Minding the Gap

Learning Coaches: An Option For Re-Imagined Learning

PDF Download of this post A positive aspect of the COVID-19 pandemic was the opportunity to restructure the teacher-student relationship. It provided opportunities for teachers, parents, mentors and community members to re-orient themselves as Learning Coaches. A Learning Coach is someone who sees and says things to help a student win at his or her learning. The context is a small yet fundamental shift away from teaching. Instead of content instruction, the focus is on relationship-centric practices that foster agency, growth and learning habits. Even though we are back to in-person instruction, utilizing the perspective and approach of a Learning Coach can radically shift the relationship between Teacher and Student. To do this well, we work

By Brady Rhodes|2024-01-07T07:29:35-07:00June 4th, 2020|Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable, Listening, Minding the Gap, Participation, Relationship, Uncategorized|0 Comments

Best Virtual Meeting Strategies #2

**In this new normal of remote work, how can you help connection thrive and maintain team performance? We are sharing effective strategies to boost engagement taken from our online Minding the Gap Master Class that are just as helpful in this new virtual world, where the "Gap" can be very evident. One of the ideas from last week - "Begin Before It Begins" - received this comment from an educator in Nebraska: "I have been scheduling weekly Zoom calls which have been good but I have been disappointed with the low numbers of students participating. Then I realized I was only sending out one short post on the Remind App. I decided after reading the post to

By Brady Rhodes|2020-04-20T06:37:01-06:00April 17th, 2020|BoldLeader Principles, Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable, Leadership, Listening, Minding the Gap, Participation, Possibility, Relationship, Uncategorized, Vulnerability|0 Comments

Best Virtual Meeting Strategies #1

Learn More About Our Online, On-Demand Course! **In this new normal of remote work, how can you help connection thrive and maintain team performance? Over the next two weeks we will share effective strategies to boost engagement taken from our Minding the Gap Master Class that are just as helpful in this new virtual world, where the "Gap" can be very evident. Companies and teams are several weeks in now to this new reality of virtual meetings. If you were not used to them before or find yourself going a bit crazy after five hours of staring at Brady Bunch-like views of your colleagues, the three ideas below may help. 1. Begins Before it Begins Remember

By Brady Rhodes|2021-01-12T12:47:08-07:00April 12th, 2020|Leadership, Minding the Gap, Participation, Relationship, Uncategorized|2 Comments

Reflection Prompts For Leading Groups

Introduction Reflection Prompts for Leading is one of several tools and processes you can be trained in through the Minding the Gap Master Class - an online, on-demand course from BoldLeaders that uses the Framework for Availability to help leaders, teachers, facilitators and coaches create Relational Environments with groups that naturally build learning, participation and collaboration. We offer the prompts below as a free introduction to the course. They are an example of similar tools we give that take advantage of the growing knowledge of neuroscience and the way human beings interact with the world. All the tools in the class are designed to cause availability. Any leader who can help people be more

By Brady Rhodes|2024-01-08T15:19:40-07:00December 20th, 2019|Leadership, Minding the Gap, Participation|0 Comments

Adrian Cabral – Shifting Perspectives

My name is Adrian, a participant of the BoldLeaders program. I went to South Africa with BoldLeaders in 2013 and it was an experience that an email, or even a in person meeting could not do justice. The South Africa team was actually supposed to go to Kenya. I was a part of a group that was going to be in a rural part of Kenya, where I thought I was going to get the "real Africa experience." After a U.S mandated halt on all travel to the country, our trip to Kenya was cancelled. This was specifically important to me because after a training from Michael about our expectations v. outcomes, I realized that it was

By Adrian Cabral|2017-01-20T22:07:01-07:00January 20th, 2017|Basic Human Resources, Minding the Gap, Relationship, Uncategorized, Vulnerability|1 Comment

Our Great Endeavor and the Fragile Moments

This references a parable in Luke 18:9-14... Recently I have really appreciated being a city kid and moving to the country because I have be able to learn more about farming and food. I think it has really helped me appreciate and understand more about what farmers have to deal with. One thing I have come to appreciate is how much of a great endeavor it is. There is this incredible lead up to harvest which is hard to under-appreciate: all kinds of effort, expense, thought, energy and time - all put in for one result. And so it is clear to see why harvest has such an association with thanksgiving and gratitude. There is so much

By Brady Rhodes|2016-12-19T17:56:46-07:00November 30th, 2016|Minding the Gap, Relationship, Vulnerability|0 Comments

Dana Mulligan – Discovering the World Within

My exchange history includes a single month in Uganda with BoldLeaders in 2013 and six months in Senegal with YES Abroad in 2015-2016. While I learned a great deal from both programs, I feel I grew far more during my month in Uganda than I did my six months in Senegal due to the BoldLeaders training, intention, and support I received before and during my time in Uganda. Traveling abroad is always a valuable experience, but there are great depths that may never be discovered if you are not actively searching for them. Being overseas can easily be a purely superficial experience. A new country has many fascinating sights, sounds, smells, and so on,

By Dana Mulligan|2017-01-25T18:57:11-07:00March 22nd, 2016|Alumni, BoldLeader Principles, Minding the Gap, Relationship, What I Learned|0 Comments

Caroline Meserve – Mind the Gap

London was great because every time I boarded the Tube I was reminded to "mind the gap" - (The motto of BoldLeaders). I minded the gap within the relationships I made there but most importantly I minded that gap between myself and my surroundings. I got to experience so much last year and it would have been a shame if I had not been truly present for it. I intentionally made choices that made me uncomfortable and more aware of these gaps. I know from my BoldLeaders training that there is so much to gain from doing what makes me uncomfortable, which is what led me to choose a year long study abroad program where I

By Caroline Meserve|2016-11-30T17:45:16-07:00March 16th, 2016|Alumni, Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable, Limiting Beliefs, Minding the Gap, Travel|0 Comments

Natalie Walter – Expectations, Upset and Possibility

I traveled to Kenya in 2011 with Bold Leaders when I was 17, and I traveled to Nepal two years later. I called my BoldLeaders coach Michael a little bit before I left; I was nervous to be gone for two and a half months, with much of that time spent with no internet or phone service, no lights or plumbing. Over the phone, Michael guided me to take out a piece of paper and begin to draw. There were two paths in this drawing, starting on the left side of the paper. One started at the word “possibility,” and one started at the word “expectation.” Both paths went through an upset in the center of

By Natalie Walter|2016-11-30T19:46:54-07:00March 16th, 2016|Alumni, Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable, Minding the Gap, Possibility, Travel|0 Comments

Understanding Alignment

Brady Rhodes Co-Director, BoldLeaders Understanding Alignment For the last 15 years I have been able to chew on, think through, play with and take apart some concepts and conversations that I find really valuable. The best part has been that I have done this in tandem with thousands of people from around the world, diverse in every way you can imagine. One such concept has been the difference between Agreement and Alignment. Think through this with me: it is easy to Agree or Disagree with something. We simply do it and our position is NOT dependent or tied to another person’s position. It is happening all over the world today: silos getting built,

By Brady Rhodes|2021-01-10T14:39:31-07:00February 10th, 2016|Listening, Minding the Gap, Possibility|0 Comments