Our Whole Teacher Approach

The best way to improve classroom instruction is to change what teachers believe and do — not just what they know.

It’s the “whole teacher approach” to professional development. Just as the “whole child” concept supports effective early childhood teaching and learning, the whole teacher approach recognizes that the greatest impact comes by supporting all aspects of a teacher’s growth and development, including her attitudes, knowledge, and practice.

Knowledge+Attitude+Practice=Success!

We partner with schools, school districts, and organizations to provide a range of professional development services about early math.

At the beginning of the partnership, we will work with you to structure the most effective professional development program based on your needs and funding. Our services could be one-year projects, one- or two-summer institutes, or intensive multi-year professional development projects. They could include working in-person, online, or both with teachers and instructional leaders or entire early childhood education programs.

Teacher Participant

Federico Garcia Lorca Elementary School

“ Students’ attitudes have been extremely different. They are excited. They are verbal. They are expressing themselves in new ways. They now feel success where they hadn’t before. ”

An instructor is surveying her class of adult students working on a project together.

Learning Labs

We provide interactive full- or part-day learning sessions in which early childhood teachers, trainers, or administrators gain understanding of the math content and math teaching strategies to improve core competencies.

Three teachers discuss an assignment at an event.

Instructional Coaching

Coaches can play a central role in sustaining professional development at the school level by helping teachers become reflective about teaching and co-facilitating school-based meetings. It can include implementing research lessons, implementing 3-step coaching cycles, and coach-initiated grade-level meetings.

A Black teacher is gesturing in front of her class and a whiteboard.

Leadership Academies

Leadership Academies help school administrators learn about Erikson’s approach to professional development, enhance their math knowledge and understanding, provide them with tools for classroom observation and conversations with teachers about instruction, and keep them informed about their teachers’ learning so they can support its implementation at their school.