In a BetterLesson Design Workshop, small groups of teachers or leaders design a plan to master high-impact, student-centered instructional strategies, aligned to district and school priorities. This means setting clear goals, identifying manageable implementation steps, and creating a plan to reflect on results. This intensive support builds teachers’ and leaders’ confidence in their ability to make big shifts and grow as educators.
Areas of Focus
BetterLesson supports educators in the Essential Elements of student-centered teaching and learning:
The Design Workshop breaks implementation into small steps, models active learner-centered pedagogy, and encourages risk-taking.
During a Design Workshop, participants experience the power of BetterLesson’s “learn by doing” pedagogical model. Each Workshop is facilitated by a BetterLesson coach – a master educator with expertise in adult learning. Coaches build educators’ knowledge about student-centered learning as they explore high-leverage instructional strategies and adapt them for their own schools. Participants leave the Workshop with a specific plan for implementation.
Instructional leaders (including in-school coaches, teacher leaders, school leaders and district administrators) learn how to effectively build a vision, manage change, and support teachers.
Sustaining the Learning
Design Workshops are aligned to school and district priorities, such as launching a new curricula or instructional initiative, building teams’ skills, or growing coach and leader capacity. Districts typically pair Design Workshops with 1:1 Coaching, Learning Series, or Learning Walks to sustain the learning, provide more opportunities for practice and reflection, and assess progress.
The Lab allows educators to:
- Select from thousands of curated strategies that align with the specific elements of practice they are focused on improving.
- Gain insights on the ways other educators have implemented a strategy to determine how to best adapt it for their students.
- Collect and share evidence that demonstrates educator and student progress in a selected growth area.
- Reflect on progress and track professional growth.
Design Workshops for Teachers & Teams focus on
Building deep understanding of a school or district focus area.
Exploring BetterLesson’s vast resource library and documenting big ideas for how to continually improve student achievement.
Collaborating with peers to share experiences and apply relevant concepts.
Creating actionable plans for implementation that lead to student growth.
Design Workshops for Instructional Leaders focus on
Maximizing understanding of instructional design and pedagogical techniques in a specific focus area.
Building confidence to create a vision for teacher growth and student success.
Increasing internal capacity to effectively implement new initiatives.
Creating actionable leadership plans that lead to teacher and student growth.
Testimonials
This is my first year of teaching. My coach helped me establish clear goals for my planning and new strategies for effective classroom management and student engagement. The evaluation helped me reflect on my teaching practices and identify new areas of growth.
My BetterLesson coach encouraged me constantly and helped me work through setbacks on a regular basis. Her encouragement and positive outlook, as well as her understanding of real-world conditions for teachers, helped me to be more confident in my own classroom.
The presenters were both very informative and positive about everything. I liked getting to see the materials, and having someone here in person to answer questions that came up.
Having participated myself in the BetterLesson PD, I know the caliber of the presenters is extremely impressive. Their energy, experience and passion comes through in every session – and they offer practical hands-on suggestions from their personal teaching lives.
Providing teachers with opportunities to grow and improve their practice is so important. All teachers deserve individual attention to their development.
I believe it is a transformative experience- especially for effective teachers. I feel as though many effective teachers slide through their evaluations and don’t get the feedback they truly need. On the flip side, struggling teachers can have candid and honest conversations without fearing repercussions. They’re able to be vulnerable and find solutions in an efficient manner. My coach is the definition of Teacher Leadership. Her actions alone can inspire teachers to take ownership of the profession. When the example she sets is coupled with her advice, the outcomes have endless potential.
Wanda Colon-CesarioBiology Teacher, O'Dea High School, WA
Debby Penny6th Grade Science Teacher, Skyview Middle School, Falcon School District 49,CO
Amy AllemonELA Teacher, Marysville Public Schools, MI
Cyrel BrudnyPrincipal, Yeshiva Shaarei Tzion, NJ
Jacqueline Erickson RussellEducation Program Officer, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
Michael SkombaHigh School Social Studies Teacher, Somerville Public Schools, NJ