Breaking the ice WELL
Review of three icebreakers, "the good, the bad, and the ugly" so readers can select icebreakers carefully in the future. (10 minute read)
Oldies-but-goodies: Links to excellent older Connections articles
Links to helpful older Connections articles about Setting Group Agreements. (2 minute read)
What are you doing for Black History Month? May we suggest…
For Black History Month, we wanted to alert you to a powerful free resource available online. Layla F. Saad has created the "Me and White Supremacy Handbook." Please don't be stopped by the title. (2 minute read)
Setting Agreements: External and Internal, by Luci Englert McKean
A couple of Critical Friends Group Coaches-in-training last week inadvertently inverted the instructions for the Setting Agreements activity, leading to contemplation of another way to use the Agreement Examples. (4 minute read)
Going Slow to Go Fast, Part 2, by Penny Preen-Kynigou
How can we initiate Critical Friends Group® (CFG®) communities in such a way that they take root? Part 2 of a two-part guest post by NSRF International Facilitator Penny Preen-Kynigou. (5 minute read)
Student Work Inquiry Rounds reveal new perspectives, wisdom, by Kevin Mabie
The National School Reform Faculty Student Inquiry Rounds Protocol invites the presenter to bring copies of a piece of student work to a trusted collaborative team, ideally a Critical Friends Group® community. This protocol, like so many others from NSRF, helps me to step out of my own perspective and see a wider array of responses others have when viewing the same artifact. (3.5 minute read)
Going slow to go fast: A step-by-step approach to seeding a CFG culture in your school, by Penny Preen-Kynigou
How can we initiate Critical Friends Group® (CFG®) communities in such a way that they take root? Part 1 of a two-part guest post by NSRF International Facilitator Penny Preen-Kynigou. (7 minute read)
Ten probing questions to boost your coaching practice
Ten probing questions that just might shift your coaching and facilitation practice, and a free download! (2 minute read)
Using Success Analysis to put the focus on student learning
Teacher success SHOULD mean student learning. So why, when classroom practitioners talk about success in the classroom, does the talk often center around how well a lecture was delivered by the teacher, what the Google Slides looked like, what book was read, or how students submitted work digitally? (2-minute read)
Is your NSRF membership up for renewal?
Breakdown of membership benefit levels AND news of a way to renew multiple coach memberships at once, at a remarkable discount! Act quickly to save the most money. (2 minute read)