The Learning Principal

Educators work in teams all the time. We analyze data, plan lessons, discuss students, share resources, and solve problems together. But working together doesn’t necessarily mean we are learning together. That distinction is at the heart of Learning Forward’s Becoming a Learning Team: A Teacher-Led Cycle of Continuous Improvement (Hirsh, S, Crow, T. 2017).

As I prepare to turn 75 this year, I still have a passion for education. I knew I wanted to teach when I was six years old. Having a passion for your profession is one of the 12 principles that help people avoid burnout, increase optimism, and support their physical well-being. I look forward to addressint all 12 in my preconference session at Learning Forward’s Annual Conference.

Artificial intelligence is reshaping what it means to learn, read, write, create, and communicate in schools. As AI becomes embedded in classrooms and workplaces, educators are confronting a pivotal question that technology cannot answer: “Whose voices are being centered?” We believe that the most urgent response to AI is not technical, it is pedagogical.

The skills and mindset required for effective instructional coaching are vast. Coaches need a deep understanding of classroom management, learning standards, and high-impact instructional strategies paired with quality curriculum materials. So where should a growth-minded coach begin?

Educators know that meaningful evaluation can transform learning. When we evaluate student learning, we gain valuable insight into what content, strategies, and approaches are making a difference and what may need to change. Summative evaluations help us understand the outcomes of our efforts, while formative evaluations give us timely feedback that can guide adjustments along the way.

A group of teachers emerges from their Tuesday team meeting, notebooks and coffee in hand, checking their watches and two-stepping to pick up their next classes. The team had been planning the introduction to an upcoming science unit on electrical circuits. They wanted students to understand what makes a simple circuit complete and to explain why a particular circuit would or would not work.

What does it take to design, implement, and sustain high-quality professional learning that has the potential to boost middle school student writing quality? A great deal, it turns out, but this won’t come as a surprise to Learning Forward members and readers. With any story of research-based professional learning, there are layers of student needs, goals, administrative support, educator learning, and instructional changes that make this happen.

Congress is poised to recess for the fall election as soon as September 17th. Fortunately, it is leaving after having passed a bill that will prevent a federal government shutdown on October 1st, when the federal fiscal year ends. The CR passed by Congress and signed by the President in early September will keep the government operating at last year’s spending levels through December 11.

Following enactment of Blueprint for Maryland’s Future requiring by statute a new statewide system of professional learning be developed and provided to every K-12 teacher, the Maryland State Department of Education partnered with Learning Forward to launch a structured system of professional learning that ensures all teachers have access to intentionally designed, differentiated learning experiences that would effect positive changes in educator practice and improved student outcomes at scale.

Last year, after facilitating our preconference session on designing powerful professional learning, one participant’s comment stayed with us: “I didn’t realize how long it had been since I felt like a learner.” At first, the statement surprised us. Educators spend every day surrounded by learning. We plan it, facilitate it, assess it, monitor it, and celebrate it.