Leading professional learning

When principals exhibit ako (being a learner) all members of the school community participate in identifying significant issues and solving problems. Principals who take their own learning seriously and keep their own passion for learning alive act as important role models for their schools.

Conversations That Matter

by Stephen Myers

This article focuses on the importance of developing trusting and positive relationships in the classroom. It would be useful as a starter for a professional learning group, or for use with teaching staff to help them plan for starting their classes off at the beginning of a semester. It is a short and easy read.

Teacher Professional Learning and Development

by Helen Timperley

Helen Timperley reports on the results of her research into what teacher professional learning needs to take into account if it is to be effective for both teachers’ practice and students’ outcomes. She identifies 10 key principles that are interrelated.

A Collegial Conversation – Talking About Instruction Helps Teachers Find New Ways to Engage Students

by Holly Holland

This article presents a discussion between teachers from different backgrounds regarding their planning and implementing of assessment strategies.

Building Leadership Capacity: Helping Leaders Learn

by John West-Burnham

This National College for School Leadership (NCSL) thinkpiece from John West-Burnham presents an argument supporting the notion of distributed leadership in schools. A key idea in the argument is that organisations that are focused on the learning of children should have structures that reflect learning relationships.

Developing the Person in the Professional: Building the Capacity of Teachers for Improved Student Learning: The Missing Basket – Personal Learning

by Jan Robertson and Lesley Murrihy

This report provides examples from research of how some school leaders and researchers, in New Zealand and England, have developed successful holistic, professional learning programmes for teachers.

How Friends Can Be Critical As Schools Make Essential Changes

by Kathleen Cushman

This classic article uses a case study approach to explore the efficacy of critical friendship groups (within schools and between schools) as a professional development approach, in particular where school change is a focus.

Improving Relationships Within the Schoolhouse

by Roland Barth

This article is a very readable comment on the importance of quality professional relationships among the adults within a school. Roland Barth has considerable experience as a principal and as someone who mentors principals in a leadership programme.

Narrowing the Gap: Reducing Within-school Variation in Pupil Outcomes

by Members of NCSL’s Leadership Network

This article is relevant to work currently being done in New Zealand, particularly in the light of international assessments that show New Zealand has a wide disparity of student achievement within schools.

Professional Learning Communities Writ Large

by Michael Fullan

This article emphasises the need to look further than the community of a single school if there is interest in an educational infrastructure that will build capacity over a long period

Teacher Leaders and Reflective Practitioners: Building the Capacity of Schools to Improve by Promoting Research and Reflection

by Despina Pavlou

In this article secondary school principal, Despina Pavlou presents the story of her own school which uses action research to create a self-reflective culture to nurture school improvement.

Teachers As Learners

by Louise Stoll, Jan McKay and David Kember, and M. Cochrane-Smith and S. Lytle

This is a set of summaries, and links to three classic articles on teacher learning by Louise Stoll, 1999; Jan McKay and David Kember, 1997; and M. Cochrane-Smith and S. Lytle, 1999. Ideas from the summaries could be used as possible starting points for discussion, and it also suggests how these ideas might impact on school professional development programmes.

The Cultural Myths and Realities of Teaching and Learning

by Graham Nuthall

This article describes Professor Graham Nuthall’s personal journey as a classroom researcher and the ground-breaking research he conducted with Dr Adrienne Alton-Lee. This research challenged the assumption of many educators, that teaching necessarily equals learning.

The Flywheel Effect: Educators Gain Momentum from a Model for Continuous Improvement

by Timothy Kanold

This article describes a successful high school in the USA, and poses questions about ways in which already successful schools can continue to improve their outcomes for students.

The Research-engaged School

by Graham Handscomb and John MacBeath

This article sets out to show schools how to recognise and acknowledge the enquiry and research activity that is already taking place in schools, as well as challenge, and identify areas for further work and development.

Using Stories to Shift Attitudes: The case of bullying

by Terry Quong and Allan Walker

In this article, the writers discuss how teachers telling stories to each other can be an important path to shifting attitudes and values. They use school bullying as the context.