Igniting the Learning Engine, a new report from Education Resource Strategies, examines how leaders in four school systems have successfully re-organized resources to create the type of effective, job-embedded professional learning that teachers are asking for. The report describes three inter-related elements that these systems have in common: (a) Rigorous, comprehensive curricula and assessments aligned Read more about Igniting the Learning Engine[…]
A new report by Ross Wiener and Susan Pimentel of the Aspen Institute makes the case for integrating curriculum into professional learning so teachers can focus on creating engaging learning environments, responding to the needs of their students, and continuously improving their craft. Practice What You Teach: Connecting Curriculum and Professional Learning in Schools highlights Read more about Practice What You Teach: Connecting Curriculum and Professional Learning in Schools[…]
The National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) and the Center on Great Teachers and Leaders (GTL Center) have released a new interactive tool for principals: Principals Action Plan for the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA): Providing All Students with a Well-Rounded and Complete Education. Principals’ crucial voices are needed in ESSA planning. To support Read more about Providing All Students with a Well-Rounded Education through ESSA[…]
Despite decades of efforts to support teachers with coaching, most teachers still do not get the support they need in their own classrooms. Yet many teachers, including experienced ones, need support to continue to evolve professionally, hone their practice, and use new tools. Based on experience, the research base on coaching, and a forward-looking analysis, Read more about Coaching Roles That Achieve Their Potential to Improve Teaching and Learning[…]
The Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership has released their Designing Professional Learning report, which provides a snapshot of the key elements involved in creating effective and engaging professional learning in a globally dispersed market. This report provides detailed guidance on how to configure and evaluate context-specific models. It includes a Learning Design Anatomy Read more about Designing Professional Learning[…]
To succeed in today’s economy, organizations must invest in the skills, knowledge and abilities of their staff – i.e. human capital – to maximize their performance. Ranging from talent recruitment, to creating workplace practices and environments that encourage employees to develop and stay, these tactics are being used by organizations throughout the country to be Read more about New Survey from CAP: Districts Not Investing Enough in Human Capital[…]
Selecting instructional materials based on rigorous research and standards is an important and time-consuming job at the state, district, and school levels. To facilitate this process, Regional Educational Laboratory Southeast has developed a rubric for evaluating reading/language arts instructional and intervention materials for use in elementary grades (K-5). The rubric is organized by content area Read more about Rubric for Evaluating Reading/Language Arts Instructional Materials for Grades K-5[…]
When the U.S. Department of Education granted states waivers to the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), those waivers came with conditions. The waivers required states to adopt teacher evaluations that, among other requirements, were based in part on student performance data. The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) ends these federal requirements for teacher evaluations. Read more about What does ESSA say about teacher evaluation?[…]
The Education Week Research Center has released an original study examining teachers’ perspectives on growth mindset. The national survey of K-12 educators, conducted with support from the Raikes Foundation, also explores their views about professional development, training, and the use of practices related to growth mindset in the classroom. Growth mindset-the belief that intelligence can Read more about Mindset in the Classroom: A National Study of K-12 Teachers[…]
The U.S. Department of Education has released non-regulatory guidance to help support the nation’s educators and elevate the teaching profession. The guidance encourages states and districts to prepare, train, and recruit high-quality teachers and principals to increase student academic achievement. With the enactment of Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), states and districts have the opportunity Read more about Education Department Encourages Support for Educators and Teaching Profession[…]
The Institute of Education Sciences has released a new guide that can help researchers and practitioners who are planning, implementing, and evaluating professional learning communities (PLCs). The guide, from Regional Educational Laboratory Mid-Atlantic, compiles 49 valid, reliable, and tested measures of key performance indicators of teacher PLCs. The guide features an annotated bibliography that identifies Read more about Instruments for Measuring the Performance of Professional Learning Communities[…]
The Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) has released SREB Insights, an interactive data tool to help policymakers compare and understand state trends, policies, and recommended actions for reaching college- and career-readiness standards. SREB Insights features analysis around the alignment of state standards to college admission requirements, benchmarking of professional learning opportunities to help schools implement Read more about SREB Launches Insights Interactive Data[…]
New America’s Kaylan Connally recently reported on DC Public Schools’ new Learning Together to Advance Our Practice (LEAP) initiative. The new program provides staff with guidance from seasoned teachers on content mastery and teaching methods. Below are excerpts from the article: Teachers tend to be dissatisfied with how professional development (PD) activities, even those that Read more about Will D.C. Public Schools’ Big Bet on Teacher Development Pay Off?[…]
The Foundation for Excellence in Education (ExcelinEd) is excited to announce the launch of its latest EdPolicy Leaders Online course, Learning to Dream: Education and Economic Mobility. This course explores the key components of economic mobility and how access to high quality education systems and diverse educational offerings is a key factor in ensuring all Read more about Free Online Course: Learning to Dream – Education and Economic Mobility[…]
Over four weeks last spring, the Learning First Alliance convened a “Practitioner Think Tank” consisting of a cross-section of education practitioners: teachers, principals, school counselors, parents, technology directors, superintendents, teacher educators, school board members and other ground-level educators. This group began the process of creating a new report that explores what is needed to achieve Read more about Getting College- and Career-Ready Standards Right[…]
Nicholas Papageorge, Seth Gershenson, and Kyungmin Kang have released a discussion paper, titled Teacher Expectations Matter, that uncovers teacher expectations that differ by racial groups in a way that puts black students at a disadvantage, exacerbating racial achievement gaps. The authors recently wrote about their findings in Brookings blog: We demonstrate that teacher expectations do Read more about Do teacher expectations matter?[…]