Hailed by professionals as a voice of reality, Susan Jones has helped over 20,000 educators throughout North America translate brain research into practical strategies for teaching and learning. Her no-nonsense approach to instruction and leadership separates critical new research from speculation and skillfully presents the elements that positively impact achievement. From international conferences to schoolrooms and from Alabama to Alaska, she helps professionals hone skills and improve instructional delivery.
Susan J. Jones is an independent educational consultant dedicated to the betterment of teaching and learning. An experienced educator and internationally respected presenter on the topic of brain research applications to learning environments, she focuses on staff development and facilitation of professional educators and parent-community groups. Primary topics include research-based and cognitive science applications to educational settings, as well as presentation skills for trainers and educators. She served on the Board of Directors for ASCD, and more recently as President for Florida Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. She is a contracted trainer for the Corwin Speakers Bureau, as well as the Bureau of Education and Research on research applications and classroom strategies: K-8 and 6-12. She is the author of Blueprint for Student Success: A Guide to Research-Based Teaching Practices K-12 and Backstage Pass for Trainers, Facilitators, and Public Speakers - Your Guide to Successful Presentations. Both are published by Corwin Press, Thousand Oaks CA. Susan has also written an on-going column, “Grow a Brain,” an on-line column for professional educators, and several journal articles. She is co-author of “Brain Research: Implications for Teaching and Learning,” Parenting U International e-book, Brain-Mind Connections: Implications for Young Children, through University of South Florida. She is a contributing author for the upcoming Encyclopedia on Learning and the Brain, Greenwood Publishing Group.
A life-long educator, her interest in best practice and research led to a passion for effective communication. Actively training education professionals, she also devotes much energy to keynote speaking, training trainers of adult audiences in presentation skills, and facilitating institutional change.
Ms. Jones has previously served as Director of Program Development for Illinois Regional Offices of Education. She has more than twenty years of classroom teaching experience at the elementary and secondary levels: in regular education, gifted classrooms, and special education classrooms. She has taught graduate level classes as adjunct faculty through four universities. She is a graduate of the Leadership Academy of the National Staff Development Council, has trained and served as a state Quality Reviewer, and has extensive training in brain research and instructional strategies. Presentation and facilitation skills have been honed through extensive experience with Interaction Associates, McNellis Corporation, Fred Pryor Associates, and Creative Training Techniques. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree cum laude from The Ohio State University and a Master of Arts in Teaching from Aurora University, Illinois.
