Mission

Teaching is a profession grounded in foundational practices that transcend academic program, philosophy, or context. Educational trends come and go, but the essential nature of the classroom remains. Doctriva Learning is committed to helping teachers develop and refine these practices.

The Doctriva Living Story

Mike Wendling, Founder & Director

I have been fortunate throughout my life to have had several amazing teachers. From elementary school, through junior high and high school, to college and the graduate work I did to get my teaching credential, there were so many individuals who not only taught me, but helped me become the person I am.

It wasn’t a surprise, then, that I found myself in my own classrooms trying to share what I had been given and pass it on. Over the years, I dabbled in administration, training, curriculum design, and teacher mentoring. It all helped me be a better teacher, but it never fully pulled me away from that defining role.

After twenty-eight years in many different kinds of classrooms, it was time for me to be done. As I thought about what to do next, I realized just how much had changed in K-12 education during my teaching career. Education, like so many things in the world, is fragmenting. There are more kinds of schools, philosophies, curriculums, programs, approaches, and instructional technologies than ever before.

Data analysis, always an important part of the educational process, has taken on a defining role despite its limitations. A market place of “solutions” promises quick fixes by following mechanical prescriptions. The idea of a “personalized” education now seems to be the unique purview of artificial intelligence.

What has been getting lost is that a good teacher is still the most significant variable in student success. It is the teacher who creates a unique, living, learning environment. It is the teacher who manifests the school’s curriculum, philosophy, and programs within the students, and it is the teacher who assesses progress and adjusts accordingly.

These are not “revolutionary” ideas, just the basic foundational practices of teaching. They are also the reasons I founded Doctriva Learning. The word, doctriva, is made from the latin words docere, meaning “teaching” and vivere, meaning “living”. Doctriva Learning, then, means “Living Teaching Learning.” The classroom is a living place made up of unique individuals.

The core beliefs are my realizations about teaching and learning after 28 years. The Core Teaching Framework is my attempt to define these foundational practices and how they weave together. It is my hope that this can help teachers strengthen their own practices, support them through their challenges, and grow in the profession. Throughout my teaching career, I have been given so much. It is time again to share what I have been given and pass it on.

Core Beliefs

There are three core beliefs that underlie the work of Doctriva Learning.

Teaching and learning are living processes

Teaching is creating opportunities for learning

Each teaching and learning journey is unique