This article provides a vignette which demonstrates some of the outcomes that occur when teachers collaborate across school district lines. The project began as an idea from Ben Owens, a 2014 Hope Street Group National Teacher Fellow. The basic notion was that good teaching doesn't happen in isolation. As someone who came into teaching after a…

"This is the piece that's been missing." This reaction is common among educators engaged in AIW Iowa, an initiative that engages teachers and administrators in professional learning communities that are improving student achievement, increasing student engagement, and building a schoolwide professional culture focused on improving…

For the past 12 years, the author has worked with peer coaches in more than 40 countries, and has seen schools where peer coaches have collaborated with colleagues to improve teaching and learning in classrooms across the school. In other schools, coaches have played a critical role in creating a culture of collaboration that helps build the…

This article describes three types of data that can impact how instructional coaches face the challenges in measuring the impact of their work with teachers on student learning. Descriptions of the three types of data--"shifts in teacher reflective tendencies," "the use of student performance as an indicator of success," and…

In this study of 16 teachers in two primary schools in the Netherlands, researchers built on findings from previous studies to demonstrate that a thoughtfully designed professional development program can be "effective and sustainable, if certain conditions are met" (p. 772) in changing teachers' knowledge, beliefs, perceived problems,…

What happens when teachers are given funding and time to identify and develop targeted and innovative professional learning? This article focuses on lessons learned from grants funded through the California Department of Education that were designed to do just this. As the state and the nation consider the best approaches to professional learning…

Policymakers want to see evidence that coaching makes a difference for teachers and students. To this group, making a difference means improving performance on standardized tests. In the current fiscal climate, leaders want to know not only that their investments are based on firm grounds theoretically, but also that instructional coaching works.…

Today's education policy places a high priority on improving teacher quality and teaching effectiveness in U.S. schools. Standards-based professional learning requires teachers to have deep subject knowledge and the most effective pedagogy for teaching the subject. States and school districts are charged with establishing teacher professional…

This article highlights several key findings from the research project sponsored by the National Staff Development Council. Data and findings drawn from this study will be used to establish benchmarks for assessing progress in professional development over time. Taken as a whole, this work will provide the most comprehensive picture and…

New teachers need help. From day one, new teachers, largely on their own, are responsible for running a classroom and ensuring student learning, as well as fulfilling administrative requirements. Little wonder that 14% of new teachers leave by the end of their first year, 33% leave within three years, and almost 50% leave in five years (Ingersoll,…

A Texas district shows what can be done when school-based staff developers work with teachers dedicated to improvement--student achievement improves in just one year. The author points out the factors that helped make it work and offers tips for traps to avoid. (Contains 10 charts.)

Assessment can assist key steps in the development of effective school improvement planning (SIP) programs. The article refers to an SIP Action Guide, highlighting four occasions during use of the Action Guide when assessment processes are key (assessment within action plans and assessment to identify strengths, concerns, and possible causes). (SM)

Budget-conscious Americans are increasingly asking that staff developers provide hard data about program effectiveness. The concept of return on investment (ROI) is useful in documenting the effectiveness of staff development programs. To calculate ROI, baseline data must be compared with results realized by the organization. (SM)

The field of staff development needs better evaluation both to improve the effectiveness of teachers' learning experiences and to produce credible evidence that will garner more support for professional development. Getting serious about evaluating professional development demonstrates that a school system or school is truly serious about…

The implementation of a school-based program in which specially trained teachers served as staff developers to introduce a writing-across-the-curriculum program is described from the perspectives of the teacher/staff developer, the principal, and the district director of staff development. (Author/MT)