The University of Washington Center for Educational Leadership (CEL) developed an instructional leadership inquiry cycle tool that helps principal supervisors and principals collaboratively engage in a continuous process of instructional improvement and analysis. The inquiry tool directly correlates to CEL’s 5D instructional framework and rubric, making the process of instructional development easy and cohesive. Instructional… Read More

Interested in earning your EdD but not sure how it will benefit your career? Excited to advance your practice but feeling uneasy about the dissertation? What better way to find out more than by asking those with first-hand experience? Concordia University-Portland’s doctoral program prepares current and emerging leaders to become transformational change agents, impacting PreK-12… Read More

There are few things that evoke a sense of wonder — the type abundant in childhood and precious to adults — like pulling plastic wrap off a glimmering new phone. With the push of a single button, the screen to comes to life, glowing with possibility. How many hours in my day will I win back… Read More

Instructional design (ID) can sometimes be an overly complicated and diverse field with various instructional design models and complicated terminology. But I’ve always found that instructional design can be simplified if you stick to a few important principles and ask yourself a small number of intuitive questions. Instructional design: What does it mean? Simply put:… Read More

Having completed a couple of successful careers in the private sector, Camille decided to be an educator later in life. Earning her EdD helped her establish the credibility she was seeking, but it also taught her much more than she ever expected to learn. What was the greatest takeaway from your degree? The greatest takeaway… Read More

As a venture capitalist for 25 years, Ted Dintersmith saw how education wasn’t changing as fast as the job market. He noticed that highly educated people in business lacked skills and qualities like flexibility, creativity, and collaboration. Upon retirement from the corporate world, he made education advocacy and philanthropy his mission. Looking to the future,… Read More

Whether you’re just about to embark on Concordia University-Portland’s EdD program or you’re still deciding if our leadership-focused approach is right for you, there’s no one better to give you advice than those who have already gone through it. See what the EdD students and alumni in our private Facebook community said about their doctorate… Read More

Although every prospective Doctorate of Education candidate has their own personal and professional reasons for advancing their career, and while they hail from a variety of different workplace settings—schools, hospitals, nonprofits—for the most part, it’s safe to say that most share something very special in common: they’re eager to lead. Is it your turn now to… Read More

In my previous post about recovery plans, I discussed the importance of teacher ownership (as opposed to “buy-in”) of new initiatives and the benefits of team-developed plans for when inevitable setbacks occur. It is human nature to become discouraged and overwhelmed when we are faced with changes that present challenges to us. Teachers might express… Read More

I know a few people who have never been on a diet. Not many, but a few. If you are one of them, you may be unfamiliar with the concept of a recovery plan. Basically, it means that you have a concrete, well-thought-out strategy for coping with the aftermath of moments of weakness when you… Read More

When rethinking traditional district practices to meet the changing needs of schools, a critical area for re-examination is differentiation of fiscal support. While some areas of differentiated support, such as the innovative HR practices as I described in my last post, do not require additional dollars, others, such as professional development, may demand a reallocation… Read More

When it comes to professional development (PD) for teachers, schools have begun to shift away from the traditional practice of standalone lectures by outside presenters. They are moving toward PD that is more job-embedded — relevant to teachers’ actual work environment and their specific grade levels. To help maximize your professional development and better serve… Read More

Consistent messaging combined with differentiated support may sound like an oxymoron, but please read on. While all students in a classroom are expected to achieve high levels of proficiency on the grade-level standards or Common Core State Standards — our consistent expectation and message — there are inevitably some students who need additional support. For these students,… Read More

A Pantene ad recently gained attention for addressing unconscious discrimination in the workplace. Watching descriptors like “boss” turn to “bossy” and “persuasive” turn to “pushy” depending on whether a man or woman was onscreen provides food for thought. While most people do not intend to discriminate, these subtle differences in perception have a lasting influence… Read More