Michael Reichert

The new field of interpersonal neuroscience confirms that all children, including boys, are “wired to connect.” Global studies of thousands of boys and their teachers found not only that boys were “relational learners,” but that even the most hardened resistance could be transformed by an effective relational approach. Indeed, to engage a boy in a learning partnership, the teacher or coach must first connect with him.

Based on three global studies conducted with over 2,500 adolescent boys and 2,000 of their teachers, from over 50 schools in six countries, Dr. Reichert offers a framework for engaging boys in learning that has been validated by educators and by boys themselves. The talk can also be adapted to a workshop format, allowing teachers and youth workers to share their own experiences.

Based also on ongoing work with schools interested in becoming “relational schools,” the workshop features these components:

• An overall presentation of insights from his research identifying effective teaching practices with boys
• A more focused presentation on the effective and ineffective relational strategies identified in this research
• An introduction to a collaborative and reflective exercise that can help teachers/coaches “reset” when they have become stuck in a relationship with a student.