LeAnn Nickelsen
Strategic, Innovative and Engaging best describe LeAnn Nickelsen’s (M.Ed.) approach to bringing powerful, evidence-based tools and strategies that boost student achievement with lasting results to school districts worldwide.
As the Founder and CEO of Maximize Learning, Inc., Mrs. Nickelsen is an expert at:
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Closing Learning Gaps in Struggling Students – getting high-poverty students to grade level.
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Differentiating Instruction and Growing Literacy – to meet every students’ needs in all content areas.
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Follow-Up Coaching for Confidence and Collective Efficacy – from relationships to lesson-planning, feedback and better student learning.
As a former teacher of the year and 20+ year Jensen-certified brain research trainer, LeAnn’s enthusiastic energy, practical ideas, engaging processing opportunities, and use of the latest research have made her a popular presenter at the local, state, national, and international level.
She is the author of more than 14 practical books, including Deeper Learning: 7 Powerful Strategies for In-Depth and Longer-Lasting Learning (co-authored with Eric Jensen), Teaching with the Instructional Cha-Cha’s: 4 Steps to Make Learning Stick—winner of the Teacher’s Choice Award in 2020—and The Literacy Triangle: 50+ High-Impact Strategies to Integrate Reading, Discussing, and Writing (Solution Tree, 2022). LeAnn brings a wealth of knowledge to school districts, delivering her sessions in an engaging and dynamic style enriched with targeted, practical examples.
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Having worked with and received rave reviews from both teachers as well as leadership in over 1000 schools in over 40 states, LeAnn is an expert coach helping teachers incorporate best practices into their daily lesson plans and within their classrooms.
Keynote Address
The Power of Purposeful Feedback: Teaching with Impact
Differentiation is more than a strategy—it’s a mindset. It reflects a teacher’s commitment to meeting the diverse needs of every learner with clarity, intention, and care. At the heart of truly effective differentiation lies one of the most powerful tools in a teacher’s toolbox: purposeful feedback. This keynote goes beyond checkmarks, praise, or surface-level corrections. Together, we’ll explore how targeted, high-impact feedback can spark student motivation, deepen reflection, and build ownership of learning. When delivered with intention, feedback becomes more than a tool for improvement—it becomes the foundation for a classroom culture rooted in trust, growth, and high expectations.
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Grounded in strong research and illustrated through real classroom examples across grade levels and content areas, this session focuses on feedback that answers three essential questions for every learner:
Where am I going?
How am I doing?
Where to next?
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In this session, participants will:
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Connect feedback practices to the “Chunk–Chew–Check–Change” model of high-impact instruction (The Instructional Cha-Cha’s)
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Analyze and experience the 3-Step Feedback Process to accelerate student thinking and progress
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Explore ready-to-use tools and strategies that elevate feedback from routine to results-driven
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​You’ll leave with practical tools to enhance student self-assessment and peer feedback—ensuring that learning continues even when the teacher takes a step back. Whether you teach elementary or high school, math or music, reading or writing, and science or social studies, this session will help you make every moment of feedback more intentional, more responsive, and more impactful. The 3-Step Feedback Process will empower your students not only to improve their work but also to grow as independent, self-aware learners.