Instruction

Dr. Ripley is currently teaching in the departments of elementary and secondary education at the University of Alberta and has over 35 years of experience at the elementary, junior high/middle school, high school, college, and university levels.

Brad Sever is an assistant principal at Carmel High School in Indiana. There, he has helped to create and sustain a successful instructional coaching program and grow the school’s International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme.

Shawn W. McCusker has 25 years of experience as a teacher and leader and is currently the director of professional learning at Digital Promise, a nonprofit dedicated to closing the digital learning gap.

Peter Nilsson is an educator, writer, and musician, whose work bridges education, creativity, and technology. A former head of school and award-winning teacher, he cofounded Athena Lab and edits The Educator’s Notebook, a newsletter on innovation in learning.

Maya Bialik is the founder of QuestionWell, a program that creates research-aligned AI tools for education. A former middle school science teacher, Maya’s focus is on how AI can improve working conditions for teachers.

Shan Jorgenson-Adam, MEd, is president of JAM Consulting in Camrose, Alberta. With over 30 years in education, she partners with schools across Canada to strengthen leadership, culture, and teaching through coaching, mentorship, and professional learning.

In this workshop, instructional coaches and school leaders will explore the SIMPLE Approach. This comprehensive system combines The SIMPLE Shift and The SIMPLE Blueprint to build sustainable coaching cultures and promote teacher and student growth. Participants will learn how to implement The SIMPLE Shift to transform school culture and align coaching initiatives with school improvement goals while applying The SIMPLE Blueprint to create structured, data-driven coaching programs. Through collaborative activities, attendees will connect coaching practices with leadership strategies, ensuring alignment and support. By the end of the workshop, you will return to your school with practical tools and a strategic action plan for developing impactful coaching programs that drive lasting change.

Hillary Woest helps teams see the big picture of a PLC and put it all together in a recurring cycle of collective inquiry. The 15-day challenge is a practical way to bring the PLC process to life.

Randy Ross has over 50 years of experience as a writer, teacher, administrator, coach, and facilitator of dialogue and professional learning. She has worked with community, school, district, and state education leaders for nearly 30 years.

Nathaniel Hansford has taught every grade from preK to 12 in many interesting and diverse locations—from South Korea to the subarctic of Quebec. He specializes in using meta-analysis research to help teachers implement proven methodologies.