Midcareer teachers want something new from professional learning. Nearly all of the midcareer teachers the author interviewed described a need for content that is fresh or invites a meaningful extension of their existing skills and understandings. Midcareer teachers have different professional learning needs than novice teachers. To serve their…

Lesson study is a type of inquiry cycle used by educators seeking to improve instruction and student learning. Educator teams collaboratively study student thinking, design lessons, observe student learning during a live classroom lesson, and conduct data-driven analysis and reflection on evidence of success. The use of lesson study in the U.S.…

To make a difference for educators and students, workshops must be an integrated part of a larger professional learning strategy. In working with schools and districts, the authors have seen how workshops can go wrong -- but also how they can go right, anchoring and forwarding a professional learning strategy that is grounded in Standards for…

One of the most effective forms of professional learning happens when teachers conduct collaborative inquiry in their own classrooms around difficult and challenging topics -- even topics that are potentially divisive. In this article, the authors describe how they have seen this powerful process at work in their district in Pitt County, North…

A recent independent evaluation by WestEd of Learning Forward's What Matters Now Network looked at the ways in which a structured, facilitated network provided support for state-level coalitions working with districts, schools, and educators to improve instruction and make progress toward achieving content standards. The network was facilitated by…

Systems, structures, and practices perpetuate disparities because they reinforce barriers that sort and separate students based on assumed success or failure. When students are disadvantaged in this way, the implicit message is that their learning doesn't matter. The counterpoint to these discriminatory systems is an asset-based approach, which is…

A suite of newly published reports supported by The Wallace Foundation reveals the features and outcomes of high-quality principal learning and exposes disparities in principals' access to strong learning opportunities, especially in high-poverty schools. These reports demonstrate how collaborating institutional partners -- universities, school…

Many school districts struggle to retain early career teachers, but the challenge is particularly pronounced in small and rural districts (Frahm & Cianca, 2021). The School-University Resource Network, a university center at William & Mary School of Education in Virginia, discovered this firsthand through a community of practice they…

The Dane County New Teacher Project, a consortium of 17 school districts in Wisconsin, believes that new teacher induction is everyone's responsibility. To that end, the group pools resources from member districts to ensure support for new educators as they improve their effectiveness with students, find joy and purpose in their careers, and…

States and local communities are increasing access to preschool, but there is a significant divide when it comes to the quality of these early learning programs. Education and training requirements for preschool educators vary based on setting and state regulations, and while districts and nonprofits may offer professional learning, effective…

In March 2020, emergency school closings as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic initiated a sudden widespread use of virtual learning and brought new challenges that affected teaching and learning across multiple contexts. The complex change caused school district leaders to make plans to reinvent and reimagine schools and created a need for teacher…

Three schools spent time learning together in a Learning Forward Colorado Summer Institute focused on Learning Forward's book "Becoming a Learning System" (Hirsh et al., 2018). The book and the sessions with co-author Frederick Brown provided the blueprints and tools for building-based educational leaders to navigate a process for…

In Penn State's work with aspiring teacher leaders over the last decade, two core strategies have emerged that hold significant promise for fostering teacher leadership: (1) provide teachers with the skills they need to create their own jobs; and (2) provide training and extended (e.g. post-graduate) support in developing ongoing professional…

At their best, teams can bring people and talents together and serve as holding environments -- spaces that offer both developmental supports and challenges -- for individual, group, and organizational growth and transformation. While teaming has steadily emerged as a lever for educational change in recent years, educators are now being called on…

Why is formative assessment -- a proven powerful instructional practice -- so elusive in classrooms? As a regional professional learning provider for several years, Amy Burton rarely observed the use of formative assessment, even though, when asked, teachers could define it -- a quick check, during instruction, of what all students understand so…