In this episode of the Roots and Wings Montessori Podcast, host Jess Davis talks to public Montessori administrator and Montessori scholar Dr. Caroline Robbins. They touch on the tensions sometimes felt between the needs and priorities of administrators and teachers and how to build effective bridges and healthy relationships to best serve our students.Resources mentioned in the episode:”The Secret to Giving Great Feedback” — LeeAnn Renninger’s Ted video: https://www.ted.com/talks/leeann_renninger_the_secret_to_giving_great_feedback Elena Aguilar’s coaching newsletters, free webinars, and books: https://www.brightmorningteam.com/ Dissertation: https://minds.wisc.edu/items/fc601ad9-8d9f-4204-8325-de238be336bc – or, in ProQuest, https://proquest.com/docview/3358929921 Prior research: https://www.montessoripublic.org/2025/10/fundamental-needs-of-public-montessorians/ and https://heyzine.com/flip-book/dfacd9e72e.html OrcID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-9091-7163LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caroline-robbins-edd-2772345/ NCMPS course on Mindfulness and Self-Compassion: https://www.public-montessori.org/courses/mindfulness/

In this episode of the Roots and Wings Montessori podcast, host Jess Davis discusses research she conducted as a 2024 American Montessori Society Emerging Leader Fellow, which focused on characteristics of Montessori professional development most in line with educational research and perceived as most effective by teachers.Get a break-down of the insights provided by 160 US Montessorians through survey on what works, what doesn’t, and how teachers perceive different PD opportunities. Learn how Montessori androgogy can guide the development of professional learning that aligns with our school values and philosophy.RELATED REFERENCES:Bayar, A. (2014). The Components of Effective ProfessionalDevelopment Activities in Terms of Teachers’ Perspective. InternationalOnline Journal of Educational Sciences v6 n2 P319-327 2014. Bragg, L. A., Walsh, C.,& Heyeres, M. (2021). Successful design and delivery of online professionaldevelopment for teachers: A systematic review of the literature. Computers& Education, 166, 104158. Darling-Hammond, L., Hyler,M. E., & Gardner, M. (2017). Effective teacher professional development. Learningpolicy institute.Day, C., Sammons, P., & Gorgen, K. (2020). Successful schoolleadership. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED614324.pdf DeMonte, J. (2013).High-Quality Professional Development for Teachers: Supporting Teacher Trainingto Improve Student Learning. Center for American Progress. Elaine H.J. Yew, Karen Goh,Problem-Based Learning: An Overview of its Process and Impact on Learning,Health Professions Education,Volume 2, Issue 2,2016,Pages 75-79. Epstein, J. L. (2019). School, family, and CommunityPartnerships: Your Handbook for Action. Corwin, A Sage Publishing Company.Janacsek K., Nemeth D. (2012) Predicting the future: From implicitlearning to consolidation, International Journal of Psychophysiology, Volume83, Issue 2, Pages 213-221, ISSN 0167-8760https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2011.11.012.Kennedy, M. M. (2016). Howdoes professional development improve teaching?. Review of educationalresearch, 86(4), 945-980.

Challenging behaviors are part of being a teacher. We are there to help guide children and help them learn from their mistakes. Sometimes all the lovely ideas we have brought back to the classroom from workshops and trainings are not enough, though. Sometimes a child may be so dysregulated that they engage in damaging, violent, or extremely disruptive behaviors and nothing we have tried seems to be working. What then? In this “real talk” series on managing big behaviors in Montessori settings, Jess Davis, MEd and Lead Consultant at Montessori Minds, will be discussing tools to help teachers design solutions for extreme behaviors that support the child in crisis while also protecting the learning and safety of the others in the room.Today’s episode will focus on writing Classroom Behavior Management Plans, breaking down the parts of a plan, tips for writing each section effectively, and advice for schools and teachers. Jess refers to some research and resources throughout the website (listed/linked below):https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/resources/iris-resource-locator/https://positivediscipline.org/Research shows that when teachers create consistent classroom rules that are stated positively and describe expected behavior, students engage in disruptive behavior less often. (Alter and Haydon, 2017); Reinke et al 2013)Research shows that classrooms with predictable procedures and routines have lower rates of challenging behaviors (Simonsen et al 2020)

Join host Jess Davis of Montessori Minds consulting in conversation with Dr. Eric Dustman about school leadership. Eric is a school leader, consultant, author, and presenter. You can learn more about Eric at https://nuancegroupllc.com/ . Eric is also co-facillitator of the AMS Emerging Leader Fellowship Program (ELF).Jess and Eric discuss ways to help school communities heal after big changes, how to build trust within faculty and board, how to build relationships through storytelling, and more. Eric’s latest book, Puff Leadership: How Flexing Your Soft Skills Can Strengthen Your Lead is out now and available through Amazon.https://www.amazon.com/Puff-Leadership-Flexing-Skills-Strengthen/dp/B0DXW19W39