Shift the locus of professional learning to school sites and classrooms, connected to teachers' everyday practice¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · no claims cited

Description¶

A consensus eventually developed among MiC districts that one of the best means for supporting deep instructional shifts was to offer PD in the context of teachers' daily practice, by shifting professional learning from the district central office to school sites. Forms included lesson study, unit study, and math-focused PLCs. The report found this shift beneficial because PD became more accessible and relevant, grounded in daily practice, and kept teachers from having to find time outside the contracted workday.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Deployment of district coaching staff to school sites, with careful allocation decisions in large districts
• Site principals willing to work with staff to build learning into school schedules

Constraints¶

• In districts too large to put a coach at every site, allocation decisions were required; coaching was tailored and differentiated to site staff needs rather than one-size-fits-all

Target Learners¶

• K–8 mathematics teachers
• School-site principals

Target Learning Goals¶

• Sustaining CCSS-M-aligned changes in daily instructional practice

Related Strategies¶

• Design professional development that is intensive, on-site, peer-based, responsive, and grounded in teachers' real classroom experiences
• Provide various forms of follow-up to sustain new practices learned in PD
• Start PD with ready and willing teachers and scale up over time, using train-the-trainers models
• Lesson Study
• Clearly define the role of the coach and support principals in working with math coaches
• Design teacher PD on differentiation to connect to daily practice, include active learning and collaboration, and sustain implementation through coaches and principals

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Perry, R., Marple, S., & Reade, F. (2019). Roadblocks and routes: Professional development in Math in Common districts. San Francisco, CA: WestEd. https://www.wested.org/permissions