January 2026 Newsletter

Hello,

Happy New Year!

As we kick off our first newsletter of 2026, we want to thank you for being part of the Learning-Focused community. We know this is a pivotal time for resetting goals and refreshing instruction, so this week we are highlighting key strategies to support both instructional leadership and student literacy.

From improving the quality of post-observation conversations to deepening reading comprehension in the classroom, these articles are designed to be practical and immediately applicable.

This edition of the Learning-Focused Newsletter explores:

  • Effective Post-Observation Feedback: What to Avoid and How to Support Teacher Growth
  • Intermediate Book Review: A Long Walk to Water
  • Teaching with Context Clues: Definition and Examples that Enhance Student Ability
  • Event Spotlight: Math Institute
  • Product Spotlight: Pathways to Student Engagement Part 2: Questioning, Formative Assessments, and Feedback

Enjoy!

@LearningFocused #withLF #learnon

P.S. Check out our Upcoming Events

Effective Post-Observation Feedback: What to Avoid and How to Support Teacher Growth
Effective Post-Observation Feedback: What to Avoid and How to Support Teacher Growth

Effective Post-Observation Feedback: What to Avoid and How to Support Teacher Growth

Post-observation conferences can accelerate teacher growth, or quietly shut it down. This article highlights seven common feedback pitfalls that can trigger defensiveness or confusion, and offers practical alternatives leaders can use to keep conversations focused on evidence, reflection, and next steps that actually stick.

Event Spotlight
Educators collaborating at a Learning-Focused math workshop

Transform student compliance into authentic engagement with this two-day, math-focused institute built around practical, high-yield strategies.

Pathways to Student Engagement: A Guide for Math Instruction

February 5–6, 2026 · 8:30 AM–3:30 PM ET (Both Days)

Learning-Focused Training Center · 200 District Drive Ste 001 · Asheville, NC 28803

Authentic engagement in math requires more than fun activities or compliant students quietly completing problems. Over two days, you will learn how to use a Distributed Practice Framework to design math lessons that begin with purposeful Activating Strategies, lean on rich Learning Activities like Collaborative Pairs and Error Analysis, and end with powerful Summarizing Strategies that solidify understanding.

  • Design math lessons that balance procedural fluency, conceptual understanding, and productive struggle.
  • Integrate high-yield strategies such as Activating Strategies, Collaborative Pairs, and Error Analysis into daily instruction.
  • Use summarizing and writing-to-learn routines so students can explain, justify, and reflect on their mathematical thinking.

Registration: $394 per person. Save $100 when you register 3 or more participants. Seating is limited for this small-group workshop.

Intermediate Book Analysis: A Long Walk To Water
Intermediate Book Analysis: A Long Walk To Water

Intermediate Book Analysis: A Long Walk To Water

Teaching A Long Walk to Water with upper-elementary readers? This book analysis highlights the dual narrative (Salva and Nya), key themes like resilience and global inequality, and classroom-ready teaching points to support discussion, comprehension, and writing.

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Teaching Resource: Interviews
Activating Strategy: Interviews banner
A structured conversation routine where students ask and answer questions to gather ideas, explore perspectives, and make meaning together. Download the PDF for the purpose, step-by-step implementation, digital adaptations, and examples across content areas.
Download Resource
Product Spotlight

Pathways to Student Engagement (Part 2)

Questioning, Formative Assessments, and Feedback for Success

Student engagement grows when instruction is intentionally guided. This resource shows how effective questioning, formative assessment, and actionable feedback work together to keep learning visible, involve every student, and strengthen ownership for growth.

  • Plan purposeful questions aligned to learning goals and cognitive levels to spark curiosity and deeper thinking.
  • Use response strategies that ensure every learner participates, not just volunteers.
  • Gather clear evidence with formative assessments to guide real-time instructional decisions.
  • Deliver specific, actionable feedback students can use to improve and reflect.
  • Build in distributed summarizing and checks for understanding to strengthen accountability and comprehension.
 Pathways to Student Engagement Part 2 cover
 
From The Vault: Teaching with Context Clues: Definition and Examples that Enhance Student Ability
Teaching with Context Clues - Definition and Examples that Enhance Student Ability

Teaching with Context Clues - Definition and Examples that Enhance Student Ability

Many students can label “types” of context clues, but still struggle to use context while reading. This article reframes context clue instruction around what proficient readers actually do, using a practical internal vs. external clues approach, plus classroom-ready examples and lesson ideas to strengthen comprehension.