This article presents a plan to create a united approach to improve high quality instruction in Robbinsdale Cooper High School in New Hope, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis. Professional learning communities were in their infancy, conversations around data were about autopsies of annual standardized tests, and there was no description of what…

Adopting new curricula presents both a need and an opportunity for professional development to advance teacher content knowledge and instructional practices for achieving curriculum-specific student outcomes. This study examines two modalities of professional development: face-to-face in a summer workshop and online that included two days of…

Fort Wayne Community Schools continue to increase student learning and meet state and national standards and expectations annually based on several factors that have made a difference for educators within the system: district and principal leadership, learning teams, effective learning designs, and deep commitment to a culture of learning. Fort…

Implementing teacher evaluation systems across the United States has created both challenges and opportunities to improving teacher quality. Lessons learned at the state level illustrate a wide range of challenges with system implementation, including value-added growth scores, implementation timetables, and human capital demands (McGuinn, 2012),…

This article describes an equity education program established in 2009 by Ontario's (Canada) Ministry of Education to improve outcomes for students at risk and create the conditions needed for student success. Beginning teachers were crucial partners and emerging leaders of equity education. Some of the equity concerns these teachers faced…

This article describes the role of the skillful leader and what practical solutions are needed to overcome hurdles. What distinguishes the skillful team leader from a less-effective leader is his or her approach to overcoming hurdles, and are rooted in the leader's values, mindset, intelligence, and skill. When faced with hurdles to team…

This article describes the Boston Teacher Leadership Certificate program created to expand teachers' capacity for teacher leadership roles. The professional learning was designed to strengthen teachers' leadership skills while also paying attention to whether and under what conditions they were more successful in their roles. To monitor…

This article is drawn from a longer study Lois Brown Easton conducted for Learning Forward as the organization seeks to understand and influence the global professional learning landscape. A look at the data shows that, despite everything known about the need for high-quality professional learning, a significant number of teachers around the world…

This article explores the powerful idea of capital and articulates its importance for professional work, professional capacity, and professional effectiveness. Systems that invest in professional capital recognize that education spending is an investment in developing human capital from early childhood to adulthood, leading to rewards of economic…

Teacher beliefs have a profound impact on instructional practice. According to Pajares (1992), beliefs determine how much effort a teacher puts forth and how long he or she will persist in the face of adversity. Many beliefs can be traced back to experiences teachers had when they were in school. Those early recollections of school events tend to…

A teacher can be the most important resource in a school. When the teacher's attitude derives from asset-based thinking, positive impact can occur for both teacher and student. Asset-based thinking is defined as "a way of viewing reality." Those who embrace this model approach things from a positive as opposed to a negative perspective.…

Everyone is appalled at reports of rampant cheating among high school and college students, primarily by cutting and pasting from the Internet without providing citations. There are situations in real life where an individual suffered serious consequences for plagiarizing work. Many schools incorporate such scenarios in character education…

While there is a growing body of literature promoting a new paradigm of differentiated professional development in which teachers' voices shape learning opportunities, the reality is that much professional development continues in an outdated, top-down mode. Teacher input is rarely solicited to determine the perceptions of teachers regarding their…

This article describes how a long-term commitment to job-embedded professional development creates a culture of continuous learning in one Michigan district. In Holt Public Schools, every Wednesday is time for teachers' professional development, and that means the students' day is shorter by two hours to allow it. Through two decades and three…

Mike Carbone has been the principal of Kickemuit Middle School in Warren, Rhode Island, since 1990. He's seen some bad times there before a dramatic turnaround. When asked what finally got his school's engine revved and moving the school forward, he said without hesitation: "Learning walks." In this article, the author describes how Carbone…