A Fresh Perspective

on Teaching a

Distracted Generation

Scott Bricker

Founder & CEO, AweFull Learning

Reimagine@AweFullLearning.com

Stevie Frank

Digital Learning Coach 

Steviefrank.com

https://forms.office.com/r/4zksYtqmJ9

What is the biggest barrier impeding student engagement in today’s classrooms?

A Distracted Generation

The time is now for all of us to

come together and be the generation of educators, parents, and school community members who finally

get learning and teaching

right for our students.

SO MUCH HAPPENING IN OUR LIVES

TIME TO SCROLL SOCIAL

Bit.ly/StevieScottBrain 

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Scott Bricker�Founder & CEO

25+ Years in Education

Massive sports fan

Dedicated Sneakerhead

Reimagine@AweFullLearning.com

Stevie Frank�Digital Learning Coach

Learning Consultant

15+ Years in Education

Traveler. Yogi.

​

StevieFrank.com

Where are we going? 

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• Science of the brain and learning
• Trauma based informed education
• Distractions in our everyday environments
• How do we support students?

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Memory

(Hippocampus)

Ability to process emotions

(amygdala)

Logical Thinking

(prefrontal cortex)

Basics of the Brain

Motivation

Metacognition

Resilience/Stress Recovery

Creativity 

Executive Function

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Core Aspects of Cognitive Development

Student Self Efficacy

Critical Thinking

Problem Solving

Creativity 

Communication

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Adverse Childhood Experiences 

(ACE)

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Physical abuse

Emotional abuse

Sexual abuse

Physical neglect

Emotional neglect

Alcohol or drug abuse by a parent

Mentally ill parent

Divorce

Incarceration of a parent

Childhood Domestic Violence

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Adverse Childhood  Experiences (ACE):

Preventing ACEs could reduce:

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Suicide attempts by 89%

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Prescription pain medication abuse by 84%

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Symptoms of depression by 66%

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Pace of Life

Emotions in Check

Success vs. Failure

Assess our Assessments

Focus on Essentials

5 Major Agents of Distraction

Running a Marathon While the World Around You is Sprinting

Brain Bites:

• Chronic stress weakens the Pre-Frontal Cortex?
• K-12 students show heightened slower recovery compared to adults when faced with stress.
• Working memory is limited and overload causes attention to falter and learning to stall.
• Presence of smart phones and social media can reduce attentional performance, adding an “always on” cognitive tax to overloaded days.

Keeping Our Emotions

In Check

Brain Bites:

• 50% or more of adults in the US report signs of loneliness
• This can lead to emotional dysregulation
• Emotion and cognition share systems in the brain.
• Emotional regulation supports learning because it helps students stay engaged long enough to practice, retrieve, and refine knowledge and skills
• Need to treat root of the emotional dysregulation, not just the behavior

Redefining Success by Normalizing Failure

Brain Bites:

• How students interpret challenge and feedback can influence learning-related circuitry.
• Repeated retrieval produces much stronger long-term learning than repeated studying.
• Productive struggle is not just motivational; it’s a mechanism for durable memory
• Mistakes are data/clues, not detours/stop signs

Reassessing Our Approach to Assessment

Brain Bites:

• Students’ metacognition is often inaccurate.
• If deeper learning is the goal, assessments should capture thinking processes like: explanation, synthesis, and application
• Retrieval strengthens memory and improves long-term retention more than restudy
• If working memory is limited, assessments that overload cognitive resources measure overload tolerance more than actual understanding.

Focusing on What Really Matters

Power of Play

Connect the Dots

Growth Mindset

Reading & Literacy

Problem Solving

Executive Function

Self-Efficacy

Meta-Cognition

Emotional Intelligence

Communication

Brain Bites:

Let's learn some more...

1. Navigate to Microsoft365.com (Private/Incognito window)

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2. Login with a demo account that already has an agent built in

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Prompt it with answers to questions like:

1. If students are disengaged, what instructional variables should I examine first before attributing it to motivation?
2. How could I check for understanding in ways that feel low‑risk and supportive rather than evaluative?
3. What parts of this lesson require sustained self‑regulation, and what supports could help students stay regulated and engaged?

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Strategies to Support the Distracted & Dysregulated

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Regulation before Rigor:

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• Morning or before period routines

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• Emotional/SEL Check-ins

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Positive Childhood Experiences (PCEs)

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• Safe to share feelings

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• Sense of belonging In school

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• Supported by friends

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• Have 2 adults that take genuine Interest In them

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Positive Childhood Experiences (PCEs)

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American Psychiatric Association

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How to build relationships:

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Know their name

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Positive Language

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Greet them at the door

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SEL Check Ins

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Clear Expectations

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Students won’t learn from you if they don’t feel like you care.

-Rita Pierson

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Bit.ly/StevieScottBrain

Create an AI Agent:

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Discussion Questions & Workshop Activities

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• Take out a lesson plan and improve it using the agent

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• Design an activity using the agent for your class or even a particular student or group of students

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• What seems to be missing with this particular agent and what else would you like it to be able to do?

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• What other types of agents or agentic capabilities would you like to create? What challenge might they solve?

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Scott Bricker�

Reimagine@AweFullLearning.com

Stevie Frank�

​

Steviefrank.com

Don't forget to connect!

https://forms.office.com/r/4zksYtqmJ9

Three flag football games

between 5:30-7:30

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

Basketball practice, birthday party & two baseball tryouts

Two basketball games &

dinner with family an hour away

Discussion Questions:

• How does pace of life affect student behavior?

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• What is one area in your class/school where doing less, but better could meaningfully support student well-being and learning?

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• How might the structure of the school day unintentionally add to stress rather than support better focus, reflection, and recovery?

Discussion Questions:

• In what way do you/we see strong emotions interfere with learning, attention, and memory in your classroom?

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• What emotional skills are essential for academic and life success – but are rarely taught?

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• How can classroom routines be redesigned to support emotional regulation?

Discussion Questions:

• How do students in your school/district view failure – as information or judgement? Or other?

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• What would learning look like if mistakes were treated as expected checkpoints rather than endpoints?

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• How does failure support brain growth, resilience, & deeper understanding?

How’s it going?

At the end of the K-12 road…how is a student measured?

GPA & Standardized

Test Scores

Hyperfocus on grades and standardized test scores

Lack of understanding of grades, points, percentages, weights, etc.

Massive workload trying to keep up with grading

Lack of connection between what is expected, what is assessed, and what is taught

Is what we are teaching & assessing what they need most?

How’s it going?

Continuum of Grading Across K-20

Early Childhood - Age-appropriate milestones

Lower Elementary – Standards/Skills/Competencies with progress indicated toward target or goal

Upper Elementary – Movement toward more points/grades- based assessment

Middle School – Almost exclusively points & some weighted grade categories

High School – Heavy points & weighted grade categories

College/University – Fewer assignments, greater importance

How’s it going?

Our Beloved Grading Scale

Milestones

Test scores & GPA

Exploration

Regurgitation

Early Childhood

Elementary School

Middle School

High School

University

Engagement, Interest &

Passion for Learning

Our Beloved Grading Scale

60%

Failing

Discussion Questions:

• If we redesigned assessment around evidence of thinking and growth, what would need to change in our classrooms and schools?

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• What skills do we say are essential for today’s students and how do we measure them properly?

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• How do traditional assessments prioritize speed, recall, or compliance over thinking, creativity, and problem-solving?

Discussion Questions:

• How might a deeper understanding of brain development shift expectations around attention behavior, risk-taking, and self-regulation?

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• Which cognitive skills deserve more intentional development across the grade levels?

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• What would change in schools if brain development – not test preparation – served as a primary design principle?

Brain Bites:

• Students’ metacognition is often inaccurate.
• If deeper learning is the goal, assessments should capture thinking processes like: explanation, synthesis, and application
• Retrieval strengthens memory and improves long-term retention more than restudy
• If working memory is limited, assessments that overload cognitive resources measure overload tolerance more than actual understanding.

Hot Topics

Devices in Classrooms

Social Media

AI in EDU

Future Ready Skills

The time is now for all of us to

come together and be the generation of educators, parents, and school community members who finally

get learning and teaching

right for our students.

A Fresh Perspective

on Teaching a

Distracted Generation

Scott Bricker

Reimagine@AweFullLearning.com

2026

Then

Now

Tomorrow

Now

Tomorrow

https://forms.office.com/r/4zksYtqmJ9

* Working with K-12 & Higher Ed�* Reimagine Education

* Microsoft Global Training Partner�* Inspire Awe, Wonder, & Curiosity � in everything we do

Reimagine@AweFullLearning.com