Learning Forward

Thank you to all who responded to Learning Forward’s action alert last month. Congress is at work this year to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Many came forward to sign Learning Forward’s petition encouraging policymakers to be sure the law includes funds focused solely on effective professional learning. […]

Affiliates offer members the opportunity to expand their professional development networks by connecting with other individuals by location. More than 35 state and provincial affiliates provide services and programs that connect staff developers within individual states or provinces or regions. Contact Learning Forward Deputy Executive Director Frederick Brown (frederick.brown@lfstage.xyz) if […]

Rethinking adult learning is essential to the redesign of learning for children. Learning Forward is facilitating a diverse group of leading thinkers, designers, and practitioners called the PD Brain Trust to inspire new thinking and generate new expertise about how to create demand for — and deliver — redesigned systems […]

Demonstrating Impact Learning Forward works with educators at the school, system, regional, state, provincial, and national levels, providing a range of services and supports. This infographic offers a detailed look at Learning Forward’s impact within the U.S. So far, 38 states have adopted or adapted the Standards for Professional Learning, […]

Novel ways of thinking often come from the cross-pollination of language from other professions. The term “satisficing” is one such term and is a powerful construct that fuses two concepts, satisfy and suffice, together to explain something new. In the mid-1950s, social scientist and Nobel laureate in economics Herbert A. […]

Protocols are strategies for having structured communication to enhance problem solving, encourage different perspectives, and build shared knowledge. The protocol process helps professional development leaders build community. The use of the term protocols by educators became popular in the 1990s. Reformers, needing tools to help them engage in the difficult work […]

When I was a local school board member, parents frequently asked for my advice on how to ensure their child got a particular teacher in a school. I knew how the game would be played after I reminded them this wasn’t the role of the school board: They would write […]

Pieces of the learning puzzle: Aligned goals shape learning for one and all. By Tracy Crow In schools and districts that have professional learning systems established, a vision and standards for learning guide everything associated with what and how educators grow. Educators have resources and structures for setting learning goals […]

Over the past year, I started a new coaching relationship with an administrator. Walking through the leader’s school, I was transported back to eight years ago, when I was the new principal at a high-performing high school. It didn’t take long to see I had a journey ahead of me. […]

This book is a comprehensive guide to implementing a research-based approach to professional learning that drives educator effectiveness and promotes learning for every student. Aligned with Learning Forward’s Standards for Professional Learning, the CASL (Collaborative Analysis of Student Learning) model has been directly linked to student improvement. The book includes […]