Professional Learning Communities

Brian Buckhalter, affectionately known as Dr. Buck, is a presenter with nearly 20 years of experience. He specializes in helping teachers and students build conceptual understanding in tandem with procedural application of mathematics skills and concepts.

Janet Nuzzie is a published author with over 28 years of experience in mathematics education, including curriculum and leadership roles at the district, regional, and state level. She specializes in supporting campus leaders and teachers in the implementation of professional learning communities and has facilitated her district’s implementation of a multitiered system of supports for mathematics intervention.

Scot Curran is an elementary instructional teacher on special assignment who specializes in cultivating a professional learning community culture by supporting collaborative teacher teams, school leadership teams, and district stakeholders.

Amanda Hathhorn, district math specialist and mentor for the Aspiring Instructional Coaching Academy at Pasadena ISD, has over 20 years of experience in education. Notably, she played a pivotal role in successfully implementing the Professional Learning Communities (PLC) at Work® process and subsequently earning a Model PLC at Work school distinction at V. W. Miller Intermediate.

In this session, we will explore how teams develop effective mathematics instruction using 6 elements of lesson design. The process of designing engaging, targeted, and high quality instruction allows teams to dig deeply into both best practices in mathematics and grow in content knowledge. Participants will leave with a set of tools and discussion protocols to enhance their instructional planning and teaching of mathematics.