Educators have many "meetings of the minds": Grade-level planning sessions, PLCs, coaching meetings--which together should allow teachers ample opportunities to create high-quality, rigorous lesson plans that deepen student learning. But do these meetings actually work? Frequent planning sessions often become a time for teachers to…

In this article, the author reflects on the support that novice teachers may need when preparing lesson plans. Showing that support makes a difference, three groups of teachers (one with access to lessons plans along with assistance from an online learning community; one with model plans but just online access; and one writing their own lesson…