Professional Development Services, Workshops and Keynotes

Teacher leadership doesn’t just happen. It needs to be nurtured and thoughtfully developed. Our approach is to work with a staff, department, organization or group of teachers with a common goal, building on their strengths and passions to develop their personal capacity to meet the challenges they face.

We do not do “one-size-fits-all” trainings. While we will share models and protocols that will spur your team to focus on their goals and improving instruction for your students, workshops will be custom-tailored for each group.

Anthony has experience with:

Lesson study
Collaborative teacher research
Content-rich mentoring
Blogging and writing for publication
Digital storytelling for Teachers and Students
Project-based Learning
Critical Friends
Inquiry-based science instruction
Differentiated instruction
Writing across the curriculum
Authentic assessment practices
National Board certification

Nancy has experience with:

Standards-based teaching, learning and assessment
National Board Certification: training support providers, candidate/Take One! support, using tools of National Board Certification to build personal professional learning plans
Building and leading virtual communities in education
Mentoring new and alternatively certified teachers
Blogging for educators
Fine arts curricula and integrating music into lessons
Education policy creation and analysis
Leadership development in the union context

We believe in connecting with classroom teachers in advance of any workshop, presentation or launch of a virtual community. We will come to your location, preferably a day in advance of a scheduled presentation, at our own expense, to meet with teachers to connect with them, building on their expertise for our work together.
Our process begins with conversation. Let us know what your goals are and where you want to go with our assistance, and we will work with you to come up with a plan to develop teacher leadership from the ground up.
Teachers Lead: Workshops and Keynotes
The Teacher as Change Agent
A workshop designed to explore participants' ideas and assumptions about teacher leadership in their unique context--and challenge them to get past common barriers, moving toward personal agency in leading change. Teachers will think about the intersection of their personal leadership beliefs and styles with the most critical changes needed in their workplace, determining points of influence and leverage. Opportunity to work collaboratively in teams on identified problems--or individually to construct an action plan, with networked, follow-up conversation.
Standards-based Teaching and Learning

There is widespread confusion over "standards-based" learning and teaching. This workshop looks at multiple and overlapping definitions and uses of "standard," identifying the positive value in holding our teaching and student learning up to desirable curricular goals and measurable skills. Participants will look at useful and flexible models of standards-based teaching, and create frameworks for organizing and sequencing content and competencies.

E-mentoring: What Works?

As digital tools make it easier to build genuine and productive virtual relationships, many schools are considering programs to mentor new or struggling teachers using technology. There is little research on this new venture, but the idea has promise. Participants look together at some existing projects--their successes and their challenges. Review case studies of successful mentoring relationships to identify factors that made the mentoring productive. Participants will compare traditional mentor training with principles underlying virtual community-building, and consider the value of e-mentoring in their school, district, state or organization.

Policy and Professionalism

Too many classroom practitioners believe they have little or no influence over education policy. The workshop provides a primer on policy types and levers, a review of current "hot" issues, a discussion on influence, policy creation and unintended consequences, and creation of a networked leadership community for teachers interested in policy and profession-building.

Music is a Subject, Too: Integrating Music into the Core

In many schools, music has become an add-on to the regular curriculum or another selective, competitive activity for the most talented students. This workshop demonstrates the rich links between music and other disciplinary content and competencies--and provides a rationale and set of tools for creating genuine integrated curriculum. Included: a simulated case study on violence in song lyrics, a data collection and analysis exercise ("Does Mozart make you smarter?"), an exploration of the physics of intonation, and prompts and assessment tips for student-written critiques of their own musical performances. All instructional materials included.

Teacher as Blogger

Millions of teachers are now blogging, using their classroom blogs to do much more than post assignments or share classroom news. The workshop leads teachers in creating interesting, attractive and engaging content, promoting their blogs and developing an audience, and becoming part of an international community of teacher leaders and activists. Tools, tips, concerns and a communal writing workshop.

National Board Workshops

We offer a wide range of workshops and ongoing services around the National Board process, from short, half-day introduction to the tools and purposes of National Board Certification for prospective candidates-- to four-day, immersive "Jumpstart" seminars for those who are active candidates beginning their work. Workshops are also offered for NBCTs and others who are supporting candidates, and school districts wishing to use Take One! as a professional development tool.

Keynotes:

Pay for Performance: What are the Right Incentives?

The Teacher as Story-Teller

National Board Certification: Myths, Realities, Opinion & Research

Leading from the Heart