One of the best ways to learn how to be a better teacher is by watching, listening to, and experimenting with the practices of great teachers, including those in your own school.The PD Curator is about how professional learning experiences can become more inclusive, participatory, cohesive, and effective-and about the role teachers and leaders can play in creating those experiences. That role isn't so much administrative as it is curatorial. Just as art curators can legitimize artists by including their work in a gallery or exhibit, PD curators have the power to legitimize the work of an array of teachers. They help create immersive intellectual, emotional, and social experiences-all while caring for the professionals and the profession. In this book, Lauren Porosoff explains how PD curators * Structure teachers' schedules to make time for in-house professional learning. * Select content and create a process for how people interact with it. * Fit the often disparate pieces together into a meaningful whole. * Discover whether the event has been successful. The practical tools and protocols in each chapter will help you plan professional learning that taps into the expertise and interests of a diverse staff. Canned sessions that don't connect with teachers' actual needs will be a thing of the past. Instead, you'll discover ways to support teachers in sharing ideas and trying out new practices that advance student learning. In doing so, you'll empower teachers and students alike.

Curriculum at Your Core is a practical guide to designing curriculum that meets standards, serves personal and institutional values, and intentionally leads to successful student learning. Identifying which understandings, knowledge, and skills are "most important" for students to learn is always a question of values, so getting clear on values gives teachers a starting place to design cohesive units, courses, and programs. Written by a teacher for teachers, Curriculum at Your Core includes stories, examples, and case studies from across grade levels and subjects, as well as exercises, protocols, and templates teachers can use when writing values-congruent curriculum. Some key features include: stories of failures and successes in designing curriculum metaphors from everyday life to help teachers understand curriculum design as a process rooted in values and culminating in meaningful learning examples of essential questions, assessment guidelines, lesson calendars, unit plans, and curriculum maps exercises and templates teachers can use to create and assess curriculum protocols designed to encourage inclusive participation and critical reflection when colleagues look at curriculum together

Curriculum at Your Core is a practical guide to designing curriculum that meets standards, serves personal and institutional values, and intentionally leads to successful student learning. Identifying which understandings, knowledge, and skills are "most important" for students to learn is always a question of values, so getting clear on values gives teachers a starting place to design cohesive units, courses, and programs. Written by a teacher for teachers, Curriculum at Your Core includes stories, examples, and case studies from across grade levels and subjects, as well as exercises, protocols, and templates teachers can use when writing values-congruent curriculum. Some key features include: 1.Stories of failures and successes in designing curriculum. 2.Metaphors from everyday life to help teachers understand curriculum design as a process rooted in values and culminating in meaningful learning. 3.Examples of essential questions, assessment guidelines, lesson calendars, unit plans, and curriculum maps. 4.Exercises and templates teachers can use to create and assess curriculum. 5.Protocols designed to encourage inclusive participation and critical reflection when colleagues look at curriculum together.

Teach Meaningful is a practical guide to designing curriculum that meets standards, serves personal and institutional values, and intentionally leads to successful student learning. Identifying which understandings, knowledge, and skills are "most important" for students to learn is always a question of values, so getting clear on values gives teachers a starting place to design cohesive units, courses, and programs. Written by a teacher for teachers, Teach Meaningful includes: stories of failures and successes in designing curriculum from across subjects and grade levels metaphors from everyday life to help teachers understand curriculum design as a process rooted in values and culminating in meaningful learning examples of essential questions, assessment guidelines, lesson calendars, unit plans, and curriculum maps exercises and templates teachers can use to create and assess curriculum protocols designed to encourage inclusive participation and critical reflection when colleagues look at curriculum together

Teach Meaningful is a practical guide to designing curriculum that meets standards, serves personal and institutional values, and intentionally leads to successful student learning. Identifying which understandings, knowledge, and skills are "most important" for students to learn is always a question of values, so getting clear on values gives teachers a starting place to design cohesive units, courses, and programs. Written by a teacher for teachers, Teach Meaningful includes: stories of failures and successes in designing curriculum from across subjects and grade levels metaphors from everyday life to help teachers understand curriculum design as a process rooted in values and culminating in meaningful learning examples of essential questions, assessment guidelines, lesson calendars, unit plans, and curriculum maps exercises and templates teachers can use to create and assess curriculum protocols designed to encourage inclusive participation and critical reflection when colleagues look at curriculum together

Finding meaning, vitality, and community is the purpose of engagement—and school itself. Authentic engagement is a choice students make every day to bring themselves to their learning, work, and relationships—rather than simply go through the motions of school. It means sharing experiences; asking questions; trying new things; making mistakes; and allowing themselves to be seen, heard, and cared for. It's an active choice that can lead to tremendous growth and satisfaction. In Teach for Authentic Engagement, Lauren Porosoff shows how to design instruction that lets students with diverse interests, strengths, needs, identities, and values connect to their learning. Included are strategies, tools, and classroom anecdotes that help students* Engage with the content so it becomes a source of meaning in their lives. * Engage with their work so it becomes a source of vitality. * Engage with each other so the class becomes a source of community. It takes intellectual and emotional effort to teach in a way that fosters authentic engagement. But when students feel connected to the content, they engage with their work. And when they feel like their learning matters, they use that learning to understand and respect each other.