In their full essay for "Reach the Highest Standard in Professional Learning: Resources," the authors note that more rigorous instructional requirements combined with tighter budgets challenge school systems to think more deliberately about where and how they invest in teaching effectiveness. They write that forward-thinking school…

Time for collaborative learning is an essential resource for educators working to implement college- and career-ready standards. The pages in this article include tools from the workbook "Establishing Time for Professional Learning." The tools support a complete process to help educators effectively find and use time. The following…

The rapidly changing world and the increasingly complex demands placed on schools because of that change has led to an increasing awareness that the school principal alone cannot provide all of the leadership necessary for school development. More and more school districts are asking teachers to share leadership responsibilities with school…

Establishing school-based professional learning appears so simple and straightforward during inspiring presentations at summer workshops, but keeping collaborative work focused on teaching and learning in such a way that it produces consistent results is a highly underestimated task. Investigations and experience from a group of researchers at the…

Adapted from the brief "Meet the Promise of Content Standards: Investing in Professional Learning," this article draws on the work of Learning Forward's initiative, Transforming Professional Learning to Prepare College- and Career-Ready Students: Implementing the Common Core. This multidimensional initiative is focused on developing…

Every teacher can recall a range of experiences in professional development workshops. Some of these may have provided opportunities in which teachers felt engaged, empowered, and supported as learners, while others felt disconnected from practice. Although these authors recognize that workshops, particularly those with no follow-up support, are…

Discusses how to engineer more time into the school day for staff development by restructuring staff, using technology, and team teaching. School boards and parents must be given education, information, and results to experiment with these and other options to create time. A sidebar describes how to create a 15-hour block of time for planning or…

Describes how various schools nationwide have carved study time out of their schedules in order to make professional development a seamless part of their work day, noting how many schools find it difficult to create this study time. These whole-faculty study groups work seriously and purposefully to increase teachers' knowledge and skills. (SM)

Discusses how assistant principals can create learning experiences for their staff on a tight time line. Suggestions include finding a consultant to facilitate the learning experience, assembling a team of teachers to help plan for changing how staff development is designed, and having teachers think about planning a day of collaborative learning…

Studying one's profession, especially when done in community with others, where the learning is richer and deeper, has not been the norm in the education community. Educators typically have been physically isolated from each other because of the structure of school facilities and the schedules that dominate the school day. This physical isolation…

Secondary educators can create blocks of time for teachers and students to study and learn so teachers can enjoy professional growth opportunities without sacrificing students' instructional time. The article provides a scheduling plan, explaining how to modify schedules to offer teachers extended planning or development periods on a rotating…

Block scheduling can help high school principals become staff-development leaders. It gives teachers more time to help individual students and contributes to improved achievement, attendance, and graduation rates. This paper describes the results of research on block scheduling in urban high schools and concludes that block scheduling can support…

Discusses advantages to the whole-faculty study-group process, which involves small groups that meet regularly to focus on some area of educational improvement. The paper presents 15 whole-faculty study-group process guidelines, and it concludes that study groups can help teachers accomplish together what they are already expected to do. (SM)

Presents eight real-life examples of schools that use time wisely and efficiently to support faculty development, including early release of students, time banking, extra "specials" periods, paraprofessional support, weekly meetings, early teacher arrival, meeting while students are out doing community service, and blocking before- and…

Ten suggestions for having a successful principalship include: focus on instruction; build a community of learners; share decision making; sustain the basics; leverage time; support ongoing professional development for all staff; assess and redirect resources necessary to support a multifaceted school plan; have integrity; remain competent; and…