Learning Forward and the National Commission on Teaching & America’s Future (NCTAF) released a joint white paper that offers specific strategies to improve educator agency based on research and conversations with teachers and principals from around the country. The paper focuses on why agency is an important factor to successful professional learning for teachers and growth for students, along with ways to bridge the gap between the professional learning options teachers currently have and what they really need to improve teaching and learning.
Clearly documented in this new resource is a distinction between professional development, where teachers are told what they need to learn, and professional learning, where educators are able to be included in planning school and district professional learning and choose options that address their own learning needs and that of their students. Nationally, the United States spends $2.6 billion on professional development from the federal level, and at the state and district level approximately $8,000-$12,000 per teacher. However, there is consensus in the education community that professional development is often an empty exercise in compliance and does not improve professional practice.
Facts at a Glance Sheet from Learning Forward
Moving from Compliance to Agency: What Teachers Need to Make Professional Learning Work white paper.
Learning Forward http://learningforward.org/
National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future http://nctaf.org
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