How Circles Makes the Best Teacher Training Accessible

Picture Matthew X. Joseph, PhD, crossing the United States from coast to coast, with a suitcase full of ideas and an evident passion for transforming education. He has been a classroom teacher, an elementary school principal, and a professional development specialist in New Bedford, Massachusetts. Today he's called upon from everywhere to train teachers and leadership teams.

There are others like Matthew. Tonya Gilchrist travels the world visiting "IB" schools (International Baccalaureate) sharing her expertise in reading and writing workshops, and Emily Dills is recognized for her courses in social-emotional learning, a topic with growing global demand.

Row of eight handcrafted felt figurines in diverse clothing representing the expert instructors who teach on the Circles Learning platform — A diverse community of world-class educational experts brings decades of specialized experience to educators worldwide through the Circles platform.

The topics vary, but good workshops have something in common: an expert who walks between tables, observes group work, asks provocative questions, and adjusts the dynamics in real time according to participants' needs. It's that magic that emerges when someone with years of experience guides others through a carefully designed learning process.

That said, there's a problem. World-class expert workshops are "boutique." Few schools can access them, whether due to time constraints, geography, or simply cost.

Circles breaks down those barriers by connecting these experts with educators worldwide without losing the good pedagogy of an in-person workshop.

When a school joins a course on Circles, their teachers enter the platform and form "circles" of 2 to 5 colleagues. The courses, which typically last 4 to 6 weeks, include weekly meetings on flexible schedules that participants choose. From any corner of the planet, they follow practical activities designed by the expert, guided by clear instructions that promote dialogue and feedback among peers. At the end of each session, they upload their work to the platform and receive personalized comments from the expert.

A recent case illustrates Circles' impact: Mónica Naranjo, IB coordinator at Santiago College, Chile, taught a course on "Student Agency and Concept-Based Learning" to a school in North Carolina, USA. Tya Tyrrel, academic coordinator at that school, commented: "My teachers have never been so motivated or applied what they learned so quickly."