Jay Roth Pathways to Insight

In my heart, I'm an educator, dedicated to learning, and to being a observer of the impact an individual has.

My professional journey began as a high school mathematics teacher. While I worked diligently to connect to my students to mathematics, my students educated me about what about it meant to be a teacher: bonding on the common experiences - the relationships between people - is the energy in which to invest.

When recruited away from the classroom to professional development, the investment in adult educators began. I devoted myself to Missouri Professional Learning Communities, helping educators to work and learn together for the benefit of their students.

What supported me during this was Cognitive Coaching. I resonated in the approach that when a person coaches teachers toward self-directedness - when teachers increase the awareness of their own impact - their students will be better engaged in learning. Now, I am a Trainer for Cognitive Coaching.

From experiences in helping educational "systems" improve, I realized that a broader perspective would benefit decision-makers and collaborative groups. Organizations often only create structural, technical, changes. Without investing in the way that people work together, over time an organization will simply revert to the way it was before. So to help schools create both the technical and social resources, I am a Training Associate for the Adaptive Schools.

Then emerged Polarity Thinking. Polarities are interdependent pairs of truths that support a common purpose and one another. Polarity Thinking is a way to leverage "both/and" situations and to supplement the traditional "either/or" problem-solving approach.

Connecting these experiences, I founded Pathways to Insight