The authors have noticed, especially over the last few years, a growing number of urgent tasks and issues straining already overburdened educators. Instead of easing workloads, professional learning seemed to pile on more, leading to its abandonment. The trend in low implementation became clear as professional learning participants struggled to…

Part of the reason many districts fail to achieve the promise of high-quality professional learning is that they operate with what the authors call a "PD mindset." This mindset manifests in sporadic, one-time events, inservice sessions, guest speakers, webinars, and workshops that are not part of a larger plan or vision. The authors…

As of April 2024, 38 U.S. states and the District of Columbia have laws or policies related to evidence-based reading instruction (Schwartz, 2024). To ensure the success of these efforts, educators need and deserve multifaceted support that involves professional learning, curriculum resources, ongoing support from leaders and coaches, and a…

The goal of this meta-analysis was to examine whether there is a significant relationship between professional learning that is aligned to Standards for Professional Learning and teacher instruction and student achievement. Using a cutting-edge method called a mediation-meta-analysis, the authors were also able to examine whether changes in…

Project I4 is a federally funded SEED (Supporting Effective Educator Development) grant, a partnership between East Carolina University and the Institute for Educational Leadership. It is a cohort-based, yearlong professional learning experience aimed at reimagining instructional leadership through an equity lens. Specifically, school leader…

Systems, structures, and practices perpetuate disparities because they reinforce barriers that sort and separate students based on assumed success or failure. When students are disadvantaged in this way, the implicit message is that their learning doesn't matter. The counterpoint to these discriminatory systems is an asset-based approach, which is…

A pedagogical model called student-led academic teaming takes a different approach to personalizing instruction and meeting the multifaceted needs of each student without increasing teacher fatigue and burnout. With student-led academic teaming, students take increased ownership and accountability for their own and their peers' learning, relieving…