This article focuses on the "learning leader," exploring "What is professional learning leadership at its core?" Leaders of professional learning come to their responsibility from many roles, from teacher to district administrator, to instructional coach. They set the agenda for professional learning by aligning it to…

Leaders often have common complaints about managing meetings and feel thwarted by attempts to collaborate. Teachers feel that time spent on collaboration is often wasted because of poor meeting management. Leaders can accelerate collaboration by creating collaborative compacts. A collaborative compact is a set of accords about how a group will…

All work to improve the quality of professional development must begin with one simple assumption: Teaching is an incredibly complex profession that draws on a wide set of intellectual and emotional skills. Even the best teachers need to continue to learn and improve their practice, and many are willing to do so. The bottom line is that all…

A thought leader is a person or group of people espousing ideas that influence the thinking and actions of many others. One of Learning Forward's strategic priorities is to engage thought leaders. The organization's rationale for this priority is that "educators are influenced by individuals and organizations with whom they have ongoing and…

Having data about student academic performance motivates school leaders to perform better as educators, and tells them where they need to concentrate their efforts to improve. As principal of Ernie Pyle Middle School in Albuquerque, New Mexico, this author finds that the constant use of relevant data helps him stay focused on his instructional…

Interviews Dave Ellis, president of the Brande Foundation, who promotes life coaching to help leaders become more creative and effective by making them happier, more satisfied human beings. It provides an opportunity for people to look at all areas of their lives, determine what they want in these areas, and have the coach help them develop…

In this article, the author presents the dangers in group work. He states that one common dilemma is when groups tend to come to agreement too quickly. Another dilemma is when the team is getting bogged down and becoming defensive or adversarial when members express new ideas or introduce new data. Finally, a very common danger is group members'…

In an interview, business professor Jane Dutton talks about her book, "Energize Your Workplace: How to Create and Sustain High-Quality Connections at Work" (Jossey-Bass, 2003). She organized her book around what she describes as a "deceptively simple" premise: "The energy and vitality of individuals and organizations alike depends on the quality…

Presents a broad, comprehensive perspective on what it takes to implement educational change, describing a conceptual framework of overarching risk factors and a set of tools and strategies for managing implementation of major change efforts: make a case for change, change vision clarity, change leaders, change guides, individual commitment,…

In most discussions of "what works" in education, the focus is on rules (such as class size limits) or on programs and their various components. These are clearly important. No matter what the reform, implementation is key. This article discusses five challenges to achieving and sustaining social and intellectual engagement in implementing…

Those who explore the topic of leadership will soon find a consistent theme: Leaders must focus on and accept responsibility for results. The increasing emphasis on measuring results using state and national tests has led some school leaders to focus on raising test scores. Yet data is not what drives educators to change or improve. In this…

This interview examines teacher craft knowledge and educational quality, noting that schools cannot improve themselves and suggesting that in order to be taken seriously, the teaching profession must take seriously its heroes and the important work teachers do. The paper discusses the role of school-based reformers and the need for professional…

To use technology properly, education leaders must understand technology's application in data-driven decision making, how technology intersects with pedagogy, what technology can and cannot do, and how to assess the latest tools and their uses. Sidebars highlight standards for administrators, assessment tools for staff knowledge and school…

Describes a study that examined how relationships within diverse leadership teams engaged the strengths of all members to make decisions and transform schools. Results indicated that diversity issues affecting team effectiveness were apparent in team composition, agenda topics, and group representation. This paper presents recommendations for…

Staff developers are being called upon to operate in four dimensions as skilled school change facilitators (process leaders, skills trainers, resource consultants, and energy enhancers). For staff developers to adopt the role of school change facilitator, expertise in both change process and group process skills is crucial. (SM)