1-HOUR WORKSHOPS

Rethinking Homework: Smarter Strategies for Deeper Learning

(for grade K – 8 teachers, all subjects)

Is homework helping—or hurting—your students? For decades, homework has been a classroom standard, but research reveals that its benefits are often limited, particularly for younger learners. In many cases, it can increase stress, reduce sleep, and negatively impact mental health, while cutting into valuable time for family, play, and extracurricular activities.

In this thought-provoking and practical session, explore a fresh approach to out-of-school learning that prioritizes student well-being, engagement, and deeper understanding. You’ll gain insights into research-based alternatives to traditional homework and discover flexible, student-centered strategies that support meaningful learning beyond the classroom.

Leave with tools and ideas to design purposeful, balanced assignments that honor students’ time, foster intrinsic motivation, and enhance the overall learning experience—for both students and families.

Picture This: Unlocking Learning Through Visual Art

(for grade K – 8 teachers, all subjects)

Visual art isn’t just for the art room—it’s a powerful tool for deepening understanding across all subject areas. Whether it’s analyzing a painting, interpreting a film clip, or experimenting with stop-motion animation, visual art can transform abstract concepts into concrete, memorable learning experiences.

In this hands-on, research-based session, you’ll explore practical strategies to integrate visual art into your existing curriculum—no artistic background required. Discover how creative expression can boost critical thinking, enhance comprehension, and give students fresh, engaging ways to demonstrate their learning.

Leave inspired with ready-to-use ideas that support student voice, imagination, and academic achievement—while making learning more vibrant, visual, and fun.

Tune in to Teach: Using Music to Make Learning Stick

(for grade 3 – 8 teachers, all subjects)

Music isn’t just entertainment—it’s a powerful brain-based tool for learning. Research shows that music activates and strengthens the same neural pathways used for language and reading, making it an ideal support for literacy and academic growth.

In this lively, research-informed session, discover how to harness the power of music to create a multisensory learning experience that boosts vocabulary, deepens comprehension, and makes abstract concepts more accessible. Explore simple, effective strategies to weave music into your existing curriculum—no musical talent required!

Leave with practical techniques and fresh ideas that will energize your classroom, enhance retention, and help learning stick in fun, meaningful ways.

Spaces that Teach: Better Learning through Classroom Design

(for grade K – 8 teachers, all subjects)

Your classroom is more than four walls—it’s an active teaching tool that speaks even when you’re not. Research shows that the physical environment has a powerful impact on student focus, behavior, emotional regulation, and academic performance. Yet too often, classroom design is driven by Pinterest trends, personal décor preferences, or what looks good for Open House—rather than what actually supports student learning.

In this engaging, research-based workshop, you’ll explore how cluttered or overstimulating spaces can overwhelm students and interfere with cognitive function, while intentional, streamlined design can create calm, promote engagement, and foster collaboration. We’ll also take a critical look at how popular themes and well-intentioned décor can sometimes miss the mark, alienating or distracting students instead of inviting them in.

You’ll walk away with practical, budget-friendly strategies to refresh or rethink your space through a student-centered lens—whether you're starting from scratch or making small but impactful changes. Learn how to create a classroom that isn’t just cute, but truly purposeful: a space that supports academic success, honors diverse learners, and helps every student feel welcome, focused, and ready to learn.

Together We Learn: Fostering a Strong Classroom Culture

(for grade K – 8 teachers, all subjects)

A thriving classroom culture doesn’t just happen—it’s intentionally built. In this interactive, strategy-packed session, explore how cultivating a strong sense of community can transform your classroom into a space where students feel safe, connected, and ready to learn.

Grounded in current research, this workshop will equip you with practical, easy-to-implement strategies to foster trust, boost student engagement, improve behavior, and support academic growth.

You’ll leave with a toolkit of ideas to strengthen relationships, encourage collaboration, and create the kind of positive learning environment where every student can succeed.

Bullseye! Goal-Driven Learning that Hits the Target

(for grade 3 – 8 teachers, all subjects)

When students aim with purpose, they’re more likely to hit the mark. Backed by Professor John Hattie’s groundbreaking research on what works in education, this workshop explores how student goal setting can be a powerful driver of academic success.

Learn how helping students set clear, realistic goals can boost motivation, sharpen focus, improve time management, and elevate performance—both in daily learning and during high-stakes testing. You’ll leave with practical, easy-to-implement strategies to integrate goal setting across all subject areas, empowering students to take ownership of their learning and track their progress with confidence.

Whether you're new to goal setting or looking to refine your approach, this session will give you the tools to turn intention into achievement—and help your students hit their learning targets every time.

The Parent Trap: Creating Meaningful Parent Involvement

(for grade K – 8 teachers, all subjects)

When parents are genuinely engaged in their children's education, students thrive—with higher achievement, stronger attendance, and improved social-emotional well-being. But effective involvement isn’t one-size-fits-all. In today’s busy world, many families struggle to stay connected, while others may overstep in ways that unintentionally hinder student growth, strain teacher relationships, or disrupt classroom dynamics.

This workshop dives into the delicate balance of too much vs. too little parental involvement—and how both extremes can negatively impact learning. You’ll explore what research says about realistic expectations for parent participation, how to differentiate between helpful and harmful involvement, and how to set clear, respectful boundaries that empower everyone.

Through practical, ready-to-use strategies, you'll learn how to foster positive, collaborative relationships with families—built on trust, mutual respect, and shared goals. Discover how to make smart, strategic decisions about when and how to invite parents in—and when it’s okay (and beneficial) to keep certain decisions in the hands of professionals.

Walk away with tools to create parent partnerships that are sustainable, student-centered, and truly impactful—without the traps.

Purposeful Learning, Powerful Results: The Impact of Service Learning

(for grade 3 – 8 teachers, any subject)

Service learning is a dynamic, research-supported approach that blends academic instruction with real-world community engagement. By participating in projects that address authentic local needs, students deepen their understanding of core content, build practical skills aligned to state standards, and develop a strong sense of civic responsibility.

This approach promotes critical thinking, collaboration, and personal growth—while making learning more relevant and meaningful. In this hands-on workshop, you’ll explore inspiring examples of service learning in action and gain the tools and strategies needed to design impactful projects for your own classroom.

2-HOUR WORKSHOPS

Vocab Mastery: Artful Teaching Meets Evidence-Based Practice

(for grade 3 – 8 teachers, all subjects)

Strong vocabulary skills are the backbone of reading comprehension, effective communication, and long-term academic success in any subject. But too often, vocabulary instruction still relies on outdated methods—like copying definitions from a dictionary, memorizing word lists, or completing isolated workbook pages. These rarely lead to deep understanding, lasting retention, or real-world application.

In this interactive workshop, you'll explore what does work: a blend of evidence-based strategies like explicit instruction, contextual learning, and meaningful word-use routines—combined with creative, brain-friendly techniques that make words stick. From visual word walls, drama techniques, and storytelling, you’ll discover ways to bring vocabulary to life in any content area.

You’ll leave with a ready-to-use toolkit of practical strategies that engage all learners, build deeper word knowledge, and help students develop not just a stronger vocabulary—but a genuine love for language, one powerful word at a time.

Acting Out: Using Drama to Deepen Understanding

(for grade K – 8 teachers, all subjects)

Drama isn’t just for the stage—it’s a powerful, research-backed teaching strategy that turns passive learning into active, memorable engagement. When students embody ideas, act out narratives, or take on roles, they’re not just learning—they’re living the content. Drama can boost comprehension in any subject area, along with strengthening retention, enhancing communication skills, and deepening empathy, all while promoting joy and curiosity in the classroom.

This hands-on workshop explores how dramatic techniques—like tableau, role-play, improvisation, and story dramatization—can be seamlessly integrated into any subject, from bringing literature to life to unpacking complex science or social studies concepts. You’ll discover how drama supports diverse learners, strengthens classroom community, and opens new doors for creativity and expression.

Walk away with adaptable strategies, classroom-ready ideas, and the confidence to add a little theatrical magic to your everyday instruction—no stage required.

The Power of Engagement: Designing Learning That Captivates and Inspires

(for grade K – 8 teachers, all subjects)

Engaging learning experiences do more than hold students’ attention—they deepen understanding, boost retention, and build essential skills like problem-solving, collaboration, and analytical thinking. When students are actively involved in the learning process, they’re more motivated, more successful, and more likely to develop a lifelong love of learning.

But true engagement isn’t about flashy activities or one-off moments of excitement. It’s about creating meaningful, student-centered experiences that connect content to curiosity—and learners to their own potential.

In this interactive workshop, you’ll explore research-based strategies for designing lessons that are relevant, responsive, and rooted in authentic inquiry. Discover how to cultivate classroom environments where all learners feel seen, challenged, and inspired. From choice-driven tasks and real-world connections to purposeful questioning and active learning structures, you'll gain practical tools that bring your curriculum to life—across all subjects and grade levels.

Leave energized, equipped, and ready to turn engagement into a daily habit—not a happy accident.

Lit Loud: Bringing Novels to Life Through Interactive Read-Alouds

(for grade 3 – 8 teachers, reading/language arts)

Interactive read-alouds are a powerful, research-supported strategy that elevate comprehension, vocabulary, and fluency while fostering a deeper connection with texts. Far more than simply reading aloud, this approach invites students to actively engage—predicting, questioning, discussing, and reflecting as they listen.

Through rich dialogue and purposeful questioning, students connect literature to their own lives, explore complex themes, and build empathy. In this workshop, you’ll experience a model interactive read-aloud unit and gain practical tools and strategies for designing your own—making literature come alive in your classroom while keeping students deeply engaged.

3-Hour Workshops

Where Creativity Meets Curriculum: Deeper Learning through Arts Integrated Instruction

(for grade K – 8 teachers, all subject areas)

Arts-integrated instruction harnesses the power of the arts—drama, music, visual art, movement, and more—to deepen understanding across all subject areas. Backed by research, this approach boosts student engagement, enhances critical thinking, strengthens social-emotional development, and improves academic outcomes.

When creativity becomes part of the learning process, students connect more meaningfully with content, build confidence, and retain knowledge more effectively. In this interactive, hands-on workshop, you’ll experience the power of arts integration firsthand and leave with a toolbox of practical, flexible strategies you can implement right away—using materials and resources you already have.

Note: This combines the contents of 3 three shorter workshops, Picture This: Unlocking Learning Through Visual Art, Tune in to Teach: Using Music to Make Learning Stick, and Acting Out: Using Drama to Deepen Understanding.

Learning Together, Achieving More: The Power of Cooperative Learning

(for grade K – 8 teachers, all subjects)

It’s not your great-grandma’s classroom anymore! A dynamic, well-managed learning environment shouldn’t look like Little House on the Prairie—rows of desks, silent students, and a teacher droning from the front. Today’s classrooms thrive when students actively engage with one another and take ownership of their learning.

This energizing, hands-on workshop explores how to transform your teaching through the power of cooperative learning—one of the most research-backed and impactful instructional strategies out there. You’ll experience a variety of proven structures and strategies that promote deeper thinking, increase achievement, and encourage positive interdependence among students.

Learn how to foster academic talk, boost engagement across content areas, and build a classroom culture where collaboration isn’t chaotic—it’s purposeful, productive, and joyful. Whether you’re new to cooperative learning or looking to refresh your approach, you’ll leave with practical tools and ideas you can use immediately to create a more connected and effective classroom.