Speaking
Book Adam for an Event
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In addition to my work at Wake Forest University, I travel the globe presenting keynotes, workshops, coaching, and more. If you’d like for me to present at your conference, school/district, company, or training please submit the booking request form.
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Where has Adam Presented?
Available Topics
KEYNOTE: When Kids Lead (45-75 minutes)
Bold. Courageous. Innovative. Thoughtful. All leadership characteristics that we attribute to great adult leaders in our society. It should be unsurprising then that we have children in our classrooms, teams, and clubs with those very same traits. However, oftentimes these virtues go unnoticed or remain hidden. As adults, we have the ability to cultivate, empower, and refine these skills in our children to create powerful young leaders. Learn from Adam ways to build these leaders in your classrooms and schools so that we provide them the opportunities to become even better adult leaders.
KEYNOTE: Break the Script (45-60 minutes)
One of the most dangerous phrases in education today is “because that’s the way we’ve always done it.” It can be heard echoed through the hallways and classrooms of schools across the country. As a result, the recycling of traditional approaches to schooling have isolated, oppressed, and created boredom for so many of our students. What if schools dared to break the script of what schools can do? What if students were addicted to coming to school? Join Adam’s keynote as he shares his journey of how he created a school that kids and staff were excited to come to each day. You’ll walk away with easy to implement ideas and motivation to begin your school’s transformation!
KEYNOTE: Portrait of a Scholar (15-30 minutes)
When you close your eyes and picture a “scholar,” what do you envision? What do they look like? Sound like? Act like? Each person’s definition of a scholar differs, but one thing is for sure, ALL students need to have the opportunity to be a scholar. ALL students deserve the opportunity to be seen, heard, recognized. In this keynote, be inspired by the tales of very different scholars, all of whom bring their own unique, special experiences to the table and how each are able to shine in their own ways.
CHOICE Leadership (full or half day)
This half or full day session brings school, district, and aspiring leaders together to discuss, debate, and tackle real-world leadership challenges. From reimagining the start of the day to providing effective evidence-based feedback to recruiting, retaining, and supporting teachers, this high-energy, interactive session brings problems of practice to the forefront and leverages the experiences and expertise in the room to create meaningful connections and takeaways.
Breakout Sessions
When Kids Lead: Developing Student Voice: This workshop focuses on how to develop a student-centered classroom through discourse, debate, critical thinking, and speaking and listening. After watching videos of these practices in action, participants will take an active part in practicing the foundational skills and set-up of how to bring this back to their classroom.
S.P.E.C.I.A.L. Impressions: This is Adam’s most popular workshop and one whose content has been utilized by classrooms and schools across the country. In this session, participants will be taught the process of teaching what are commonly called “soft skills” or making a positive first impression. Using the system Adam developed called S.P.E.C.I.A.L., participants will learn ways to help teach their students ways to develop these real-world skills.
Morning Makeover / Morning Choice: How do your students start their day? Do they have opportunities to innovate, interact, problem-solve? Or are they silent while they work on a worksheet? Learn about practical systems and routines that can make your students excited to come into the class and build important social and developmental skills for our learners.
Stop! Collaborate and Listen: Why must students remain quiet while learning? We learn best when we collaborate, discuss, and debate. This session will make you talk! Join Adam as he takes you through some of his favorite collaborative activities like Speed Chats, Four Friends, and College Course Creation.
Teach N.A.K.E.D.: Upon walking into most classrooms, it would be expected that one would see technology, manipulatives, and other curricular resources to enhance instruction. While these tools are valuable and important to engage and instruct, what happens if they all go away? What are you left with? The answer is YOU. Join Adam as he transforms the session into a classroom and experience how YOU can teach N.A.K.E.D.!
D@+@ is Not a 4-Letter Word: An exciting session centered around data? It can’t be! But it’s possible when Adam shows you that data is not a boring or scary word. Join in on a journey around ways to facilitate conversations, instructional improvements, and student-led activities around building a data-informed culture at your school!
Houses for You: All schools like to express that they are “a family,” but what does that look like in a school? As a former teacher and director of school implementation at the Ron Clark Academy, Adam Dovico has helped hundreds of schools build culture inside their building. One of the most popular methods used to build family and togetherness inside of a school is the implementation of “Houses.” As seen in Harry Potter, Houses can promote friendship, competition, and positive culture, when done correctly. Adam will explain how you can build Houses inside of your classroom or school and work with participants on bringing back a plan to present to school leadership!
