Adequate resources are essential for professional learning to achieve desired outcomes for educators and students (Learning Forward, 2011). Time is one of the most valuable resources for learning, but it is also one of the greatest resource challenges for education leaders, especially in the U.S.

In other nations that outperform the U.S., students have less instructional time and teachers have substantially more time for collaborative professional learning (Wei et al., 2009). But in the U.S., time is the one resource mentioned consistently in surveys of principals and others as a limitation to school staff achieving their learning goals.

In fact, finding time for job-embedded professional learning is one of the most frequently cited challenges with implementing change in education (ASCD, 2012; MetLife, 2012, 2013; Scholastic Press & Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, 2012).

In the recent book The Learning Principal, authors Kay Psencik, Frederick Brown, and Stephanie Hirsh (2021) point out that leaders who cultivate a learning culture in their schools are skilled at making and protecting time for professional learning despite the challenges. They know how to balance priorities, allocate tasks, and arrange schedules to make appropriate learning designs available to all educators. Many begin by looking to repurpose existing time to create more time for learning.

This tool from The Learning Principal can help school leaders (and other learning leaders) assess how time is currently being used — or not used — for learning and continuous improvement. By collaborating with your team to gather the data and reflect on the findings, you can think about learning time differently and begin making changes to prioritize more learning in the future.

About The Learning Principal

The Learning Principal: Becoming a Learning Leader supports school leaders in developing a learning orientation to each challenge they face, ensuring they are ready to identify solutions that put students’ equitable outcomes at the fore.

Chapters cover principals’ roles and responsibilities related to designing professional learning, implementing curriculum, managing change, leveraging feedback and coaching, maximizing resources, and more. Online tools complement each chapter.

Purchase the book through Learning Forward’s bookstore at learningforward.org/store.

More Tools from The Learning Principal

• The art of listening: learningforward.org/journal/starting-strong/the-art-of-listening/
• How principals implement change effectively: learningforward.org/journal/early-learning-2/how-principals-implement-change-effectively/