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…

Read Full Post

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…

Read Full Post

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…

Read Full Post

Infuse Joy into PD with Buzzword Bingo

Professional development [PD] can be a bore for teachers so infusing joy with Buzzword Bingo will keep them asking for more. Since educators have to attend a certain amount of learning hours to keep their licenses active, PD can not be avoided. However, PD can be enhanced and upgraded so that it is not only…

Read Full Post

5 Ways to Reinvent your Classroom Management Strategy

To reinvent a classroom management strategy takes intentional planning and execution. This ensures we do not repeat our current struggles. Reinventing a strategy that creates an environment where students can thrive while learning takes multiple iterations to ensure it produces the desired results. Teachers and leaders can follow a 5 step process to successfully reinvent…

Read Full Post

Leveraging Community Partnership for School Success

Community partnership is necessary for the success of a school. Educating a child is not a singular job, it’s a team effort. By leveraging community partnerships, schools will reach new levels of success. The California Department of Education says: “Family and community engagement greatly increases the likelihood that students will learn and thrive. Students are more…

Read Full Post

6 Evidence-Based Practices to Implement this School Year

Utilizing evidence-based practices is key to improve classroom instruction. Education researchers like John Hattie (Visible Learning) and Robert Marzano (High Reliability Schools) lead the charge with their recommendations on strategies that work in the classroom. In reading the book Impactful Instructional Leadership, a Framework for Success, author Jack Hunter explained six evidence-based practices that are…

Read Full Post