The Inspired Teaching Model

Kathryn Eliscar

Financial Administrator

Kathryn Eliscar enjoys making order out of chaos. Whether it is a handful of crumpled receipts, or an excel file listing of expenses, she'll build a chart of accounts, translate the raw data into accounting software, and generate financial reports needed for managing cash flow, tracking receivables and payables, complying with funder reporting requirements, and filing taxes. Kathryn works with a variety of individuals and small business clients, helping them track the flow of dollars generated through their endeavors. Which is not as completely different as you might think from her earlier career in chemistry, where the flow of electrons is a basic principle. Kathryn received an M.S. in Chemistry from the University of Oregon and her B.S. from George Fox University.

Kaneia Mayo Crumlin

Faculty

Kaneia Crumlin is an education consultant, writer, speaker and a native Washingtonian. She has worked in the District as a secondary, post-secondary and adult educator for over fifteen years. Kaneia joined Center for Inspired Teaching in 2006 where she managed, designed and facilitated programs for pre- and in-service teachers and professional coaches. Since earning her MFA in Creative Writing from American University, Kaneia has taught creative writing at the secondary and post-secondary levels. Currently, Kaneia’s work as a professional coach focuses on one-on-one and small group coaching and motivational speaking. Still, chief among her greatest joys is being at home with two colluding, shrieking and kinetic toddlers.

Earn PLU hours while taking a workshop!

Washington, D.C. educators can receive PLU hours for participating in courses. Each day of a course is 6 hours of credit - we will provide a certificate upon completion of the course. Please see the OSSE certification website for more information.

A Taste of Inspired Teaching

Experience our actively engaging professional learning through this introductory workshop

Time & Location

Schedule this 90 minute workshop at your school

About The Event

Want to add more joy to your classroom? Are you interested in experiencing a different kind of professional learning that models what engagement-based instruction looks like? Curious about how improvisational theater can add excitement and build relationships in your classroom while helping students to master content? Join this introductory workshop from Inspired Teaching to learn more. This workshop will let you try out Inspired Teaching professional learning and discover all the courses and programs that we offer. Free to schools with Inspired Teaching alumni. Appropriate for all educators at all grade levels

Mary Kadera

Interim Executive Director

Mary is Inspired Teaching's interim executive director and oversees the organization's work to support teachers and their students as changemakers in education and in their communities. Mary has more than 25 years of experience in the education field, working in a variety of capacities to support educators and students and to transform K-12 teaching and learning so that it is more engaging, effective, relevant, and joyful. She has most recently worked as a consultant with nonprofits including The George Lucas Educational Foundation, Learning Forward, TED, PBS, and others, where she’s led strategic planning, audience needs assessments and market research, program and product development, financial modeling, operations planning, and grant proposal development. Prior to her consulting work, Mary was the vice president for education at PBS, where she managed PBS’s portfolio of national digital education services and coordinated the educational initiatives of PBS and its local member stations. She began her career as a high school teacher of English and Biology in Virginia’s public schools.

The school experience should build intrinsic motivation, not extrinsic motivation

Schools that place too much emphasis on control, rewards, and competition can hinder self-motivation. Instead of motivating students by external rewards or teacher demands, classrooms that cultivate curiosity and students’ love of learning deepen student growth. The desire to learn is a powerful innate drive that should be respected in all learners; tapping learners’ intrinsic motivation pushes them to work harder and learn more.

Students’ work must reflect students’ lives

Student creativity, collaboration, and engagement increase when learning situations include real-life scenarios and they set their own learning agenda. Directly relating learning to students’ lives ensures that students recognize the importance of their work instead of needing an educator to tell them why what they learn is important. In this type of classroom environment, educators can provide opportunities for multiple forms of evidence of student learning so that test scores are not the only source of data.

Play is essential to the learning experience

Play enhances learning and it important during both recess and academic instruction. Excelling educators bring play-based learning into classrooms at every grade level and utilize teacher evaluation tools that value physical (and social-emotional) engagement as much as intellectual engagement.

Classroom and School environments should support mutual respect

Social-emotional skills are an integral part of curriculum and must be taught explicitly. A thriving classroom community requires the teacher to know each students, and the students to know each other. These positive relationships help students feel supported by teachers, administrators and peers.

Teachers should be trained the way we want them to teach kids

When teachers themselves are intrinsically motivated and engaged in the teaching process, it is far more likely that they will teach in a way that nurtures intrinsic motivation within students, thereby eliminating the need for harsh, teacher-determined disciplinary procedures and fully teacher-directed and teacher-centered learning.

Effectively Engage Your Audience

In order to inspire and captivate an audience, effective facilitation is required. Participants will learn and practice the methods that skilled facilitators employ to engage all kinds of audiences. Activities will center around the importance of flexibility while facilitating, presenting with con dence, and leading reflective discussions. Outcomes:

• Facilitate and plan engaging meetings with improved presenter skills
• Captivate diverse audiences with a portfolio of activities
• Design effective internal and external trainings, meetings, & presentations
• Increase capacity to captivate, convince, advocate, & sell

Creativity & Flexible Thinking Through Improv

In order to effectively work as a team, employees must take a “Yes, and” approach to brainstorming and collaboration. This not only enhances the ow of discussion, but also fosters a workplace environment that welcomes new and innovative ideas. Participants will practice the art of improvisation, first theoretically, and then in relevant work situations. Participants will come away with an understanding of the need for improvisation in the workplace, and with new skills to both boost their individual and team performance. Outcomes:

• Generate new ideas and build on ideas of others
• Strengthen improvisational skills
• Develop a more flexible mindset and adapt to a variety goals
• Increase effectiveness through creative problem solving

Motivate Employees with Meaningful Feedback

Information that employees get from managers can be as minimal as “good job!” and as complex as a ve-page evaluation. It can also take the form of rewards or punishments. This session focuses on the ways that managers communicate with employees, namely through feedback and motivational strategies, and teaches how to use feedback effectively to advance employee learning and performance. Outcomes:

• Develop effective methods for giving & receiving feedback
• Improve communication & teamwork
• Increase overall job performance aligned with company goals
• Strengthen morale, workplace engagement, & intrinsic motivation

Creating Environments Where Employees Thrive

Successful companies harness employees’ creativity and divergent thinking to drive innovation and growth in a rapidly changing world. These companies employ systems and policies that foster the learning of new skills, challenge entrenched routines, and push staff members to develop open mindsets. This workshop can be tailored to directors/managers, or all employees. Managers will experience what an engagement- based work environment feels like, through activities that inspire them as learners and professionals. They will learn approaches to creating engagement-based spaces for employees. Participants will come away with a concrete vision of their their own engagement-based workplace and methods they can employ to cultivate this in their offices Outcomes:

• Unlock the benefits of an engagement-based work environment
• Implement engagement-based management techniques
• Activate 21st century skills in employees
• Foster a more energized & invested staff
• Increase creativity & innovation in problem solving, new product development, etc.

Employees will engage in activities that shift mindsets and improve 21st century skills including critical thinking, creativity, and systems thinking. Participants will learn how to directly apply these skills to speci c roles and situations. Outcomes:

• Tap into the benefits of 21st century skills in the workplace
• Enhance morale, workplace engagement, & intrinsic motivation
• Develop methods for promoting innovation & effective problem solving
• Strengthen analysis of complex tasks & situation

Build Trust & Teamwork for a High-Performing Workplace

Positive workplace culture leads to effective collaboration and achieving shared goals. Participants will explore ways they can foster and sustain positive office culture and relationships through self re ection, understanding personal needs, relationship building with colleagues, improvisational activities, and role playing conversations. Outcomes:

• Strengthen ability to collaborate with colleagues
• Enhance of ce morale & employee job satisfaction that yield increased retention
• Build and maintain positive workplace relationships with a repertoire of techniques

Authentic Assessment

Authentic assessment means assessing students in a way that is meaningful, significant, and requires students to apply learning and research in a variety of ways. In this 1-day course, educators will investigate various forms of authentic assessment, and how authentic assessment can be applied in their individual grades and content areas. They will also experience authentic assessment from a student perspective to establish a firm point of reference in contrast to traditional assessments of learning. Appropriate for: all educators at all grade levels  

STEM Outside the Traditional Classroom

This 2-day course is built for informal educators who are interested in improving their instructional practice in STEM, and in building strong STEM programs that work in concert with the PK-12 school system. During the two days, we will:

• Align informal education program goals with formal education system goals to ensure that informal programs can build on and extend what students are learning in school
• Build engaging, student-centered, hands-on STEM lessons that promote critical thinking and content-knowledge development.
• Practice facilitation skills that are essential for leading student-centered STEM lessons in a productive and safe way.
• Take a critical look at different models for informal STEM programs with the goal of designing new programs or improving existing ones
• Take a deep dive into the Next General Science Standards (NGSS) as a way to connect with the formal school system, and as a framework for designing meaningful STEM programming

 

Teaching STEM in the Elementary School Classroom

This 3-day course is built to support elementary school teachers who want to grow and enhance STEM instruction in their classrooms. We will take a closer look at the Next Generation Science Standards, and use them to build engaging, student-centered, hands-on STEM lessons that promote critical thinking and content-knowledge development. We will also practice skills that are essential for facilitating these kinds of lessons in a productive and safe way. Appropriate for: STEM Teachers and other STEM educators who work with students in grades PreK - 5th grade  

Individuals

Individual giving highlights the grassroots support of the work we do for the Washington, DC community. If you'd like to see Inspired Teaching in more schools and classrooms, we welcome your donation.

Institutional & Community Partners

Organizations and community stakeholders partner with us in a variety of ways to advance and amplify our goal of promoting engagement-based education. We partner with a diverse group of individuals and organizations, including Teaching for Change, Ashoka, City Year, and the Astra Center for Innovative Education.

Inspired Teaching Demonstration School

The Inspired Teaching Demonstration Public Charter School puts Inspired Teaching’s instructional model into action in every classroom. The school, a professional learning community of master teachers and teacher residents, ensures that a diverse group of students achieve their potential as accomplished learners, thoughtful citizens, and imaginative and inquisitive problem solvers through a demanding, inquiry-based curriculum. The standards-based curriculum and student goals are centered
 on the 4 I’s: Intellect, Inquiry, Imagination, and Integrity. The school is a primary partner site for the Inspired Teaching Residency, welcoming many Inspired Teaching Fellows each year for their Residency Year. Learn more about the Inspired Teaching Demonstration School.

Schools that place too much emphasis on control, rewards, and competition can hinder self-motivation. Instead of motivating students by external rewards or teacher demands, classrooms that cultivate curiosity and students’ love of learning deepen student growth. The desire to learn is a powerful innate drive that should be respected in all learners; tapping learners’ intrinsic motivation pushes them to work harder and learn more.

Student creativity, collaboration, and engagement increase when learning situations include real-life scenarios and they set their own learning agenda. Directly relating learning to students’ lives ensures that students recognize the importance of their work instead of needing an educator to tell them why what they learn is important. In this type of classroom environment, educators can provide opportunities for multiple forms of evidence of student learning so that test scores are not the only source of data.

Play enhances learning and it important during both recess and academic instruction. Excelling educators bring play-based learning into classrooms at every grade level and utilize teacher evaluation tools that value physical (and social-emotional) engagement as much as intellectual engagement.

Social-emotional skills are an integral part of curriculum and must be taught explicitly. A thriving classroom community requires the teacher to know each students, and the students to know each other. These positive relationships help students feel supported by teachers, administrators and peers.

When teachers themselves are intrinsically motivated and engaged in the teaching process, it is far more likely that they will teach in a way that nurtures intrinsic motivation within students, thereby eliminating the need for harsh, teacher-determined disciplinary procedures and fully teacher-directed and teacher-centered learning.

Institutional & Community Partners

Organizations and community stakeholders partner with us in a variety of ways to advance and amplify our goal of promoting engagement-based education. We partner with a diverse group of individuals and organizations, including Teaching for Change, Ashoka, City Year, and the Astra Center for Innovative Education.

Foundations & Corporations

Our foundation and corporate partners provide the critical resources we need to do our work. If you’re an organization interested in ensuring equitable access to engagement-based teaching for every student, contact Caitlin Wolf, our Development Manager, at caitlin@inspiredteaching.org.

Inspired Teaching Demonstration School

The Inspired Teaching Demonstration Public Charter School puts Inspired Teaching’s instructional model into action in every classroom. The school, a professional learning community of master teachers and teacher residents, ensures that a diverse group of students achieve their potential as accomplished learners, thoughtful citizens, and imaginative and inquisitive problem solvers through a demanding, inquiry-based curriculum. The standards-based curriculum and student goals are centered
 on the 4 I’s: Intellect, Inquiry, Imagination, and Integrity.

The school is a primary partner site for the Inspired Teaching Residency, welcoming many Inspired Teaching Fellows each year for their Residency Year. Learn more about the Inspired Teaching Demonstration School.

Network of Changemakers

Inspired Teaching alumni work as educational changemakers influencing the landscape of public education. Throughout the year, Inspired Teaching alumni have opportunities to attend special events, participate in free workshops, access valuable resources, and connect with one another through networking opportunities. Inspired Teachers open their doors to the public to showcase and advocate for engagement-based education.

Alumni Teaching Commitment

Becoming an Inspired Teaching Fellow represents a long-term commitment to the field of education and to Center for Inspired Teaching. Inspired Teaching Fellows make a minimum teaching commitment of two years beyond program completion.

Inspired Teaching will make periodic visits to Fellows’ classroom for program evaluation purposes to assess the success of alumni as Inspired Teachers. Inspired Teaching’s research and program evaluation team conducts regular surveys of alumni, allowing for observation of longitudinal trends.

Fellowship Year

As teachers of record, Fellows are supported by intensive mentoring as they create classrooms grounded in instructional best practices and foster strong relationships with students. Fellows embody the Inspired Teaching Instructional Approach and tap into each child’s innate desire to learn. Fellows continue taking coursework at Trinity Washington University and complete all requirements for their Masters of Arts in Teaching by the end of the school year. Fellows receive increased mentoring to smooth the transition to being the teacher of record.

Summer Teaching Practicum

Fellows co-teach summer school classes that result in student-centered, data-driven classrooms. Fellows plan and implement student learning experiences that consist of standards-based, interdisciplinary, thematic projects that build on students’ interests. This culminates in a student exhibition where learners present and explain their work to the community, including parents, teachers, students and invited guests. Inspired Teaching staff provide intensive support during the summer teaching practicum.

Residency Year

Under the guidance and support of an experienced lead teacher who models exceptional instructional approaches, Fellows immerse themselves in the day-to-day realities of the classroom for a full year. Lead teachers gradually release all classroom responsibilities to the Fellow over the course of the year, facilitating growth in all aspects of the profession. In the spring semester, Fellows begin taking coursework at Trinity Washington University in the evenings, helping to make connections between education theory and the classroom practice being observed in their residency year. Residency year partner sites are innovative urban schools that are dedicated to supporting new teachers, and showcasing best teaching practices.

AmeriCorps

As Inspired Teaching Fellows, and AmeriCorps members, Fellows are called to apply their skills and ideals toward helping others and meeting critical needs of the community. Fellows join a national network of like minded individuals working to serve their country. AmeriCorps engages over 80,000 individuals each year, including 1,400 members in the District of Columbia.

Fellows who complete 1700 hours of service are eligible for a Segal AmeriCorps Educational Award of $5,920 which can only be used for repayment of student loans, for future costs at institutions of higher education, or for educational training.

Being an AmeriCorps member is a benefit of being an Inspired Teaching Fellow, but it is not required. Fellows who have received two AmeriCorps awards previously, or have started but not successfully completed an AmeriCorps program, are not eligible. Potential enrollment in AmeriCorps will not affect the application process.

AmeriCorps funding is granted on an annual basis and notifications are made in the summer. Inspired Teaching fully expects its renewal application to be successful, but Inspired Teaching Fellows’ status as AmeriCorps Members is contingent on grant renewal, and cannot be guaranteed.

Summer Institute

The month long Summer Institute jumpstarts Fellows’ thinking about teaching and learning. Comprised of intensive coursework and an introduction to to Inspired Teaching’s instructional model, the summer serves as a critical community building experience for the cohort

Mara Duquette

Director, Program Administration

Aleta Margolis

Founder and President

Aleta Margolis founded Center for Inspired Teaching in 1995, and served as the organization’s Executive Director until 2016, when she assumed the role of President. As President, Aleta focuses on amassing public support for transforming school from a place that prizes compliance to one that promotes engagement. Previously, Aleta worked first as a public school teacher, then as a professor of education at American University. In 2001, Aleta was awarded a Fellowship from Ashoka: Innovators for the Public. Aleta holds a BA in Theatre Arts from Brown University, and an MS in Education and Social Policy from Northwestern University.

Jéri Ogden

Pre-K & Elementary Specialist

Jéri works primarily with the Inspired Teaching Residency, providing classroom-based support to Inspired Teaching Fellows and collaborating with lead teachers and mentors to ensure successful program completion. Jéri graduated from Howard University with a Bachelor’s in Communication and Culture. Upon graduation, she spent one year working at DC’s first all-boys public charter school as a substitute teacher and assistant director of the after-school program. She is a Summer 2010 DC Teaching Fellow and has seven years of classroom experience in public and charter schools in DC and Houston, as well as experience at an international school in Abu Dhabi. During her time in the classroom she served as a Smithsonian Science in Pre-K Educator and a Flamboyan Family Engagement Fellow, completing over 100 home visits and engaged with families from all 8 Wards in DC. She has taught Pre-K, Kindergarten, and 3rd-5th grade English Language Arts. Jéri also hold a M.Ed from American University in Curriculum and Instruction with emphasis in Educational Leadership and Policy.

Hetal Patel

Director, Finance and Operations

Hetal oversees all finance, operations and HR functions for Center for Inspired Teaching. Prior to joining Inspired Teaching, Hetal spent nine years serving as the Director of Finance and Administration at an international DC based NGO, Bank Information Center. In this capacity, Hetal was responsible for managing the overall growth and sustainability of the organization. Hetal’s 15 years of experience in finance and operations also include working with the New York Charter School system and experience working closely with teachers and students. Originally from California, she holds a BS in Financial Management and Investments from California State University, Long Beach.

Tai A. Dixon, J.D.

Chief Talent and Equity Officer, E.L. Haynes Public Charter School Network

Prior to joining staff at Haynes, Tai worked at the Children’s Defense Fund, a national child policy and advocacy organization where she served as the National Director of State Offices and Field Operations and led an 80+ person team. Dixon has dedicated her career to advocacy, social justice, and developing others to become ever stronger leaders and agents of change. Her non-profit management work centers on managing teams to successful outcomes in fundraising, external relations, talent acquisition, talent strategy, and client management. She has held prior roles leading fundraising for Teach For America-Baltimore and leading National Talent Acquisition for Teach For America. She practiced law as a civil litigator at Goodell DeVries, LLP in Baltimore, and taught 7th and 8th Grade English and ESL in Houston, Texas. Dixon holds a bachelor’s degree from Spelman College, a master’s degree in education from the University of St. Thomas, and a Juris Doctorate from the Howard University School of Law.

Jeffrey Franco

CEO, Camino Consulting and Adjunct Professor, American University

Jeffrey Franco has nearly 25 years of experience in leading and managing a large scale nonprofit, and providing strategic consulting, business development and change management for both corporations and nonprofit organizations. In addition to leading Camino Consulting, Jeffrey also serves as Adjunct Professor at American University where he designed and currently teaches a graduate class in nonprofit management. Jeffrey serves as Interim Executive Director and Vice of City Year Miami after serving over 10 years as Executive Director of City Year Washington, DC, where he oversaw significant growth of the organization. Prior to joining City Year, Jeffrey served as the Director of Global Business Development and Project Manager of Voxiva, a Senior Consultant at Deloitte Consulting, Associate Director of Marketing and Sales at Corporate Executive Board, and a Consultant at the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank Group. Jeffrey was named 2013 American University Kogod School of Business Alumni of the Year, is an alumnus of the Aspen Institute Socrates Program, and is a 2010 graduate of Leadership of Greater Washington. He holds a B.A. from Fairfield University, and a Masters in International Affairs and an M.B.A. from American University.    

Shanika Hope

Content Strategy and Research Lead, Amazon Web Services

Dr. Shanika Hope possesses over 20 years of experience in education. Shanika is a former elementary school teacher, principal and high school turnaround specialist. She has managed and/or supported more than three dozen DC public schools and public charter schools in various capacities. Prior to her current role as the Digital Content Strategist and Research Lead at Amazon – Shanika’s experience includes serving as the Vice President of National Urban Markets Initiatives at McGraw Hill Education, the Vice President of Curriculum and Instruction at Discovery Education, the Assistant Superintendent of Elementary & Secondary Education for the D.C. State Education Office, as well as time as a School Performance Officer for DC Public Schools. She also served as a school Principal and teacher in both Washington, D.C. and Virginia. Dr. Hope earned a Doctorate of Philosophy in Education Leadership and Masters in math and science education from Old Dominion University, where she was selected as a Holmes Scholar.

Caitlin Wolf

Manager, Development

Caitlin Wolf manages Inspired Teaching's development operations, and designs and facilitates professional development. Originally from Maine, Caitlin has a BA in European history from the University of Vermont, and an MA in religious history from Boston College, where she studied women fighting for agency in society and religion during the late Medieval/early modern period and colonial New England. Caitlin has over six years of experience engaging both youth and adult learners. She served in Peace Corps in Botswana, where she established her school's library, created its first computer lab, and pioneered and facilitated a reading program that improved school-wide literacy. She taught life skills related to HIV/AIDS both in a classroom setting and in village health clinics. And she conceived of and supervised a team to plan and execute the region's first girls' leadership camp focused on self-esteem building and gender-based violence. After Peace Corps, Caitlin remained in Botswana and managed the country's first Montessori school before returning to the US in search of an organization similarly committed to her focus on authentic engagement to create lifelong lovers of learning.

LaTonia Smith Cokely

Faculty

LaTonia is a faculty member at Inspired Teaching. She possesses over a decade of progressive service and experience in the field of education, particularly in the areas of literacy at the elementary level, instructional leadership, and community building. She has worked as an educator in the Montgomery County Public School system within the Northeast Consortium, serving very diverse communities. LaTonia has taught in grade three through six in various capacities, more recently working in the Individuals and Societies department as a Digital Literacy teacher at an IB World school and as an instructional leadership team member and grade level team leader. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in American Studies from the University of Richmond, a Masters in Education from the University of Maryland and certificates in Administration I and II from Hood College’s Educational Leadership Program.

Content

Content

Questioning techniques for inquiry-based learning

Teachers learn how to identify and integrate the Inspired Teaching Instructional Model into their classrooms. Experience a truly engaging classroom as it compares to a compliance-based classroom, in order to develop an understanding of how engagement more effectively supports learning.

Engagement-based Teaching & Learning: Basics of the Inspired Teaching Instructional Model

Teachers learn how to identify and integrate the Inspired Teaching Instructional Model into their classrooms. Experience a truly engaging classroom as it compares to a compliance-based classroom, in order to develop an understanding of how engagement more effectively supports learning.