Learning Forward

“The Principal Story Learning Guide” – based on PBS documentary and more than a decade of research, commissioned by The Wallace Foundation DALLAS—May 6, 2014—Learning Forward, the nation’s largest professional learning membership association, today launched The Principal Story Learning Guide, a free resource of web-based lessons and activities to advance the knowledge […]

Knowledge Briefs In the debut issue of Learning Forward’s new Knowledge Brief series, co-authors Joellen Killion and Stephanie Hirsh explore how professional learning drives Common Core and educator evaluation. Key points: Effectively integrating and implementing new initiatives requires professional learning, and high-quality professional learning occurs regularly among teams at the […]

Imagine, for a second, a school where teachers see themselves as leaders and work together to ensure that all children have access to engaging, high-quality instruction every day. How might these teachers define teacher leadership and articulate its purpose? What suggestions would they offer about how teacher leadership can be […]

Beginning school leaders’ lives are stress-filled and lack support. When asked how they are doing, novice leaders often say they are fine, even when they aren’t. A candidate in the principal leadership program at Dominican University, who rarely spoke up during formal meetings, is a prime example. While it appeared […]

In 2006, the Ontario Ministry of Education partnered with the Ontario Teachers’ Federation to explore these questions: What would authentic professional learning look like for experienced teachers? How might experienced teachers be engaged and inspired to learn from and with each other? How could classroom practice become deprivatized and shared […]

Throughout my career, I’ve met educators who have expressed a disdain for professional learning. I don’t doubt that many have had experiences that didn’t help them see a link between professional learning and what they needed to accomplish in the classroom. And then I’ve met others who were confident that […]

Everyone at school is a learner. To achieve continuous improvement, every professional has the responsibility to engage as a committed learner, willing to acknowledge and explore what he or she doesn’t understand. The three critical concepts in the Learning Designs standard spell out the needs and responsibilities of adult learners, […]

The Learning Forward Foundation has added four new members to its board. Steve Barkley is executive vice president of PLS 3rd Learning and a former New Jersey elementary school teacher. For the past 30 years, he has served as a consultant to school districts, teacher organizations, state departments of education, […]

I believe in the future of professional learning. I’ve heard that to believe in the future, you must be able to see it. I know this is true. But sometimes seeing the future starts with capturing nostalgic pictures of the past. Take Missouri’s Outreach Teachers’ Academy, for example. The Outreach […]