Better Leaders Better Schools guest Ben Owens is a physics and mathematics teacher at Tri-County Early College High School in Murphy, North Carolina and a 2014 Hope Street Group National Teaching Fellow.  He earned degrees in physics and mechanical engineering, respectively, from North Georgia University and the Georgia Institute of Technology. After a 20-year career with a multinational corporation at manufacturing and R&D locations across the U.S., he got his Masters of Arts in Teaching from Marshall University and then left the private sector in 2007 to teach in rural Appalachia. He is passionate about changing the status quo in education by better connecting the classroom to what happens in today’s global, knowledge-based economy. Ben is TCEC’s lead teacher and coordinator of their Project Based Learning program. He is a Center for Teaching Quality Virtual Community Organizer, as well as a member of the National Science Teachers’ Association, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.   In this episode you will learn: The power of collaboration to improve teacher PD How to build a professional network How to fight isolation and work on your own How Ben 3x participation in a collaborative model of PD How to make every teacher an example of a pocket of greatness The importance of establishing the right culture   Resources   NC New Schools Initiative   Critical Friends Protocol   Learning Forward Standards   Hope Street Group National Teacher Fellow   Classroom Rounds Protocol   NC New Schools Instructional Coaching   NC Center for the Advancement of Teaching   Kick-up   Overview of Ben’s Project   Ben's Writing   Contact Ben    Instructional Rounds by City, Elmore, Fiarman, Teitel   7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R Covey   DID YOU LIKE THE SHOW?  iTunes SUBSCRIBE HERE! SHOW SOME LOVE: PLEASE LEAVE A 5-STAR RATING AND REVIEW Website :: Facebook :: Twitter :: LinkedIn Grad your FREE 15 Phrases of Effective School Leaders  text PHRASES to 33444 or click the link above.   BECOME A PATRON OF THE SHOW FOR AS LITTLE AS $1/MONTH   DO YOU NEED ACCOUNTABILITY? TEXT BETTERMASTERMIND to 33444