| News for the Education Profession |  |
| ASCD Special Report: How Teachers Learn (Part I) |
In educators' busy lives, teacher learning often takes a back seat to students' achievement. But when done right, professional development can maximize the effectiveness of teachers and help students learn as well. This two-part ASCD SmartBrief Special Report, "How Teachers Learn," explores professional learning communities and other teacher learning methods that can transform schools, remind teachers of the ideals that inspire them and improve students' classroom experience. Below you will find Part I, which explores different perspectives on teacher training and learning, unearths techniques successful schools use to aid teacher learning and offers an overview of research on professional learning communities. Part II, to be published Thursday, examines successful practices, probes techniques that school leaders can use to encourage teacher learning and outlines techniques for using technology to further teacher learning. If you don't receive ASCD SmartBrief on a daily basis and find our report on teacher learning useful, we urge you to sign up for our timely e-newsletter. ASCD SmartBrief delivers the stories making news in your profession directly to your inbox -- for FREE. |
| At a Glance |  |  |
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- Leave no teacher behind
If education policy is based on the premise that all children can learn, professional development should assume that all teachers can learn too, asserts ASCD book author Robyn Jackson. Professional learning communities are one of the best ways to help teachers learn, writes Educational Leadership Editor-in-Chief Marge Scherer, but to be effective, they need to be collaborative. Educational Leadership
(2/2009)
    
- Professional learning communities move beyond teaching
 Professional learning communities focus on learning, collaboration and accountability, former Principal Don Cowart writes in his blog. Rather than just focusing on what educators want students to learn, learning communities help teachers measure whether learning is happening and how to manage when students struggle, he writes. Education For All blog
(1/25)
| Viewpoints/Strategies | | |
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- Too little planning time leaves teachers scrambling
Members of the Teacher Leaders Network recently discussed why there isn't time in teachers' daily schedules for grading as well as planning. Too often, educators said, even planning periods are co-opted for other school activities, forcing some teachers in nonunion states to take personal leave on training days so they can catch up with grading and other classroom work. Teacher Magazine (free registration)
(2/4)
- All teachers share certain goals
Traditionally trained veteran teachers such as Susan Graham, who is nationally certified and a former regional state teacher of the year, have a lot in common with younger, alternatively trained teachers such as Jessica Shyu, Graham writes in this blog post. While each group can learn a lot from the other, divisive language can create factions among teachers rather than encourage them to work together, she writes. Teacher Magazine (free registration)/A Place at the Table blog
(1/27)
| Best Practices | | |
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- Nurturing ideals may help teachers thrive
Most teachers teach because they hope to change students' lives or give them better opportunities, not because they have an innate passion for assessments, rubrics or education models, writes author and University of Massachusetts professor emerita Sonia Nieto. Too often, traditional professional development fails to nurture the ideals that inspired educators in the first place or to address problems most relevant to the classroom, she writes. She encourages teachers to take a more active role in understanding and nurturing their ideals. Educational Leadership
(2/2009)
- Learning community helped top teacher focus lesson plans
Bill Ferriter, a North Carolina language arts teacher who is nationally certified and has been one of his state's regional teachers of the year, had never aligned his lessons to state standards before his principal launched school-learning communities. The process helped Ferriter realize that some subjects he'd breezed through were heavily featured on state tests, while some other topics he'd focused on were not. Teacher Magazine (free registration)
(1/28)
- Training gives teachers deeper understanding of math
Dozens of Michigan math teachers have taken advantage of a professional development program that aims to give teachers a greater understanding of the math lessons they teach -- focusing on how and why they arrive at certain answers. The Wayne Regional Educational Service Agency is now in its fourth year, and districts participating in the training say they have seen student scores increase slightly. Detroit Free Press
(12/31)
 | How do schools accomplish systemic, meaningful, and lasting change in their literacy programs? Synchronizing Success combines theory about school reform with evidence-based literacy instruction and shows what one school has done to develop and sustain a comprehensive literacy system. Click here to preview the entire text! |
| Research | | |
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- Collaboration, individual learning key to teacher development
Teachers' learning and classroom decisions are shaped at two levels: individual learning and interpersonal collaboration, writes Tracy Huebner, a WestEd senior research associate, citing several studies. This research emphasizes the importance of including professional learning communities or other collaborative methods into traditional professional development, Huebner writes. Educational Leadership
(2/2009)
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Teacher Eva Ostrum created a "self-devised teacher education program" after noticing that one of her colleagues seemed to capture her students' interest even before the bell rang, and other veteran teachers had a knack for differentiated instruction or clearly explaining difficult concepts. Intrigued, she asked her school's top teachers for help to improve her own teaching, a move she says transformed her as a teacher and that she asserts could do the same for others. 
