Powerful Teaching and Learning into Practice

Frequently Asked Questions

• How is Powerful Teaching and Learning different from current practices?
• Why should teachers teach this way?
• How does Powerful Teaching and Learning transform the student learning experience?
• How does the support, training and coaching offered by the PTL Group align with best practices in professional development?

How is Powerful Teaching and Learning different from current practices?

Since the discovery of the achievement gap, expectations have changed and the focus of educational reform has shifted. Teachers and schools are now expected to bring all students to a certain achievement level and traditional teaching practices are proving to be ineffective in reaching this goal. Powerful Teaching and Learning helps educators and schools develop and implement teaching practices that are in alignment with educational reform, enabling them to close the achievement gap and ensure that all students are succeeding. Most importantly, PTL focuses on creating sustainability fostering and guiding the development o. Professional Learning Communities enabling teachers to continue to learn from each other by a process of ongoing observation, feedback and structured engagement with peers.

The Powerful Teaching and Learning method was developed based on years of brain research that has given significant insight into the cognitive process and how people learn. PTL focuses on differentiating instruction to meet the diverse needs of today’s learners. Specific attention is given to increasing student participation and engagement to create a classroom atmosphere of enthusiasm and curiosity. Powerful Teaching and Learning methods are targeted and clear-cut and give educators a straight-forward approach for transforming the learning process and reaching achievement goals for all students.

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Why should teachers teach this way?

All teachers are working very hard at raising student achievement but not all teachers are getting the same results. Some are getting atypical results with their students achieving at higher levels despite the challenges of poverty, ethnic diversity and parental involvement. When teachers apply Powerful Teaching and Learning in the classroom, they work smarter, not harder and get better results.

Teachers are energized by the success they see and by their students’ enthusiasm and level of engagement in the lesson. Teachers are about helping students succeed and this deepened connection to the learning leads to higher levels of achievement. There are fewer behavior problems in the classroom, better attendance and kids are getting the skills they need to be successful in school and in life. When teachers see students achieving at higher levels, their energy, confidence and job satisfaction improve.

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How does Powerful Teaching and Learning transform the student learning experience?

The transformation is significant. This PTL approach is respectful of both the student and the teacher by honoring and meeting the challenge of addressing diverse levels of need within the classroom. By providing students opportunities to reflect on their own learning and to make choices about ways to approach learning tasks, it empowers them to engage more deeply. When students become part of their own learning experience they begin to own it. Students become curious, independent learners and continuous learning unfolds, rather than just the completion of disconnected objectives.

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How does the support, training and coaching offered by the PTL Group align with best practices in professional development?

The PTL Group’s work with schools in raising student achievement is always based on the data about the students in that particular school. The group always addresses that raising student achievement is based on research. Coaching is an essential ingredient. This work is too hard to do alone. The PTL Group’s work is to connect people in meaningful ways in a school.
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