The Educators' Lab

10/12/2025

This holiday season, consider giving the gift of JOY to area teachers.

The Joy Project is officially a non-profit Impact Fund with DMF. Your end-of-the-year tax-deductible donation will support Joy Labs and Spark Grants for area educators.

Our mission is simple: Our communities -our kids- need great teachers. To keep educators in the classroom, we help teachers reduce stress and burnout and rekindle their JOY for teaching.

Learn more about The Joy Project and give the gift of JOY here: https://app.givingheartsday.org/?_gl=1*1qk9byn*_gcl_au*MzAxNzUyNzIxLjE3NjM2Njg1Mjg. #/charity/2082

11/05/2024

https://mailchi.mp/ba9357f2fea8/joy-lab

It's practical, energizing, relevant PD. That helps you accomplish things you have to do anyway. While earning continuing education credit. And gaining insight and inspiration from other kick@ #$ educators. Join the Joy.

03/10/2022

Why debate?

It's life skill. It equips us to be good citizens, to advocate for ourselves and the issues we care about, and to be effective in the workplace. Moreover, it encourages students to engage in content in a whole new way.

Debating helps students strengthen their communication and objective thinking skills, and practice patience and tolerance.

24/08/2022

Do students feel confident in their own power and potential to act—to make change? How might we guide students to see themselves as changemakers?

Students may see ways they can effect change if they break down big issues like climate change into smaller, more accessible challenges.

20/08/2022

One of our own - the amazing Darcy Bakkegard - would like to host a session at SXSWedu entitled:

Turn Conference Inspiration & Ideas into Action

Too often when we go to conferences we are overloaded with great ideas and inspiration, but are left little time to digest how we might put those ideas into action. She's created a space that allows participants to play with new ideas, and brainstorm what they might do with new learnings. Combining a bit of agile thinking with personalized coaching, this workshop provides the perfect space to think about next steps for your favorite ideas.

Please vote for her session:

PanelPicker® is the official SXSW user-generated session proposal platform. Enter ideas and vote to help shape Conference programming for SXSW and SXSW EDU.

13/08/2022

https://www.lessonimpossible.com/podcast #/agent-darcy-bakkegard-personalized-professional-development/

Your lesson, should you choose to accept it, is to listen to interviews with educators who are on the forefront of innovative pedagogy or making effective changes to old practices. Being a classroom teacher can be very isolating, and your host, Aviva Levin, hopes to introduce you to “agents” who...

04/05/2022

MontanaPBS is hosting a summer book study on The Startup Teacher Playbook. The book is about supporting teachers as they materialize great ideas for students. It's free, it's worth 10 recertification hours and lead by the wonderful Nikki Vradenburg, Ed.D!

Many of us our pondering the meaning of education, and if schools are providing students with what they really need. This is an opportunity to do something meaningful, to build something that you truly believe will best serve your students. From climate action, to SDGS, to well-being, to diversity and inclusion - there are so many ideas we have to make learning real and relevant for our students. We hope you can join and design something that will make our students' lives better.

Learn more: https://www.montanapbs.org/education/summer-book-study/

10/03/2022

Teaching is a mental game - one that comes with a lot of emotional baggage. What are the qualities administrators can nurture in our teachers to ensure they have a positive view about their abilities and power to achieve?

Encouraging teachers to focus on their strengths—while taking a few things off their plates and carving out time for catch-up work—can help them weather a difficult year.