Political discord, social tensions, and global conflicts compel teachers to guide students in exploring diverse perspectives and engaging in constructive, respectful dialogues. Furthermore, the rapid evolution of technology, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), necessitates teachers and school leaders to consider entirely new paradigms in…

A school is much more than a collection of individual classrooms. Fostering a collaborative and learning-oriented culture can improve teachers' and students' success. In model classrooms, teachers who have participated in professional learning open their classroom doors and agree to have others observe as they work to integrate the targeted new…

As research on the benefits of social and emotional learning (SEL) continues to grow, schools across the country are using formal SEL curricula to boost students' skills. Such curricula have benefits for students' social, emotional, behavioral, and academic outcomes, and the effects can last for up to three years post-intervention. Yet, as with…

The events of 2020 highlighted many longstanding truths about teaching and learning. One such truth is that culture matters for learning, especially for transfer of learning from abstract knowledge into practical application. Because this holds for adults' learning as well as students', it can and should have an impact on professional learning.…

What drives many educators is the need to advocate for students for whom the system does not work. Educators need to find ways to close the equity gap for English learners and kids living in poverty, and that means they need to find ways to improve their access to a high-quality education. As a key strategy for building teachers capacity to…

For nearly 15 years, Child360 (formerly Los Angeles Universal Preschool) has offered coaching services to early childhood education providers who serve children up to age 5 in public centers and family based childcare homes. These coaching services give educators the support they need to ensure their programs are places where children are happy…

In this article, the authors highlight key elements of their new model for developing educators' capacities, as well as key takeaways about the potential of supporting adult development. Focusing on the five elements -- Theory, Culture, Pillar Practices, Feedback, and Sustainability -- of their developmental model for building capacity can foster…

Schools and districts are required to have improvement plans that specify instructional and curricular ideas to enhance teachers' ongoing practice and assist students in performing at higher levels. Yet little has been done to examine the specific knowledge that principals need regarding literacy teaching and learning or how districts can build…

"School is not a rehearsal for life. School is life," says Mirko Chardin, founding principal of Putnam Avenue Upper School, a public middle school serving a diverse group of 6th-8th graders in Cambridge, Massachusetts. When the school was founded in 2012 as part of a districtwide middle school reorganization, its leaders and staff were…

Since 2013, a majority of states have been working to implement new standards for K-12 science education that are based on the National Research Council's framework for science education and the Next Generation Science Standards. The new science standards emphasize deeper understanding of content in relation to practices and a three-dimensional…

Most worthwhile improvements in teaching practice are not simple, and the change process is complicated. It can also take a long time if it involves breaking long-established habits and modifying belief systems. Not only is adoption at scale difficult, but transfer into practice "at all" is often tricky, even with the best professional…

At its core, inquiry--whether conducted with students or teachers--is a process of making observations, asking questions, working with evidence, and interpreting data. Even though research shows well-documented benefits to understanding content, secondary teachers often hesitate to incorporate inquiry for learning. This article presents two…

As professional learning director in California's Palo Alto Unified School District, Kelly Bikle attended a California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress Institute (CAASPP) workshop with a district team composed of our assessment coordinator, a special education inclusion specialist, and several teachers. The goal was to learn about…

The path to principalship in Hillsborough County Public Schools in Florida is not one taken lightly. After receiving the Wallace Foundation Principal Pipeline Initiative grant, Hillsborough was one of six districts that developed a comprehensive principal pipeline based on four key components: leader standards that define the role of principal;…