Supporting each other
October 2020
Vol. 41, No. 5
What does it mean to support learning in challenging times? It means listening, communicating, and leading with empathy. It means committing to anti-racism and breaking down structural barriers to equity. This issue examines ways to do so in professional learning.
In This Issue
FOCUS
What's your mantra for this school year?
If this month’s issue had a mantra, it might be: we’re all stronger when we support each other.
SEL and equity
A conversation with Dena Simmons: ‘If we don’t address the wound, we cannot heal.’
When teachers listen, students learn
Coaching helps teachers incorporate student voice in the classroom.
Connections bring us closer to equity and justice
Teams grow stronger when members acknowledge differences and commonalities.
Address the stress
How leaders can support teachers in an extraordinary year.
Get connected
Infographic shows how much students want and need communication from educators.
ONLINE EXCLUSIVE: The teacher-student connection
Tool offers a road map to improve relationships.
TOOLS
Empathy interviews
A tool for listening deeply and centering diverse perspectives in decisions and policies.
Strategic teaming
A guide to creating and managing new types of instructional teams during the pandemic.
Through the lens
Reflection questions for examining the Standards for Professional Learning.
IDEAS
Equity in pre-K classrooms
A pilot program in NYC builds early childhood leaders’ capacity for leading professional learning with equity.
How academic discipline influences coaching
An initial study suggests that coaches’ area of focus matters.
Chart a clear course
Evaluation is key to building better, more relevant professional learning.
RESEARCH
Access, knowledge, and culture limit teachers’ use of research
A study finds teacher attitudes aren’t the problem in applying research.
What works? Q & A with Heather Hill
What makes professional learning effective? It’s a complex question.
Data points
Keeping up with the latest on professional learning.
VOICES
UPDATES
Recent Issues
SUPPORTING EACH OTHER
October 2020
What does it mean to support learning in challenging times? It means listening, communicating, and leading with empathy. It means committing to anti-racism and breaking down structural barriers to equity. This issue examines ways to do so in professional learning.
TURNING TO TECHNOLOGY
August 2020
Technology constantly creates new opportunities for professional learning. Never have those developments been as important as they are now, during the COVID-19 pandemic. This issue examines how strategies like online mentoring, bug-in-ear coaching, virtual collaboration, and video observation have built educator capacity before and during the pandemic.
WHAT NOW?
June 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed school as we know it. As we face an unpredictable future, professional learning has never been more urgent. This issue highlights some of the ways educators are learning and evolving to meet the shifting needs of students and staff as schools close, shift online, reopen, and prepare for whatever lies ahead.
BEYOND THE BASICS
April 2020
Learning professionals challenge themselves to stretch and grow while staying grounded in the fundamentals. This issue is about achieving a solid foothold in best practices so you can succeed with the basics and beyond.