By Andrew J. Wayne Ten years ago, I met a researcher who was proud but frustrated. His randomized controlled trial published the year before had found a positive impact on student achievement from a whole-school reform model. But he was vexed: Why don’t districts now adopt this model? Today, that problem is relevant for teacher…
How to spread proven professional learning programs
How does a team set a context for learning and continuous improvement?
Authors Stephanie Hirsh and Tracy Crow use research from the best minds to bring you best practices in their new book: Becoming a Learning Team. Too often, teams are created without specific intention, ensuring their failure. Becoming a Learning Team gives you a 5-step process to structure your efforts, giving you positive, measurable student results. Read an excerpt here.
Does your professional learning experience have a ‘strong door’?
I have a restauranteur friend, Lynn. Although we come from different industries and perspectives, we both believe a restaurant needs to have a “strong door”: the good feeling you get when you walk through the door and immediately feel welcomed. Within the first moments of your arrival, the strong door hostess greets you, positively manages your experience if…
Teachers, here’s how to have hard conversations with your veteran administrator
We want to enthusiastically recognize those of you who have joined us in the field. Welcome! We have some amazing millennial teachers (born between 1980-2000) in our schools. Many of you are replacing our baby boomer teachers, who are quickly approaching retirement. As millennials, you have a valuable perspective to contribute to our schools. Having…
Louisiana is taking the lead in mentoring new teachers
Many of us have been lucky enough in our lives that we can identify someone we’d call a mentor, someone who taught us how things work and helped us navigate through the difficulties we face trying to establish ourselves. For some of us, our mentor may very well have been a teacher, but what about…
Winter 2018 Vol. 21 No. 1
We look at an overview of coach roles, time allocation, weekly lesson planning, and administrator-coach partnerships.
Coaching As A Continuous Improvement Tool
If Disney movies have taught me anything, it is the importance of a wise and trusty sidekick. Jiminy Cricket has often been perched on my shoulder to guide me to making a better decision, particularly when the shortcutting side of my nature would rather push ahead and get something done quickly. The practice of coaching…
Coaches’ Multiple Roles Support Teaching And Learning
Since Learning Forward published the first edition of Taking the Lead: New Roles for Teachers and School-Based Leaders (2006), we’ve seen the body of evidence grow in support of coaching as a valuable strategy for promoting teaching quality and student success. Because coaching programs vary among districts and even among schools within a district, coaches’…
Web of Support
To increase student achievement, schools and districts are hiring teachers as leaders to support peers in improving teaching and learning.
Data Dialogue
As teachers and leaders are well aware, schools and districts across the country have invested enormous amounts of money and energy in creating data management systems so that teachers can access information about their students’ performance. With these systems in place, the focus now needs to move to the structures and allocation of time that…