Learning Forward
Equity and excellence in teaching and learning.
IDEAS
Regional agencies are a hub for teacher learning
By Nicole N. Waskie-Laura
Categories: Collaboration, Continuous improvement, Improvement science/networksOctober 2023
High-quality professional learning guided by Learning Forward’s Standards for Professional Learning provides educators with the opportunity to develop and hone their discipline-specific expertise (Learning Forward, 2022) through collaboration, active learning, and sustained opportunities for feedback, expert support, and reflection (Darling-Hammond et al., 2017). But districts may have limited internal capacity to provide teachers with sustained, systemic professional learning that is relevant to every teacher due to a lack of funding, inadequate staffing, insufficient time, and competing demands. Educational service agencies, which work at the regional level to support multiple districts, can address those constraints and provide cooperative, consolidated services with access to specialized knowledge that may be lacking in a single school. In a recent case study, I explored the role of educational service agencies
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References
Association of Educational Service Agencies. (2021). About AESA. www.aesa.us/about/index.cfm
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Corbisiero-Drakos, L., Reeder, L.K., Ricciardi, L., Zacharia, J., & Harnett, S. (2021). Arts integration and 21st century skills: A study of learners and teachers. International Journal of Education & the Arts, 22(2). doi.org/10.26209/ijea22n2
Council for Exceptional Children. (2022). About the HLPs. High-Leverage Practices for Students With Disabilities. highleveragepractices.org
Darling-Hammond, L., Hyler, M.E., & Gardner, M. (2017). Effective teacher professional development. Learning Policy Institute.
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Hansen, A. (2015). How to develop PLCs for singletons and small schools. Solution Tree Press.
Learning Forward. (2022). Standards for Professional Learning. Author.
Stephens, E.R. & Keane, W.G. (2005). The educational service agency: American education’s invisible partner. University Press of America.
Waskie-Laura, N. (2022). Negotiating boundaries, expanding capacity, and shaping instruction through professional development partnerships (Order No. 29996552) [Doctoral dissertation, Binghamton University]. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global.
Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge University Press.
Nicole N. Waskie-Laura (nwaskiel@btboces.org) is director of professional learning and innovation at the Broome-Tioga Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) in Binghamton, New York.
Categories: Collaboration, Continuous improvement, Improvement science/networks
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