Becoming a Learning School

May 8, 2012
at Washtenaw ISD

Becoming a Learning School is an intense learning experience that focuses on developing a school’s capacity to implement Learning Forward’s definition of professional learning and a model of continuous improvement that emphasizes teacher collaborative learning as a significant vehicle for improving teaching quality and student learning.

Participants will learn how to:

Identify the core elements of a learning school that engages in collaborative professional learning;
Develop strategies for transforming your school into a learning school;
Acquire tools to assess your school’s progress toward becoming a learning school;
Clarify roles of the stakeholders in a learning school; and
Troubleshoot issues that are perceived as barriers to collaborative professional learning.

Attend this Institute to:

Strengthen school and district culture to focus on educator and student learning;
Initiate, refine, or expand the use of collaborative professional learning within your school;
Explore ways to evaluate the effectiveness of collaboration within your schools; and
Develop leaders within your schools to facilitate the transition to a learning school.

Effective Coaching for Success with the Common Core

August 9, 2012

ESC of Central Ohio | 2080 Citygate Dr. Columbus, OH 43219

Click here for details

New Standards for Professional Learning

Learning Forward’s New Standards for Professional Learning:
Career and College Readiness through Aligned Professional Learning

If students are to master 21st century skills, then teachers need to build their capacity to develop responsive and equitable practices for each and every student. According to research one of the most powerful strategies school systems and educational organizations have at their disposal to improve teacher and leader effectiveness is effective professional learning.

Learning Forward’s Revised Standards for Professional Learning outline the characteristics of professional learning that lead to effective teaching practices, supportive leadership, and improved student results. Research shows that professional learning can have a powerful effect on teacher skills and knowledge and on student learning if it is:

Sustained over time,
focused on important content, and
embedded in the work of professional learning communities that support a continuous cycle of improvement in teachers’ practices.

Learning Forward Michigan will provide a learning opportunity that will enable participants to:

Focus on developing an understanding of the new Standards for Professional Learning, the rationale for their revision, and how the current standards differ from the previous Standards for Staff Development.
Understand the implications of the standards in designing, implementing, and evaluating professional learning that improves student learning.
Generate behaviors that describe how the standards appear in practice by various educator groups.
Acquire strategies for introducing the standards to various stakeholder groups.
Gain strategies for using the professional learning standards as a blue print for guiding school improvement planning.

Coming Soon to a Location Near You

See below for dates, locations, and details:

Dates and locations to be announced