Roots and Wings Montessori Podcast

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 

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

This month host Jess Davis discusses the breadth of Montessori education across the ages with co-authors of the new book Implementing the Montessori Method: Learner Centered Education from Birth through Adolescence, Trisha Thompson-Willingham and Dr. Susan Zoll. This includes discussion of how differnt the environment, goals, and roles of the adults are in the different planes of development, highlighting how the Montessori method evolves with the child. The panel deep-dives into one thread throughout Montessori education: character development, including its importance, ways of framing character development in the classroom, and strategies for creating a classroom culture that nurtures strong character.

key topics

• Montessori developmental continuum from birth to adolescence
• The role of character development in Montessori education
• Supporting teachers through high-quality training and ongoing support
• Policy challenges and opportunities for Montessori schools
• Creating a Montessori culture that meets developmental needs

• The Complete Montessori Continuum: From Birth to Adolescence
• Building a Montessori Culture: Support for Teachers

• "Intelligence plus character is the goal of true education."
• "Montessori education is more than the sum of its parts."

Resources

• Character Lab
• https://www.implementingthemontessorimethod.org/

• https://www.dr-susan-zoll.com/
• https://www.trishathompson-willingham.com/

Join host Jess Davis for an engaging conversation with Dr. Laura Saylor of Mt. St. Joseph University about the many intersections of Montessori and cognitive science research.

Discussion covers routines, formats, and language to decrease cognitive load for students, the importance of nonlinguistic representations (visual learning materials to go with verbal information), and the effects of technology on learning.

Resources mentioned:

The 10 Most Significant Education Studies of 2025 https://www.edutopia.org/visual-essay/the-10-most-significant-education-studies-of-2025/

ISTE Technology Standards https://iste.org/standards

Book Recommendations:

The Digital Delusion

Science of Learning: 99 Studies that Every Teacher Needs to Know

Powerful Teaching: Unleash the Science of Learning

Host Jess Davis, MEd and EL I-II, dives into ways schools can build proactive, resilient practices to support students with disabilities. Jess reviews major components of visionary leadership for inclusion, the importance of building community investment, and dives into Multi-tiered Systems of Support (or MTSS) to effectively use a school's limited resources for greatest positive impact for the most students.

In this "part 2" conversation, host Jess Davis talks with one of her favorite Montessori leadership coaches, Jonathan Wolff, about the science and art of applying Montessori principles to supporting adults in our school environments (Montessori andragogy).

Jonathan is a consultant, trainer, speaker and author who infuses his work in leadership development with 30 years experience as an educator and administrator.

Jonathan provides retreats, workshops, and consultations, along with coaching for parents, educators, leaders, Boards of Directors, community organizations, and learning communities around the globe.

The best-practice leadership retreats and workshops he leads facilitate community building, strategic planning and improved organizational effectiveness.

After earning his B.A. degree in Secondary Education from Temple University, Jonathan began teaching at-risk youth in Philadelphia. Early in his career, he read several books on the Montessori philosophy and quickly recognized the power her work in human development had to effect transformation not only within the young child, but within adults as well. He went on to study with Mother Isabelle Eugenie, one of Dr. Montessori’s first students, earned his Early Childhood Credential through the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI), and began his career as a Montessori educator at one of the first Head Start Montessori Centers in the United States.

Jonathan’s incisive ability to apply Dr. Montessori’s educational constructs to training adults led him to positions as a teacher trainer, as the director of education and training for various education and business organizations, and as the administrator for several nationally recognized schools. Thirty years in the field have provided him with solid first-hand experience in leading and managing rapidly growing for-profit and not-for-profit schools, education institutions and business organizations.

Today, the primary focus of his consulting practice is on leadership development – designing best practices and writing books and articles that enhance individual and organizational performance. His creative, interactive programs, his humorous and inspiring teaching style, and his deep insight into the needs of people and organizations are in demand by organizations around the world.

In the second episode of our series on Montessori and the Science of Reading, we discuss decoding and word recognition with Dr. Laura Saylor, author and academic.

Join host Jess Davis of Montessori Minds for this episode of Roots and Wings with Montessori leadership coach and consultant Jonathan Wolff. We discuss how to apply Montessori principles to professional learning and personal development of the adults in our organization, known as Montessori andragogy. In this first part of a three part series, Jonathan walks us through the principles of Montessori education he finds most vital to supporting the development of all learners--including adults. In parts two and three, we will dive into how to pragmatically implement these principles for the adults in our environment. Enjoy the convwersation! And we'd love to hear what you think. Leave a comment and follow the show to be a part of the conversation!