By Stephanie Hirsh
The Standards for Professional Learning and the guidance they provide lay the foundation for an effective professional learning system that demonstrates improvement and results. Aligning professional learning to the standards will help educators document impact by keeping them focused on what is most important, telling them whether they are on the right track to achieve their goals, and giving evidence to reassure those responsible for investments in professional learning.
By Sue Chapman, Debora Ortloff, Laurie Weaver, Winona Vesey, Mary Anderson, Michael Marquez, and Melissa Sanchez
After a sudden and dramatic drop in reading scores at McWhirter Elementary Professional Development Laboratory School in Webster, Texas, school leaders needed to know what to do differently. The leadership team chose exploratory action research as the first step of its instructional improvement strategy because team members needed a more complex picture of what was happening in reading instruction than standardized test scores could reveal. The results of the research would inform their theory of change, long-term professional learning plan, and evaluation framework.
By Jill Harrison Berg, Christina A. Bosch, Nina Lessin-Joseph, and Phomdaen Souvanna
By incorporating time and tools to review data at multiple levels of the program, the Boston Teacher Leadership Certificate program team has not only been able to monitor the effectiveness of this professional learning model, but has also constantly refined its process for ensuring participants succeed in their roles, facilitators lead effective learning experiences, and the larger program design meets the needs of Boston Public Schools’ reform plan.
By Monica Boehle
Because coaching is unique and personal to each teacher, broad measurements do not accurately take into account the significant growth and change of both teacher learning and student learning. Weighing three types of data over time — shifts in teacher reflective tendencies, the use of student performance as an indicator of success, and the contextualization of a change into long-term habits — can provide more valid program evaluation and give coaches the timely feedback they need.
By Chad Dumas and Lee Jenkins
Both feedback and evaluation play an important role in determining what professional learning participants have learned. While immediate feedback ensures that participants’ questions or concerns can be resolved on the spot, a deeper measure of learning is evaluation. A tool called the LtoJ process measures knowledge gained throughout learning experiences. Interviewing a random sample of participants is an effective way to gauge implementation. Using both in combination provides a complete picture of any professional learning experience.
By Mike Murphy and Linda Sykut
Sandwiched between shrinking resources and looming imperatives, the Webster (N.Y.) Central School District chose to focus on its elementary literacy program as part of a multiyear initiative. External consultants from Learning Forward’s Center for Results became part of the team to provide planning, support, and professional learning to guide the literacy initiative. The team created a change theory that led to definitive action steps that could be measured at strategic points. These action steps drove the professional learning that threaded through the district.
By Ellen Eisenberg and Elliott Medrich
Evidence of positive gains in student outcomes is critical to getting support for instructional coaching. As with any other form of effective professional learning, showing results is often the hardest thing to do. Policymakers want to see evidence that coaching makes a difference for teachers and students. Follow these evaluation guidelines to persuade school boards, superintendents, and school leaders that instructional coaching represents a good investment.
By Jo Beth Jimerson
Effective professional learning practices seem to get lost when the learning involves data use or data systems. Responsibility for supporting data use and cohesive planning related to professional learning for data use are instrumental in ensuring that data becomes a tool used to continually improve curriculum, instruction, and assessment. To accomplish this, assign a leader, make sure supports are in place, and include data with other professional learning.
By Steven A. Schiola
School-based, classroom-focused, teacher-initiated reform requires school and district leaders who possess the skills to create conditions that allow teachers to collaborate effectively. Although teacher and administrator preparation programs might not equip educators to do this, school and district leaders can teach and model the skills necessary to facilitate productive conversations among teachers. These skills include: Understand the problem clearly, understand the purpose of each meeting, establish working agreements, use effective decision-making strategies, and ensure every voice is in the room.
By Susan Scott and Angela Brooks-Rallins
A school principal describes how her relationships with staff members evolve as she steps out from behind her professional image and models authentic conversations.
By Stephanie Hirsh
Learning Forward launches “Tell Your Story” to build the case for why professional learning matters, how it makes a difference for educators and students, and why it merits the attention and investment of policymakers and education leaders.
Learning Forward is the only professional association devoted exclusively to those who work in educator professional development. We help our members plan, implement, and measure high-quality professional learning so they can achieve success with their systems, schools, and students.
What does professional learning look like around the world? This issue...
Technology is both a topic and a tool for professional learning. This...
How do you know your professional learning is working? This issue digs...
Professional learning can open up new roles and challenges and help...