October 18, 2026
By Eric Hollister Williams, Communications & Marketing Advisor
Listen to the Hooray For Monday podcast.
Laura Edmonds jokes that her résumé looks like she’s “going on a scavenger hunt.” In 19 years of teaching, she’s covered visual art, earth science, history, and English. Today, she guides students through independent research at Columbia Heights Education Campus in Washington, DC.
In this week’s Hooray For Monday, we explore what that range has taught Laura, a 2026-2027 Inspired Teaching Fellow, about effective teaching and herself as a learner.
Across subjects, Laura has come to cherish clarity, challenge, and confidence. Her preparation also requires curiosity. She researches unfamiliar material, examines gaps in her understanding, and connects lessons to students’ lives.
Laura has experienced what it feels like to try something without knowing how it will unfold. That openness made our conversation fascinating. The fellowship’s work with improv has helped her embrace uncertainty and model that willingness for students.
One of her favorite responses now is: “That’s a great question, let’s investigate it.”
That commitment to inquiry shapes her reflections on AI and protecting students’ independent thinking. It also inspires her imagined class about the hidden stories behind everyday life, where a map, song, or neighborhood name could launch an investigation.
One thing to consider this week
Choose one challenging task you’re asking students to tackle:
- How will they understand why it matters?
- Where could an early success help them persist?
- How will you show you believe they can do the work?
Resource of the Week
Let’s Investigate It: A Shared Inquiry Activity
Choose a student question connected to a lesson that’s worth exploring. Together, identify what you know, what evidence you need, and where to look.
- Take 10-15 minutes to “investigate”
- Share what you learned and what remains uncertain
- Let students see how you evaluate a source or revise an idea alongside them.
Hooray For Monday is an award-winning weekly publication of Center for Inspired Teaching, a social change nonprofit organization that champions the power of curiosity and is dedicated to transforming the school experience from compliance-based to engagement-based. Inspired Teaching provides transformative, improvisation-based professional learning for teachers that is 100% engaging – intellectually, emotionally, and physically.
