"I am currently the Director of Learning and Development, and I have been with The Really Great Teacher Company almost 6 years now.

I am responsible for our teams’ growth, as well as content development that we do for our clients. I am also involved in the company's teacher training program, and I enjoy helping new teachers get started in their careers.

I am also an avid outdoorsman and love adventure sports. I have a daughter and a Jack Russell and we carry out our adventures Taiwan, where we live."

"We split our personal and professional development initiatives into two distinct divisions – Evolve drives all personal development and the Inspire Academy is responsible for all professional development – each division with their own dedicated resources and strategies.

Under these two divisions my team develops training courses that cover a variety of topics, including pedagogy, assessment, and classroom management. We also facilitate virtual meet-ups, workshops, and seminars that are designed to help our teachers connect and grow both personally and professionally.

We are constantly working to ensure that our offerings are engaging, authentic, and valuable to ensure we provide support and resources to teachers who are looking to grow in their careers."

"To provide opportunities for growth so the team can better grow and develop themselves and others.

We aim to drive growth, uncover purpose, and promote connection in our remote working environment. By learning new skills, taking on new challenges, and reflecting on their experiences, team members can become better versions of themselves.

We also recognize that remote work can be isolating, so it's important to find ways to connect with your team members. Our initiatives help to foster this connection by providing opportunities for team members to learn from each other, share their experiences, and build relationships."

"Yes, I believe that our personal and professional development programs help teachers improve their class performance in a number of ways.

• First, our programs provide teachers with opportunities to learn from each other. This is valuable because it allows teachers to share ideas and best practices, and to learn from the experiences of other teachers.
• Second, we have created a community of fantastic practitioners of education. This community provides teachers with support and encouragement, and it helps them to feel connected to a larger group of educators.
• Finally, our initiatives focus on improving teacher physical and mental wellbeing. This is important because research has shown that teachers with better mental health are more likely to be effective in the classroom."

"We use a variety of methods to gather input and feedback that helps us to understand our teams’ needs and to identify the initiatives that will have the greatest impact.

• Frequent brainstorms and strategy sessions where we discuss new ideas and develop plans for implementing initiatives.
• In our focus groups we chat with a small group of team members who are most representative of our target audience. This is an opportunity for us to bounce specific ideas or concepts off this core target market for feedback.
• To supplement that and also give our broader workforce an opportunity to share their thoughts, we send surveys to get their feedback on a wider range of topics.
• Then we look outward a little bit, where we collect feedback from stakeholders throughout the strategic planning process. This helps us to ensure that our plans are aligned with the needs of our team and that we are making progress towards our goals."

"We have so many amazing stories! But in one particular case a team member whose son has learning challenges attended a life coaching session and learned some strategies that they could use to help their son with their math homework. These strategies were so effective it helped to dramatically decrease the time it took their son to complete his homework."

"Moving to a fully remote work model meant that we needed a new way to deliver and expand our training. Our company's core leadership principle is to grow and develop others, so we knew that this was an important investment. We spent a lot of time and cross-team collaboration finding and implementing the right systems to create our Inspire Academy, with a focus on:

• Creating a flexible and accessible platform that would allow our employees to learn at their own pace and on their own time.
• Offering a variety of learning opportunities, from on-demand courses to live webinars and workshops.
• Creating a community where employees could connect with each other and share their knowledge.
• Maintaining our Inspire Academy and continuously improving it. We believe that lifelong learning is essential for success, and we are proud to offer our employees the resources they need to grow and develop."

"We have put a lot of thought and planning into our approach to global team development. We use three tools that are essential to enabling our team members to learn, collaborate, and grow, regardless of their location:

• A learning management system (LMS) to provide our team members with access to a wide range of training resources, including online courses, webinars, assessment and training content. These courses and resources are available to our staff members 24/7, so they will never miss out on an upskilling opportunity, no matter where they find themselves in the world.
• An online team management and virtual meeting system to facilitate communication and collaboration between our team members, regardless of their location.
• Various data management tools to track the progress of our team members and identify areas where they need additional development."

"I have over 15 years of experience in the education industry, with a focus on online learning. I started my career as a teacher in private schools, international schools, and bilingual schools. I then moved into management, where I oversaw curriculum development, accreditation management, and teacher training.

When I joined The Really Great Teacher Company, I began my career in online learning. I started by teaching online courses myself, in order to gain a deep understanding of the format. Once I had a solid understanding of online learning, I moved into operational roles, setting up and managing teaching teams.

I am now focused on learning and development, where I help teachers and administrators improve their skills and knowledge."

"I love the challenge of finding new ways to use the format to tell stories, to educate, to entertain, and to inspire. I believe that the online learning format has the potential to change the world. It can be used to educate people, to connect people, and to empower people. I am excited to be a part of the team that is helping to shape the future of this medium!

I love the sense of possibility that comes with being at the forefront of a new medium, and the opportunity to work with talented people who are passionate about creating something new."

"Teaching is a noble profession that has the potential to impact so many lives. My advice to aspiring online teachers is to never stop learning. The world is constantly changing, and so must the way we teach. Be open to new ideas and methods, and always be willing to put in the extra work to improve your craft.

As a teacher, you have the power to change the way people see themselves, inspire them to greatness, and through them, inspire others. You are a vehicle of betterment."

"In my VERY biased opinion! Honestly, the training and development we offer.
The resources and support available to our teams to improve themselves and their skills is unparalleled. Being surrounded by a community of passionate, lifelong learners is something truly special and will propel you forward."