In her full essay exploring the Leadership standard in "Reach the Highest Standard in Professional Learning: Leadership," author Karen Seashore Louis offers keen insights into the question of how leaders affect the learning of other adults in a school. She writes particularly about how "school leaders can create a school culture in…

A total of 39 states have adopted, adapted, or endorsed the Standards for Professional Learning, including the standards issued in 2011 (labeled in red) and those published earlier (labeled in blue). Making a commitment to the standards is a commitment to continuous learning for all educators in a school.

In 2014, instructional coaches Katrina Litzau and Vicki Murray designed professional learning to support teachers and principals in developing a deeper understanding of the cognitive processes of leadership. Steeped in the Common Core State Standards and building on quality literacy instruction, they designed the professional learning based on…

The purpose of professional learning is for educators to develop the knowledge, skills, practices, and dispositions they need to help students perform at higher levels. It is not a simple matter to connect the dots between high quality professional learning and student outcomes. However, the theory of action that drives the standards, and indeed…

As they write about the Learning Communities standard in "Reach the Highest Standard in Professional Learning: Learning Communities," authors Ann Lieberman and Lynne Miller consider why communities have gained widespread attention and support and summarize the established research base about them. They also describe three contexts in…

Michael Fullan's insights on what it takes to make professional learning stick--in other words, Learning Forward's Implementation standard--have long helped leaders at the school and system level create change in ways that lead to better outcomes for students. In his full thought leader essay in "Reach the Highest Standard in Professional…

Susana Velasco always thought she designed lessons for her kindergarten students to help them meet the academic standards for their grade. But now she feels better equipped to adapt instruction to meet the needs of all the children in her class--a skill she has developed through her school's participation in the Literacy Design Collaborative…

As faculty chair of early childhood education at Vanguard University of Southern California, the author was challenged each day by questions: How to provide high-impact online professional learning to adult continuing education students? What barriers exist for adult learners seeking meaningful professional learning? How does practice as a…

Key findings from a new study highlight how Learning Forward's long-standing position on professional learning correlates with practices in high-performing systems in Singapore, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and British Columbia. The purpose of this article is to share key findings from the study so that educators might apply them to strengthening…

The challenges of implementing the Common Core State Standards and Science Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) provide momentum for facilitating teacher learning far beyond the capacity of current formal and informal professional development in most school districts. The implementation of the curricula that substantially increase the learning…

Educators across the nation have been responding to the push for content-area literacy instruction in their systems. While the press for higher academic standards has sharpened national focus on the reading of complex, discipline-specific informational texts, educators have been grappling with how to help science, social studies, and vocational…

In the past decade, interest in the form of professional learning loosely described as coaching has exploded. This growing interest in coaching is likely fueled by educators' recognition that traditional one-shot approaches to professional development--where teachers hear about practices but do not receive follow-up support--are ineffective at…

To help explain the role and purpose of staff development in the schools, information was solicited from professionals in the field about their job-related concerns and needs, and their continuing education interests. Their responses are summarized, and recommendations for the field are suggested. (PP)