In her full essay exploring the Leadership standard in "Reach the Highest Standard in Professional Learning: Leadership," author Karen Seashore Louis offers keen insights into the question of how leaders affect the learning of other adults in a school. She writes particularly about how "school leaders can create a school culture in…

Engaging educators in learning communities to apply a cycle of continuous improvement is not easy. Schedules, levels of expertise, and district initiatives can easily derail a campus professional learning plan, but Alyssa Toomes was concerned that professional learning experiences would become just another chore to check off teachers' to-do lists.…

The Minnesota Elementary School Principals' Association offered Minnesota principals professional learning that placed a high priority on literacy instruction and developing a collegial culture. A key component is the literacy classroom visit, an observation protocol used to gather data to determine the status of literacy teaching and student…

Every teacher knows that exposure to new information is one small part in the teaching and learning process. Before students truly learn a concept, they must actively engage with material--discussing, sharing, seeing, and practicing it--to make it their own. In other words, they need to "connect" with concepts and have opportunities to apply them…

Collaboration is critical for accomplishing difficult tasks. As with a kitchen remodel, shared responsibility and collegiality toward a common goal of increased student learning begin with a shared vision. In this article, the author discusses the importance of collaboration and how it guides and reinforces the work one does in schools.

Leadership by teachers is essential to serving the needs of students, schools, and the teaching profession. To that end, the Teacher Leadership Exploratory Consortium has developed Teacher Leader Model Standards to codify, promote, and support teacher leadership as a vehicle to transform schools for the needs of the 21st century. The Teacher…

Common experience, along with a vast collection of research, demonstrates that schools can expect a range of benefits to accrue when teachers work together. Teacher teaming can reduce teacher isolation, increase collegiality, facilitate the sharing of resources and ideas, and capitalize on teacher's individual and shared strengths. And most…

A few years ago, the authors began to consider how to foster more intentional teacher leadership development among all clinical teachers who mentor teacher candidates in their Professional Development Schools. A Professional Development School (PDS) is an in-depth school-university partnership designed to bring about the simultaneous renewal of…

Identifies areas of knowledge principals need to guide staff development, focusing on qualities of principal-staff developers, and the principalship (programs to help train staff developers, and delegation of staff development roles). Recommendations include establishing district staff development programs and intervention for principals having…

Describes ways in which principals can use a two-phase staff development process to foster a strong sense of community and build an educational community. Benefits include higher staff morale, increased faculty cohesion, and a renewed dedication to teaching. (SM)

A model staff development program used at Bristol Eastern High School, Connecticut, suggests a role for principals to play in promoting and maintaining a professional development program with significant faculty involvement. It involves opportunities for teachers to interact with one another via sharing sessions, peer observations, and committee…

Networks, consortia, and coalitions among school districts are cost-effective means to provide staff development, improve instruction, and develop curriculum. This article summarizes results of two studies in Oregon that focused on cross-organizational collaboration for school improvement. Guidelines are provided for organizations and individuals…

Describes the Iowa State University School Improvement Model approach to staff development, which uses the Computer Assisted Teacher Evaluation/Supervision (CATE/S) database program to help staff developers address critical issues. CATE/S can maintain performance evaluation data, suggest improvement strategies for teachers, and document staff…

Information is presented to help elementary principals manage and facilitate staff development, drawing upon research concerning effective schools, educational change, and leadership. Requisite knowledge and skills are proposed for principals, with recommendations provided for using staff development to effect school improvement. (SM)

When visitors tour the authors' classrooms at the J. Erik Jonsson Community School, a 3-year-old through 5th-grade laboratory school just south of downtown Dallas, Texas, they sense that something is different. Visitors remark about the respectful, caring environment of the school and the high-powered instruction, and they want to learn how they…