Supporting and Sustaining Teachers' Professional Development

Supporting and Sustaining Teachers' Professional Development
Author: Marilyn Tallerico
Publisher: Corwin Press
Total Pages: 169
Release: 2005-03-10
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1412913357

"Tallerico empowers principals with her view that leaders matter and demonstrates how their influence is expanded when they focus their attention on high-quality professional learning that continuously improves teaching, student learning, and relationships within the school community."--Dennis Sparks, Executive DirectorNational Staff Development Council"Although there are many resources for building administrators to learn models and implementation issues for quality professional development, few I′ve seen have compiled as handy a resource as this one."--Karla Reiss, Founder, Consultant, and Coach The Change PlaceNurture teacher development through focused and realistic approaches! Although school administrators consider supporting and sustaining teachers′ professional development a priority, more pressing day-to-day imperatives often eclipse this goal. Supporting and Sustaining Teachers′ Professional Development specifically targets busy school principals who want practical suggestions for how to balance these everyday administrative tasks while encouraging teachers′ professional growth. Focusing on seven questions selected for their relevance to school administrators, this essential reference summarizes the practical implications of the latest research and theory on the topic of teacher development. Organized around three key elements of current NSDC national standards, this resource for new, veteran, and aspiring school leaders will illustrate how to: Emphasize research and practice Provide rationales that explain and justify the encouragement of professional development Link teachers′ professional development to student learning Interpret national standards for professional development and apply them practically Improve student achievement, retain highly qualified teachers, and ground school practices in sound research by learning how to encourage your teachers while remaining committed to your leadership responsibilities.

Professional Capital

Professional Capital
Author: Andy Hargreaves
Publisher: Teachers College Press
Total Pages: 241
Release: 2015-04-24
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0807771708

The future of learning depends absolutely on the future of teaching. In this latest and most important collaboration, Andy Hargreaves and Michael Fullan show how the quality of teaching is captured in a compelling new idea: the professional capital of every teacher working together in every school. Speaking out against policies that result in a teaching force that is inexperienced, inexpensive, and exhausted in short order, these two world authorities--who know teaching and leadership inside out--set out a groundbreaking new agenda to transform the future of teaching and public education. Ideas-driven, evidence-based, and strategically powerful, Professional Capital combats the tired arguments and stereotypes of teachers and teaching and shows us how to change them by demanding more of the teaching profession and more from the systems that support it. This is a book that no one connected with schools can afford to ignore. This book features: (1) a powerful and practical solution to what ails American schools; (2) Action guidelines for all groups--individual teachers, administrators, schools and districts, state and federal leaders; (3) a next-generation update of core themes from the authors' bestselling book, "What's Worth Fighting for in Your School?" [This book was co-published with the Ontario Principals' Council.].

Action Learning in Schools

Action Learning in Schools
Author: Peter Aubusson
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 162
Release: 2012-08-21
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1136616969

Teaching is becoming increasingly complex in the 21st Century, creating a need for more sophisticated frameworks to support teachers’ professional learning. Action learning is one such framework and has been used for workplace learning in business settings for many years. It is now becoming increasingly popular in school and university settings, but it is often misunderstood. This book clarifies what action learning is, linking key concepts to illustrate that it is not merely a process, but a dynamic interaction between professional learning, communities, leadership and change. The book brings together more than a decade of the authors’ research in school-based action learning. Rich and diverse, the research draws on more than 100 case studies of action learning by teams of teachers in schools. The authors: provide practical advice on how to initiate and sustain action learning; explain the interaction between action learning, teacher development, professional learning, community building, leadership and change; and illustrate how action learning can link to classroom practice so closely that it becomes part of what teachers do, rather than an added impost. Addressing the highs and lows, the successes and failures, and their underlying causes, Action Learning in Schools provides insights into theories of cooperation, innovation, leadership and community formation to inform individual projects and large-scale school improvement initiatives. It will be of interest to teacher educators, pre-service and experienced teachers alike, as well as school and education system managers and policymakers keen to enhance teacher professional learning and educational outcomes for students.

Professional Learning Communities at Work

Professional Learning Communities at Work
Author: Richard DuFour
Publisher: Solution Tree
Total Pages: 0
Release: 1998
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9781879639607

Provides specific information on how to transform schools into results-oriented professional learning communities, describing the best practices that have been used by schools nationwide.

Teachers Leading Educational Reform

Teachers Leading Educational Reform
Author: Alma Harris
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 424
Release: 2017-07-31
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1317247884

Teachers Leading Educational Reform explores the ways in which teachers across the world are currently working together in professional learning communities (PLCs) to generate meaningful change and innovation in order to transform pedagogy and practice. By discussing how teachers can work collectively and collaboratively on the issues of learning and teaching that matter to them, it argues that through collective action and collaborative agency, teachers are leading educational reform. By offering contemporary examples and perspectives on the practice, impact and sustainability of PLCs, this book takes a global, comparative view showing categorically that those educational systems that are performing well, and seek to perform well, are using PLCs as the infrastructure to support teacher-led improvement. Split into three sections that look at the macro, meso and micro aspects of how far professional collaboration is building the capacity and capability for school and system improvement, this text asks the questions: Is the PLC work authentic? Is the PLC work being implemented at a superficial or deep level? Is there evidence of a positive impact on students/teachers at the school/district/system level? Is provision in place for sustaining the PLC work? Teachers Leading Educational Reform illustrates how focused and purposeful professional collaboration is contributing to change and reform across the globe. It reinforces why teachers must be at the heart of the school reform processes as the drivers and architects of school transformation and change.

Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8

Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 587
Release: 2015-07-23
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0309324882

Children are already learning at birth, and they develop and learn at a rapid pace in their early years. This provides a critical foundation for lifelong progress, and the adults who provide for the care and the education of young children bear a great responsibility for their health, development, and learning. Despite the fact that they share the same objective - to nurture young children and secure their future success - the various practitioners who contribute to the care and the education of children from birth through age 8 are not acknowledged as a workforce unified by the common knowledge and competencies needed to do their jobs well. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 explores the science of child development, particularly looking at implications for the professionals who work with children. This report examines the current capacities and practices of the workforce, the settings in which they work, the policies and infrastructure that set qualifications and provide professional learning, and the government agencies and other funders who support and oversee these systems. This book then makes recommendations to improve the quality of professional practice and the practice environment for care and education professionals. These detailed recommendations create a blueprint for action that builds on a unifying foundation of child development and early learning, shared knowledge and competencies for care and education professionals, and principles for effective professional learning. Young children thrive and learn best when they have secure, positive relationships with adults who are knowledgeable about how to support their development and learning and are responsive to their individual progress. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 offers guidance on system changes to improve the quality of professional practice, specific actions to improve professional learning systems and workforce development, and research to continue to build the knowledge base in ways that will directly advance and inform future actions. The recommendations of this book provide an opportunity to improve the quality of the care and the education that children receive, and ultimately improve outcomes for children.

Science Teachers' Learning

Science Teachers' Learning
Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2016-01-15
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0309380189

Currently, many states are adopting the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) or are revising their own state standards in ways that reflect the NGSS. For students and schools, the implementation of any science standards rests with teachers. For those teachers, an evolving understanding about how best to teach science represents a significant transition in the way science is currently taught in most classrooms and it will require most science teachers to change how they teach. That change will require learning opportunities for teachers that reinforce and expand their knowledge of the major ideas and concepts in science, their familiarity with a range of instructional strategies, and the skills to implement those strategies in the classroom. Providing these kinds of learning opportunities in turn will require profound changes to current approaches to supporting teachers' learning across their careers, from their initial training to continuing professional development. A teacher's capability to improve students' scientific understanding is heavily influenced by the school and district in which they work, the community in which the school is located, and the larger professional communities to which they belong. Science Teachers' Learning provides guidance for schools and districts on how best to support teachers' learning and how to implement successful programs for professional development. This report makes actionable recommendations for science teachers' learning that take a broad view of what is known about science education, how and when teachers learn, and education policies that directly and indirectly shape what teachers are able to learn and teach. The challenge of developing the expertise teachers need to implement the NGSS presents an opportunity to rethink professional learning for science teachers. Science Teachers' Learning will be a valuable resource for classrooms, departments, schools, districts, and professional organizations as they move to new ways to teach science.

Teacher Learning That Matters

Teacher Learning That Matters
Author: Mary Kooy
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 295
Release: 2012-02-27
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1136651357

In the continuing global call for educational reforms and change, the contributors in this edited collection address the critical issue of teacher learning from diverse national contexts and perspectives. They define "teacher learning that matters" as it shapes and directs pedagogical practices with the goal of improving student learning. This book weaves together major studies, research findings and theoretical orientations to represent a globalized network of inquiries into the what, how and why of teacher learning that shapes teacher skill and knowledge. Teacher learning matters on an international scale because teachers are the portals through which any initiative for change and reform is realized. Recognizing that a highly skilled teaching force is instrumental to improving student achievement adds import to generating interactive dialogue on teacher learning around the globe.

Evaluating Professional Development

Evaluating Professional Development
Author: Thomas R. Guskey
Publisher: Corwin Press
Total Pages: 332
Release: 2000
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9780761975618

Explains how to better evaluate professional development in order to ensure that it increases student learning, providing questions for accurate measurement of professional development and showing how to demonstrate results and accountability.