Lesson Design Professional Development Options

Providing professional development on lesson design can be quite fruitful for teachers. Lesson design is a deliberate practice where teachers plan on a macro and micro level, meaning they zoom in and out to ensure all lessons are aligned and thorough. The skill of designing lessons can be hard to master, but consistent practice builds…

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338: To Celebrate or Not to Celebrate

Have you ever wondered if something in our schools should be celebrated more, less or not at all? Join in as Gretchen speaks about the importance of celebrations based on personal tangible performance, and tells personal stories from her own experiences. Quotables “We have to take that [best performance] into consideration and not just have…

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The Art of Teaching Adults (not Kids)

Teaching adults is different than teaching kids. Even though both are engaging in the process of learning, how they learn (and need to learn) are different. To ensure a successful and enjoyable experience, knowing how to teach each subgroup is important. In education, adults have to continue learning through professional development [PD] to keep their…

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337: Lessons Buried in Chaos

You never know when chaos will strike, but it’s always good to have a system in place. Listen in as Gretchen talks about her experience with chaos during holiday break and how she is prepared and ready when it strikes again. Quotables: “Things are going to happen. Chaos is going to come and sometimes it’s…

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The 4 P’s of Effective Collaborative Planning

Collaborative planning is a strategy whereby teachers sit together to develop cohesive, aligned lesson plans for all subject areas. Schools utilize this process in various ways which impacts the results. When expectations differ among school sites, the effectiveness of the developed lesson plans differ within the same district. Over time, poor collaborative planning habits create…

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336: Crisis Response in Education

Join Gretchen as she speaks about the Crisis Response in Education and what you can do to make it better. Throughout the episode, Gretchen gives you resources and tangible action steps to make your school more prepared in a crisis situation. Quotables “We can’t just prepare for crisis itself. We have to prepare for what…

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Ditch Learning Overwhelm with Right Size PD

Right size PD (professional development) refers to shortening the dose of learning for teachers. Often times, they need to spend more time in their classroom prepping for lessons and analyzing data to better support students. As a result, long learning sessions tend to be hard to schedule and ill received. It turns out that micro…

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Increasing the Power of PD at your School

The power of PD (professional development) is tremendous when executed correctly. When schools intentionally plan, prepare and deliver high quality learning experiences for teachers, they increase instructional effectiveness and student learning outcomes. This post will cover building and executing quality professional development while also providing additional tips for success. Building Quality PD Building professional development…

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334: Cultivating Critical Thinking Skills

Join in on the conversation about Cultivating Critical Thinking Skills where Gretchen gives you a story, a lesson, and tangible next steps. In today’s episode Gretchen speaks on how our world has changed with modern technology and how important it is to prepare our students to think critically for their future in the workplace. Quotables:…

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