Knowledge That Meets You Where You're At
Transform Your Teaching
in the Learning Lab
Experience Motivational Group Sessions and One-on-One Coaching in Every Learning Lab
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Project-Based
Learning
One-on-One
Support
Evidence-Driven
Approach
Research says one-day workshops don't work.
According to the research, there's a singular reason: "They're "intellectually superficial, disconnected from deep issues of curriculum and learning, fragmented, and noncumulative" (Ball & Cohen, 1999).
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The Every Student Succeeds Act emphasizes that high-quality professional development should be sustained, intensive, and content-focused to positive impact classroom instruction and teacher performance. One-day workshops simply do not provide enough time for this level of engagement.
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So I don't give them.
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Instead, join me for one of my 6-10 week learning lab experiences and become a catalyst for real change in the educational system.
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Research, Meet Action
Learn to Apply Research and Solve
Persistent Problems
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In every learning lab, you can expect:
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Accessible lab sessions delivered in person, online, or a hybrid.
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Instructor-led discussions and lab sessions.
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Skill-building exercises and next steps to follow between sessions.
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Would you like to introduce evidence-based solutions to your school and fellow educators?
Learning Labs
Use evidence to solve practical problems within your sphere of influence.
All learning labs are project-based, focusing on solving persistent problems of practice. If participants don't solve it during the course, I provide ongoing individual support until they do.
Adventures in Action Research
This course meets educators where they're at and helps them learn to apply evidence-based decision-making protocols while immediately addressing a self-selected problem of practice. This isn't how you learned action research in college, it is focused on replicable processes over complex theory and APA citation formatting. Educators ate very level of the system can benefit from taking this deep dive into their problems and learning how to resolve them in real time using the best evidence available.
Exploratory Data Analysis
Most of us were taught to interrogate our data; asking it question after question until we know what information it is hiding. This is called confirmatory analysis and it has a place, but its place is not in the classroom. Exploratory data analysis is more like having a casual conversation with your data. It is about seeing whats there with a curious mind and spirit. It is about noticing, wondering, and exploring. When we view our data with this open mind, we have more opportunity to see what's really going on and gain a deeper understanding of the impact of our instruction.
The Evidence Empowered Educator
An evidence-informed educator is an empowered educator. Through this course, we will explore the three pillars of evidence-based decision-making in education. Participants learn how to access a variety of evidence - from rigorous academic research to locally honed practitioner knowledge - to inform their decisions. They will learn to use data to fully understand their local contexts and track improvements. And they learn to use continuous improvement systems to implement and improve upon their innovations with fidelity and continuity.
Why Book Matthew B. Courtney?
With his years of experience, Courtney structured each Learning Lab to take a hands-on approach ensuring that data-informed solutions are immediately applicable with maximum impact.
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Bridging the Research-Practice Gap: Many educators struggle to apply academic research to their daily practices. Matthew B. Courtney's Learning Labs teach educators how to access, interpret, and implement research findings, making evidence-based strategies a natural part of their teaching.
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Overcoming Barriers to Evidence Use: Common barriers such as lack of access, time constraints, and skill gaps often prevent educators from using evidence-based practices. The Learning Labs provide practical solutions and continuous support to help educators overcome these obstacles.
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A practitioner and a published researcher: Matthew B. Courtney has been in the classroom, in teacher preparation, in the nonprofit sector, and in the policy making space. In short - he gets it.
"I understand the barriers; I've made the excuses, and I've figured out how to overcome them. Now, I'm sharing everything I've learned from countless hours of learning and experience with you in one impactful talk."
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-Matthew B. Courtney
The Impact:
Feedback from the Stage
Union College
"I've had Matthew work with students at Union College many times. He is always very friendly and engaging and our students look forward to his return each semester. He is motivational and inspiring while also teling the truth and helping our students to understand the reality of the world they are entering into. Matthew doesn't sugarcoat reality, but his example and experience of overcoming challenges makes it seem a little less scary. We have already booked him twice for next year!"
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-Preshus Howard
Matthew B. Courtney is available to help your educators to become both consumers and creators of research and adopt systems that allow for the continuous vetting of evidence for decision-making.
