Keeping the ‘Child’ in ChildrenRonna Glickman

Professional DevelopmentFall 2026

Professional Development for Teaching in a Distracted World

Six courses written for K-12 teachers, counselors, and administrators. Each one connects what is happening on students' screens to what is happening in the classroom: attention, missing work, anxiety, executive function, resilience, and digital citizenship. Every course ends with strategies you can use the next school day. Book one course for a PD day or combine several into a series.

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  1. 01

    Attention, dopamine, and the classroom

    The Distracted Brain: How Social Media Changes Learning

    Today's students have grown up with constant notifications, endless scrolling, and instant digital rewards, and it is reshaping how their brains process information. Sustained attention and deep learning are harder than ever. This session looks at how social media and digital technology influence attention, memory, motivation, and classroom performance, and what teachers can do about it.

    Participants will explore

    • The science behind dopamine and attention
    • How the brain's reward system responds to frequent digital stimulation, and why students crave constant novelty
    • The myth of multitasking: why switching between tasks decreases learning, increases errors, and reduces productivity
    • How notifications and scrolling shape memory and motivation
    • What this looks like in elementary, middle, and high school classrooms

    Educators leave with

    • Evidence-based strategies to help students rebuild their attention spans
    • Ways to strengthen executive functioning through everyday classroom routines
    • Classroom structures that promote focus, resilience, and meaningful learning
    • Classroom-ready techniques for elementary, middle, and high school that you can use the next school day

    Whether you teach elementary, middle, or high school, this course gives you the insight and the tools to help students thrive in a world built to distract them.

    For
    Elementary, middle, and high school teachers
  2. 02

    Beyond lazy, careless, or unmotivated

    Why Students Don't Turn In Work: Understanding the Barriers and Finding Solutions

    Why do capable students start assignments but never finish them, or finish them but never turn them in? This course moves past the assumption that students are simply lazy or unmotivated and looks at the cognitive, behavioral, and motivational barriers that make completing and submitting work difficult.

    Participants will explore

    • Instant gratification versus delayed reward, and why schoolwork feels less rewarding next to phones, gaming, and social media
    • Executive-function demands, task initiation, and procrastination
    • Overwhelm, unclear expectations, and perfectionism
    • The role of accountability and immediate feedback

    Educators leave with

    • A better understanding of why students don't turn in work
    • Strategies for addressing instant gratification versus delayed reward
    • Classroom interventions that support executive functioning and task initiation
    • Ways to break large assignments into smaller, achievable steps
    • Practical systems for accountability without constant nagging
    • Ways to increase motivation with more immediate reinforcement
    • Techniques for reducing the cognitive load of assignments
    • Tools to help students develop planning, organization, follow-through, and responsibility
    • Classroom-ready ideas they can implement immediately

    The goal isn't simply to get students to turn in more work. It is to teach them the skills, habits, and systems to get from “I have an assignment” to “I turned it in.”

    For
    K-12 teachers and support staff
  3. 03

    Teaching the skills instead of demanding them

    Executive Function Skills in the Digital Age

    Constant notifications, instant gratification, and digital distraction make executive-function skills harder to develop and harder to use. This course covers what students need to plan, prioritize, organize, start tasks, manage time, regulate emotions, and follow through, and how to teach those skills explicitly rather than telling students to “be more organized.”

    Participants will explore

    • Why executive-function skills matter for academic success
    • Task initiation, planning, prioritizing, and time management
    • The connection between instant gratification and delayed rewards
    • How digital distractions and constant notifications affect attention
    • Task switching, multitasking, and attention residue
    • Why students procrastinate even when they know what they need to do
    • How to move students from “I don't know where to start” to “I know what to do first”

    Educators leave with

    • Concrete tools, routines, checklists, and scaffolds to implement immediately
    • Strategies for reducing cognitive overload and unnecessary executive-function demands
    • Classroom systems that support organization, follow-through, and independence
    • Practical ways to teach students to plan, monitor, and evaluate their own work

    The goal is not to make students dependent on teachers. It is to gradually build the habits students need to become independent, focused, capable learners in a world designed to compete for their attention.

    For
    K-12 teachers, counselors, and administrators
  4. 04

    Asking what is getting in the way, not how to get compliance

    The Anxious Classroom: Understanding Student Anxiety and Creating a Classroom Where Students Can Thrive

    More students arrive overwhelmed, worried, emotionally exhausted, or unable to cope with the everyday demands of school. This course explores what may be happening beneath the surface of student behavior, how anxiety affects attention, motivation, participation, relationships, and learning, and how academic pressure, social media, constant connectivity, perfectionism, uncertainty, and fear of failure contribute to an increasingly anxious school environment.

    Participants will explore

    • The difference between typical stress, anxiety, avoidance, and emotional overload
    • What anxiety looks like in the classroom, and what it looks like when it doesn't look like anxiety
    • The connection between anxiety, avoidance, procrastination, and school refusal
    • How anxiety interferes with attention, working memory, decision-making, and learning
    • Why some students shut down, refuse work, become disruptive, or appear disengaged
    • The role of perfectionism and fear of failure
    • How social media, comparison, notifications, and digital pressure add to student stress
    • The relationship between anxiety and executive-function difficulties
    • How teacher language and classroom expectations can raise or lower anxiety
    • The importance of predictability, connection, safety, and belonging
    • When to provide classroom support and when to involve counselors, families, or mental-health professionals

    Educators leave with

    • Ways to reduce unnecessary cognitive and emotional overload
    • Ways to make assignments feel more manageable
    • How to support students who become overwhelmed
    • Predictable classroom routines
    • Ways to increase student confidence and willingness to take academic risks
    • How to respond to avoidance without reinforcing it
    • Coping, problem-solving, and self-regulation strategies to teach students
    • A classroom culture where mistakes are part of learning, not something to fear

    The goal isn't to remove all stress from the classroom. It's to create an environment where students feel safe enough to engage, supported enough to struggle, and equipped to move forward when learning feels hard.

    For
    K-12 teachers, counselors, and administrators
  5. 05

    From a checklist of rules to skills students use when no adult is watching

    Teaching Digital Citizenship That Actually Works

    Students don't become responsible digital citizens because we tell them to “be safe online.” This course moves beyond passwords and cyberbullying lessons to the challenges students face every day: social media, AI, gaming, group chats, and constant connectivity. Educators explore how technology influences student decision-making, relationships, attention, mental health, privacy, reputation, and academic integrity, and learn how to make digital citizenship a consistent part of classroom culture instead of an occasional lesson.

    Participants will explore

    • What effective digital citizenship actually looks like, and why “think before you post” isn't enough
    • Digital footprints, privacy, and online reputation
    • Cyberbullying, online cruelty, and group-chat dynamics
    • Sexting, sextortion, grooming, and online exploitation
    • Scams, manipulation, misinformation, and AI-generated content
    • How notifications, algorithms, and endless scrolling affect student attention
    • Digital empathy, communication, and responsible online behavior
    • AI use, academic integrity, and becoming a responsible digital learner
    • How parents, teachers, and schools can set consistent expectations together

    Educators leave with

    • Real-world scenarios, discussion prompts, and case studies students can work through
    • Role-playing and decision-making activities so students practice, not memorize, responsible behavior
    • Ways to turn teachable moments into consistent instruction
    • A plan for making digital citizenship part of everyday teaching

    Teachers leave equipped to help students become safer, more thoughtful, more resilient, and more responsible citizens of the digital world.

    For
    K-12 teachers, librarians, and technology coordinators
  6. 06

    Supporting students without rescuing them

    Why Students Seem Less Resilient: Understanding Today's Students and Building Their Capacity to Cope

    Why do some students give up quickly, struggle with frustration, avoid challenges, or become overwhelmed by situations previous generations handled differently? This course looks at how overprotection, constant digital stimulation, instant gratification, academic pressure, and fear of failure shape students' ability to cope, and how to intentionally build the skills that are missing.

    Participants will explore

    • What resilience actually is, and what it is not
    • Why students struggle with frustration tolerance and delayed gratification
    • The connection between resilience, executive function, and emotional regulation
    • How instant access to entertainment and technology affects persistence
    • Why failure, mistakes, and discomfort are important parts of learning
    • How over-helping can unintentionally prevent independence
    • The relationship between anxiety, avoidance, perfectionism, and resilience
    • How social media influences comparison, confidence, and coping
    • Why some students shut down when work becomes difficult
    • The difference between supporting students and rescuing students

    Educators leave with

    • Ways to teach productive responses to mistakes and failure
    • Strategies for building frustration tolerance and appropriate risk-taking
    • Language that promotes persistence rather than helplessness
    • How to gradually remove scaffolds so students do more on their own
    • Ways to help students break challenging tasks into manageable steps
    • Opportunities for problem-solving instead of immediately providing answers
    • Ways to reinforce effort, strategies, persistence, and progress
    • A classroom culture where struggle is a normal part of learning

    The goal isn't to make school easier for students. It's to help them become better equipped to handle the hard parts, with the confidence, coping skills, persistence, and independence they need to thrive.

    For
    K-12 teachers, counselors, and administrators

From a recent PD day

I always take Ronna's classes whether it be anti-bullying, social media safety or mental health issues. She is very passionate and enthusiastic about what she teaches. I always have many take-aways that I put to use in my classes.
Teacher

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