Stories & Announcements

Feedback and Accountability 

We grow through feedback and an understanding that the quality of our work is a reflection of what we are learning, but the shift to remote learning this spring disrupted a lot of the tools teachers were used to using to evaluate student growth. How might we do things differently this fall? Participants in this workshop will explore ways to bring meaningful assessment into the virtual and/or socially-distanced classroom and approaches to student feedback that strengthen motivation, and build relationships and achievement.

Time: half day
Appropriate for: all educators at all grade levels

Rethinking How We Spend Time 

The teaching profession is already rife with time-consuming activities that don’t always benefit our students. Navigating the challenges of online, hybrid, or socially distanced learning means we have to be even more thoughtful about where and how we spend our time. In this workshop participants explore ways to make their work more efficient and the precious time they have with students more productive, and even enjoyable.

Time: half day
Appropriate for: all educators at all grade levels

Centering Students and Checking Bias

Our assumptions about students often get in the way of meeting their needs. This is especially true when we don’t have the same opportunities to get to know them in person. What messages are we unintentionally conveying through our email or video communications with students and their families? What steps can we take to make online learning equitable and respectful for all our students? This workshop offers participants a framework for decision-making as they plan for the new school year, an opportunity to critically examine their practice, and concrete strategies for elevating student voice and engaging productively with students.

Time: half day
Appropriate for: all educators at all grade levels

Setting Goals and Creating Structure Online

Can we have the same goals in online learning that we do in the physical classroom? Yes!...And, online learning offers different means of achieving them. Participants will evaluate specific goals in their curriculum and explore ways to structure their time with students to efficiently maximize impact. 

Time: half day
Appropriate for: all educators at all grade levels

Building Community in Uncertain Times

One of the big concerns teachers have about the upcoming school year is how they’ll get to know their students if their only encounters are through a computer screen or in-person but socially distanced. In this hands-on workshop participants will learn and practice strategies for community building online and/or in modified classrooms and craft a plan for learning all about their students in the first weeks of school. 

Time: half day
Appropriate for: all educators at all grade levels

Jenna Fournel

Director of Teaching and Learning

Jenna Fournel has been involved with Center for Inspired Teaching since 2004 and has worked in the education field for more than 20 years. She began her career as a high school English teacher and has served as Director of Communications for both Inspired Teaching and the National Council of Teachers of English. Her overarching professional goal is to do what she can to make the world a kinder place. She believes investing in the education of our young people is the best place to start.

Kathryn Eliscar

Financial Administrator

Kaneia Mayo Crumlin

Faculty

Elly Young

Faculty

Bella Cavicchi

Teaching and Learning Coordinator

As the Teaching and Learning Coordinator, Bella manages Inspired Teaching’s digital presence and supports the organization’s efforts to reach new communities of educators and students. She believes passionately in honoring the voices of young people, and in and outside of the classroom, she strives to create inclusive spaces where students’ curiosity can thrive. She holds a BA in Literacy and the Performing Arts from Brown University and is currently pursuing her MPhil in Arts, Creativity, and Education at the University of Cambridge.

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.

Inspired Teaching Course Costs

A Taste of Inspired Teaching

Time & Location

About The Event

Mary Kadera

Interim Executive Director

The school experience should build intrinsic motivation, not extrinsic motivation

Students’ work must reflect students’ lives

Play is essential to the learning experience

Classroom and School environments should support mutual respect

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

Effectively Engage Your Audience

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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.

• 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

• 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

The Art of Classroom Discussion

Why Improv--Yes, Improv--will Transform Your Classroom

STEM Outside the Traditional Classroom

• 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

Owning Identity & Practicing Equity

Inspired Leaders: Supporting Teachers in Engagement-Based Instruction

Teaching STEM in the Elementary School Classroom

The Relationship-Based Classroom

Becoming an Instigator of Thought: The Essentials of Engagement-Based Teaching & Learning

Individuals

Institutional & Community Partners

Inspired Teaching Demonstration School

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

Jéri Ogden

Pre-K & Elementary Specialist

Hetal Patel

Director, Finance and Operations

Amanda Sadie

Manger, Teaching & Learning

Christine Sheridan

Program Grant Manager

Tai A. Dixon, J.D.

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

Jeffrey Franco

CEO, Camino Consulting and Adjunct Professor, American University

Shanika Hope

Content Strategy and Research Lead, Amazon Web Services

Elly Young

Teacher Leadership Specialist, Montgomery County Public Schools

Karol Kepchar

Partner-Head, Trademark, Copyright, Internet, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, LLP

Karol Kepchar is a partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP where she assists clients in implementing an efficient, cost-effective, process-based approach to managing and leveraging intellectual property (IP) assets through litigation and licensing programs. She advises clients on a wide variety of issues, including licenses and other strategic agreements; trademark, copyright and domain name litigation in federal courts; Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) proceedings at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO); Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy (UDRP) arbitration procedures; and cybersecurity, privacy and data security issues. Her experience includes litigation, licensing and IP strategy in corporate restructuring and acquisitions.

Karol has been named a “World's Leading Trademark Professional” by the World Trademark Review WTR 1000, and an “IP Star” by Managing Intellectual Property. Karol received her undergraduate degree from Bryn Mawr College, and her J.D. from Temple University School of Law.

Cosby Hunt

Secondary Specialist & Youth Programs

Cosby is the Director of Youth Programming for Inspired Teaching. He is the course creator and instructor for Real World History and also works with BLISS: Building Literacy in the Social Studies. He is a native Washingtonian who earned his Bachelor’s degree in Non-Western History at the University of Pennsylvania and began his teaching career in rural Georgia as part of the Teach for America program (’93 Corps). He stayed in Georgia to get his Master’s in Secondary Social Science Education at the University of Georgia. He returned home to DC in 1997 and spent thirteen years teaching social studies at Bell Multicultural High school (now the Columbia Heights Educational Campus) where he led the social studies department as well as the tennis and debate teams. Cosby earned his National Board Certification in 2006 and is one of only a handful of National Board Certified social studies teachers in the city.

Caitlin Wolf

Manager, Development

Monica Brady-Myerov

Founder and CEO, Listenwise

Monica Brady-Myerov is a 25-year veteran public radio journalist, and the founder and CEO of Listenwise, a listening skills company, which was acquired by the video library company Boclips. Monica is a content area specialist in audio and its use in the classroom and an expert in podcasting, fact-based reporting, and narrative storytelling. She is the author of Listen Wise: Teach Students to Be Better Learners which was published by Wiley in April 2021. The book has personal anecdotes from the author and accessible excerpts from the latest neuroscience of listening and auditory learning, making it a critical resource that will explain why listening is the missing piece of the literacy puzzle. Monica graduated from Brown University with a degree in International Relations.

LaTonia Smith Cokely

Faculty

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.