Our Approach
We have seen, and data confirms, the power of coaching combined with workshops. According to research conducted by Dr. Jim Knight at the University of Kansas, a single in-service workshop results in an average 15% teacher implementation rate, whereas workshops plus year-round coaching yield an average 85% implementation rate.
Our workshops help teachers generate key ideas and insights. Our year-long coaching program gives teachers the space and support to collaborate, design, and execute so that their insights lead to school-changing learning experiences.
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Workshops
World Leadership School offers a variety of workshops to help teachers move ahead in this moment:
- Purpose Launch is a deep dive into Purpose Learning and what it means personally and professionally for teachers.
- Design with Purpose creates a space for faculty to reimagine classroom learning through a purpose lens.
- Innovation Day provides an Edcamp-style experience where teachers choose between breakout sessions covering a range of topics.
- Intro to Project-Based Learning immerses teachers in our purpose-driven approach to PBL and allows them to design a PBL unit for implementation. This workshop also includes 1:1 coaching for implementation.
We deliver our workshops in-person at the school but often include virtual sessions before and after to space and deepen learning. During our day on campus, we can also meet individually with faculty, parents, board members, or other key stakeholders. All our workshops include planning meetings before in order to set learning goals and debrief meetings to determine next steps.
“I was expecting team building. This workshop went further to give me space to be vulnerable, share out, listen, and be built back up so I can better see not only my role in our community but also to see more clearly how everyone else fits into our community.”
Purpose Launch Workshop
In this 5-hour workshop, we will explore the theory and science behind Purpose Learning. We will explore the question: “How might K-12 schools help students explore, discover and clarify a sense of purpose?” We will imagine what happens to school culture when the number of purpose-driven students is doubled, and we will discuss strategies for doing just that.
We will start by creating the space for teachers and administrators to explore their own sense of purpose, and better understand their personal “why.” We start from the premise that teachers will not be able to coach students to discover purpose unless they have done the hard work first. “You can’t give away what you don’t own,” explains Richard Leider, an executive coach and author of Power of Purpose. Through collaborative activities and storytelling, educators will explore their natural gifts and boil down their “why” statements into something tangible and actionable as part of a personalized purpose map.
In a final design activity, teachers will see examples of Purpose Learning happening around the world. Then they will work in teams to brainstorm how their school could create small “hacks” towards greater purpose in learning. In particular, we will examine the idea that schools of the future will find ways to integrate thinking with feeling (self-awareness, social awareness, and self-discovery) and thinking with doing (internships, community partnerships, PBL, etc.)
“Ross Wehner helped my staff think big and connect to the ‘why’ behind our work. We are a better organization as a result.”Devereaux McClatchey, President, Carney Sandoe & Associate
Design with Purpose Workshop
In this 5-hour workshop, we will explore the Phases of World Connected-Learning and explore the question: “As a community, how can we harness this moment in order to revitalize our community and global partnerships and reimagine world-connected learning? Our work is divided into three distinct phases:
Connect – The workshop will begin by connecting the team. We will explore the science and theory of purpose, and begin to explore the individual gifts and purpose of the team members. Participants will gain a deeper understanding of the unique gifts they bring to the team, and how these gifts can be used for the greater good. This experience will ground the team in relationship building prior to sharing and
creating together.
Share – We will map the team’s existing programs in order to create a common understanding of the ways in which programming has evolved. We will share programmatic strengths and identify areas of growth through guided group brainstorming. In the spirit of believing that “all the ideas we need are in the room”, we will work to share best practices and formulate new ideas.
Design – Finally, we will synthesize the strongest ideas that emerged in the Brainstorming in order to identify key trends. We will explore how the Phases of World Connected Learning are playing out at leading independent and charter schools around the globe. These “best practice” examples will serve as inspiration for further innovation in the key strategic areas. During the workshop, educators will explore inspirational “stokes” to expand ideas and possibilities.
“I was able to press pause on my “get-things-done,” everyday experience as a teacher and take time to consider the “why” behind my teaching. After having been in the classroom for almost two decades, I discovered fresh perspectives and contexts for why I show up every day.Faculty, Dawson School (Lafayette, CO)
Innovation Day Workshop
Reimagine and invigorate teacher professional learning by providing engaging and relevant workshop choices. Just as teachers personalize learning for students, schools should personalize learning for each teacher.
“Innovation Day” is an Edcamp-like experience where teachers navigate a menu of learning options and learn in “small bites.” This is a great format for mixing the voices of outside experts with faculty thought leaders in order to create a day of teacher-driven learning.
During Innovation Day, teachers explore questions and curiosities that help them grow. They learn alongside colleagues, work with WLS coaches, and receive practical strategies and tools to implement immediately in their classrooms.
Some topics/areas of focus include:
- Culturally responsive teaching
- Diversity, equity & inclusion
- Pedagogy and project-based learning
- Assessment
- Supporting teachers
- Leading innovation
- Discipline-specific
- Global and experiential learning
- Social and emotional learning
- Building community
- Student engagement
- Teacher self-care
- Technology tools and strategies
“The depth and breadth of workshop offerings by the talented World Leadership School (WLS) team ensured that our colleagues engaged in deep learning, reflection, and professional growth and development. Participants were excited and repeatedly commented on how supportive the facilitators were.”Assistant Head of School, Ethical Culture Fieldston School
Intro to PBL Workshop
The benefits of utilizing Project-Based Learning, PBL, in a classroom setting have been well-established in several research studies, including a study from researchers from Lucas Education Research in 2021 that found “compelling evidence that project-based learning is an effective strategy for all students, outperforming traditional curricula not only for high-achieving students but across grade levels and racial and socioeconomic groups.” In other words: PBL, when done right, is a powerful teaching tool for deep and equitable learning.
This professional learning workshop will take teachers step-by-step through the process of building a project-based unit. Educators will explore why PBL is not only a unique and highly effective framework for teaching content and skills but a must-have for teachers wanting to create meaningful learning experiences.
In this 6-hour workshop, we explore and begin to deeply understand components of the World Leadership School “Wheel of Pedagogy.” With concrete examples, interactive discussions, and time to design a unit specific to each classroom, teachers leave the workshop energized and excited. In addition, workshop participants identify connections to global competencies that are present in their existing curriculum. There is also time for optional 1:1 work with the facilitator to review the unit plan as it’s developing. By the end of this course, teachers will have a unit ready to implement in their classrooms.
“Jessica was an incredibly supportive and knowledgeable teacher! When I asked questions, I felt seen/ heard/ taken seriously, never brushed-off. Jessica was understanding of the challenges of doing PD during the school year, and made the assignments and schedule work for my busy teacher life. Jessica sent follow-up emails with reminders of important topics as well as links to resources.”Faculty, The Berkeley Carroll School (Brooklyn, New York)
WLS Coaching Institute
The WLS Coaching Institute helps teachers shift mindsets by designing, implementing, and assessing bold new ideas around student-centered learning. Since 2009, the WLS Coaching Institute has sparked dozens of teacher breakthroughs (see here for examples). We have seen, and data confirms, the power of coaching combined with workshops. According to a 2007 survey conducted by Dr. Jim Knight at the University of Kansas, a single in-service workshop results in an average 15% teacher implementation rate, whereas workshops plus year-round coaching yields an average 85% implementation rate.
The WLS Coaching Institute is customized according to each school’s needs but comes in three main models: Yearlong, Coaching Bursts, or VCI 2.0 (see below). Each model follows a fresh, research-based approach through our Coaching Continuum to deepen connection, support a culture of learning, and promote increased efficacy among educators, therefore increasing impact on student learning.
Workshops create common understandings and powerful flashes of inspiration. Coaching helps teachers transform big ideas into action through collaboration, feedback, and iteration. These showcases of learning spark schoolwide innovation.
“Coaching is the art of creating an environment, through conversation and a way of being, that facilitates the process by which a person can move toward desired goals in a fulfilling manner.”
Yearlong VCI
In a Yearlong VCI, a WLS coach works a full year with a single team of teachers, such as a grade level or interdisciplinary team. The participants begin by developing goals and a work plan with their assigned coach, and then meet virtually with the coach on a regular basis throughout the school year. Our VCI teachers take on challenging projects, such as the design of a new capstone course, fall and spring PBL experiences, or a school-wide video conference event. Our VCI teachers usually complete their first project in the fall, and a second and more ambitious project in the spring.
During the course of the school year, the coach helps VCI participants design student-centered learning, connect learning to community experiences, assess global competencies, and organize powerful demonstrations of learning. This is our original model still used by most partner schools.
“The most impactful part of this experience was having a mentor to talk through my plans with and share ideas. My coach has made it possible for me to push my students towards being comfortably uncomfortable. She has helped me push their boundaries and mine with designing impactful learning experiences.”Mount Vernon Presbyterian School Faculty
Coaching Bursts
In this model, WLS coaches work with three teaching teams over shorter, 6-week work cycles. Coaching sessions are 1 hour per week with additional teamwork time each week to complete agreed-upon benchmarks. Coaching Bursts can be used to design a new unit that can be implemented immediately and also used to guide future planning. This program is a flexible and economical way for schools to get immediate support for teachers in making a sudden shift, solving a challenge, or implementing a project. Schools using this model include GEMS American Academy in Qatar, Doha.
“I allow much more student exploration, discovery, and ownership because I have seen so much buy-in. Students have become creative thinkers and speak now with PBL language.”Mount Vernon Presbyterian School Faculty
VCI 2.0
This is a year-long coaching support program for faculty who have already been through the Virtual Coaching Institute, or who have a solid foundation in project-based learning. The VCI provides all faculty with individualized 30-minute coaching sessions focused on whatever need is urgent, such as creating a driving question, brainstorming a project, creating a rubric, etc. WLS coaches check in with their VCI 2.0 faculty on a monthly basis. VCI 2.0 is for schools that have cemented a culture of project-based learning via past work with WLS or by having faculty take our virtual course “Introduction to Online Project-Based Learning.” Schools using this model include Mt. Vernon Presbyterian School in Atlanta, GA, and Appleby College in Ontario, Canada.
“My coach was incredibly helpful and helped me change the way I frame my lessons by making them more open-ended and student-directed.”Dalton School Faculty
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