Cognitive Scientist | Educator | Author
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Speaking & Professional Development

Pooja K. Agarwal, Ph.D. is a cognitive scientist, educator, and author of the books Powerful Teaching and Smart Teaching Stronger Learning. She has conducted research on learning for more than 20 years and she is the Founder of RetrievalPractice.org.

Speaking & Professional Development


Dr. Agarwal presents keynotes and workshops for thousands of educators in K-12 and higher education around the world. When she facilitates professional development, she practices what she preaches.

Dr. Agarwal’s keynotes and workshops are:

  • Highly interactive, with dedicated time to explore and experience research-based strategies from her books

  • Far from “sit and get.” She models research-based teaching strategies throughout the presentation. Educators experience evidence-based strategies first-hand and they retain more from professional development, too.

  • Beyond “one and done.” Workshops include a follow-up discussion about successes, challenges, and next steps. Dr. Agarwal encourages longer-term collaborations (e.g., monthly virtual conversations or quarterly workshops).

  • Customized for your organization based on content area, student level, and instructional setting

Formats include:

  • In-person and virtual keynotes

  • Informal Q&A sessions via Zoom

  • A 1-3 hour interactive workshop

  • A one-day or multi-day in-depth workshop

For more information, watch Dr. Agarwal’s keynotes on YouTubedownload her media kit, and email her.

  • July 2025: Morton School District, Morton, WA

    June 2025: Rockford Public Schools, Rockford, IL

    April 2025: Learning & the Brain Conference, New York City, NY

    March 2025: Illinois SLD Support Project, Springfield, IL

    February 2025: The Haverford School, Haverford, PA

    February 2025: Conestoga Valley High School, Lancaster, PA

    January 2025: Vellinge School District, Malmo, Sweden

    November 2024: Virginia Association of Independent Schools, Richmond, VA

    October 2024: Episcopal Academy, Newtown Square, PA

    August 2024: Mercersburg Academy, Mercersburg, PA

    August 2024: Duchesne Academy, Houston, TX

    March 2024: Evergreen Education Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Los Angeles, CA

    September 2023: Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Denver, CO

    December 2022: Kentucky Educational Development Corporation, Ashland, KY

    November 2022: Acushnet Public Schools, Acushnet, MA

    November 2022: ResearchED Chile, Santiago, Chile

    October 2022: GoGuardian, Santa Monica, CA

    October 2022: ResearchED USA, Frederick, MD

    October 2022: MassCUE, Boston, MA

    September 2022: Virginia Association of Independent Schools, Richmond, VA

    August 2022: Mercersburg Academy, Mercersburg, PA

    August 2022: Thomas Hart Academy, Hartsville, SC

    June 2022: Columbia University Klingenstein Center Summer Institute, Lakeville, CT

    April 2022: North Rockland Central School District, Garnerville, NY

    March 2022: SXSW EDU, Austin, TX (keynote on YouTube)

    March 2022: Aptus and the One World Network of Schools, Santiago, Chile

    January 2022: Illinois Mathematics & Science Academy, Aurora, IL

    November 2021: EDUTech Asia, Singapore

    October 2021: Francis Marion Center to Prepare Teachers of Children of Poverty, Florence, SC

    September 2021: World Bank Education Event Series, Washington, DC

    July 2021: Creative Leadership Summit, Boston, MA

    June 2021: Mercersburg Academy, Mercersburg, PA

    January 2021: Brisbane State High School, Brisbane, Australia

    November 2020: Tsinghua International School, Beijing, China

    August 2020: Metairie Park Country Day School, Metairie, LA

    July 2020: Chartered College of Teaching, London, England

    February 2020: Pingry School, Basking Ridge, NJ

    December 2019: Ditch That Textbook Digital Summit

    November 2019: Learning & the Brain Conference, Boston, MA

    October 2019: Northwest Association of Independent Schools, Tacoma, WA

    August 2019: ConnectED Learning, St. Louis, MO

    July 2019: Carl Sandburg High School, Orland Park, IL

    July 2019: Teaching Lab, Washington, DC

    July 2019: Center for Transformative Teaching & Learning (CTTL), Bethesda, MD

    June 2019: Episcopal School of Jacksonville, Jacksonville, FL

    June 2019: Florida Council of Independent Schools, Tampa, FL

    April 2019: Learning & the Brain Conference, Boston, MA

    January 2019: Pingry School, Basking Ridge, NJ

    November 2018: South Carolina Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics, Hartsville, SC

    November 2018: Digital Promise, Washington, DC

    October 2018: St. George’s School, Middletown, RI

    September 2018: LearnLaunch, Boston, MA

    February 2018: Interlochen Center for the Arts, Interlochen, MI

    November 2017: Learning & the Brain Conference, Boston, MA

    October 2017: iNACOL Symposium, Orlando, FL

    July 2017: Annual Teaching with Technology Symposium, Little Rock, AR

    July 2016: Federal Reserve Bank, St. Louis, MO

    June 2016: Character Lab Toolbox Workshop, Philadelphia, PA

    February 2015: Milton Academy Math Teachers Conference, Milton, MA

    August 2014: IES Regional Education Laboratory Bridge Event, Chambersburg, PA

    January 2014: National Association of State Boards of Education, Arlington, VA

    December 2013: IES Regional Education Laboratory Bridge Event, Laurel, DE

    October 2013: Teach for America Development Day, St. Louis, MO

    September 2013: IES Regional Education Laboratory Bridge Event, Dover, DE

    April 2013: Metro Academic and Classical High School, St. Louis, MO

    January 2013: McKinley Middle School, St. Louis, MO

  • May 2025: Association for Psychological Science (APS) Teachers Institute, Washington, DC

    May 2025: Tufts University, Boston, MA

    April 2025: Teachers of Intro Psychology Northwest, Seattle, WA

    April 2025: University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR

    June 2024: Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, AR

    November 2023: International Conference of Education, Seville, Spain

    November 2022: Top Hat, Toronto, Canada

    June 2022: University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA

    June 2022: SPARK Society, Chicago, IL

    May 2022: McGill University, Montreal, Canada

    May 2022: Goucher College, Towson, MD

    April 2022: SARMAC Society, Coventry, UK

    February 2022: Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA

    February 2022: University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada

    January 2022: Collin College, McKinney, TX

    October 2021: Touro University, New York, NY

    July 2021: SARMAC Society, Coventry, UK

    April 2021: Harvard University, Boston, MA

    April 2021: McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada

    February 2020: Lafayette College, Easton, PA

    November 2019: University of Dundee, Dundee, Scotland

    October 2019: APA Society for the Teaching of Psychology, Denver, CO

    May 2019: West Point (U.S. Military Academy), West Point, NY

    May 2019: Tyler Technologies, Yarmouth, ME

    March 2019: University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN

    December 2018: Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN

    November 2018: edX, Cambridge, MA

    October 2018: Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, North Adams, MA

    October 2018: Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA

    September 2018: Massachusetts Bay Community College, Boston, MA

    August 2018: James S. McDonnell Foundation, St. Louis, MO

    July 2018: Truman Scholars Association, Washington, DC

    April 2018: University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH

    February 2018: Ontario Institute for Education, Toronto, Canada

    May 2017: Husson University, Bangor, ME

    April 2017: Association for University Regional Campuses of Ohio, Huron, OH

    March 2017: Fontbonne University, St. Louis, MO

    October 2016: Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH

    October 2016: Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ

    March 2016: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Boston, MA

    November 2014: Lindenwood University, St. Charles, MO

    September 2013: St. Louis University Medical School, St. Louis, MO

    August 2012: University of Texas Center for Teaching and Learning, Austin, TX

    June 2012: University of Texas Summer Institute, Austin, TX

    June 2011: Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal, Lisbon