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Professional
Learning Community
With Hearts at the Center: Cultivating Love through Writing
Drawing from his forthcoming book, Heart at the Center: An Educator’s Guide to Sustaining Love, Hope, and Community through Nonviolence Pedagogy, Mike Tinoco will invite participants of this workshop to explore how narrative, poetry, and empathic writing can help students cultivate love—for themselves and each other. By treating students’ lives as primary texts and affirming their humanity, we disrupt forces such as violence, disconnection, and domination, which inhibit love. Participants will be invited to practice some of the writing that Mike’s students do, in addition to lesson planning and sharing ideas together. When we lean into vulnerability in community, honoring one another’s humanity, we embody and emanate love, one word at a time.
2023 PLC with Mike Tinoco

Artwork by Jazmine Mae Basa
Making Non-Traditional Grading Work by Putting Students Out Front
with SARAH ZERWIN
We’re looking toward a new school year, and whether you’ve already moved away from traditional grading or are curious about it, this session will invite you to reflect on some key components of using non-traditional, student-led grading to support the growth of readers and writers in the secondary classroom. The session will include some short pauses to reflect on your own practice and to engage in brief conversation with other participants. We’ll explore the following:
Distinguishing between traditional grading practices that center teachers and differentiated grading practices that put students out front as the most important users of classroom assessment data.
Emphasizing learning over grading.
Putting rubrics in students’ hands to use in formative rather than summative ways, as powerful tools to grow writers.
Making classrooms safe places for the risk taking that writers and readers must do to grow.
WHEN
Tuesday, August 9th @ 10:00am - 11:30am
COST
$35
About the
Instructor

Mike Tinoco
Mike Tinoco is a high school educator and nonviolence teacher from San José. His work draws primarily from Kingian Nonviolence, Nonviolent Communication, and aikidō with the aim of strengthening interconnectedness, healing together, and fighting for collective liberation. He is committed to working alongside his students, educators, and everyday people in creating a world that demands justice, centers love, and holds room for everyone to be part of the Beloved Community. His debut book, Heart at the Center: An Educator’s Guide to Sustaining Love, Hope, and Community through Nonviolence Pedagogy, is set to be released in the spring of 2024.
Fall 2023
PLC
WHO
K-12 Teachers
WHEN
Fall 2023: 10/26, 11/9, 11/16, and 11/30
Times: 4-5:30PM (plus 30min independent study)
WHERE
Zoom (Online)
COST
$150 per unit (up to 3 units).
WHAT
Fall 2023 PLC with Mike Tinoco
Powerful, Practical Professional Development for Writing Teachers K-12
Join our teacher-led Professional Learning Community (PLC) to extend your growth, self-reflection, and earn graduate college credit. Fall 2023 will be hosted by Mike Tinoco.
We invite all teachers from across the globe to participate in our Professional Learning Communities. As such, we will be holding our fall 2023 PLC series online. All educators have an option of enrolling for up to 3 units from San Jose State University for an additional $150 per unit (in-state or out-of-state), which will require additional written work on the application of ideas in the classroom.