I have been working on my podcast now for over 50 episodes and realized that there have been some themes emerging from the interviews. Over the summer, I did some thinking and have come up with a series called “What Great Schools Do” that reviews the key findings of these conversations.
This episode is Part One of the series. Over the next few episodes we will discuss different aspects, actions that are taken, and ideas that ensure success in high performing schools.
What is a great school? I define it as a school where student outcomes in both learning and life are positively impacted. Where, because of the school and the actions that it takes, students make progress.
There is no way that I have captured all the elements that go into making a good school, so please don’t think that if your idea is not in this list, that it is not important. Rather, this is a series that reflects my thinking right now and will certainly evolve over time.
For our first aspect of What Great Schools Do, I have chosen to focus on something that I personally have invested a lot of time into. It is the aspect that I believe might have the highest impact of them all, to engage in ongoing and meaningful teacher professional learning.
As a framework for this topic, we have highlighted 6 essential elements: time, structure, collaboration, direction, research, and leader involvement.
Show Notes and Links:
- Student-Centered Leadership by Vivianne Robinson
- Teachers Matter: Understanding Teachers’ Impact on Student Achievement by Rand Education
- Improving Student Learning By Supporting Quality Teaching by Amy M. Hightower, Rachael C. Delgado, Sterling C. Lloyd, Rebecca Wittenstein, Kacy Sellers, Christopher B. Swanson
- What is a Teacher’s Expertise? by Bruce Beairsto
- Teaching Expertise: Empirical findings on expert teachers and teacher development by Eero Ropo
- Teaching/Learning Sprints by Dr. Simon Breakspear
- Spiral of Inquiry by Judy Halbert and Linda Kaser
- Design Thinking
- Professional Learning Communities (PLC)
Corey Haley 