On September 18, 2019, Learning Forward hosted a Twitter chat on the importance of professional learning for school counselors with experts Mandy Savitz-Romer of the Harvard Graduate School of Education and Alice Anne Bailey of the Southern Regional Education Board. The chat was based on Savitz-Romer’s article in the June issue of The Learning Professional, “No […]
During Teacher Appreciation Week, like so many others I reflect on all the great teachers who influenced who I am today. I remember with appreciation Dr. Gerald Ponder, my major professor during my Ph.D. program and lifelong mentor and colleague. I also recall Mr. Gerald Roslowski, my eighth-grade core teacher, who three years later allowed […]
By Whitney Young What do you get when you gather a 1st-grade teacher, district instructional coach, assistant principal, principal, director of technology, director of human resources, and a superintendent? These are the members of my Learning Forward Academy learning team — a team that has been working together for two years to solve the significant […]
In my view, no learning model has captured educators’ attention more than collaborative learning structures. Over the last few decades, they’ve had many names, starting with professional learning communities (PLCs). In some corners, they became professional learning networks or learning teams. We also use the terms communities of practice and networked improvement communities. The approach […]
Research has shown that effective collaboration results in higher levels of learning and performance by educators and students. Yet we also know that merely setting aside time and room for teams to work together does not guarantee these benefits. So what are the essential elements of effective collaboration? Many of the answers lie in the […]
An excerpt from Becoming a Learning Team by Stephanie Hirsh and Tracy Crow In Learning Forward’s (2011) Standards for Professional Learning, educators learning in community is a key structure for addressing many of the problems common in traditional models of teaching and learning and creating support among teachers. Learning community: Professional learning that increases educator […]