Key findings from a new study highlight how Learning Forward's long-standing position on professional learning correlates with practices in high-performing systems in Singapore, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and British Columbia. The purpose of this article is to share key findings from the study so that educators might apply them to strengthening…

Time is essential for teacher learning--time for teachers to sort out what they've learned, and time to practice new strategies. Schools must take a long-term view of professional learning and afford teachers the one thing essential to changing practice. They also must remember that after finding time, the second requirement is using it well.

Harold Stevenson, author of "The Learning Gap," describes differences between schools in the United States, which he feels are in crisis, and those in Asia. The article includes important differences in staff development and in the working conditions of teachers in those countries. (SM)