By:
Chris Ouellette, M.Ed., NEALS’ Vice President,
including a reflection on Prepositional Listening by
Kerrie Husband McGregor, M.Ed., Reading Specialist, Newton North High School,
NEALS’ Board member
What does it look like when educators truly go and get their learning?
Earlier this winter, five members of the NEALS Board committed to doing just that by participating in the Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning’s (CTTL) Winter Webinar Series. This series, focused on Belonging and the Brain: Why the Human Teacher Matters, was held over three evenings in January and February. While we were proud to see NEALS finish at the top of the interaction leaderboard (a fun and slightly competitive point of pride!), what mattered far more was the richness of the learning experience and the practical ideas we brought back with us.
Last month, I reflected on the importance of being proactive in our own professional growth. This experience served as a powerful reminder that when educators intentionally step back into the role of learner, it not only strengthens our own practice but also benefits the communities we serve. As we prepare to welcome CTTL Director Glenn Whitman as our keynote speaker at the NEALS’ Annual Conference on April 24 at New Hampton School, it feels like the perfect time to reflect on what we gained from this experience and why we are so excited to share this learning with our NEALS community.
Day one of the series focused on the idea that dignity sits at the foundation of belonging. To help bring this concept to life, CTTL welcomed John Krownapple, co-author (with Floyd Cobb) of Belonging Through a Culture of Dignity. His work centers on a simple but powerful truth: effective teaching begins with respect, empathy, and the belief that every student deserves to feel seen, valued, and understood. His message encouraged us to move beyond simply managing behavior and instead focus on creating dignity-centered classrooms where growth, belonging, and human connection can take root.
As I reflected on this learning, it struck me how naturally this aligns with the work so many learning specialists do every day. When we start with dignity and student wellbeing, it shifts not just what we do, but how we do it. It brought me back to Bill Preble’s powerful reminder about school culture: “students can’t learn when their pants are on fire.” When students are overwhelmed, disconnected, or unsure if they belong, learning is simply harder to access.
Day two was another solid day as we had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Mesmin Destin, whose research and his TED Talk How Our Interactions with People Can Shape Their Futures highlight the powerful role that everyday interactions, messages, and environments play in shaping students’ motivation, identity, and long-term outcomes. His work demonstrates that when educators intentionally communicate possibility, through encouragement, information about opportunities, and identity-affirming messages, students become more likely to see achievable futures for themselves and to take the academic steps necessary to reach them. Destin’s concept of future identity emphasizes that how students see their potential selves directly influences their engagement, persistence, and decision-making.
When viewed alongside CTTL’s Enhanced Simple Model of Learning (2026), Destin’s work reinforces the idea that learning is not just a cognitive process but a human one shaped by belonging, emotional safety, and lived experience. His research on the importance of identity-affirming interactions aligns closely with CTTL’s emphasis on belonging as a core condition for learning, suggesting that when educators intentionally create environments where students feel seen, valued, and capable, they are not just supporting wellbeing, they are directly strengthening attention, motivation, and academic engagement. Together, these frameworks suggest that the daily interactions educators have with students are not peripheral to learning; they are central to it. By combining research on future identity with the science of learning, both Destin and CTTL point to a shared conclusion: when educators intentionally foster dignity, belonging, and possibility through their interactions, they help expand not only what students learn, but who students believe they can become.
Day three introduced us to Dr. Nicole Furlonge and prepositional listening. Please enjoy this reflection from Kerrie Husband-McGregor.
***As a seasoned professional, how I spend my time is one of my most important investments. I am drawn to opportunities that genuinely improve my ability to reach students and maximize their learning. Often, professional development offers a useful takeaway or two; but, when my curiosity is sparked and I find myself “listening with my heart,” that is when new growth happens.
Serving as a board member for the New England Association of Learning Specialists (NEALS) has been a meaningful addition to my professional life. It intentionally builds time each month to connect with and learn alongside like-minded colleagues. Together, we challenge ourselves to think creatively and push beyond traditional approaches. Our decision to attend an online webinar as a group was one such effort, providing an opportunity to explore something new while previewing the work of The Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning (CTTL) and connecting with Glenn Whitman, who will be presenting at our annual April conference.
Attending CTTL’s Winter Webinar series proved to be a truly impactful experience. One session, in particular, has stayed with me: Dr. Nicole Brittingham Furlonge’s Belonging and the Brain: Why the Human Teacher Matters.
Dr. Furlonge challenged us to reconsider what it truly means to listen, not just to the words students say, but to what exists beneath them. She introduced the concept of prepositional listening, a powerful and intentional practice that goes beyond surface-level understanding. This idea, which she explores more deeply in her book Race Sounds: The Art of Listening in African American Literature, opened both my heart and mind. It highlighted an area of growth that, notably, was not explicitly developed in my own formal training, yet feels essential for educators and administrators alike.
As educators, we often focus on content delivery and measurable outcomes. Dr. Furlonge gently reframed that focus, reminding us that learning is deeply connected to emotional experience. When we listen closely, attending to tone, pauses, and subtle cues, we create space where students feel genuinely seen and heard. And when students feel heard, they feel safe. When they feel safe, learning becomes not only possible, but lasting.
This session affirmed something I have long believed but had not fully articulated: it is often not just what students learn, but how they feel while learning that determines the depth and longevity of that learning. Feeling understood, valued, and connected is foundational, not only for students, but for educators as well.
I am fortunate to experience this sense of belonging in my own professional environment, where I continue to grow and feel supported. It is my hope that this sense of connection continues to deepen in the years ahead.
Dr. Furlonge’s work is a reminder that teaching, and leading, is not only a science and privilege, but an art rooted in human connection. I am grateful for the opportunity to learn from her and inspired to practice a deeper level of listening, prepositional listening, into my daily practice. ***
Not only did we have the opportunity to build community while learning alongside some truly thoughtful and innovative minds in education, we were also introduced to the CTTL’s Enhanced Model of Simple Learning(2026). Building on Dan Willingham’s Simple Model of Learning from Why Students Don’t Like School?, this updated model reinforced something many of us see every day in our work with students: emotion and cognition are not separate, they are deeply interconnected.
As learning specialists, we often find ourselves advocating for the idea that if a student does not feel a sense of belonging, safety, or understanding, learning becomes that much harder to access. What this work provided was the research language to support what many of us already know through practice. As Whitman and Kelleher (2026) note, “emotion directly affects attention, memory recall and storage, decision-making, and executive functions.” Simply put, how students feel matters just as much as what we ask them to learn.
What particularly resonated with me was how CTTL surrounded the traditional Simple Model of Learning with three interconnected conditions: a student’s sense of belonging, their emotional and physical safety, and their lived experiences. It felt like a powerful affirmation of the work NEALS’ members do every day by seeing the whole learner, not just the academic profile, and recognizing that our role often sits at the intersection of support, advocacy, and high expectations.
My biggest takeaway from this learning experience was a reminder that while strategies and structures matter, relationships and environments matter just as much. When we intentionally create spaces where students feel known, safe, and valued, we are not stepping away from rigor, we are making rigor more accessible.
Taken together, these three days of learning reinforced a powerful and timely reminder: the human elements of teaching (dignity, belonging, environment, and truly listening to students), are not extras to the work of learning; they are the conditions that make learning possible. This experience affirmed that the work NEALS’ members do every day lives at this intersection of research and practice, where relationships, advocacy, and high expectations come together to support the whole learner. As we look ahead to welcoming Glenn Whitman and continuing this learning together at our Annual Conference, we are excited not only to deepen our understanding of the science of learning, but also to continue strengthening the professional community that makes this work both sustainable and impactful.
Cheers,
Chris and Kerrie
