On July 20th and 21st, 2024, we’re going to be putting on our first ever in-person “Teacher Turboboost” in Cincinnati, Ohio. I’m so excited to bring a group of wonderful teachers together in real life to learn, collaborate and make connections!
We’ve put a lot of thought into the flow of this event. If you can make it, I guarantee you’ll come away feeling reinvigorated about teaching – and overwhelmed by how wonderful our teaching community is. ❤️
Note: If you’re in a hurry and you’re already saying I’m IN!, visit teacherturboboost.com to see the schedule at-a-glance, review the FAQs and grab your ticket. Then come back later to read about the awesomeness you can expect from each session!
Teacher Turboboost Day 1: Saturday, July 20th, 2024
Check In (8:45 – 9:15 am)
When you arrive at the beautiful venue, we’ll check you in and give you your name badge and goody bag. (Yes, there will be goody bags…need I say more?! 🛍️) Then you can grab a beverage and settle in.
Looking Back From the Year 2100 (9:15 – 10 am)
If you could hop in a time machine and sit in on a piano lesson in the year 2100, what would you hope to find? New technology? Updated pedagogy?
Something needs to change right now if we’re going to keep our industry alive into the 22nd century. In this session, we’ll dream big together and look at how we can take action right now to keep music teaching thriving well after we’re gone.
Movement Moment with Gigi Sliger (10 – 10:05 am)
One of our team members, Gigi, is actually a yoga instructor as well as a piano teacher. She’ll be leading these movement breaks to prevent us getting stiff.
Powerbooster Accelerator (10:05 – 10:45 am)
This is an active session where we’ll experience a year in the life of a new piano student, actually doing some of the creative activities and games that they would experience over the first 9 months. This accelerated version of the “Piano Powerbooster One” curriculum will give you new ideas and insight into the experience of a new student.
Coffee Break (10:45 – 11:15 am)
Coffee, tea and soft drinks will be provided for our breaks. Take some time to mingle and discuss the morning’s sessions with other teachers. You’re welcome to enjoy your break on the outside terrace in the sunshine. 😎
Practice Pie (11:15 am – 12 pm)
We all know how vital parents can be to our students’ success. But how can we communicate that to parents without sounding preachy? Let’s do some metaphorical baking and find out.
Movement Moment with Gigi Sliger (12 – 12:05 pm)
Another quick break to stretch and move!
The Easy Button (12:05 – 12:45 pm)
What if learning music felt easy for your students? What if we could motivate our non-practicers simply by taking a different approach to their lessons? We’ll explore that, and more, in this active session.
Lunch (12:45 – 1:45 pm)
We have a catered lunch available so you can stay and chat with the other attendees. These moments are often when you can pick up golden nuggets of wisdom from other teachers!
The Secret Lives of Quiet Students: Strategies for Teaching the Timid (1:45 – 2:45 pm)
I’m so excited to have special guest Christina Whitlock for this fantastic session! Our least-talkative students can be vexing, to say the least. Come learn how to optimize these often-awkward circumstances and discover why – despite all outward appearances – their silence has nothing to do with you.
Carefully Crafted Communication in Action with Nicole Douglas (2:45 – 2:50 pm)
Another one of our team members, Nicole, is going to introduce us to a communications game and thinking exercise that we’ll play over the coffee break.
Coffee Break (2:50 – 3:15 pm)
Grab another coffee, tea, soda or water and spend a few minutes playing Nicole’s communication game and chatting about the sessions.
Uncommon Sense for Music Teachers (3:15 – 4 pm)
Certain assumptions can make donkeys out of you, me and many others around us. From pedalling to practice to concerts, let’s unpack those things (1) you never thought to say, and (2) others never thought to ask.
Craft and Chatter (4 – 5 pm)
If you’re all “extroverted out”, you’re welcome to head off at this point. But if you want to stick around and gab some more, we’ll have a fun craft project you can do while you natter.
Cocktail Hour (5 – 6 pm)
The venue for this is TBD (I’ll decide once I’m in Cincinnati and can scope it out!), but we’ll be gathering for a cocktail hour in a local bar before dinner. No pressure to drink anything, of course! This is just a chance to meet as a group before we split up into small cohorts for dinner.
Dinner OYO (6:30 pm)
We’ll be making several bookings at local restaurants for groups for dinner, so just let us know if you’d like to join teacher-friends for this meal. No need to awkwardly invite yourself along or feel like an odd-one-out!
Curious why we chose Cincinnati as the venue? Nicola reveals the answer to that mystery and more in the video below.
Visit teacherturboboost.com to grab your ticket now, and we’ll see you at Teacher Turboboost 2024!
Teacher Turboboost Day 2: Sunday, July 21st, 2024
On day 2, we have more fantastic sessions as well as brainstorming sessions. The ice will be well and truly broken after day 1, so you can make the most of the teacher hive-mind!
Neurodivergent Teaching Toolkit (9 – 10 am)
All studios should be open to neurodivergent students so that they can experience the joy of music making, too. I’ll give you the knowledge and the tools to feel confident accepting all types of learners.
Movement Moment with Gigi Sliger (10 – 10:05 am)
A quick movement interlude so we can refocus for the next session.
Powerbooster Accelerator (10:05 – 10:45 am)
Picking up where we left off on day 1, we’ll be continuing our exploration of creative activities and games. This time, we’ll be flying through the 2nd and 3rd year of lessons so that we get a good sense of our students’ foundational years of study.
Coffee Break (10:45 – 11:15 am)
Coffee, tea and soft drinks are provided for our breaks. Take some time to mingle and discuss the morning’s sessions with other teachers.
You’re welcome to take your break on the outside terrace in the sunshine!
Curriculum Checkpoints (11:15 am – 12 pm)
A lot of teachers want to have their own curriculum or framework for their studios, but they’re not sure where to start. We’ll look at how to go about creating your checkpoints and spend some time brainstorming in small groups.
Movement Moment with Gigi Sliger (12 – 12:05 pm)
Another quick break to stretch and move!
Keeping Teens in Lessons (12:05 – 12:45 pm)
In most studios, there’s a major student dropoff point around age 13 or so. Many blame this on the move from elementary to middle school, but is that really the cause?
I believe there are three underlying culprits that cause teens to quit: brain pruning, overwhelm and the social shift. In this session, we’ll look at how best to deal with these issues in our studios.
Lunch (12:45 – 1:45 pm)
We have a catered lunch available so you can stay and chat with the other attendees. These moments are often when you can pick up golden nuggets of wisdom from other teachers!
Evolutionary Entrepreneurialism: Grow Your Studio One “Yes” at a Time (1:45 – 2:45 pm)
We’re delighted to have special guest Amy Chaplin for this amazing session! Cultivate a business mindset that will grow a thriving and sustainable studio. Learn how to tap into your community, diversify by saying “yes” to the unexpected and foster effective cultural change with current clients.
Coffee Break (2:45 – 3:15 pm)
Grab another coffee, tea, soda or water and spend a few minutes playing Nicole’s communication game and chatting about the sessions.
Policy Problem Solver (3:15 – 4 pm)
I’ll give a brief list of policy recommendations at the start of this workshop. You’ll then be invited to move to a table on the theme of the policy issue that’s bothering you the most, so you can troubleshoot that in detail together.
Circle of Fifths Odyssey (4 – 4:15 pm)
It wouldn’t be a Vibrant Music event if we didn’t improvise together! This will be a fun group improv around the circle of fifths with a rotating format so everyone gets a chance to play.
Céilí (4:15 – 5 pm)
If you have to head off right away, I will understand! If you can stick around, though, you’ll get to experience one of my favourite things: an Irish dance party!
I’ll teach you a couple of Irish folk dances (they’re simple and fun, I promise) and we’ll dance a few rounds before we rap up.
Will I see you there?
I’m so excited to meet you at our Teacher Turboboost 2024 in Cincinnati. Grab your ticket now at teacherturboboost.com.