Back to School 2024
A Thoughtful Beginning—Starting the Year with Care and Intention
Listen to Usha's full message below.
Teaching, Learning, and Leadership with Care and Intention: Questions to Support a Thoughtful Beginning
Use the following reflective questions to help you narrow your focus, prioritize impactful learning, and craft pathways to intentional practice.
Take a Moment to Reflect
- What recent challenges have made it difficult for me to support learners?
- Which learners may have been the toughest to reach? What made it challenging to reach these learners?
- During what activities and times were these learners struggling most? When have they been most successful?
Set Meaningful Goals
- What are one or two impactful practices I could prioritize this year to better support the learners I’m not yet sure how to better support?
- How might focusing on these practices help me better address needs or challenges?
- What manageable steps might I take to implement these practices in ways that create meaningful change without adding to anyone’s workload?
Find Support Through Collaboration
- Who might I turn to for guidance and feedback about my specific goals?
- How might collaborating with others help me more effectively support learners?
Cultivate Compassion
- How might I show myself compassion and kindness?
- What are the best ways I might show compassion and kindness to learners and colleagues to create a positive learning environment?
Supports for Teaching, Learning, and Leading with Care and Intention
To help you put these ideas into practice, you’ll find some selected TC² resources below. Our newly launched website makes it easier to access our library of classroom and professional learning resources. If you haven’t yet explored the site and set up your new password, be sure to do so.
Videos
Nurturing a Thinking Classroom Video Series
Usha James, TC² Executive Director, presents the following 1-minute videos with strategies to help educators understand their learners deeply and encourage quality thinking—essential for meaningful learning and connections.
Effective Strategies for Building a Thinking Classroom Video Series
Maria Vamvalis, TC² Professional Learning Facilitator and Climate Change, Equity & Well-Being Lead, shares tips on inspiring a thinking classroom in these 1-minute videos.
Building a Thinking Community in the Math Classroom
Laura Gini-Newman, TC² Math Consultant and Professional Learning Facilitator, shares a few strategies for building a thinking community in the math classroom with this 1- minute video. She describes many examples of how math can be a fun way to build a community of thinking.
An Effective Strategy for Launching the School Year
Garfield Gini-Newman, TC² National Consultant, shares an impactful strategy for launching the school year in a way that invites student voice and promotes quality thinking in the classroom.
Quick Guides
Each title in the Quick Guides to Thinking Classrooms series is a concise, easy-to-read resource packed with practical strategies for creating quality thinking classrooms, supporting Usha’s message of knowing your learners well.
Building a Community of Thinkers
This Quick Guide offers practical ideas, examples, and templates to help educators create a learning community where high-quality thinking is modeled, supported, and encouraged.
This Quick Guide provides simple yet powerful strategies for fostering inclusive learning environments across all subjects and grades. With practical classroom examples, it offers guidance on instruction and assessment, helping educators make everyday decisions that support every learner.
Tools for Thought
The Tools for Thought resources provide learning-ready tools to help implement the practices that Usha described in her message.
Tools for Thought: Tools for specific tasks
This resource will help you identify students’ needs and systematically develop the thinking tools they need for specific tasks.
Professional Learning
In addition to a wealth of resources, TC² also offers tailored professional learning opportunities to support your leadership, teaching, and learning. Whether you're seeking to enhance classroom strategies or deepen your professional learning, our newly launched website makes it easier than ever to access the tools and support you need.
Become a Member
Join our community of educators and get access to a practical and powerful collection of ideas, free resources, and exclusive discounts on resources and services.