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Martha Kaufeldt

Martha Kaufeldt is a professional development specialist and author. She travels internationally doing workshops and trainings on curriculum development, differentiated instruction, assessment, mindfulness, and brain-friendly strategies for teachers.

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Martha Kaufeldt

Martha Kaufeldt is a professional development specialist and author. Her specialty for three decades has been applying educational neuroscience into classroom practice. She travels internationally doing workshops and trainings on curriculum development, differentiated instruction, assessment, mindfulness, and brain-friendly strategies for teachers.

Martha was a classroom teacher for over 23 years in California. As an elementary teacher, she created brain-compatible learning environments for a diverse student population. In the middle grades, Martha was a core teacher on an interdisciplinary instructional team. Her curriculum included integrated project-based and service learning, and she emphasized social and emotional well-being. Martha has also been a district staff development specialist and gifted education program director. Martha has been a trainer and coach for the Mid-California Science Improvement Project and the Bay Area Middle Schools Project. For her work in the San Francisco Bay area, Martha was awarded the Mason-McDuffie Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award.

She has written several books including Begin With the Brain: Orchestrating the Learner-Centered Classroom and Teachers, Change Your Bait! Brain-Compatible Learning. She is the coauthor of Best Practices at Tier 1 and Think Big, Start Small.

She earned a bachelor’s degree from San Francisco State University and a master’s degree in human behavior from City University.


Presentations by Martha Kaufeldt

  • Best Strategies First: Differentiated Core Instruction for All Our Students
  • The Motivated Brain: Engaging All Students
  • Think Big, Start Small: How to Differentiate Instruction in a Brain-Friendly Classroom
  • Begin With the Brain: Orchestrating the Learner-Centered Classroom
  • Help! Six Lifesaving Strategies to Avoid Chaos in the Differentiated Classroom
  • Teachers, Change Your Bait! Brain-Compatible Differentiated Instruction
  • Differentiating Instruction for High-Ability (Elementary) Students
  • There is No Planet B: Educating for Sustainability
  • Orchestrate Powerful Learning Using Interdisciplinary Projects, Themes, and Coordinated Curriculum Units
  • Growing Even Smarter Brains: Cultivating Student Mindsets
  • H.O.P.E: Good for Your Body = Good for Your Brain
  • The Power of Play Can Enhance Learning, Build Social Connections, and Energize Disengaged Students
  • Stressed Out, Overflowing Student Brains 
  • Socially Networked, but Lacking Social Skills!
  • “Neurobics” in the Classroom
  • Finding Each Student’s Sweet Spot: Optimizing Engagement and Learning by Creating Student Profiles
  • Use It or Lose It: The Power of “Do-Overs”
  • Begin With the Brain: Five Effective Strategies for Parents

“Excellent workshop! The presentation was informative and provided strategies to enhance student learning and engagement.”

Rhonda Nocentelli, dean, Morgan Park High School, Illinois

“I was fully engaged because I can see how these strategies would work in my classroom. Teaching classes (9th to 12th graders plus special needs and gifted) requires differentiated instruction lessons and activities.”

Carol McDaniel, teacher, Morgan Park High School, Illinois