Thoughtful Classroom Professional Learning Suites
There is no doubt whatsoever: Of all the factors that we can control as educators, the quality of classroom instruction has the greatest impact on student achievement. Hands down. By far. Nothing else is close.
So how can we help our teachers, instructional leaders, and school leaders cut through the clutter, zero in on instruction, and work together to raise its quality—in way that’s practical and manageable for school teams?
Thoughtful Classroom Professional Learning Suites make it easier than ever to improve teaching and learning in classrooms and across schools and districts. Designed and led by today’s top expert on instruction, Dr. Harvey Silver, along with the Thoughtful Classroom team, each suite focuses your team on important instructional goals, while modeling specific instructional tools and strategies for addressing those goals.
Our Professional Learning Suites Help You Address Essential Goals and Priorities:
Improving Reading Comprehension
Unlocking the Power of Comparative Thinking
Helping Students Make More Powerful Notes and Summaries
Moving From Note Taking to Note Making
Building a Positive Learning Culture
The Four Cornerstones of Effective Classrooms
Designing Effective and Engaging Lessons and Units
The Instructional Designers’ Toolbox
NEW LEARNING SUITES COMING SOON!
Promoting Classroom Inquiry
Developing Clear and Motivating Learning Targets
Increasing the Power of Classroom Feedback
Using Formative Assessment to Advance Learning
Custom Thoughtful Classroom Professional Learning Suites
We’ll work with you to build a custom suite for your school or district that includes a focused set of tools and strategies tied directly to your school improvement goals and priorities.
Explore Our Library of Research-Based Instructional Tools and Strategies for Improving . . .
Instructional Design & Delivery
SETTING CLEAR LEARNING OBJECTIVES
- Learning Window
- Student-Friendly Learning Targets
- Post-Discuss Reference (PDR)
LESSON & UNIT DESIGN
- “Five Episodes” Design Framework
- Essential Questions
- A Study In . . .
- Concept Word Walls
FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT
- Clear or Cloudy?
- Stop, Slow, Go
- Questioning in Style
- Because
- Graduated Difficulty
FEEDBACK
- STAIRS (Principles of Effective Feedback)
- Glow & Grow
- What & Why Feedback
- The “Ps” to Better Work
- PEERS
- The Five Cs of In-Lesson Feedback
Learning Culture
CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT
- 7-Step Directions
- Procedural PRO
- Respectfully Yours
- Rules to Live & Learn By
- Student-Friendly Learning Targets
BUILDING POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS
- All for One & One for All
- Check Your Mood at the Door
- Community CIRCLE
- Getting to Know You
- Interaction in an Instant
- Say “S” to Resolving Conflicts
INCREASING ENGAGEMENT
- Classroom Games
- Divergent Thinking
- Effort Tracker
- Personal Best
- Scavenger Hunt
- Questioning in Style
NURTURING THINKING SKILLS & HABITS
- 3C Word Walls
- Because
- Forced Choice
- The Power of Pause
- Power Previewing
Critical Thinking / Deeper Learning
IMPROVING READING COMPREHENSION
- Power Previewing
- Mind’s Eye
- Single-Sentence Summaries
- Scavenger Hunt
- Reading Stances
- 4-2-1 Summarize
- Reading for Meaning
COMPARATIVE THINKING
- Designing Great Comparison Lessons
- Metaphorical Expression
- Decision Making
- Community CIRCLE
CLASSROOM INQUIRY
- Inquiry Frames
- Mystery
- Inductive Learning
- If-Then
- Yes-No Inquiry
NOTE MAKING & SUMMARIZING
- Window Notes
- Math Notes
- Interactive Note Making
- Three Ways of Webbing
- Split Screen
- S-O-S Graphic Organizers
- 4-2-1 Summarize
- AWESOME Summaries
Practical Tools Make It Work!
At the Thoughtful Classroom, we take the words tools and strategies seriously. Tools and strategies are practical, research-based techniques for improving teaching and learning, and we’ve been developing them in collaboration with educators for over forty years.
With every Thoughtful Classroom Professional Learning Suite, your team will have affordable, on-demand access to our award-winning tools and strategies in the form of engaging video tutorials. Guided by Harvey Silver and Thoughtful Classroom content experts, video tutorials help educators see how tools and strategies work. And we keep them brief—typically fifteen minutes or less.
Each tutorial comes with PD resources that support and enhance video content, including planning forms and reflection guides, student handouts, and classroom posters.
Perfect for Instructional Leadership Teams and PLCs
Does your PLC sometimes struggle to get that crystal-clear focus on instruction? Are you an Instructional Leader or part of an Instructional Leadership team looking for a better way to help teachers grow? Thoughtful Classroom Professional Learning Suites are the answer. The suites provide the focused content, practical tools, and “common language” that PLCs and ILTs need to promote schoolwide improvement. And as your needs and goals evolve, so can your suite. It’s easy to add new content, new tools and strategies, and new PD resources.
So Many Ways to Fuel Your Learning
Every suite provides your team with a wealth of learning resources to help you learn new tools and grow your skills.
Video Tutuorials
Brief and engaging presentations that introduce tools and strategies and show you how to use them
Key Content Cues
All the critical content from the tutorial in an easy-to-reference PDF that makes it easy to review and plan
PD Resources
Additional resources to accelerate professional learning, including sample lessons, implementation tips, and classroom video segments
Planning and Reflection Guides
Fillable forms that make planning lessons and reflecting on the results a snap
Classroom Resources
Ready-to-use resources for your classroom, including student handouts, reproducible organizers, and classroom posters