Mentoring & Induction Resources from the Center on Great Teachers & Leaders

The GTL Center’s Mentoring and Induction Toolkit is a ready-to-use resource for states working closely with districts to build strong mentoring and induction programs. The purpose of the GTL Center’s Mentoring and Induction Toolkit is to give regional comprehensive centers (RCCs) and state education agencies (SEAs) tools, resources, and support to facilitate meaningful conversations with Read more about Mentoring & Induction Resources from the Center on Great Teachers & Leaders[…]

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Micro-credentials and Education Policy in the United States

Digital Promise has released a new report exploring micro-credentials for educators.  Over the last several years, micro-credentials—a way for teachers and administrators to demonstrate their teaching and leadership skills—have generated growing interest among policymakers and practitioners alike for at least three reasons:  The internet provides increasing accessibility and rapid development of multitudes of online resources Read more about Micro-credentials and Education Policy in the United States[…]

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DC Public Schools release scores showing four years of steady gains

FutureEd has published a piece about how changes to curriculum and instruction in DC have made a difference:  During five and a half years as chief of teaching and learning at the District of Columbia Public Schools, Brian Pick led one of the nation’s most comprehensive—and successful—overhauls of a school district instructional system. Pick introduced Read more about DC Public Schools release scores showing four years of steady gains[…]

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The Promise of Adolescence: Realizing Opportunity for All Youth

Researchers from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in Washington, D.C. have released a new report, “The Promise of Adolescence: Realizing Opportunity for All Youth.” Adolescents—young people ages 10 to 25—make up nearly one-fourth of the U.S. population. Drawing upon recent scientific advances, the report finds ample evidence that adolescence offers great promise: Read more about The Promise of Adolescence: Realizing Opportunity for All Youth[…]

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The Path to Instructional Excellence and Equitable Outcomes

The Path to Instructional Excellence and Equitable Outcomes explores District of Columbia Public Schools’ innovative approach to supporting teaching instruction, called Learning Together to Advance our Practice, or LEAP. LEAP is based on research that has found the most effective professional learning is school-based and content-specific, grounded in the instructional materials and strategies that teachers Read more about The Path to Instructional Excellence and Equitable Outcomes[…]

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Teachers Learning from Teachers: Dynamic Initiative Taps into Educators’ Expertise

The Center for the Future of Teaching & Learning at WestEd collaborated with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to launch the Teacher Practice Network (TPN) initiative, which supports a vast national network of teacher leaders who mentor and coach their peers. By providing high-quality standards-aligned resources and ongoing professional learning led by teacher leaders, Read more about Teachers Learning from Teachers: Dynamic Initiative Taps into Educators’ Expertise[…]

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Personalizing Professional Development: How Empowered Teachers Can Take Charge of Professional Learning and Growth

McREL’s CEO Bryan Goodwin has teamed up with ASCD authors Pete Hall and Alisa Simeral in this white paper to tackle a question of urgent interest to teachers at all career stages: Can professional learning be better? It can, they argue, if the profession recognizes that PD must begin with teachers’ problems of practice, develop Read more about Personalizing Professional Development: How Empowered Teachers Can Take Charge of Professional Learning and Growth[…]

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Debunking the Myth of the Teacher Performance Plateau

Recently, Bryan Goodwin of McREL International and William J. Slotnik of the Community Training and Assistance Center partnered up to write a piece for Phi Delta Kappan exploring the myth that teachers peak as professionals early in their careers and then reach a performance plateau. Excerpts from their piece appear below: There is a belief, Read more about Debunking the Myth of the Teacher Performance Plateau[…]

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Four Ways to Transform the Professional Learning Experience

In the February 2019 issue of Language Magazine, Pam Allyn, Senior Vice President, Innovation & Development, Scholastic Education, and Dr. Carol Chanter, Senior Vice President, Professional Learning Services, Scholastic Education, outlined four ways to cultivate learning experiences for educators that are both effective and enjoyable. 1. Blend it A mix of face-to-face learning with online Read more about Four Ways to Transform the Professional Learning Experience[…]

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4 Cornerstones of Professional Learning

Stephanie Hirsh, who will be retiring from Learning Forward this June, has laid out four critical elements for educators to ensure professional learning improves results for all students. 4 Cornerstones of Professional Learning, centered on a foundation of the Standards for Professional Learning, shares research, evidence from practice, and reflections from Stephanie Hirsh’s career at Read more about 4 Cornerstones of Professional Learning[…]

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February Issue Brief: Trauma-Informed Teaching

Rates of childhood trauma in the United States are alarmingly high, with exposure to potentially traumatic forms of violence, such as abuse, assault, or family or community violence particularly common. Traumatic experiences and chronic stress can overwhelm a child’s system and negatively impact development and learning. As educators, however, we can help students recover from Read more about February Issue Brief: Trauma-Informed Teaching[…]

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Strategies to Support Teachers of Competency-Based Education

iNACOL has released a new report, Moving Toward Mastery: Growing, Developing and Sustaining Educators for Competency-Based Education. The publication re-envisions professional practice, learning and development for educators in competency-based education. As school districts transition to new, more powerful student-centered learning models, it is critical that educators leading the transformative practice are equipped for their new Read more about Strategies to Support Teachers of Competency-Based Education[…]

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How Learning Happens Video Series

How can schools better align their practices with what science says about human learning? A new video series of 20+ videos from Edutopia, featuring Linda Darling-Hammond, president and CEO of Learning Policy Institute, and Pamela Cantor, MD, founder and senior science advisor of Turnaround for Children, pairs research insights with a variety of illustrative strategies Read more about How Learning Happens Video Series[…]

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How People Learn II

Learning is a conversation with the world, from a newborn’s brain lighting up as his mother sings to him, to a teenager choking on a test for fear of fulfilling a stereotype, to elderly people heading off cognitive decline by learning a new language. In an update to its landmark reports on education research, the Read more about How People Learn II[…]

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September Issue Brief: Teacher Mentoring

Teacher mentoring has proven to be an effective form of professional learning that has positive results on student performance. But too often, mentoring programs are loosely designed and fall short of desired outcomes. In Core Education’s September issue brief, we explore teacher mentoring and coaching, including the research base for this form of professional development, Read more about September Issue Brief: Teacher Mentoring[…]

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August Issue Brief: Effective Feedback for Educators

Teachers need helpful feedback and support to improve their instruction and own their professional growth. But what kinds of feedback translate into improved teaching practice? In Core Education’s August issue brief, we explore the research on teacher feedback, including teacher perceptions of feedback systems, characteristics of feedback that may influence teacher response, tools and resources Read more about August Issue Brief: Effective Feedback for Educators[…]

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