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Stephanie Hirsh
Stephanie Hirsh retired in June 2019 after 31 years with Learning Forward, an international association of more than 13,000 educators committed to increasing student achievement through effective professional learning. Hirsh led the organization as its executive director for the last 13 years where she presented, published, and consulted on Learning Forward’s behalf across North America. Her books include Becoming a Learning Team, co-authored with Tracy Crow (Learning Forward, 2018), Becoming a Learning System, co-authored with Kay Psencik and Frederick Brown (Learning Forward, 2018); A Playbook for Professional Learning: Putting the Standards Into Action, co-authored with Shirley Hord (Learning Forward, 2012); and The Learning Educator: A New Era for Professional Learning, co-authored with Joellen Killion (NSDC, 2007). Hirsh wrote a column for The Learning Professional, Learning Forward’s bimonthly magazine, Educational Leadership, Phi Delta Kappan, The Record, The School Administrator, American School Board Journal, The High School Magazine, and Education Week. Hirsh has served on a number of advisory boards including Learning First Alliance, 2-Rev, Digital Promise, the University of Texas College of Education, and The Teaching Channel. She served three terms as a school board trustee in the Richardson (TX) Independent School District. She received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Texas Staff Development Council, Master Trustee from the Texas School Board Association, and was named a Distinguished Alumna by the University of North Texas.
All Articles
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Leverage the power of collaborative expertise
I was excited to read two recent reports from researcher John Hattie: What Doesn't Work in Education: The Politics of Distraction andWhat Works Best in Education: The Politics of Collaborative Expertise.Hattie, whose seminal research is on the educational practices most likely to lead to student gains, examines those findings to determine how […] -
Learning team cycle of continuous improvement
Explore how teams use a learning cycle to improve practice. -
5 things school leaders do that make a big difference for teachers
According to the 2015 National Survey on College and Career-Ready Literacy Standards and Collaborative Professional Learning, 91% of teachers surveyed report working on standards implementation during collaborative time with colleagues, with 77% rating it valuable or extremely valuable in supporting their transition to new literacy standards. 73% of teachers who […] -
Our response to the TNTP study
As many of you know, TNTP released a new study earlier this week, The Mirage: Confronting the Hard Truth About the Quest for Teacher Development, which recommends that we re-envision professional learning by asking fundamentally different questions about what better teaching means and how to achieve it. This will demand more […] -
Senate's version of ESEA affirms professional learning principles
Learning Forward's advocacy efforts on behalf of the reauthorization of ESEA have concentrated solely on professional development. If you've had a chance to comb through the bill, which just passed with an 81-17 vote in the Senate late last week, you may have noticed that the words "professional development" appear […] -
An update on ESEA and our influence on Title II
Learning Forward has been working diligently to strengthen support for effective professional learning through ESEA authorization. To date, thanks to our work with Penn Hill Group and through our membership in the Knowledge Alliance, we have had some influence on changes to Title II. Some of our key language has been […] -
Lessons for summer learning
If you haven't already figured it out, I am a fan of the Common Core State Standards. I believe in their potential to increase equitable access to rigorous teaching and learning across the country. This does not mean that I am opposed to local decision making, in fact much the […] -
4 lessons from China's schools
I was in China earlier this month to present a paper on professional development for the Third US-China State/Provincial Education Leaders Dialogue. A day of school visits preceded the dialogue, providing an opportunity to see teacher learning in action. While there were many takeaways from the experience, I want to […] -
Important lessons from a software giant
The longer I serve in education, the more I realize I have so much to learn about learning and the kinds of cultures that make it central to the daily work of an organization. As part of our work with the PD Brain Trust on redesigning professional development, Learning Forward is looking […] -
Spread effective teaching from room to room
When I was a local school board member, parents frequently asked for my advice on how to ensure their child got a particular teacher in a school. I knew how the game would be played after I reminded them this wasn't the role of the school board: They would write […]