Micro-Credentialing: A New Look at Teacher Professional Development

Posted on April 13, 2016April 13, 2016 by coreeducation

A recent blog post from Education Week takes a look at the current state of professional development for teachers and finds a brave new world of “micro-credentialing.” The following example shows just how it works: Last year, Kay Staley and Jessica Scherer, literacy coaches in the Kettle Moraine district in Wisconsin, led groups of teachers in Read more about Micro-Credentialing: A New Look at Teacher Professional Development[…]

What Teachers Need to Make Professional Learning Work

Posted on March 29, 2016March 22, 2016 by coreeducation

Learning Forward and the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future (NCTAF) recently released a white paper on the role that teacher agency plays in creating successful professional learning opportunities. The white paper, Moving from Compliance to Agency: What Teachers Need to Make Professional Learning Work, defines teacher agency as “the capacity of teachers to Read more about What Teachers Need to Make Professional Learning Work[…]

Evaluation Systems as Tools for Professional Development

Posted on March 23, 2016March 18, 2016 by coreeducation

A recent report released by New America called Beyond Ratings examines state teacher evaluation systems and evaluates their usefulness as tools for teacher growth. The report highlights what actions states have taken so far to ensure evaluation systems are being used to develop teachers’ practice, and what more needs to be done. In particular, the Read more about Evaluation Systems as Tools for Professional Development[…]

March Issue Brief: Teacher Professionalism

Posted on March 22, 2016March 18, 2016 by coreeducation

Teachers often know best when it comes to helping their students achieve academic success, but districts and schools are not set up to capitalize on the wisdom of teachers. In this month’s issue brief from Core Education, we explore ideas related to increasing teacher professionalism, including changed teacher roles, teacher-powered schools, and ideas borrowed from Read more about March Issue Brief: Teacher Professionalism[…]

New Report calls for States to Shift Teacher Evaluations Toward Support

Posted on March 17, 2016March 11, 2016 by coreeducation

A recent report from New America: Ed-Central blog, titled Beyond Boundaries, looks at states’ role in the teacher evaluation process. New teacher evaluation systems are an increasingly common aspect of teachers’ daily lives. To ensure that all students have access to quality teaching, the vast majority of states have adopted new, more rigorous teacher evaluation Read more about New Report calls for States to Shift Teacher Evaluations Toward Support[…]

Competency-Based Teacher Preparation

Posted on March 9, 2016March 4, 2016 by coreeducation

In a recent article in Real Clear Education, Patrick Riccard reflects on the potential for teacher preparation programs to implement a competency-based approach. Excerpts from the article appear below: Demonstrating knowledge and ability should be the key criterion for teachers’ preparation, placement, development, and advancement. Teacher preparation must begin to shift from a “time served” Read more about Competency-Based Teacher Preparation[…]

Transforming and Elevating the Teaching Profession

Posted on March 8, 2016March 4, 2016 by coreeducation

A recent report, written by the Center for American Progress, guides the reader through a teacher’s career trajectory, beginning at recruitment and selection and continuing throughout his or her career in order to provide policymakers and the public with a forward-thinking document that proposes how to elevate and modernize the teaching profession. In this report, Read more about Transforming and Elevating the Teaching Profession[…]

Building a Culture of Improvement: The Network to Transform Teaching

Posted on March 2, 2016February 26, 2016 by coreeducation

Currently in education, especially K-12, there is an emphasis on accountability and a pressure for rapid, large-scale implementation. National debate continues to rage over the use of testing for student and teacher evaluation, and we hunt for elusive silver bullets. Within this context, the Network to Transform Teaching (NT3) was formed with the goal of Read more about Building a Culture of Improvement: The Network to Transform Teaching[…]

Supporting Teacher Professionalism

Posted on February 26, 2016February 18, 2016 by coreeducation

A new OECD report, Supporting Teacher Professionalism, based on the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS), examines the nature and extent of support for teacher professionalism across 34 countries. Teacher professionalism is defined as the knowledge, skills, and practices that teachers must have in order to be effective educators. The report focuses on lower secondary Read more about Supporting Teacher Professionalism[…]

Learning About Learning: What Every New Teacher Needs to Know

Posted on February 23, 2016February 18, 2016 by coreeducation

A recently published report by the National Center for Teacher Quality (NCTQ) summarizes research-based strategies that new teachers need to help teach students how to learn effectively and then questions the extent to which teachers are learning these strategies in their preparation programs. Future teachers need to learn about learning so that what they teach Read more about Learning About Learning: What Every New Teacher Needs to Know[…]

More Teaching, Less Learning?

Posted on February 15, 2016February 12, 2016 by coreeducation

One of the main differences between the U.S. education system and the systems that outperform it in student achievement is the amount of time teachers spend in the classroom in front of students versus the time spent in professional development activities. This chart, “Teaching Hours,” shows time spent actually teaching within the classroom, and does Read more about More Teaching, Less Learning?[…]

Professional Development Transformed

Posted on February 9, 2016February 9, 2016 by coreeducation

In a recent post in Education Week, Marc Tucker examines the teacher professional development systems in Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai, British Columbia, and Shanghai. Professional development looks very different in all these places than it typically does in the United States. It is the main driver of school improvement. Far from something that takes the Read more about Professional Development Transformed[…]

Center for Teaching Quality: How do teachers really learn?

Posted on January 13, 2016January 8, 2016 by coreeducation

How do teachers learn? What are the implications of teacher learning (or the lack thereof) for students? What is the value of a teacher who really learns? During the month of November, members of the CTQ Collaboratory tackled these questions and more during a round table discussion centered on the topics of professional development, personalized Read more about Center for Teaching Quality: How do teachers really learn?[…]

Surveying Teachers about Evaluator Feedback

Posted on January 8, 2016December 23, 2015 by coreeducation

Many states are developing or implementing teacher evaluation systems that include feedback to teachers as one part of the evaluation process. Do teachers find the feedback they receive to be useful and high quality? Regional Educational Laboratory Central has created an easy-to-use survey toolkit to help administrators answer this question in their state or district. Read more about Surveying Teachers about Evaluator Feedback[…]

Deeper Teaching: Students at the Center of Learning

Posted on January 4, 2016March 3, 2020 by coreeducation

Most high school students are accustomed to learning in two ways: by listening to the teacher and by reading books and other texts. These familiar ways of learning work for them so long as their teachers demand only that they grasp and remember the given content. However, if the goal is to help students learn Read more about Deeper Teaching: Students at the Center of Learning[…]

Tuition-Free Summer Programs for Teachers

Posted on December 8, 2015December 4, 2015 by coreeducation

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is offering and funding tuition-free programs for school and college educators. These programs are for one to five weeks and focus on important topics, texts, and questions in the humanities. In addition, they can be used to: enhance intellectual vitality and professional development of anyone who participates, build Read more about Tuition-Free Summer Programs for Teachers[…]