What Educator PD Looks Like When We Practice What We Preach
A couple weeks ago, a long-time member of the Anti-Boring Learning Lab forwarded me a post from Professor of Education Peps McCrea with the note, “Look! Are you beaming? You figured this out a long time ago!”
Sure enough, Peps’ newest post outlined four research-informed principles for helping professional learning actually change educator behavior. And Peps knows a thing or two about teacher education — he’s the Director of Step Lab, a phenomenal organization focused on evidence-informed PD.
The post read like a perfect description of how our Anti-Boring Learning Lab courses and community already work. Huzzah! 🎉
With a new three-month cohort about to begin — designed for busy educators who want to strengthen their learning-about-learning toolbox before spring — it feels like the perfect moment to pause and celebrate what’s working. Let’s look at our approach through the lens of PD research.
Let’s unpack Peps McCrea’s four principles, and how the Anti-Boring Learning Lab brings them to life every day.
1. Make It Easy (Without Dumbing It Down)
What Peps says:
“Focus on a small suite of simple routines, to reduce the (already vast) complexity of teaching.
“Agree to use the same shared habits, so students adopt routines more quickly and strongly.”
— Peps McCrea, Evidence Snacks newsletter, October 2025
How we do it:
Inside the Lab, we’ve taken this principle to heart. Each Toolkit module distills big, complex bodies of research into student-tested frameworks that feel doable right away.
Our micro-credentials — like The Science of Studying and Learning Styles Are Dead—Here’s What to Do Instead — turn cognitive science into simple, 15-minute teaching routines educators can weave into lessons whenever the moment calls for it.
If a class is gearing up for its first test, the teacher might introduce the Study Cycle to show how encoding and retrieval work together. In a one-on-one session, if a student groans that studying is “deathly boring,” the coach can teach the Study Senses mini-lecture — our evidence-based alternative to learning styles — to help them make studying more varied and engaging.
Each concept is visually anchored — through simple hand-drawn graphics, memorable metaphors, and recordings of real students learning — so it sticks in both teacher and student memory. The goal isn’t just understanding; it’s helping educators and students move toward independent, effective action, applying the science of learning in real time in class and at home.
In our training modules for teachers, each section builds on the one before it. We layer the science and strategies so that learning feels genuinely easy — not because it’s watered down, but because it’s coherent. Teachers don’t have to juggle dozens of disconnected ideas; they simply keep deepening familiar ones.
As one educator reflected at the end of the Powerful Note-Taking module:
“I’m continuously amazed at how each module builds off the last so seamlessly — the note-taking tools connect to the Study Cycle, Study Senses, and Study Skills in a way that feels very motivating for kids to try.”
As you can see here, we’re not dumbing anything down — we’re teaching the least students (and educators!) need to know to get into effective action, and then layering on complexity and nuance as they’re ready for the next step.
This way, teachers (and students!) can to apply what they learn right away, without cognitive overload.
And apparently, according to what Peps McCrea said in his blog, it’s a process that mirrors what evidence says about powerful PD, too. Yay!
2. Make It Attractive
What Peps says:
“Secure quick wins and help teachers experience fluency within PD… mastery is motivating.”
“Detach PD from appraisal, to create a safe space for trying, failing, and improving.”
— Peps McCrea, Evidence Snacks newsletter, October 2025
In the Anti-Boring Learning Lab, we know that motivation follows momentum. That’s why every Toolkit module is designed for immediate practice and visible success — which is attractive indeed. We achieve that in a few ways:
Hone It Notes. At the end of each module, participants create and post one-page visual summaries of what they’ve learned. Many are intimidated at first, but quickly realize how much confidence it builds. Condensing their learning helps them see their own progress and experience the same sense of accomplishment they want for their students.
Mini-Lectures. Each module invites educators to immediately teach one of our Anti-Boring Mini-Lectures — simple, 15-minute lessons they can weave into a class or coaching session. Then they share reflections in our community space. Quick wins, baked right in.
The Practice Lab. The Lab is a judgment-free zone. There’s no evaluation here — just what we call the “do / notice loop”: do, reflect, do again. In our live Retrieval Practice Labs, educators role-play teaching Anti-Boring tools to peers — without notes! It’s often more nerve-wracking than teaching students, and many admit they’re terrified at first. But by the end of the hour, they’re laughing, connecting, and realizing three powerful truths:
1️⃣ how retrieval deepens learning,
2️⃣ how empathizing with student “test stress” changes how we teach, and
3️⃣ how freeing (and productive) it is to get messy in public.
As one participant reflected after his first practice lab:
“I’m appreciating the economy of the format and just how fun and active it is to draw and explain concepts. I stumbled over a few things, but it’s a testament to the course material that all of it came pretty naturally.… Gretchen’s reflections after my teaching have me fascinated and excited to bring greater awareness to the questions I ask.”
That fledgling academic coach admitted he was sweating by the end — but his reflection shows exactly what makes our PD powerful: he showed up, felt messy, and learned deeply.
As Peps reminds us, learning is most attractive when it’s safe, social, and full of little moments of mastery — and the Learning Lab is peppered with exactly that.
3. Make It Social
What Peps says:
“Coach, co-plan, or rehearse with colleagues, for insight, motivation, and accountability.”
“Celebrate PD through public shoutouts, to raise the status of participation.”
— Peps McCrea, Evidence Snacks newsletter, October 2025
How we do it:
This one’s easy — it’s our heartbeat.
The Learning Lab hums with connection. Educators come together to brainstorm, rehearse, and celebrate — turning professional development into a true community of practice. We offer lots of ways to plug in, because social learning looks different for every educator.
Live calls like All About Students and The Boost Call invite real-time rehearsal — educators practice open-ended questioning, model strategies, and share wins. One long-time member describes it as “warming your hands around the fire of community.”
Chat lounges and affinity groups keep that fire glowing between calls. The College Coaching Collective, for instance, hosts monthly meetups focused on supporting college students. Other small groups — from those serving younger learners to executive function specialists — spark up whenever members need focused collaboration.
You’ve already heard about the Mini-Lecture Practice Labs, where educators bravely teach new tools to peers and rediscover how energizing it is to be a learner again.
And for those who crave even more play, there are two beloved extras: the Weekly Hangout for certified coaches and Playful Practice, a lighthearted improv session that reminds us teaching and learning don’t have to be so serious.
While community is at the heart of everything we do, participation is flexible. We keep things equitable for educators in different time zones or with full workloads — so it’s entirely possible to earn your Anti-Boring Coach Credential through asynchronous engagement — and still feel connected to community.
All of this adds up to one simple truth: social learning multiplies retention in our community — and amplifies joy.
As Peps says, PD shouldn’t be a solo act; it should feel like a jam session. I like to think we fully embody this principle in the Lab.
⏰ 4. Make It Timely
What Peps says:
“Launch new PD at ‘fresh start’ moments (e.g. start of term or new year), to capture early momentum.
Link PD to current classroom challenges, so it feels relevant and useful right now.”
How we do it:
There are many ways to interpret “fresh starts” and “timeliness” in education — and the Anti-Boring Learning Lab is designed to honor all of them.
1️⃣ Seasonal Timeliness: Flowing with the School Year
The Lab is intentionally structured around the natural rhythms of an educator’s calendar — because timing shapes engagement.
For example, our upcoming Winter Cohort (Nov–Jan) lands at a perfect “fresh start” moment. For some educators, that window feels impossible (“I just need my winter break!”). But for others, it’s exactly right — a small pocket of breathing room to learn something energizing before the next semester begins.
2️⃣ Situational Timeliness: Learning When Challenges Arise
Sometimes “timely” means jumping in right when a question or issue surfaces. Because our Toolkit modules are self-paced, educators can dive in the moment a student challenge appears — not months after.
That spirit also drives our monthly “All About Students” community call. Each session is fueled by questions members submit straight from their current coaching dilemmas — the ones they’ll be discussing with students that same week.
For example, at a recent call we helped coaches troubleshoot the following timely student concerns:
Time Blindness & Planning: “I’m coaching a student with serious time blindness. We’ve started estimating and reflecting on how long tasks actually take — but what digital tools help students plan, reflect, and adjust in real time?”
Resistant but Polite: “I’m working with a student who’s perfectly polite but totally disengaged. What strategies or ‘hooks’ help move compliant students toward genuine curiosity?”
Study Skills & Retention: “My student studies for hours but nothing seems to stick. How do you help students move from rereading and highlighting to study strategies that actually build long-term memory?”
These are real-time, real-student questions — explored just in time to make a difference.
When PD aligns with the rhythms of the school year, the urgency of student needs, and the natural flow of human connection, learning becomes truly alive.
🚀 Ready to Experience It for Yourself?
Is now the right time to experience these four evidence-based PD principles for yourself — professional learning that is easy, attractive, social, and timely?
Maybe you’ve been sitting on the idea of joining us for a while? Or maybe you see how much your students are struggling with their own self-regulated learning — and want to help them turn things around before the end of the school year?
If you’re ready to feel this research come alive, join us for our Winter Cohort (Nov–Jan) of the Anti-Boring Learning Lab.
Together in community, we’ll:
Learn 41+ Anti-Boring Tools across nine micro-credentials.
Strengthen how we talk to students about their Learning (study skills), Doing (executive function), and Feeling (emotional regulation).
Build community with 250+ educators transforming their practice — and their students’ lives.