The Unshakeable Teacher: Building Identity, Intention, and Student Agency

Outline

Content & Flow
This session introduces the Unshakeable Teacher Framework, with a focus on how presence, intention, and identity-based practices transform student engagement and self-regulation. Participants will move through four core areas: brain & behavior foundations, intentional routines, agency & belonging, and reflective voice.

Engagement Methods

Experiential practices: Participants will directly experience mindset and state shifts through breathwork, posture/embodiment activities, and gratitude or visualization exercises.

Peer-to-peer interaction: Attendees will share reflections, discuss classroom applications, and collaborate in small groups.

Immersive learning: Instead of only hearing strategies, participants will practice them in real time, noticing internal and external shifts.

Collaborative creation: In teams, attendees will co-create a micro-practice or action plan they can bring back to their classrooms.

Reflection & takeaway: Each participant will document one action step and leave with a practical template for implementation.

Time Breakdown (Approx.)

5 min – Welcome, framing, and grounding exercise

10 min – Brain & behavior lens: how identity and nervous system shape student actions

10 min – Intentional routines: demonstration + group reflection

15 min – Agency & belonging: collaborative small-group creation of a micro-practice

10 min – Thoughtful voice: reflective pair activity and discussion

10 min – Integration: personal action step planning + closing reflection

Outcomes

After this session, participants will be able to:

Identify how intentional routines and teacher presence impact student identity, belonging, and engagement.

Apply brain-based and SEL strategies that promote self-regulation and create emotionally safe classrooms.

Design a simple classroom practice that fosters student agency and empowers learners to reframe limiting beliefs.

Reflect on their own teaching practices and develop an action step to integrate intention and identity-based growth into daily routines.

Supporting research

Brown, B. (2012). Daring Greatly. Penguin.

CASEL (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning). (n.d.). Core SEL Competencies. https://casel.org/core-competencies

Cozolino, L. (2013). The Social Neuroscience of Education. W. W. Norton.

Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. Random House.

Hammond, Z. (2015). Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain. Corwin.

Hattie, J. (2009). Visible Learning. Routledge.

Immordino-Yang, M. H. (2016). Emotions, Learning, and the Brain. W. W. Norton.

Jensen, E. (2008). Brain-Based Learning: The New Paradigm of Teaching. Corwin.

Marzano, R. J. (2007). The Art and Science of Teaching. ASCD.

Siegel, D. J. (2010). Mindsight: The New Science of Personal Transformation. Bantam.