Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Anderson Conference 2025 Keynote Speaker Dr. Debbie Silver

Posted by anne.grey

Presenter: Dr. Debbie Silver

Summary

In this keynote presentation, Dr. Debbie Silver encourages educators to rethink how they respond to the pressures of teaching and the changing needs of today’s students. Using humor, stories, and practical examples, she introduces the idea of reframing: recognizing what educators cannot control while becoming more intentional about the choices, attitudes, and responses that remain within their control. This approach supports what Silver calls deliberate optimism, a way of maintaining perspective, purpose, and joy in education even during challenging times.

A major focus of the keynote is understanding who students are as individuals and recognizing that they may process information, participate, communicate, and learn in very different ways. Silver discusses introversion and extroversion along with several information-processing preferences, including abstract random, concrete sequential, abstract sequential, and concrete random approaches. Rather than designing instruction around one preferred way of learning, she encourages educators to use variety in assignments, activities, discussions, assessments, and learning environments so more students have meaningful opportunities to succeed.

Silver also examines how educators can create classrooms where students feel comfortable participating and sharing their ideas. Strategies include learning and correctly using students’ names, using introductory activities, establishing clear discussion expectations, checking in regularly, sharing appropriate personal stories, allowing time for reflection, and listening with purpose. She emphasizes that students need opportunities to feel seen, valued, and safe enough to participate in authentic learning.

Throughout the keynote, Silver reminds educators to question assumptions about what successful learning should look like. Students who are quiet, highly structured, creative, independent, social, or unconventional may each bring valuable strengths to the classroom. By combining high expectations with flexibility, relationship-building, thoughtful instructional variety, humor, and optimism, educators can help students develop confidence, self-efficacy, and greater ownership of their learning.

Presentation Outcomes

• Apply reframing strategies to focus attention on choices and responses educators can control while maintaining purpose and optimism during challenging situations.
• Identify information about students, including their experiences, goals, interests, communication preferences, and learning needs, that can help instructors build stronger connections.
• Recognize that students process information and participate in different ways and avoid interpreting differences in learning behavior as a lack of ability or engagement.
• Use a variety of instructional strategies, activities, assessments, and learning environments to support students with different strengths and preferences.
• Create safer and more productive classroom discussions through introductory activities, clear expectations, regular check-ins, reflection time, and relationship-building.
• Reflect on personal assumptions about students and consider how those expectations may influence instructional decisions and opportunities for student success.
• Use purposeful listening, appropriate humor, and deliberate optimism to strengthen relationships and help create a more supportive learning community.

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