Roots and Wings Montessori Podcast

About Roots and Wings Montessori Podcast

For Montessori educators, Roots and Wings is a podcast offering classroom strategies, professional development, Montessori philosophy, and community building. Dr. Montessori said, "The greatest gifts we can give children are the roots of responsibility and the wings of independence." Join Jess Davis of Montessori Minds Consulting and fellow Montessorians to explore what has made the Montessori method a highly effective education and movement for social change for over 100 years!

Publisher

Jess Davis

Category

education

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

4 Sept 2024

Latest episode

1 Aug 2026

Latest episodes

23 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   1 Aug 2026

   In Service of Children: The Needs of Teachers and Administrators with Dr. Caroline Robbins

   In this episode of the Roots and Wings Montessori Podcast, host Jess Davis talks to public Montessori administrator and Montessori scholar Dr. Caroline Robbins. They touch on the tensions sometimes felt between the needs and priorities of administrators and teachers and how to build effective bridges and healthy relationships to best serve our students. Resources mentioned in the episode: "The Secret to Giving Great Feedback" -- LeeAnn Renninger's Ted video: https://www.ted.com/talks/leeann_renninger_the_secret_to_giving_great_feedback (https://www.ted.com/talks/leeann_renninger_the_secret_to_giving_great_feedback) Elena Aguilar's coaching newsletters, free webinars, and books: https://www.brightmorningteam.com/ (https://www.brightmorningteam.com/) Dissertation: https://minds.wisc.edu/items/fc601ad9-8d9f-4204-8325-de238be336bc (https://minds.wisc.edu/items/fc601ad9-8d9f-4204-8325-de238be336bc) – or, in ProQuest, https://proquest.com/docview/3358929921 (https://proquest.com/docview/3358929921) Prior research: https://www.montessoripublic.org/2025/10/fundamental-needs-of-public-montessorians/ (https://www.montessoripublic.org/2025/10/fundamental-needs-of-public-montessorians/) and https://heyzine.com/flip-book/dfacd9e72e.html (https://heyzine.com/flip-book/dfacd9e72e.html) OrcID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-9091-7163 (https://orcid.org/0009-0006-9091-7163) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caroline-robbins-edd-2772345/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/caroline-robbins-edd-2772345/) NCMPS course on Mindfulness and Self-Compassion: https://www.public-montessori.org/courses/mindfulness/ (https://www.public-montessori.org/courses/mindfulness/)

2. 

   1 Jun 2026

   Effective Montessori Professional Development

   In this episode of the Roots and Wings Montessori podcast, host Jess Davis discusses research she conducted as a 2024 American Montessori Society Emerging Leader Fellow, which focused on characteristics of Montessori professional development most in line with educational research and perceived as most effective by teachers. Get a break-down of the insights provided by 160 US Montessorians through survey on what works, what doesn't, and how teachers perceive different PD opportunities. Learn how Montessori androgogy can guide the development of professional learning that aligns with our school values and philosophy. RELATED REFERENCES: Bayar, A. (2014). The Components of Effective ProfessionalDevelopment Activities in Terms of Teachers' Perspective. InternationalOnline Journal of Educational Sciences v6 n2 P319-327 2014. Bragg, L. A., Walsh, C.,& Heyeres, M. (2021). Successful design and delivery of online professionaldevelopment for teachers: A systematic review of the literature. Computers& Education, 166, 104158. Darling-Hammond, L., Hyler,M. E., & Gardner, M. (2017). Effective teacher professional development. Learningpolicy institute. Day, C., Sammons, P., & Gorgen, K. (2020). Successful schoolleadership. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED614324.pdf DeMonte, J. (2013).High-Quality Professional Development for Teachers: Supporting Teacher Trainingto Improve Student Learning. Center for American Progress. Elaine H.J. Yew, Karen Goh,Problem-Based Learning: An Overview of its Process and Impact on Learning,Health Professions Education,Volume 2, Issue 2,2016,Pages 75-79. Epstein, J. L. (2019). School, family, and CommunityPartnerships: Your Handbook for Action. Corwin, A Sage Publishing Company. Janacsek K., Nemeth D. (2012) Predicting the future: From implicitlearning to consolidation, International Journal of Psychophysiology, Volume83, Issue 2, Pages 213-221, ISSN 0167-8760https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2011.11.012. Kennedy, M. M. (2016). Howdoes professional development improve teaching?. Review of educationalresearch, 86(4), 945-980.

3. 

   5 May 2026

   Behavior Management Plans with Jess Davis (E021)

   Challenging behaviors are part of being a teacher. We are there to help guide children and help them learn from their mistakes. Sometimes all the lovely ideas we have brought back to the classroom from workshops and trainings are not enough, though. Sometimes a child may be so dysregulated that they engage in damaging, violent, or extremely disruptive behaviors and nothing we have tried seems to be working. What then? In this "real talk" series on managing big behaviors in Montessori settings, Jess Davis, MEd and Lead Consultant at Montessori Minds, will be discussing tools to help teachers design solutions for extreme behaviors that support the child in crisis while also protecting the learning and safety of the others in the room. Today's episode will focus on writing Classroom Behavior Management Plans, breaking down the parts of a plan, tips for writing each section effectively, and advice for schools and teachers. Jess refers to some research and resources throughout the website (listed/linked below): https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/resources/iris-resource-locator/ https://positivediscipline.org/ Research shows that when teachers create consistent classroom rules that are stated positively and describe expected behavior, students engage in disruptive behavior less often. (Alter and Haydon, 2017); Reinke et al 2013)Research shows that classrooms with predictable procedures and routines have lower rates of challenging behaviors (Simonsen et al 2020)

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

1 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

2 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 30 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

61

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

0

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Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.