Learning Forward

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to increase teacher effectiveness. That's why Learning Forward’s Standards Assessment Inventory (SAI) is designed to get directly inside your organization, using information from staff and teachers. The SAI is a 50-item survey that measures the alignment of a school’s professional learning to the Standards for Professional Learning. The SAI also measures […]

PERFORMANCE FACTORS School Organizational Contexts, Teacher Turnover, and Student Achievement: Evidence From Panel Data American Educational Research Journal, October 2016 Researchers from Brown and Harvard universities sought to determine whether strengthening organizational contexts in schools decreases teacher turnover and increases student achievement. Using data from the New York City Department […]

Learning Forward recently released findings from a new study that fills a long-standing gap in existing Pan-Canadian research, identifying key components of effective professional learning based on findings from educators’ experiences in Canada. Accompanying the study is a call to action by Michael Fullan and Andy Hargreaves making the case […]

Position: 6th year as Principal at Fenwick Academy (New Jersey) In education: 24 years Learning Forward member since: 2013 Learning Forward origin story: My superintendent sent me an email and asked if I wanted to go to the Annual Conference in 2013. I said yes, I became a member, and […]

Learning Forward’s Standards for Professional Learning Professional learning that increases educator effectiveness and results for all students ... Learning Communities … occurs within learning communities committed to continuous improvement, collective responsibility, and goal alignment. Leadership … requires skillful leaders who develop capacity, advocate, and create support systems for professional learning. […]

Even as more educators are experiencing job-embedded collaborative learning, the first thing many learners picture when they hear "PD Day" is a workshop. Educator learning can encompass so much more! Explore the range of options below as you shape learning for specific outcomes.

Focus PROFESSIONAL LEARNING FOR STEM A bold experiment Teachers team with scientists to learn Next Generation Science Standards. By Sharon L. Gilman and Martha C. Fout Teachers at 18 middle and high schools in a southeastern state were in the final year of a three-year professional learning program when they […]

Learning Forward and the National Commission on Teaching & America’s Future (NCTAF) announced last month that they are joining forces to address the critical need to rethink and improve professional learning systems to support teaching and learning for all educators and students. The nonprofits will operate under the Learning Forward banner. […]

Valeria Brown of Winter Springs, Florida, and Sharon Contreras of Greensboro, North Carolina, have been elected to the Learning Forward Board of Trustees. Their terms began at the conclusion of the 2016 Annual Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia. Scott Laurence is the new president of the board. John Eyolfson is […]

Years later, the story still makes us queasy. A group of teachers in a southern state (identities concealed to protect the innocent) were fighting for change to education legislation. They demanded a meeting with the state chair of the education committee, who left session to meet with them in the […]