations, and he authored The Resilience Breakthrough, a bestseller. As a speaker, Christian is both entertaining and relatable. His passion for advocacy led him on a 7 million mile journey to inspire educators and students. He was a commencement speaker for the School of Education at Johns Hopkins University, and he was invited to address the White House convening for the Reach Higher Initiative. Christian’s energy is contagious. His humor is disarming. His speaking methods are unorthodox, but his strategies for developing motivation and resilience are proven, practical, and can be used right away.

Location

Session Nine

Strand #1

Heart: Social & Emotional Skills

Strand #2

Health: Mental & Physical Health

Relevance

Grit. Fortitude. Determination. Resilience. No matter what you call it, teachers and administrators nationwide agree that there has never been a greater need to teach our students how to thrive in school and in life. Studies have shown that students who score higher on resilience measures have improved social skills, higher grades, a greater love of learning, and better decision-making skills.

The breakthrough idea of this presentation is that resilience can be taught. In fact, it’s something we are all born with – from the homeless person on the street to the brightest Harvard professor. Most of us – including many of our schools’ most struggling students – just haven’t learned how to access what’s already inside. In this presentation, participants will learn about the vital skills of resilience and will be empowered to deliver these skills to students of any background and learning style.

Brief Program Description

How do you help students bounce back from what they have been through? From trauma, isolation, and poverty, to mental health challenges, our students have faced many obstacles over the last three years. Come see a formula to help you guide students through the challenges that destroy motivation and make it difficult to find success.

Summary

This presentation is centered on what has been established as formula for helping students foster resilience. Using PowerPoint, video, and activities, the audience will receive a walkthrough of this model including practical strategies for addressing student mental health and resilience. This session will be interactive, using challenge questions and a variety of multimedia and activities that will help the attendees gain personal insight into the challenges youth face. Participants will also be given a 4 page handout that outlines the presentation’s approach to reaching every student.

Questions to be answered during this session:

• What is resilience?

• How can I use the environment to access resilience?

• How can I help students become resilient?

• How can my school become resilient?

Evidence

Multiple third party studies have shown the solutions presented in this session have yielded these outcomes:

School Climate: Students improved social behavior and emotional health. Students showed less social stress and anxiety (Baker, 2008). Students improved self-concept and overall happiness (Bise, 2009). Students showed more internal control (Wilhite, 2010).

Academic Success: The average GPA increased by 11% (Knick, 2010). Academic progress improved in all areas (Acuña, 2008).Youth perceived themselves as being more capable of learning (Baker, 2008).

Dropout Prevention: Students reduced failing grades by 47% (Wymore, 2007). Students were three times more likely to graduate. Time spent implementing these strategies correlated with a reduced number of expulsions (Minor, 2009). 90% of students reported increased motivation to keep trying (Bird, 2010).

Classroom Management: Students reported fewer emotional, attention, and rule-breaking problems (Baker, 2008). Students showed improved attitudes and motivation. Behavior incident reports decreased by 20% (Knick, 2010).

Bullying Prevention: Students reduced fighting/aggressive behavior and harassment/bullying behavior. Students emotionally showed more internal control and less social stress and anxiety (Wilhite, 2010). Students had a 13% decrease in referrals and behavior problems (Williams, 2009).

Learning Objective 1

Participants will know how to build a belief in students that they can change their circumstances, no matter how hopeless.

Learning Objective 2

Participants will gain strategies to transform pain and adversity into fuel.

Learning Objective 3

Participants will recognize and know how to utilize the resources for resilience that exist around them.

Keyword Descriptors

Resilience, Mental Health, Student Motivation

Presentation Year

2024

Start Date

3-6-2024 11:15 AM

Recommended Citation

Moore, Christian, "Innovative Strategies to Motivate and Build Resilience in Every Student" (2024). National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference. 94.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/nyar_savannah/2024/2024/94