BIG Questions Institute

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 info@bigquestions.institute  |  908.824.0050

Start Your School's Journey Into the Future

Stretch your imagination. Create your path.

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Meet This Moment With Fearless Inquiry and Hope

We can design a better future. Let's make your school a part of that.

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“In all my years as a school leader, I’ve never heard such high praise for professional development sessions as for the ones we did with BQI.”
~Dr. Heather Rogers Beck, Deputy Head of School, Canadian International School, Singapore

Get our free ebook: "9 BIG Questions Schools Must Answer to Avoid Going Back to Normal" (Because "Normal" Wasn't That Great to Begin With)

A BIG Question:

How might you educate, lead, and get prepared in these challenging times to create a more just, relevant, healthy, and sustainable experience of school for your students?

Educators around the world are facing an epic design challenge.

A global pandemic might be behind us, but what’s ahead? How might educators and leaders prepare for a barrage of uncertainties, whether spurred by Artificial Intelligence, challenges to equity and belonging, or economic, political, and climate impacts?

As unsettling as these contexts are, the crises also present an opportunity -- to create something new and impactful. Students deserve adults who will embrace the present and future with radical honesty, radical empathy, and fearless inquiry -- a willingness to interrogate the core of current systems and practices. As educators, we need to develop personal and institutional capacity for addressing the confounding problems of our time. We must acknowledge that the job description for principals, school heads, and superintendents has expanded and mutated as crises hit closer and closer to home.

While we recognize limited resources, time, energy, and intellectual bandwidth to commit to reimagining the experience of school for our current and future students, these conversations cannot wait. Educational leaders must now budget and plan for ongoing generative, community-wide discussions around the future of teaching and learning to design a more relevant, just, and sustainable model for education through uncertain times. To not begin this work in earnest now is to put relevance, wellness, and equity at increasing risk.

Let us help.

The Big Questions Institute was created to help educators of all stripes build their capacity to see and accept this moment for what it is and to peer into the future with skill. We ground that work in "fearless inquiry," a disposition of deep questioning and truth-telling of our practice and mission.
We are educators, coaches, futurists, parents, and passionate learners who have worked with hundreds of schools and communities in six continents over a combined 40 years of service. We will challenge and support you to make better sense of today and to design and aspire to a more relevant and equitable school experience for your students.

Let's Connect and Explore Your Path Forward
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The BIG Questions Institute works with individuals, schools, and organizations on personalized, short and long-term professional learning programs, as well as original, visionary keynotes and workshops.

Futures Thinking and
Scenario Planning

In this moment of uncertainty, educators with strategic foresight will stand out. Our signature offerings build the ability to prepare for new challenges that might come next and how to get ahead of them, not just react to them after the fact. These dynamic, original-content professional development experiences help you unstick your mind and explore challenging topics that embody what “fearless inquiry” is all about.

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DEIJ Skills and
Global Mindsets

Any educator who wishes to innovate and be relevant must center the imperatives of diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEIJ) and global competency. We integrate these priorities in all aspects of our leadership development programming as well as offer focused professional development, often drawing on the expertise in our network of world-class leaders in the field. We focus on moving beyond routine diversity statements, to stimulate empathy, practice courage, and activate the imagination needed to transform our educational environments and communities.

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Strategic Planning and
Design Futures

Designing a path forward for schools requires educators to see the world as it is, not as it was. It requires understanding new contexts, and building new lenses around vital questions of the world, purpose, change, power and our stories. Our approach to strategic planning and design is unique, focusing on storytelling to reflect on where we've been, discerning what we want to keep from the past and what to leave behind, and framing our aspirations for what our schools must become. With community, we strive for relevance, justice, wellness, and sustainability into the future.

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Board-Trustee
Leadership Retreats

Our intensive, interactive retreat format helps Board members grow as more effective advisors to the communities they serve. Whether in-person or virtual, for one school or various, our Board-Trustee-Leadership Retreat features original Big Questions content to build shared understanding of vital (and often overlooked) contexts and priorities. We set aside traditional tasks and governance models, and challenge participants to practice generative, agile, inclusive leadership that befits looming challenges.

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Leadership
Masterminds

Leadership can be lonely. We want to change that. The Mastermind format for small groups helps to build trust, work through specific professional and organizational challenges, and foster accountability to realize articulated goals, using a combination coaching and cohort format. Depending on your interests and needs, you can join leaders from other schools in a cohort, or form a group from your own school or association dedicated to professional and school improvement.

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Customized Webinars
and Workshops

We’re pleased to offer a wide variety of professional learning opportunities for educators who are looking to build their capacity to lead in this complex moment. All of our workshops and presentations can be customized for your school or district. In addition, we consult with a variety of organizations based on their unique needs. For questions, click below, or schedule a call with Homa and Will.

CONTACT US

"I have attended several online professional development sessions offered both by local school boards and international organizations.  Your summer leadership session which focused on an inquiry based approach was outstanding on many levels:  relevant and timely content, structure and format. Your sessions were my monthly ‘opium’!!"

~Suelyn Cheong, Principal, Unionville High School, Markham, ON

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Meet your Big Questions Institute Coaches

We're uniquely positioned to help you lead your journey.

Homa Tavangar

Best-Selling Author, Global Education and Inclusion Adviser
Read Homa's bio
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Will Richardson

Author, Speaker, Facilitator and Leadership Coach
Read Will's bio

Here's What They're Saying About the Big Questions Institute!

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Priscilla Bianchi

Principal, Valle Verde School, Guatemala City

"I was in today's session and I need to tell you that it was awesome!!  I've been an educator for 45 years, and since 2008 I'm the Academic Principal of a private school in Guatemala.  I consider myself to be a creative, innovative person who's always looking for new and better ways of doing what we do, that add value while preserving our essence and personality.  But I must tell you that today's session blew my mind!  I appreciate your out-of-the-box futures thinking very much. I found so many things that are in sync with our way of thinking, and several aha! moments that opened my mind as to where to go next. Thank you, thank you!"      

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Rose Puffer

Superintendent, International School of Islamabad
Near East South Asia Council of Overseas Schools (NESA) Board President

"Being a member of one of the Mastermind sessions, hosted by Homa and Will, has benefited in ways I hadn't imagined. I rarely have the opportunity to learn from a different generation of educational leaders. Their experiences and strategies are reenergizing. Another benefit is to learn from the "masterful" skills of two incredible facilitators: Will and Homa."

Karl

Karl Poulin

Middle School Principal, American Community School of Abu Dhabi

"I want to thank you for your work and for your efforts to help educators challenge the future landscape of learning. You are both truly inspiring and have been a welcome light in 2020. Keep going!"

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Joshua Garrett

Director, International School of Skopje, Macedonia

"Meeting with Will, Homa, and the rest of my Mastermind cohort is a highlight of my month. The depth of experience, the hard-gained knowledge, and the genuine camaraderie of the group ensure that I walk away with deeper insight into and a stronger commitment toward my vocation."

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Nienke de Jong

Assistant Head, Malaysia

"Thank you for your webinar. I wasn’t sure what to expect as I watched many webinars about the afterlife of schools post pandemic, and they usually focus on details about specific situations. What a breath of fresh air to hear big picture thinkers speak about what really matters and cut through the clutter. Thank you; that was time well spent."

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Anna Sugarman

Profesional Learning Coordinator, Shenendehowa (NY) Central SD

"I think that the work you are doing with people is very deep, planting seeds within for the future. While people are running around reacting to moment by moment changes, the two of you are holding ground for this critical work. It is visionary, and as usual, ahead of many who are not yet open to this type of thinking. I thank you again for your guidance, love and caring."

Suelyn

Suelyn Cheong

Principal, Unionville High School, Markham, ON

"I have attended several online professional development sessions offered both by local school boards and international organizations.  Your summer leadership session which focused on an inquiry based approach was outstanding on many levels:  relevant and timely content, structure and format. Your sessions were my monthly ‘opium’!!"

Contact Us

Questions? You can email us and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

Big Questions Institute

+1.908.824.0050