Group Rates

For information about group rates, contact Mike Anderson: [email protected].

Course curriculum

  • 1

    Introduction

  • 2

    Positive Relationships

    • Do Relationships Really Matter?

    • Research Overview

    • Relationships That Are Warm & Demanding, Supportive & Empowering

    • A System for Knowing Your Students

    • Of Pokemon and Boy Bands

    • Teacher Talk Tip: Rethink Using Terms of Endearment

    • Reflect on Relationships
  • 3

    Awesome Academics

    • Kids Should Be Unmotivated to Do Unmotivating Work

    • Six Intrinsic Motivators

    • Differentiate Learning

    • Hold Kids Accountable for Good Work

    • Teach Students the Skills They Need to Do Good Work

    • Teacher Talk Tip: Who Owns the Work?

    • Reflect on Academics
  • 4

    Respectful Discipline

    • Discipline That's Warm & Demanding, Supportive & Empowering

    • Why Do Kids Break Rules?

    • Why Carrots and Sticks Don't Work

    • Proactive Discipline Strategies

    • Natural and Logical Consequences

    • One-on-One Problem Solving Conference

    • Removing a Student From the Classroom

    • Reflect on Discipline
  • 5

    Hugging Porcupines Throughout the Year

    • Hugging Porcupines All Year

    • The First Weeks of School

    • Fall to Winter

    • Winter to Spring

    • The Last Weeks of School
  • 6

    Wrap Up and Conclusions

    • What Have You Learned? What Will You Try?

    • James Reaches Out

    • Before You Go, Help Me Improve this Course

Meet Your Instructor

Mike Anderson

Mike Anderson has been an educator for more than 25 years. A public school teacher for 15 years, he has also taught preschool, coached swim teams, and taught university graduate level classes. He now works as a consultant providing professional learning for teachers throughout the US and beyond. In 2004, Mike was awarded a national Milken Educator Award, and in 2005 he was a finalist for NH Teacher of the Year. In 2020, he was awarded the Outstanding Educational Leader Award by NHASCD for his work as a consultant. A best-selling author, Mike has written eight books about great teaching and learning. When not working, Mike can be found hanging with his family, tending his perennial gardens, and searching for new running routes around his home in Durham, NH.

Included in This Course

You’ll explore key ideas, learn practical strategies, and gain helpful resources to help you build relationships and support positive behavior with students who struggle with self-regulation and social connection.

  • Understand the importance of positive teacher-student relationships

  • Gain a more robust definition of a positive teacher-student relationship

  • Learn practical strategies for making relationships warm & demanding, supportive & empowering

  • Learn practical strategies for making academics warm & demanding, supportive & empowering

  • Learn practical strategies for making discipline warm & demanding, supportive & empowering

  • Get planning guides and practical tools to help support effective implementation

  • Gain insights into how to support kids with challenging behavior throughout the school year

  • When you finish the course, you can print a certificate showing 6 hours of professional learning.

  • You will have access to this course for a year, so you can go back in over and over again.

How Are Some Schools and Districts Using This Course?

  • District /School PD Day

    Some districts use this course (and others) for a dedicated PD day. Staff are given time to work through the course individually or in small groups. Several times during the day, staff gather in small groups to share important ideas, questions, and take-aways,

  • Paraeducator Support

    Hugging Porcupines has been a really popular course to offer to paraeducators--to support their work with students who have challenging behaviors.

  • Small Group Study

    Many schools and districts are offering this course (and others) to groups of educators who want to dig into this content together. They're structuring the work similarly as they would a book study.

  • Individual Professional Development

    This course also works really well as an option for an individual who wants support in working with a challenging student.