Whole Learners© is a year-long teacher professional program focused on providing tailored training, feedback, and support to educators. This program's goals are to increase educator ability to implement new knowledge and skills in the classroom, improve communication between school staff and students, and enhance classroom and school climate and culture.
Whole Learners© supports educators to effectively connect with ALL students.
|
What's the Issue?Students who are connected to caring adults in school are healthier and more academically successful. The middle school years are a particularly challenging time to maintain these youth-adult connections. For example, statewide Minnesota data show that the percentage of 8th grade students who note that their educators care about them is 23% lower than 5th grade students.
|
|
Our Tailored Services
Our training and coaching support will ensure a transformational year-long professional development experience for educators. Our trainers and coaches can work with schools starting in summer and throughout the school year. Our program is designed to best support professional development goals. It is tailored by adjusting training topics and offering different levels of coaching responding to schools' budget and educators' time availability.
Our trainings are designed to engage adult learners through relational and interactive methods such as circle process. Training topics and activities are designed around healthy youth development principles and equitable teaching practices. We welcome 6-24 participants per training.
Our coaching is relational and equity coaching, not instructional coaching. Our approach allows teachers to find solutions that will work best for them and their students. We collaborate with educators to support them in transferring knowledge and relational strategies learned through trainings into the classroom that allow them to be better connected with all their students. Our coaches are experts in creating a professional development experience that enables teachers to thrive and reach a higher level of potential as educators.
Our coaching is relational and equity coaching, not instructional coaching. Our approach allows teachers to find solutions that will work best for them and their students. We collaborate with educators to support them in transferring knowledge and relational strategies learned through trainings into the classroom that allow them to be better connected with all their students. Our coaches are experts in creating a professional development experience that enables teachers to thrive and reach a higher level of potential as educators.
Research-Based Professional Development
As measured by two University of Minnesota research studies, the Whole Learners© approach has shown positive outcomes for both teachers and their students, including increased engagement, decreased problematic behaviors, and stronger relationships.
Impact
|

"No significant learning occurs without a significant relationship"
James Comer
About Us
Developed at the University of Minnesota, Whole Learners© is a comprehensive and innovative program that improves connections between teachers and their students, resulting in increased student engagement, and fundamental positive changes in school culture and climate.
University of Minnesota- Department of Pediatrics . 717 Delaware Street S.E. Minneapolis, MN, 55414.
© 2019 Regents of the University of Minnesota. All rights reserved. The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity educator and employer.