Learning Forward

The Collaborative Analysis of Student Learning: Professional Learning That Promotes Success for All By Amy Colton, Georgea Langer, and Loretta Goff This book is a comprehensive guide to implementing a research-based approach to professional learning that drives educator effectiveness and promotes learning for every student. Aligned with Learning Forward’s Standards for […]

Educators in successful schools and districts have found that implementing professional learning communities at the school level can be effective for sharing vision, beliefs, and strategies that align with their system’s overall strategic plans. I work in Fairfax County (Virginia) Public Schools, where professional learning communities have become the norm […]

The Learning Forward Academy Class of 2017 brings together 51 like-minded education professionals for a 2½-year, coach-led, collaborative learning cohort to tackle their biggest challenges in advancing teaching and learning in their systems. The Academy is a guided learning and problem-solving experience based on what we know about the causal […]

What The Study Says Using 4th- and 8th-grade mathematics data from 2003, 2007, and 2011 Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) assessments, researchers conducted a cross-national empirical study to examine teacher participation in professional development and its impact on student achievement. They conclude that, although 4th- and 8th-grade students […]

Trust serves as the connective tissue that allows teachers to question current practices, take risks, and try new strategies because they are confident their leader supports and encourages their creativity and innovation as they work to achieve their goals. Use this tool to gain a deeper understanding of the power […]

Ideas From England Building a Lattice for School Leadership: The Top-to-Bottom Rethinking of Leadership Development in England and What It Might Mean for American Education Consortium for Policy Research in Education, 2014 This report examines educational leadership development in England over the last 15 years to identify ideas American leaders and policymakers […]

The season of the summer blockbuster movie is upon us, and, at the same time, the hype machine for the next Star Wars movie is in turbo drive. One of my favorite aspects of many of these movies is the formation of a team. I love watching individuals move from […]

A collaborative culture of trust and openness is crucial to teachers’ learning and the productive analysis of student learning. Teachers engaged in group learning can feel very vulnerable when they share work from their less-successful students. Trust in fellow group members allows teachers to bring such students’ work to the group […]

Shirley Hord, Learning Forward’s scholar laureate, has focused her career on research about and practice of effective professional learning communities. Here she answers an educator’s question about professional learning communities.  Q: While my school district says it is committed to professional learning communities, I am not sure what they mean […]

Ask a teacher if he or she has ever been coached, and you are likely to first hear silence, then an answer that offers little information. “Why do you ask?” “There are coaches in my district.” “I met with a coach once.” Teachers are programmed to make it look like […]