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Intentional by Design

Next Workshop 
Summer 2021
GIVE YOUR STUDENTS THE GIFT OF LEARNING

A 3-step method for helping teachers confidently support students in the classroom. This framework guides teachers in "taking the guessing out of intentionality".

When my daughter was little, she was smart (I might be a little biased here... but stay with me). She was well-spoken for her age, picked up on reading quickly, and loved going to "school". But that all changed when she went to kindergarten. She cried every day. She hugged our legs and begged to stay at home. School didn't get any easier for her.

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School is hard! Hard for teachers and hard for students. The standards are set and the pacing is fast. Teachers are expected to meet the needs of all students and differentiation is the go-to response.  Different types of plans are written to ensure students get the support they need. Unfortunately, oftentimes, plans are written based on a common understanding of a disability label and typical accommodations are included. While being student-centered, these same plans weren't intended to tell teachers how to teach or provide strategies that work for the individual student. 

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We had to figure that part out.

WHAT IF YOU COULD...

  • "See" in your students the lagging skills that get in the way of academic achievement

  • Quickly connect those lagging skills to strategies and supports for students

  • Create student plans that actually fit you and your students (rather than trying to fit into what's "common")

  • Give your students the strategies they need to feel confident

  • Help parents and colleagues understand the "why" behind student challenges

  • Use an approach that gives you more time to teach and spends less time managing students

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INTRODUCING

THE INTENTIONAL BY DESIGN METHOD

Teaching is hard enough. Let us share with you our 3-step method to:

  • Discovering the source of student struggles 

  • Identifying the strengths and weaknesses that are already the student's "learning toolbox"

  • Designing an approach, through accommodations and strategies, to help students grow and succeed

Still not sure if you need the Intentional by Design Method for supporting students?
See what fellow teachers have to say...
I always knew I should be writing strengths-based education plans but I never really knew what "strengths-based" meant or where to start. Thank you for showing me a simple approach to a complex idea.  
I've sat in so many meetings and listened to stories of how students struggle but never really understood how to identify the lagging skill. This workshop helped me to not only feel more comfortable with identifying the cause of student struggles but also in designing a plan of action for a student's needs.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I just wish I would have learned this sooner. Think of all the students I could have helped!

MEET THE TEACHERS

I’m Courtney and I'm one-half of B Squared! I'm a wife, a mom, an administrator, and a teacher. And I'm Jeanne and I'm the other half of B Squared! I'm also a wife, a mom, and a teacher. Since administration isn't my thing, I coach (and think I'm the luckier one!).

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Over the years, we've planned together, presented together, and co-taught together. All this together time has given us a lot of opportunites to share student challenges and brainstorm ways to truly meet student needs.

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With backgrounds in literacy and special education, struggling students are kind of our jam and at the core of all we do.  With this course, we will coach you through the Intentional by Design method. Teachers are intentional in all that they do but sometimes the intentionality is grounded in guessing what students need. This method is designed to create intentionality without the guessing. We can’t wait to guide you through creating plans to help all students succeed!

Still thinking about whether or not this course is for you? 

What's included in the workshop?

Step 1: Discover
Step 2: Identify
Step 3: Design

Module 1​

  • The skills of learning

  • What's in a student's learning toolbox?

  • Common cognitive functions

  • Academic Impacts on Reading, Writing, and Math

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Module 2​

  • Did you design with intentionality?

  • Discovering the lagging skills

  • Firm and Focused Data

  • Identifying the root cause, strengths and weaknesses in a student's toolbox

  • Designing an approach to help students grow and succeed

  • Not (just) this... but that... Accommodations

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Module 3

  • The Law of Competing Demands

  • Motivation and The 3 R's (Rigor, Relevance, and Reasoning)

  • Strategy instruction for student ownership

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Bonus

  • Putting it all together (504s, IEPs, ELL plans, etc.)

Okay, now I'm ready...

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