Nicholas Provenzano is a Teacher and Makerspace Director at University Liggett School in Michigan. He is also an author, makerspace builder, international keynote speaker, mental health advocate for teachers and students, and a consultant. He writes on his website, TheNerdyTeacher.com, Edutopia.org, as well as many other prominent educational websites. He has been featured on CNN, Education Week, and other media outlets. He has been recognized as the Technology Teacher of the Year by MACUL and ISTE. Nicholas is a Google Certified Innovator, Sphero Hero, Micro:bit Champion, ASCD Emerging Leader, Microsoft Minecraft Mentor, Raspberry Pi Certified Educator, Adobe Education Leader, and a TEDEd Innovative Educator. His best-selling books, Your Starter Guide to Makerspaces, The Maker Mentality, and Beyond the Poster Board can be found on Amazon. Nicholas is sharing plenty of nerdy things on Twitter and Instagram at @TheNerdyTeacher.

Professional Development Support

Nicholas works with teachers and schools across the country. He will meet with you and come up with an individualized professional development plan that can take many different forms. Below you can find some common ways we can work together to support your school community.

Book Study - I have three books that can be purchased for teachers at a discount and I can lead book club style meetings. These meetings can be bi-weekly or monthly depending on what works best for teachers.

Virtual presentations - These sessions last around 45-60 minutes and take place through Zoom. These sessions are created and tailored based on the needs of the school based on conversations with administration.

Coaching sessions - The virtual or physical meetings allow me to connect with teachers one at a time and help them through the process of bringing PBL, MakerEd, STEM, STEAM, etc into their classroom. These sessions are 30 minutes and can occur as frequently as needed. Teachers also have access to my email to send questions for support between meetings.

Makerspace Design Consulting - This is a popular option because I can connect schools with vendors and help them get the best deal on items that work best in these spaces and save money on wasted purchases for years to come.

In person visit - I will craft a personalized PD experience for you and your staff based on our discussions. These sessions can be for the entire staff or smaller groups throughout the day. I can also meet with community members, students, and other stakeholders to support your mission.

Curriculum Review - Working with teachers and admins on curricular review in content areas to support the infusion of STEM, STEAM, PBL, SEL, MakerEd, etc.

Keynotes and Presenting

Nicholas has presented and keynoted at conferences around the world. He shares his humorous take on education based on over 20 years of classroom experience. He can keynote your conference or be a featured presenter. He makes sure to tailor each session and keynote to the needs of the conference and loves meeting new people all over the world. He can share sessions on Maker Education, Project Based Learning, Design Thinking, Coding, Creativity, Social Emotional Learning, Mental Health, ELA, STEAM, and more. Contact Nicholas to see how he can help your conference.

Here is an example of a Keynote and an Ignite session.

Keynote