Teachers are regularly asked to use data to inform their instruction. In the past, teachers examined student work in isolation. Now, however, teachers increasingly have dedicated meeting times. So how can teachers collaboratively examine student work and use their findings to improve instruction? In this article, a team of teachers at Hilltop…

In early November 2013, the authors started talking about visiting the Hurley School, a dual-language school in Boston, Massachusetts. The Hurley School had spent considerable time transitioning to the Common Core State Standards on literacy, but little time addressing the shifts in math. They worried that math classes were no longer rigorous…

In this article, the author discusses content focus and coherence, which are fundamental to professional development that helps teachers boost student learning. Learning Forward's Outcomes standard emphasizes that teacher learning should be focused on subject-matter content and how students learn that content, and consistent with the individual,…

During the 2010-2011 school year, McWhirter Elementary Professional Development Laboratory School in Webster, Texas, faced a significant reduction in funds available for professional learning. In this article, the author describes how videoconferencing sustained the school's professional learning initiatives on a shrinking budget. By rethinking…

When teachers learn to take time to understand how students are thinking about mathematics, they will be better able to develop students' mathematical understanding. Teachers must become investigators--of mathematics and of student thinking--in their own classrooms. When teachers explore mathematics, analyze student thinking, and write cases from…

In this article, the author discusses how an instructional leader can overcome organizational inertia and create a genuine systemic change by starting small. To make a successful change, an organization must do the following: (1) Find the right staff and a powerful idea; (2) Provide a sponsor; (3) Start small; (4) Get results; (5) Find a…

Describes one elementary teacher's experiences participating in the Talking Mathematics Project, which provided a forum for teachers to teach, reflect on their mathematics knowledge, and think about their practice. Teachers were videotaped in their classrooms. They examined the videotapes alone and in seminars. Reflecting with others enriched the…

A mathematics staff development program engaged kindergarten through twelfth grade Georgia teachers in a constructivist approach to learning for use in the classroom. The Problem-Solving and Thinking Project emphasized that teacher and student learning is not done passively and that teachers must be taught as it is hoped they will teach. (SM)

A Pennsylvania district used study groups to help teachers districtwide change their science teaching to standards-based practice of inquiry. Standards-based inquiry instruction requires that teachers have a deeper content knowledge as well as understand the process of inquiry. Making those changes requires support and a collegial environment.