At times, professional development can lack the clearest understanding of what you are trying to communicate. Teachers often get lost in the language you are using, or do not follow the direction you are trying to drive a conversation. These moments can be very frustrating, and often lead to the content not being learned to the deepest level. There are some easy language leads that you can use the next time you are with teachers that will help you guide the conversation. This visual explains what each of them are, and how easy it is to use them at the next meeting you have.

Once you staff understand the terms, you simply need to ask "Does anyone have any mountain top moments they want to share?". You can also preface discussion with tagging them with the term "watering hole". By prefacing the items with these terms, your teachers know what to expect going into the item. They can prepare themselves, and engage faster, and deeper than they did if you did not use them.

These tactics also lend themselves into teaching students. I used them in my classroom with Kindergarten students and they were able to be very successful at guiding their conversations, and the conversations with adults. I hope you find this page helpful, and something that you can use in any classroom.