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    Professional learning lays the foundation for new curriculum

    By Jody Guarino, Lauren Weisskirk, John Drake and Lynsey Gibbons
    October 2024
    Many educators are familiar with the concept of “building the plane while flying it” because we often have to learn new curricula and instructional practices while we are implementing them with students. But what if we could do it another way? How would instruction and student learning improve if we made the time to really understand and practice a new curriculum before implementing it in classrooms with students? In Orange County, California, we are finding out by testing an approach of preimplementation professional learning for a full year before applying a new curriculum. Our team at Orange County Department of Education’s Teaching, Learning, and Instructional Leadership Collaborative has long supported efforts to improve how districts identify, select, and implement high-quality instructional materials. Over the past

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    References

    EdReports. (2018). Building capacity and consensus through a teacher-led adoption. Author.

    Fredston-Hermann, J. & McCormick, M. (2024). Spotlight on evidence: The role of curriculum-based professional learning in boosting student achievement. Overdeck Family Foundation.

    Guarino, J., Cerrahoglu, V., Drake, J., & Weisskirk, L. (2018). Beyond buy-in. The Learning Professional, 39(6), 30.


    Jody guarino
    Mathematics Coordinator & Lecturer at University of California | + posts

    Jody Guarino is Manager of the Teaching, Learning, and Instructional Leadership Collaborative at Orange County Department of Education and Senior Lecturer at University of California, Irvine.  A former National Board Certified teacher, she now supports teaching and learning of students, teachers, and administrators.

    Lauren weisskirk
    + posts

    Lauren Weisskirk is an education strategist that supports organizations to set and reach ambitious impact goals. She has launched and grown programs at the nonprofit, district, and state level, and advises leaders throughout the PreK-12 curriculum market. She is the proud parent of two Portland (OR) Public School students.

    John drake
    + posts

    John is currently the Endowed Director of the Teaching and Instructional Leadership Learning Collaborative at the Orange County Department of Education.  Previously, John was the Assistant Superintendent of Elementary Education in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District in Orange County, California. He has been in public education as a teacher or administrator for 29 years.  Through his 29 years in education, he has served in California and Georgia, and his service includes being a middle school language arts teacher, middle and elementary school principal, director of human resources and director of curriculum and instruction. John holds a bachelor’s degree in English from California Polytechnic State University of San Luis Obispo, and a Master’s degree in Education Administration and Supervision from State University of West Georgia.

    Lynsey gibbons
    + posts

    A deep respect for teachers and students drives the work of Dr. Lynsey Gibbons, who is a teacher educator and researcher in the School of Education at the University of Delaware. Her scholarship seeks to understand how teachers can be provided with rich opportunities to learn how to teach in ways that respond to children’s brilliance and position them as capable sensemakers. In her research, Gibbons seeks to explore teacher learning through an organizational and systems perspective with special attention to professional learning routines, the roles of instructional leaders such as principals and coaches, and the role of coherent learning events that occur within the system. She works alongside teachers to understand the interrelation of their instructional practices and school-wide efforts to support them. To that end, she has published articles and books related to designing for, facilitating, and examining teacher learning; specifying the practices of those who support teacher learning; and identifying tools and resources to support instructional leaders and teacher educators.


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