Part 2 What underpins impactful professional learning?

“If the teacher makes the weather, the school creates the climate. School improvement is how schools create an ever-better climate for the individual and groups of teachers to do their job in the most favourable circumstance.”

Sir Tim Brighouse, 2020

Reflecting on the foundations that underpin the effectiveness of professional learning permits us to consider a shift in our priority, so that the leadership of professional learning can be viewed holistically as central to school improvement. The research-informed report, School Improvement through Professional Development (Teacher Development Trust, 2020), suggests the following shifts in priority:

• From improvement as a series of initiatives to be implemented, to building cultures, systems and habits that foster improvement;

• From culture as ingredients of effective implementation to implementation being an ingredient of effective culture;

• From continued professional learning as a vehicle for getting ideas into schools, to continued professional learning as a habit of effective teams (p. 2).

Context, Culture and Leadership

• Context Matters

  • Each school has unique features and characteristics, with unique operating environments that affect the quality and degree of support which is provided for staff. Context dictates the extent to which staff engage with quality professional learning. Research suggests, for example, “that teacher workload is a key barrier to engage with effective professional learning, and interventions are more likely to be successful if they are perceived as attractive or unburdensome.” (TDT, 2020, p. 1)

• Culture Matters

  • Collaborative learning cultures have long been advocated since the late 1980s (Fullan & Hargreaves, 1992; Rosenholtz, 1989). School culture influences the extent to which a collaborative professional environment is fostered, where “high quality conversations happen, where colleagues trust and respect each other, where every voice is valued, and where staff feel supported and engaged.” (Weston, Hindley & Cunningham, 2021, p.14)

• Leadership Matters

  • Research literature outlines school leaders as fundamental in driving effective implementation of continued professional learning and creating the conditions in which it can be sustained (Robinson, 201; NAHT, 2020; Teacher Development Trust, 2020). In fact, in the words of Vivane Robinson (2011), “The most important activity that leaders can undertake to make the biggest impact on student outcomes is supporting teacher development” (p.104). Research findings by Cordingly et al (2016) suggest key responsibilities of the leader in driving effective professional learning include:

    • developing an alternative vision for alternative realities in areas such as student outcomes, curriculum content and how to teach it;

    • managing and organizing the lead professional learning role to establish priorities and engage reluctant adult learners;

    • promoting a challenging learning culture;

    • developing the leadership of others.

A Cycle for Planning Continued Growth

To quote Fullan and Hargreaves in their call to action, Bringing the Profession Back In (2016), “The quality of teaching is the most important in-school factor that affects student learning and achievement. Professional learning and development are deliberate ways to improve the quality of teaching” (p.1).

While a school’s core purpose is to ensure student safety and wellbeing and to provide sufficient challenge and support for student learning and progress, non-teaching staff are critical to school success and are indeed at the core of school operations. An inclusive annual cycle that guides professional development and learning and strategic action planning can support purposeful capacity building for all staff members.

Leaning into the Implementation Guidance Report (Education Endowment Foundation, 2021), we invite you to consider the cycle for equitable and inclusive professional learning for all staff members.

A Whole School Cycle for Professional Learning

A Whole-School Pathway for Professional Learning

Planning for a whole-school approach to professional learning can lead to a successful implementation. Moving planning from the macro perspective to the micro perspective can help identify the various steps to be taken along the professional learning pathway.

Goal. Identify the overarching goal(s) of professional learning in alignment with the school’s mission and/or strategic plan. Beginning with the end in mind will allow the main goals that underpin the plan to emerge.

Outcome. State what will be different/changed as a result of reaching the goal. Determine how to measure attainment of each goal.

Input. Generate a list of the professional learning experiences, resources, etc. that members of the learning community will engage in to develop and hone their knowledge, skills, and competencies.

Activity. Identify the specific activities that will occur. Each activity will result from an input and lead to achieving a professional learning goal.

A Whole School Pathway for Professional Learning