Dr. Sarah Johnson is the CEO of Teaching Lab. She is passionate about strengthening outcomes for students by improving professional development for teachers. Teaching Lab strives to fundamentally shift the paradigm of teacher professional learning for educational equity. Sarah has a wealth of experience as a former classroom educator and leader at the New York […]
Great professional developers, trainers, and coaches lean on a variety of face-to-face tools and supports when working with teachers in person. Through actions like whispering in a participant’s ear to give specific guidance, “reading the room” and deciphering body language to decide what people are ready for next, and engaging learners through small group chats […]
High-quality, effective professional learning can be hard to find. Too often, educators experience learning that is not personalized, engaging, or relevant. Professional development that is designed to be one-size-fits-all does not take into account the different needs and skill levels in the room, making sessions feel more about compliance than actual learning. Accountability structures still […]
“Professional development” has a negative connotation for many teachers. In other professions, professionals are hungry for training on the latest techniques, mindset, and tactical approaches. NASCAR Pit Crews get training. If they fail to get a tire changed in seconds, it’s a major public event. If you are a professional marketer, you attend events like […]
Teacher Andrew Boan describes the customized training he created for colleagues in Reynoldsburg City Schools. I am a teacher and technology integration coach at Waggoner Road Middle School in Reynoldsburg, OH, and schools in our district are increasingly transitioning to a blended learning environment. Earlier this year, I had an opportunity to be part of […]
On this episode of What Will We Take With Us?, a series featuring our conversations with education leaders across the United States on how they grappled with the COVID-19 pandemic in K-12 education, Dr. Suzanne Newell of Austin Independent School District in Texas details how the district focused on supporting students and teachers by providing instructional blueprints with prioritized standards to help guide instructional time, as well as how they emphasized professional collaboration to address "learning loss" (also referred to as unfinished learning) and maximized time for valuable remote professional development.
This post was originally published on Getting Smart. Ever since March 2020, many educators have felt as though they’ve been thrown into the “deep end” with little to nothing to hold onto. The rapid shift to remote learning forced teachers to challenge their preconceived notions of what instruction and learning could and should look like. […]
Photo courtesy of Allison Shelley/The Verbatim Agency for American Education: Images of Teachers and Students in Action (CC BY-NC 4.0). “I am a returning teacher after leaving my own classroom in 2003. So much has changed since I earned my teaching degree in 1995! I want and need to learn to incorporate technology into my […]
As co-director and co-founder of Map Academy, I’ve had the privilege of witnessing firsthand the transformative power of student-centered learning. Our journey began with a simple yet profound question: How can we create a high school that truly works for students who haven’t succeeded in traditional settings? Map Academy was born out of a desire to […]
At ASU Preparatory Academy, the K-12 division of Arizona State University, we are committed to designing new models for educational success and raising academic achievement for all learners. Our creative model includes seven brick and mortar campuses throughout Maricopa County and Casa Grande, hybrid microschools, as well as fully-online schools, ASU Prep Digital and Khan […]
