The Ready for Rigor®
Instructional Design and Planning Summer PLC Cohort
Every Student is a Powerful Learner.
Not by Chance,
but by Design.
VIRTUAL Cohort Begins June 23
Design Learning That Builds Real Student Capacity
The Ready for Rigor® Instructional Design and Planning Summer PLC Cohort is a six-week, interactive experience for educators ready to go beyond creating units and lessons that simply cover the mandated content and move toward designing opportunities for students to develop the craftsmanship of learning. We will use key principles from the science of learning to plan instruction that leads to more equitable outcomes.
Together, we’ll ground our lesson design and planning process in the Ready for Rigor® framework from the bestselling Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain and bring to life many of the protocols, tools, and practices in Rebuilding Students’ Learning Power.
We’ll help you learn how to leverage the deep architecture of learning as you stay grounded in the realities of your district’s current initiatives and school improvement plans.
A Summer Experience Built for Doing, Not Just Learning
This experience begins in June with a two-day, hands-on virtual ‘make-and-take’ design party that sets you up for thoughtful summer planning. We will embody the professional learning community ethos of “learn by doing.”
Throughout July and August, you will have access to a private community where you can continue to collaborate with others, access resources, and get ongoing support directly from Zaretta Hammond.
What You'll Learn
Lesson design principles that build students’ information processing capacity.
The key components of how learning happens that will inform every unit you create in the future.
How to use cultural learning tools to make students’ productive struggle more effective.
Core strategies for helping students manage the emotions that come with cognition as they are stretched into their zone of proximal development.
How to craft a lesson that doesn’t rely on over-scaffolding to move students through it.
How You’ll Spend Your Time
June 23 (5pm-6pm CDT)
- Optional virtual drop-in ‘meet and greet’ social hour.
June 24-25 (9:30am-3:30pm CDT)
- Virtual Design Lab. During these two days, we will play with the building blocks of learner-centered lesson design.
- You’ll learn how to integrate into the lessons and units you design the principles, practices, and tools presented in Rebuilding Students Learning Power.
- You’ll have access to templates, planning guides, and tips not shared in the books for later summer planning.
July
- Independent planning.
- Co-working and collaborating in our private community.
- Drop-In Office Hours July 9th and 23rd with Z. Hammond with opportunities to get feedback on your unit or lesson plans.
August
- 90 minute follow up session on Thursday, August 6, 2026.
- We will share our new designs and celebrate our new insights.
Designed for Real Instructional Impact
Design to Improve Students’ Information Processing
Build skill in using productive struggle to increase conceptual understanding
Opportunities to Get Coached
Bring your dilemmas and challenges.
Get Better Together in Community
We keep conversations going between meetings in our private PLC community.
Is This Cohort the Right Fit for You...
Who Is This For?
- Individual teachers or co-teachers in core subject areas at the elementary, middle, and high school levels.
- Grade level teams
- Curriculum teams
- Instructional coaches working with a teacher team
Who Is This NOT For?
- Specialty teachers, i.e., music, P.E., etc.
- Solo instructional coaches. It isn’t a “train-the-trainer” model.
- Teachers looking for ‘plug and play’ culturally responsive engagement activities.
Prerequisites:
- Familiarity with the Ready for Rigor® Framework from Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain
- Familiarity with Rebuilding Students’ Learning Power, Chapters 5-8
Register for The Ready for Rigor® Instructional Design and Planning Summer PLC Cohort
June 24 – August 6, 2026
$850.00 per person
Registration Closes June 19, 2026
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