For sustained success, educators must commit to their own lifelong improvement.

Commitment to high-quality professional learning is a common aspect of educational systems of the the world's highest-achieving nations. Despite evidence that effective professional learning can be a powerful lever for school improvement, much of the professional development (PD) that is conducted in the United States has had limited impact on teacher practice…

In these pages, John Murray identifies research-based characteristics of effective teacher professional learning, detailing eight strategies for planning and executing professional development programs and evaluating their results. Content includes: The proven “backward” approach to articulating the goals of your PD program; Descriptions of innovative and effective designs for professional learning such as Lesson Study and Instructional Rounds; Powerful approaches to designing and implementing online PD

Packed with templates that make getting started easy, this all-in-one resource will facilitate deep professional learning that truly enhances student achievement.

“This book is one that any teacher or administrator who is involved with leading professional learning and continuous improvement—new to the field or with great experience—would find great value in.”

— Jeff Ronneberg, Superintendent

Spring Lake Park Schools, MN

“This is a critical resource that should be on every education leader's bookshelf. You will be challenged to find another book with so much helpful information on so many important professional development strategies that you can get started on immediately to facilitate real change in your school.”

— John D. Ross, Educational Consultant

Pulaski, VA

The Challenges of Introducing New Forms of Teacher Professional Learning

The challenges of introducing new forms of teacher professional learning

We should anticipate that the enthusiastic embrace of change and the rapid transformation of values and norms will be rare.

—Rob Evans

“Okay, all the strategies you describe make sense, and I agree that we need to be implementing them—but what do we do about all those teachers who don't want to collaborate with colleagues and who don't want to change?” is the question I'm asked most often when I work with schools desiring to transform their professional learning programs.

When efforts to institute new professional development programs fail, teachers often end up getting blamed. School leaders lament that teachers were just resistant to the new approaches, were stuck ...

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