Can Workshops Be High-quality Professional Learning?

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Can workshops be high-quality professional learning?

By Sharron Helmke and Suzanne Bouffard

Categories: Facilitation, Learning designs, Outcomes

August 2023

One of the defining features of high-quality professional learning is that it is ongoing, not a one-off event. Learning Forward’s definition of professional learning, which appears in U.S. education legislation, specifies that meaningful professional learning activities “are sustained (not stand-alone, 1-day, or short term workshops), intensive, collaborative, job-embedded, data-driven, and classroom-focused” (Every Student Succeeds Act, 2015). But that doesn’t mean that a workshop or a learning session has no place in professional learning. Dedicated time away from the classroom for in-depth learning can be very valuable — if it’s done well. To make a difference for educators and students, workshops must be an integrated part of a larger professional learning strategy. They can be used to introduce new strategies or concepts, advance to a new

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References

Every Student Succeeds Act, 20 U.S.C. 6301 § Section 8002 (2015).

Killion, J. (1999). What works in the middle: Results-based staff development. NSDC.

Killion, J. (2002). What works in the elementary school: Results-based staff development. NSDC & NEA.

Killion, J. (2017). Assessing impact: Evaluating professional learning. Corwin & Learning Forward.

Learning Forward. (2022). Standards for Professional Learning. Author.

Sharron Helmke

Senior Vice President, Professional Services at Learning Forward | + posts

Sharron Helmke, senior vice president of professional services at Learning Forward, designs and manages the organization’s consulting service programs that support state, regional, and local organizations in translating their improvement and learning goals into custom-designed high-quality professional learning programs that result in scalable and sustainable change. During her twenty-plus years in education she has served in a variety of roles at the campus and district levels, including teacher, instructional coach, and district-based program administrator. She is an international coaching federation certified professional coach, a Gestalt professional coach, and a trauma-informed care provider, all of which inform her approach to supporting educators. She is the author of numerous professional articles, including “To make a difference for every student, give every new teacher a mentor” in the August 2022 issue of The Learning Journal.

Suzanne Bouffard

Senior Vice President, Communications & Publications | + posts

Suzanne Bouffard is senior vice president of communications and publications at Learning Forward. She is the editor of The Learning Professional, Learning Forward’s flagship publication. She also contributes to the Learning Forward blog and webinars. With a background in child development, she has a passion for making research and best practices accessible to educators, policymakers, and families. She has written for many national publications including The New York Times and the Atlantic, and previously worked as a writer and researcher at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She has a Ph.D. in developmental psychology from Duke University and a B.A. from Wesleyan University. She loves working with authors to help them develop their ideas and voices for publication.