In professional learning, just as in architecture, form follows function. Although professional learning designs are vitally important, they cannot be where we begin in our planning. Purpose -- our why -- must be our starting point in designing any professional learning experience. Educators who begin by attending to the questions, "What do…

When the staff at Northern Kentucky Cooperative for Educational Services (NKCES) discovered a new road to higher quality professional learning and better outcomes for students, they jumped on it and quickly decided they weren't going back. Three years ago Chief Academic Officer Melody Stacy and her colleagues learned about the Standards for…