I had a request from a group of coaches to hold a Skype discussion. Several new coaches had been added to the team and wanted to touch base with me knowing that I had trained existing coaches over the last two years. In addition several experienced coaches had questions and scenarios they wanted to discuss. […]

Last week’s blog addressed the role of making mistakes as an important component of student learning. Students need to be comfortable knowing that failing is a step on the path to learning and succeeding. Michael Chirichello, from Leadership Matters LLC, commented on the blog about the role of school leaders… “Your discussion on risk taking […]

This week I was working with a group of Arkansas educators examining the impacts of the Common Core Curriculum on their approach to teaching. We explored creativity and critical think skills as elements of desired learning outcomes. From the 21st Century Partnership site, we examined the need for Learning and Innovation skills: “Learning and innovation […]

A district office recently asked me to spend a day with principals and instructional coaches to examine their current coaching practices and establish a new job description and focus for their coaching program. Process: I began by having each coach or coaching pair (elementary schools had two coaches) interviewed by an administrator other than the […]

As I continue to work with faculties implementing Professional Learning Communities, I have found that giving PLCs some guiding questions can deepen the quality of their early conversations and speed the way to insights and ideas for change.Insights and ideas create an energy and enthusiasm that encourage participation so that the value of time invested […]

I recently attended the Association for the Advancement of International Education 42nd Annual Conference in NYC. Most of the attendees were administrators at International Schools around the world. I participated in a session conducted by Stacey Rainey, who works with Microsoft Corporation and has responsibility for the Microsoft School of the Future in Philadelphia. She […]