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 The Key: A Culture of Learning

This whole process of staff development must be part of the culture and not something peripheral. That’s why it’s so effective.

– Teacher, Montview Elementary School

Teacher learning made a difference at these eight schools because it was part of a change in professional culture. The very nature of staff development shifted from isolated learning and the occasional workshop to focused, ongoing organizational learning built on collaborative reflection and joint action. This was the key finding from an extensive study of the eight schools.

The central importance of a professional community – a culture of learning – will be no surprise to those familiar with other educational research. It is increasingly clear that the skill-training model of professional development is not enough, even when the training is followed up with guided practice and coaching, long emphasized as neglected pieces of that model. Substantial progress is made only when teacher learning becomes embedded in the school day and the regular life of the school. (A list of resources identifies some of the major writings in this area.)

The value of this study is not only to provide further evidence that a culture of learning is crucial, but also to provide concrete examples of what it means: What distinguishes a professional learning community? What does it look like? How did these eight schools get there?

As described in Appendix B, site teams visited each of the schools, interviewed teachers and administrators, and then described what they learned on in a number of ways. The study was guided by two broad questions:

  • What teacher learning opportunities are available in these schools?
  • How do teachers learn?

These questions led to others, as site visitors sought to understand how each school had made progress, from the perspectives not only of reform leaders but of "every teacher." Six broad lessons emerged, exemplified across the eight schools. Each is elaborated in the chapter sections that follow: "Student-Centered Goals," "An Expanded Definition of Professional Development," "Ongoing, Job-Embedded Informal Learning," "A Collaborative Environment," "Time for Learning and Collaboration," and "Checking for Results."

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Image of book, Teachers Who Learn, Kids Who Achieve

 

 
 

Lessons Learned

Use clear, agreed-upon student achievement goals to focus and shape teacher learning.

Provide an expanded array of professional development opportunities.

Embed ongoing, informal learning into the school culture.

Build a highly collaborative school environment where working together to solve problems and to learn from each other become cultural norms.

Find and use the time to allow teacher learning to happen.

Keep checking a broad range of student performance data.

 
 


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