Tiffany Ott is the Director of Curriculum Development with the Teach Better Team, a high school math teacher in Ohio, the founder of #MasteryChat, and an educational technology fanatic. She just can’t get enough of teaching and learning! Whether it’s connecting with a teacher struggling to make mastery learning work, writing about education, designing units, or speaking up on a stage to teachers who want to change the world with awesome teaching, she is hooked on all things education.

TOPICS

  • Educational Technology
  • Gifted Education
  • Staff Inspiration
  • The Power of Mastery Learning
  • The Teach Better Mindset

Presentations / Keynotes

Teach Better

Ready for a wake-up call delivered with love? Tiffany’s nickname on the Teach Better Team is Mama Tiff because she is, undeniably, the Mama of the team. Get ready for a dose of motherly love when you see Mama Tiff in action. Yes, she will tell you in no uncertain terms that you are doing some things wrong in your teaching practice. Yes, she will hold up the mirror to your flaws and make you face them. Yes, she will do it all with the blend of “You better get yourself in the right direction,” and “I got your back, sweety- we can do this together,” that great Mama’s are known for.

Participants will:

  • Discover what the Teach Better mindset it all about
  • Take a hard look at what needs to be better in their own career
  • Recognize that the path to Better is slow, continuous…. And awesome!

The Blame Game

Yes, there are a million reasons why teaching is an impossibly difficult, exhausting, burn-out causing career. But it’s time to stop playing the Blame Game and time to start taking action. Tiffany lays out the five main challenges educators love to blame (Monopoly, anyone?) and explores the options we have for changing ourselves and our perspective. When you play the blame game, nobody wins. Let’s shift our perspective and start making lasting change!

Participants will:

  • Identify the blame game scapegoats that get in the way of progress
  • Learn how to stop blame in its tracks and pivot in a more positive direction
  • Make a plan for dealing with the blame game happening all around them

Reaching All Students Means Reaching ALL Students

Even The Ones Who Already Know The Content

It is not easy to meet the needs of every student in your classroom. This if fact. All too often, the students that already understand the content and don’t really need the lesson are left bored, frustrated, and underserved. The answer? Mastery learning! But it only works if you have the right structures and systems in place - so let’s put the tools in teachers’ toolbelts and create some awesome learning experiences for ALL our students!

Participants will::

  • Understand the epidemic of underserved advanced students - and the problems that occur because of it
  • Understand the unique needs of advanced students
  • Explore the structures and systems that can make mastery learning work 

Making Mastery Manageable with Effective Technology Integration

Personalized learning is a major buzzword in education right now, but figuring out how to actually make it work in your classroom is tricky. How do you design units of instruction? How do you monitor progress and provide effective feedback? How do you stay organized enough to not go crazy? Good news! The tech tools we have access to in modern education can help make it actually work. Let’s learn how together.

Participants will:

  • Discover how today’s technology makes personalized learning possible
  • Learn technology tools and resources that enhance learning for students
  • How to transform the way your students think about their learning

 

Bite-Size Mastery: Nibbling Your Way Through Mastery Learning

If you aren’t ready to gorge yourself on full-blown mastery-learning but still want some of the benefits, Bite-Size Mastery may be the appetizer you need! Learn the recipe and cook up some mini mastery-learning experiences. Return to your classrooms with a buffet of ideas to try right away!

Participants will learn:

  • The foundations of mastery learning – And why it doesn’t have to be scary!
  • The common pitfalls of mastery learning
  • How to break down and align your standards
  • How to design high quality, engaging, and effective initial instruction
  • Timing instruction, assessment, and learning opportunities for maximum effectiveness.
  • Planning for and organizing the learning process in a bite-sized mastery lesson.