Good Teaching Isn’t Magic. Learning Labs Demystify Best Practices: ONLINE EXCLUSIVE

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Good teaching isn’t magic. Learning labs demystify best practices: ONLINE EXCLUSIVE

By Megan Kortlandt and Samantha Keesling

Categories: Learning communities, Learning designs

February 2025

We’ve all heard someone say, and maybe even said ourselves, that a teacher or classroom is “magical.” When a class is running smoothly and students are eager to learn, it can certainly feel that way. But this framing undermines the learned skills involved and can be harmful to creating a culture of adult learning in which educators continually work to improve their practice. The culture of learning we aim to create for students encourages curiosity, cultivates risk-taking, and invites applied practice and reflection. That should be the same culture of learning we maintain for adults. One way to embody that learning culture is through job-embedded professional learning labs. Just as student labs engage learners in experiencing and understanding real-world phenomena, professional learning labs provide opportunities

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Megan Kortlandt

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Megan Kortlandt is a literacy consultant with Oakland Schools, an Intermediate School District in Michigan that provides professional learning and resources at no cost to schools across one of Michigan’s largest counties. She has taught in middle and high school classrooms in a variety of settings and is now passionate about supporting educators through job-embedded professional learning. Megan is a coauthor of Principal Labs: Strengthening Instructional Leadership Through Shared Learning (ASCD, 2021), has been published in regional and national journals such as ASCD, NCTE Voices from the Middle, and the Michigan Reading Journal, and she is a contributing writer for Moving Writers.

Samantha Keesling

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Samantha Keesling, Ed.S. is a mathematics consultant in the Leadership and Continuous Improvement Unit at Oakland Schools Intermediate School District. In her role at Oakland Schools, Samantha works to enhance student-centered math instruction and is passionate about supporting teachers and leaders through job-embedded professional learning. Samantha is a coauthor of Principal Labs: Strengthening Instructional Leadership Through Shared Learning (ASCD, 2021).