Past Spark Sessions
Our goal? Offer you immediate ways to increase student engagement. Each one leaves you with tools you can use tomorrow—and impact that lasts all year.
This isn’t theory—it’s practical, immediately usable, and rooted in what real teachers experience every day. Because at Roots ConnectED, we believe small shifts in practice lead to big, lasting change for students and school communities.
Watch them below, register for our next available Spark Session, and sign up for our newsletter if you want access to more resources and webinars!
30-minute complimentary webinars designed to spark ideas, shifts, and changes in practice and mindset.
Watch Past Spark Sessions
Words Matter
If you do anything for 30 minutes this week, let it be this. The language we use every day—on the rug, in the hallway, during lessons—shapes how students see themselves and each other. In this session, we’ll explore how small, intentional shifts in language can transform classroom culture, strengthen relationships, and create deeper belonging. This one simple change has the power to transform practice.
Today’s students are facing a crisis of connection. Research shows that nearly 1 in 3 students report feeling persistently sad or hopeless, and teachers are navigating rising mental health concerns while balancing overwhelming demands. In this 30-minute session, we’ll explore one simple yet transformative lever: the questions we ask. Because when we shift from surface-level prompts to inclusive, reflective questions, we spark engagement, and create moments of meaning, belonging, and visibility.
Questions for Inclusion
When students are invited to reflect—not just on content, but on themselves and their experiences—they begin to feel more seen, valued, and connected. This 30-minute Spark Session explores how embedding reflection into everyday practice can strengthen classroom relationships, affirm identity, and build a culture of belonging. Small moments of pause can transform how students relate to themselves and each other.
Reflection as a Practice of Belonging
Choice isn’t just a nice add-on—it’s a structural lever that increases motivation, effort, and engagement. In this 30-minute Spark Session, you’ll learn four simple, high-impact ways to build choice and independence into your daily practice—without losing structure, clarity, or instructional time. These shifts help students take more responsibility for their learning, expand their problem-solving, and participate more confidently.
Four Ways to Increase Choice and Independence
Centering Joy in the Classroom
In many classrooms, joy becomes an afterthought. Yet research is clear: joy acts as an academic accelerator, not a distraction. Positive emotions expand students’ cognitive capacity, increase motivation, and strengthen their willingness to participate and take risks. In this Spark Session, we’ll explore simple, replicable strategies that intentionally build moments of joy into everyday interaction— from the way students enter the room to how they collaborate, reflect, and celebrate progress.
Register for an upcoming Spark Session
Assessment and Feedback that Builds Belonging
March 23rd, 2026 4:30pm - 5:00pm EST
Assessment and feedback are often treated as the “end” of learning—a way to correct, grade, or measure. But the structures we use to assess and respond to student work can either narrow a student’s sense of identity, or expand it. Watch this spark session to learn some easy-to-implement structures that reframe assessment as a tool for empowerment: feedback protocols that center student voice, routines that support self-assessment, and small design shifts that make expectations clearer and more accessible.
On-Demand Workshops
Register below for an on demand workshop of your choosing. This is a great opportunity to take advantage of being able to access our courses at your own pace, online and anytime.
This is a 3-part asynchronous course that can be taken at your own pace and viewed at any time. A one (1) time registration includes unlimited access to this course and its resources.
This is a 1-part asynchronous course that can be taken at your own pace and viewed at any time. A one (1) time registration includes unlimited access to this course and its resources.