Niamh McQuillan, development and instructional coach at Windsor Mill Middle School in Baltimore County Public Schools, Maryland, writes here that, as a teacher, she always liked new learning, but more often than not, it was like a barnacle on her practice. She attended professional development sessions and took the handout back to the to-do tray…

Teachers at Jackson Elementary School in Hillsboro, Oregon, embrace a growth mindset and continuously try best practices that better reach all students. They collaborate and bounce ideas off one another, and they observe one another and provide feedback. They will even ask another teacher to model lessons with their students so they learn how to…

Principal evaluation systems without explicit and aligned professional learning simply re-create a system of compliance and fail to improve leadership capacity. Given the complexity of the role of today's principals, they must learn a new set of skills and knowledge to create innovative learning environments. To use principal evaluation as a tool…

In her 24 years as an educator, Principal Lori Duckstein has experienced many kinds of professional development aimed at improving leadership and instruction. And, like school leaders and teachers everywhere, she has completed many one- and two-day training workshops only to return to her school and reflect on her learning in isolation. Recently,…