Instruction

Sam Futrell is a middle school social studies teacher at St. Michael’s Episcopal School in Richmond, Virginia. With over a decade of experience, she advocates for diversity, equity, and professional development in education.

Rebekah O’Dell teaches middle school English in Richmond, Virginia. She is the co-founder of the popular blog Moving Writers and coauthor of three books on writing instruction. Rebekah leads professional development workshops to educators across the country.

Jennifer Throndsen, PhD, is an education advisor and former director of teaching and learning for the Utah State Board of Education. With over 20 years of experience, she has served as a teacher, district office specialist, instructional coach, and state literacy coordinator.

Jennifer McCarty Plucker, EdD, is the director of learning and development and a literacy consultant at Mackin Educational Resources in Burnsville, Minnesota. Her current work with educators is grounded in an inquiry approach that puts students in the driver’s seat for learning.

Kristen Nelson is an elementary school principal for the Capistrano Unified School District in California. She also serves as a college professor, leadership teacher, educational consultant, author, and leader of her district’s Spanish dual-language immersion programs.

James A. Nottingham is the creator of the Learning Pit®, author of 12 books, is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and is listed in The Future 500, which lists the United Kingdom’s most forward-thinking and creative innovators.

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.

This impactful webinar, led by education coach Jorge Valenzuela, empowers participants with diverse high-yielding strategies to guide students in discovering and pursuing their passions and interests for academic and life success. In addition to exploring methods for increasing student engagement and developing life skills throughout the curriculum, the webinar goes further by uplifting tools to improve empathy towards others, enhance decision-making abilities, and effectively regulate difficult emotions. Moreover, the session will address valuable techniques for teachers to bolster their own life skills. Join us to unlock a comprehensive toolkit for fostering holistic growth in students and educators alike.

ChatGPT—one of the most valuable technology tools for teachers and learners—became widely available in the fall of 2022. Since then, artificial intelligence (AI) tools like ChatGPT have taken education by storm. Teachers are using these tools to create new content, differentiate their instruction, identify strategies for teaching and reteaching concepts to their students, and work more efficiently and effectively. Just as important, students are using these tools to improve their understanding of complex ideas, identify new paths of learning in their areas of personal interest, and receive targeted feedback on their work. Because AI tools are changing how we work and learn, classroom teachers must reflect on their potential and understand their limitations.

Dr. Karen Johannesen Brock has been an educator and educational presenter for more than three decades. She has assisted more than 100 schools (K–12) and districts with implementing school improvement plans. Her work with schools and districts focuses on instructional coaching and design as well as professional learning plans, school-improvement plans, English learners and multilingual students, and literacy.