Find Research on Professional Learning

Decisions about how to design and invest in professional learning should not rest on intuition or tradition. They should be grounded in the best available evidence about what kinds of professional learning improve educator practice, under what conditions, and with what kinds of results for students. In other words, what actually works. That evidence exists. Learning Forward has built its work on it, and continues to contribute to it.

While further research is needed, the research on professional learning is deeper and more rigorous than many education leaders realize. Decades of studies, including large-scale randomized controlled trials, meta-analyses, and systematic reviews have examined which features of professional learning are most consistently associated with changes in teacher practice and gains in student learning. Findings point consistently to professional learning that is sustained over time, grounded in content, connected to classroom practice, collaborative in structure, supported by expert feedback and coaching, and aligned to the Standards for Professional Learning. The 2021 meta-analysis conducted on behalf of Learning Forward found that professional learning aligned with the Standards for Professional Learning was meaningfully associated with improvements in both teacher instruction and student achievement.

At the same time, the research is honest about what is still uncertain. Some elements of professional learning are better studied than others. Not every promising practice has a strong evidentiary base, and findings from one context do not always transfer cleanly to another. Learning Forward approaches the research base with intellectual honesty, drawing on what is well established, flagging where evidence is mixed or emerging, and helping practitioners make sense of findings in light of their own contexts.

Research is most useful when it is accessible. Whether you are building a case for a board of education, designing a professional learning program aligned to evidence, or deepening your own understanding of the field, the resources in this section will help you find what you need.

Below, you will find resources in the Research feed, which brings together summaries, studies, meta-analyses, and practitioner-accessible reviews of the evidence on professional learning — including research on the Standards for Professional Learning, instructional coaching, collaborative learning structures, implementation, and the relationship between educator learning and student outcomes.