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Five Ways to Keep Your Learning Fresh

There is an adage that if we are not moving forward, we are likely moving backward. Each day and each year bring new challenges and demands for more and better approaches, strategies, and skills. What we have learned in the past may have served us well, but each year there is more to learn, and there are more reasons to learn. If we do not keep learning, we risk becoming stale and left to rely on a limited set of options to respond to novel and increasingly complex challenges. People who have studied workplace learning observe that we must increase our professional and technical knowledge and skills at least 25% each year just to avoid falling behind. Depending on the year and the nature of our work, the amount we need to learn may be more. The bottom line is that we need to continually learn and to keep what we learn fresh. Here are five strategies we can employ to ensure that our learning continues to grow and stays vibrant and accessible. First, we can challenge ourselves to learn something new and significant each week. Obviously, we are likely to learn more than one thing each week, but by setting a goal and paying attention we are more likely to notice, appreciate, and retain what we learn. Two reflection statements can assist us in this pursuit. The first is: I used to believe _______, but now I know _______. The second is: The most important insight I gained this week was ________, and I will use it to _______. Over time, our weekly learning will accumulate and lead to an increasingly wide array of ideas, insights, and options to inform our thinking and work. Second, we can engage with educators who are not of our generation in conversations, activities, and projects. If we are new to our career, experienced professionals can often offer insights, experiences, and wisdom that can accelerate our learning and build key skills. If we have years of experience in education, new to the profession educators can offer new perspectives and ask questions that lead us to reflect and question common practices and approaches. Equally important, we can discover learning partners who might join us on our learning journey. Third, we can use and share what we learn. We have all heard or experienced something new, only to forget it in the weeks and months that follow. If we want to remember and have accessible what we learn, we need to do two things. We need to share new learning with someone as soon as practical. Sharing new learning offers multiple benefits, including providing a reason to organize what we have learned in our mind. It can also lead to new insights and create a new and deeper level of understanding. We also need to apply new learning. When we do, we gain an even deeper understanding and develop a richer context to what we have learned. Our brains respond to learning that has meaning and purpose. Sharing and using what we learn sends a message to our brain that this learning is important and needs to be stored. Fourth, we can expose ourselves to perspectives and opinions that are not obvious or aligned with our assumptions. Most people tend to seek out ideas and perspectives that reinforce what they already know and believe. The information we absorb may make us feel good. However, significant learning is more likely to occur when our assumptions, understanding, and perspectives are challenged. When we are exposed to ideas that push our thinking or challenge our current knowledge, we may find that our thinking changes, or it may be that we reach a better, deeper understanding of what we already know. Fifth, we can engage in learning experiences outside of education. We may not think that we have time to explore ideas and approaches embedded in other disciplines and areas of endeavor. Yet, other fields often encounter challenges that parallel, or at least relate to problems we face. By exploring how others outside of education view problems like motivation, performance, interpersonal conflicts, and other issues, we may discover options and alternatives we have not considered. We are committed to developing in our students the motivation and skills to become lifelong learners. What better model can we offer than to demonstrate our commit to be learners for life?

December 13, 2021

Why You Need to Be a Talent Multiplier

We all want to have an abundance of talent in our organizations. We know that talented people can enrich experiences, enhance outcomes, and improve the performance of those around them. We try to hire for talent. Although what may appear to be talent during the hiring process does not always materialize once the person is in the position. We can also be surprised by the talent that emerges within people whom we may not have perceived as exceptional. The presence of talent opens the potential to innovate. Unique perspectives, incisive insights, and creative ideas generate options and opportunities difficult to discover and exploit in the absence of talent. Yet, talent requires more than mere presence to have a beneficial impact on organizations. Talent needs to be recognized, nurtured, valued, and supported to be sustained. Further, talent in an organization is not a finite quantity. It is not reserved for a select few whose talents are obvious. In fact, talent often lies hidden in the shadows of awareness in organizations. Talent can languish unrecognized and undeveloped. Unless talent development becomes a focus and priority, it will likely remain an untapped source of creativity and high performance. If we hope to discover, develop, and deploy the talent potential in our organization, we need to be the catalyst. We need to be the advocate for and protector of talent. We need to do more than value the already visible talent. We need be talent scouts and talent multipliers. We know the positive impact teachers have when they see themselves as talent scouts and talent developers with their students. Aspirations grow, pride flourishes, learning accelerates, and barriers to future success disappear. We can have a similar impact when we adopt a parallel approach with adults. In fact, our impact can go beyond just adding to the talent present. We can multiply it. Let’s explore five habits we can adopt to become talent multipliers in our school or school district:

Consistently look for talent. A fact of life is that we tend to find what we look for. We will notice more symptoms and sources of potential talent and recognize talent that may have been discounted and ignored if we are consciously observant.
Call out the talent potential you see. Let the person know that you see in them something special that is worthy of investment and development. You will be amazed at the energy and confidence you ignite. Where talent has already been developed, honor it.
Encourage everyone to find their talent. Talk about the importance of each of us recognizing our talent. Talk with people about their talents. Share stories about people who have discovered latent talents, developed them, and are making important impacts and contributions.
Invest in talent development. Provide employees with opportunities to discover and develop their talents. Support people to try new roles, explore ideas, test new approaches, and take risks. Make failures and setbacks respected learning opportunities.
Spread the impact. As new talents emerge, find roles and other opportunities for people to use their talents. In some situations, talents can be tapped without complete departure from current roles. In other situations, a new career path may emerge that needs to be supported. The key is to find ways for people to utilize their talents and continue to refine them. Of course, there will be times when newly emerged talents will lead to opportunities beyond our organization and we may lose access to the talent, but this is not a reason to hesitate. It is an opportunity to contribute to the wider impact of the talent we have helped to develop.

It is important for an organization to be rich with a variety of talents. However, attraction, development, and utilization of talent requires leadership and commitment. When we set our egos aside and focus on the talent we can multiply, we set a course for success and widening influence.

August 30, 2021

Four Supports Teachers Crave in the First Weeks of School

Launching a new year is a complex, multifaceted challenge. So much needs to be planned and implemented. Orienting new students, onboarding new staff, and establishing new structures and procedures are just a few examples. One thing is clear: A successful launch to the new year requires a focus on students and their needs. Since teachers are the primary interface with students, their success, too, is crucial to getting off to a good start. If we want students to succeed, we need to ensure that teachers succeed. It is also true that the success of leaders in a new start is dependent on teachers having a successful start. Of course, we may not be able to remove every challenge our teachers will face or prevent every problem they will encounter. However, there are several crucial ways in which we can provide support that will help them deal successfully with the problems and challenges they will face. Here are four important ways in which we can provide the crucial support that teachers crave in the first weeks of school. First, we need to provide time, permission, and encouragement to form relationships with students. We know that forming relationships is an important component of the start to a successful year. Still, teachers can feel pressure to focus on curriculum content and skill development, especially with the current focus on “catching students up.” Yet, until students feel supported and that they belong, focusing on academic learning is often a second level concern. In fact, spending time early in the year to build relationships and create community can lead to more effective learning and a faster learning pace as the year unfolds. By communicating that relationship building is a priority, we can relieve stress for teachers and improve student behavior and learning. Second, we can commit to ensuring that teachers have the crucial tools and supplies needed to be successful. Few things are more discouraging than to begin the year without the essential supplies and equipment necessary to present lessons and engage students in learning. Checking in with teachers, following up on deliveries and work orders, and even bartering for needed supplies and equipment can make a big difference in reducing stress and increasing success in the first few weeks. Of course, we will not always be able to provide everything that staff members may desire, but we can be advocates and problem solvers on their behalf. Our efforts can make a big difference in the support teachers feel. Third, we can prevent disruptions and distractions that interfere with early learning. The beginning of a new year typically brings a variety of information we need to communicate within the school community. New procedures and expectations deserve attention. We also may want to collect the student body for programs and activities to build community and school spirit. However, we need to be cautious about interruptions and disruptions that can get in the way of students and teachers developing learning rhythm and routines. We need to look for alternative venues and strategies to accomplish essential tasks and communicate key information in the first few weeks. Short videos, email briefings, podcasts, and other means of communication may allow us to accomplish our goals without getting in the way of learning or becoming an avoidable distraction. Teachers especially crave uninterrupted opportunities to build learning routines and create momentum as the new year begins. Fourth, we can provide support by being visible and present. We know the value of being visible. When people see us in hallways, during informal walkthroughs, sitting in on meetings, and at school events and activities, we send a message about our commitment to be physically present. This is an important message, but our physical presence is just the first level of impact. People need to see and feel that we are emotionally and intellectually present if we want to have maximum impact. When we greet people by name, ask relevant and insightful questions, and offer encouragement and support, we add our interest, engagement, and commitment to the messages we send. During the first weeks of uncertainty and potential confusion, our physical, intellectual, and emotional presence can go a long way toward satisfying teacher cravings for support. There will always be “bumps in the road” during early weeks of a new school year. We cannot expect to predict or plan for everything that will happen. However, we can provide the support and reassurance that we are ready to do what is necessary to protect learning and provide the essential support that teachers crave.

August 23, 2021

What About Summer Learning for Adults?

This has been a year of learning, and not just for students. Learning was a key contributor to our surviving and thriving as educators. Our need to learn often outpaced the structures and approaches of traditional professional development. We had to flex, adjust, and even create new learning paths and experiences in response to the challenges we faced. Importantly, what we experienced and the learning that resulted can offer important lessons about how we can engage in and support professional learning in ways that are timely and effective. In fact, these are lessons we need to apply as we plan for and engage in professional learning this summer. Let’s review five of the important lessons that can inform our summer planning and support professional learning experiences. We learned that to meet the professional learning needs of educators at various stages of their careers and lives and who experience unique, varied schedules and pressures, professional learning needs to be flexible. We need to offer learning opportunities that respond to these needs. Sometimes learning needs to be on-demand. At other times, after school or non-school days may still work. Learning opportunities may be in person, or they may be remote. The key is to have learning opportunities flex in response to learning needs and readiness. We also learned that professional learning that will translate into practice must be practical. Hearing about a new technique will typically not be as useful as learning practical actions educators can take to apply what they are learning. Also, having multiple action options can allow educators to decide which actions might best fit their circumstances and style. Theory and broad ideas can provide a foundation for action, but educators also need to know where to start and what to expect. The pandemic also reminded us that effective learning often needs to be short and specific. Learning in smaller chunks can be digested and converted into action faster. Too much content at once can become overwhelming and result in only a small portion being retained and applied. Knowing what to do with one or two new techniques can be more impactful than exposure to many techniques that never find their way into practice. We learned the power of collaborative learning. Often learning, applying, and reflecting with colleagues can add richness to the experience and lower the risks of trying something new. Further, when others are engaged in learning with us they often have insights from which we can benefit, generate ideas we might never have imagined, and design applications we can adopt or adapt. Learning is fundamentally a social process. Finding ways to learn together can enhance the experience and increase its impact. Finally, professional learning that makes the greatest impact is connected to what we want to accomplish with our students. Professional learning that meets a current need, addresses an important goal, or shows the way through a difficult challenge can make a much greater impact than learning that might be useful in the future, but addresses no immediate need. Further, professional learning that is driven by purpose is more likely to be applied, improved, and fully integrated into our professional practice. Clearly, the pandemic has created significant challenges and placed barriers in many aspects of our professional lives and practice over the past year. Yet, it has also taught us many important lessons from which we can draw as we enter the post-pandemic era. Professional learning is one place where pandemic lessons can make a key difference in how we plan, engage, and grow.

May 17, 2021

Five Must-Haves for Post-Pandemic Professional Learning

We have learned much on our journey through the pandemic. We have discovered how quickly we can shift our focus, change our practices, and reposition learning environments. We also learned important lessons and developed key insights regarding our own professional learning. We could not always wait for prescheduled, carefully orchestrated professional development events. We found out that we can still learn what we need if we expand our search, focus on essential information and strategies, and are flexible in how learning opportunities are accessed. We often found ourselves learning more, using more of what we learned, and sharing more with colleagues than we had prior to the pandemic. We learned with and from colleagues. We planned, adjusted, and honed new skills and transformed familiar practices. Not every new idea and practice worked well on the first attempt. We kept trying, improving, and perfecting. We can look forward to the time when the pandemic subsides and we move toward a more stabilized and predictable normal. As we make the transition, it’s important to preserve what we have learned about our professional learning and integrate what we know to enrich, enliven, and extend future learning. Let’s explore five lessons about professional learning that we can use to guide planning and support in the months and years ahead. First, we need to ensure that professional learning remains flexible enough to respond to the realities of our lives. Designed professional development days and after school sessions may still play a role, but access to on-demand learning support will remain key to timely, usable learning that meets our needs. Second, we need to have access to professional learning that is short and specific. Bite-sized chunks of learning are often easier to digest and use immediately. Too much content at one time risks overwhelming our capacity and can lead to minimal application. The learning experience does not have to be be perfect, just specific and useful in the face of the needs and challenges before us. Third, we need access to learning experiences that are practical. We need ideas and alternatives consistent with the demands of our work. One, two, or three practical ideas and action options can give us what we need to move forward without becoming overwhelmed. Understanding the underlying causes and origins of the challenges we face is important but knowing what to do and how to do it can give the guidance and confidence necessary to act. Fourth, we need to see the connection between what we are learning and the learning we seek to nurture in our students. At times, we may start by becoming familiar with tools and frameworks, but real value comes when we can connect what we are learning with how it can inform our practice in ways that will benefit our students. Seeing this connection is what makes professional learning our priority. Fifth, we need to preserve what we have learned about the value of collaboration in our professional learning. Sharing ideas, codeveloping learning experiences, and providing emotional support have become common place for many educators as they navigate the pandemic. The experience has enriched and informed our practices. We have learned from each other and learned together. As we make the transition, we need to remember how learning with colleagues has motivated us, helped us to learn better, and led us to retain what we learned longer. Whether we are planning our own professional learning or supporting the professional learning of a team or staff, we need to keep in mind what we have learned over the past year about what works and what matters. Flexible, short, specific, practical, connected, and collaborative professional learning experiences are key to building expertise, navigating change, and supporting the success of students.

February 15, 2021

Time to Celebrate?

The holidays present opportunities to reflect, appreciate, and share the blessings we enjoy with those around us. Despite the challenges and disruptions we have faced in the past year, there remains much to celebrate. In fact, it may be even more important now to pause and celebrate the experiences, gifts, and successes that have been a part of our work and lives. Of course, we typically focus on others and their meaning for and impact on us. These are important reflections. Yet, this is also a time to pause and consider what we need to celebrate in light of our commitment and the impact we have had in the past year. At first, it may be a challenge to discern the differences we have made. So much of our energy has been allocated to making things work that we might ignore the importance and impact we are making. Let’s pause for a moment and consider some of these successes and reasons to celebrate as we near the end of this unusual calendar year. Here a few examples to get us started:

Our growth. We may not have chosen the lessons and timing, but each of us has grown as we faced new and often unanticipated challenges. In many ways, growth was the key to surviving this year.
Our patience. We have stayed committed and kept trying even when the path forward was not clear and was subject to change mid-journey. We have been there for students when they have been confused, disappointed, and disoriented.
Our collaboration. In times of stability and predictability we might think that we can make it on our own. Yet, the past months have taught us that finding others to join us on our journey not only makes the load lighter and our work more successful, it can be a crucial source of encouragement and hope.
Our flexibility. It seems that each day and week bring new challenges and distractions. Our commitment to find work-arounds, accommodations, and novel solutions has provided crucial stability for learners and new discoveries about ourselves and our ability to adapt.
Our learning. In most years our focus is on stimulating, nurturing, and guiding the learning of our students. This year has been as much about our learning as our students’ learning. New tools, new processes, and new complexities have all demanded that we learn along with our students. In fact, at times learning may have seemed as much a joint effort as an expert-novice relationship.
Our courage. Despite the uncertainty and unpredictability present throughout this year, we have moved forward, persisted, and remained engaged, even at times when it felt that no one fully appreciated or understood what we were experiencing. It has been said that courage is not the absence of fear, it is the ability to move forward despite it.
Our impact. We cannot know exactly how our efforts this year will influence the future lives of our students. We never really do. However, we know that during times of uncertainty, doubt, challenge, and difficulty, the opportunity to influence those around us is often the greatest. The concern and caring we show, the support we provide, and the commitment we demonstrate are being noticed. These are times when the difference we make for our students will be remembered. These are the experiences upon which they will rely when they are called to support, care, and commit on behalf of others. We are models for them to emulate.

As we make our way through what may feel like a dark period, it is worth noting that lights seem brighter and are visible from a longer distance when it is darkest. The light we provide for our students shines brighter and travels further than we might imagine or appreciate. The work we are doing and the support we are providing truly is deserving of celebration.

November 16, 2020

Share Your Tips & Stories

Share your story and the tips you have for getting through this challenging time. It can remind a fellow school leader of something they forgot, or your example can make a difficult task much easier and allow them to get more done in less time. We may publish your comments.

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Superintendent Urges List of “Won’t Do’s”

Today, even with our best intentions, it is easy to sound like we are merely mouthing platitudes to teachers—especially when we say things like “we will all get through this together.” No doubt we want to be supportive and encouraging, but lines like this and others are starting to sound hollow—even to us. Here’s what Superintendent Jason Berg of Farmington Area Public Schools in Minnesota wrote to his staff, and the response was overwhelmingly positive.

It is easy for us to make lists of things we need to get done and if your lists are like mine, they continually get longer. I have made a conscious effort to make a list of things that I am not going to do. As I stated before, it will be impossible to cover everything you covered before and impossible to do everything you did before. I am telling you that’s ok, no really it is!! One of our guiding principles is “less is more with depth, richness and high cognitive demand” and in order for this to happen in the normal of now we will need to give some things up and not do certain things. Please take some time and list out the things you are committing to not do. I know this will be hard, but it is necessary given our current reality. We know that additional planning time will be needed to facilitate this, and we are looking at potentially adding additional planning days around the trimester break. I know for some it will be hard, but please take some time for yourself this weekend. If you are looking for some ideas here are a few:

Go for a run/walk

Listen to your favorite music and sing!!

Read

Get enough sleep

Take a midday nap on the weekend of course ;)

Keep a journal of quotes you like

Send an email or note of appreciation to someone

Unplug for a set period of time during the day

Read a book for the fun of it

Watch a show or movie that makes you laugh

Watch the sunrise or sunset

Do absolutely nothing

We continue to be in a situation no one has been in before. I wish I had all the answers and could lay out a definitive plan for the rest of the school year for everyone, but I can’t. As educators we are used to having all of the answers and I know this is incredibly hard on everyone. Here is what I have learned over the past 6 months. It is ok to not have all the answers and it is ok to ask for help. If you are feeling overwhelmed, stressed, or just lost please don’t hesitate to reach out to a colleague, teammate, or building admin/supervisor for help. Through all of this the one thing I am sure of, we are all here for each other. Once again thank you for all your work to ensure each student continuously achieves their highest aspirations while demonstrating responsibility to communities. Our community is fortunate to have such a dedicated group supporting our learners each day. Have a great rest of the week and enjoy the weekend.

The lesson: The way to give students a rich experience during this time is to aim for depth, not breadth. And because teachers and students are trying to teach and learn in an entirely new environment, there are already too many distractions to try to achieve everything they did before. In fact, rich learning will require taking things off the plates of students and teachers. This school leader gave them permission to do just that and at the same time managed to keep expectations high. He also showed his real caring for teachers by offering ideas for them to take time for themselves. We can all learn a lot from his example. If you have a story you would like to share, simply email it to InYourCorner@masterteacher.com and we may post it in In Your Corner.

November 09, 2020

A True Story With a Positive Ending

A celebrated high school teacher of the year and candidate for the master teacher award in her state began this school year teaching her students in a concurrent environment. As such, she was teaching remote students at the same time she was teaching in-person students. Every day for the first two weeks of school she went home in tears. She was certain that she was failing with every student and she had totally lost the confidence that had been a hallmark of her teaching prior to the pandemic. She even started looking for another job. Then, she decided to do something very simple. She said to her students, “Am I bad at this? I don’t think I’m doing a good enough job. You have to tell me how I can do better.” Her students immediately replied to her, “Oh no, you’re not bad at this. We’re all struggling. We’re just happy we have you as our teacher and that you are hanging in there with us!” And it was their comments that lifted her out of her teaching “funk.” She went on to tell her students that she would need their help every day moving forward. She explained that there would most likely be days when a lesson wouldn’t work, or a new strategy would feel awkward and perhaps would not be as effective as something else they had done. But it was still important that they keep trying new things and new ways of learning so that everyone could find a way to be successful. Therefore, it was more important than ever that she receive their candid feedback and ideas for improvement. The lesson: Don’t be afraid to admit to students how you are feeling. And don’t be afraid to make yourself vulnerable—or to say, “Let’s figure this out together.” This is new territory for everyone. Students are feeling as uneasy in this environment as we are—perhaps more so. And, if we ask them, they can help us get better at this new way of teaching. When we engage students in this way, they are more likely to lift us and our instruction up and be more engaged themselves. Here are some simple questions you can ask students to answer at the end of a lesson or at the end of the week to reinforce the importance of working together on the common goal of making the learning experience better.

How do you think the lesson went today? What ideas do you have for how we might make my instruction and your learning even better?

What are the three best aspects of your learning this week? What made your learning experience effective?

What are two areas in which you struggled to learn this week? How might I help you be more successful?

What learning strategies worked best for you this week? Where do you think we should focus to help you broaden and strengthen your learning strategies?

What would you like to see us do more of? What might we do less of?

Do you need a dose of inspiration yourself? We suggest the movie Freedom Writers. Do you have a story you would like to share? Email it to InYourCorner@masterteacher.com and we may post it on our In Your Corner website.

October 26, 2020

Six Questions to Get Beyond “How Are You Doing?”

We know that this is a time when we need to frequently check in with our staff to see what they are experiencing and how they are feeling. We also want to encourage and support them as they work their way through a very difficult set of professional challenges. It is often not enough to simply ask, “How are you doing?” First, staff may not know if we are using the question as a casual greeting without an expectation that they really tell us what they are going through, or if we really are trying to understand what they are experiencing. Second, staff members may be reluctant to unload their concerns without a more specific inquiry, fearing that they will be perceived as whining and complaining. Third and as a result, we are not likely to gain consistent, useful information to inform our leadership. Fourth, without more specific guidance, what we hear is likely to be predominately negative even though there may be a lot of positive and insightful information that we need to hear. Rather than defaulting to this habitual question, we can shift our inquiries to focus on elements and aspects of teachers’ experiences that reflect what they are going through, inform us, and are shareable and useful to others. In its place, here are six questions we can ask to learn how teachers are processing their experience. The answers we hear may also offer important insights, reinforcement, and humor to colleagues. What hilarious or heart-warming situations have you encountered this fall? This question invites teachers to reflect on and appreciate the wonder of learners and learning and the delight they can bring to our lives, even under difficult circumstances. What is one thing that has worked really well for you in the past two weeks? We can become trapped in negativity by focusing only on problems and challenges, when we are also experiencing important new learning and successes. The answer to this question can also offer insights and hope to colleagues who may be struggling with similar issues. If you were to give one piece of advice or wisdom to your colleagues about the current situation, what would it be? This question invites teachers to think about what they have experienced, what they have overcome, what they have learned, and how others might find that information useful. Who has gone above and beyond to help you since the year started? Here we give teachers an opportunity for a “shout out” to someone who has made a positive difference for them or their students as the new school year began. While we need to attend to problems, we also need to recognize those who have been key problem solvers. What is your greatest hope for your students in the coming weeks? This question invites teachers to share their goals and reveal their thoughts about what they and their students are experiencing. We may hear about challenges and barriers to overcome, or we may hear about the path a teacher has constructed to ensure student success in the days ahead. Who has given you the best advice this fall and what was it? This question speaks to what teachers have learned and who has supported them in their learning. The answers we hear can give us important insight about who is offering significant, informal leadership and making a meaningful difference for their colleagues. Be ready to hear surprising and important responses from your staff. They will also give you a lot to think about and share.

September 28, 2020

How YOU Can Have TWICE the Impact on Student Learning

We must leverage every advantage to increase student learning, especially now. And, there is an action we can take that has twice the impact on student learning compared to most routine administrative tasks. Research by John Hattie, internationally respected researcher and author of Visible Learning reveals that when superintendents and principals promote and actively participate in teacher learning and development, the impact on student learning grows well beyond a year’s growth in a year. We sometimes assume that the learning and development in which teachers engage is only relevant to their work and role, and not worth our time and engagement. However, it happens that the message we send when we actively promote professional learning and make attendance at and participation in these activities a priority is very impactful. Teachers see the activity as a high priority and take their learning more seriously. To be clear, attendance is not “popping in” for the beginning and leaving when the activity is underway. And, participation is not engaging in unrelated activities on the phone or computer during the activity. Our full attention and authentic participation in discussion and reflection makes a big difference in whether the investment we have made for teacher growth and learning will pay off. Promoting and attending professional development activities may seem like a small thing. Yet, it can have a huge impact on teachers and their practice. Here are some simple but powerful ways you can make sure students’ learning grows well beyond a year’s growth this year.

Talk often about the importance of professional learning and why it matters. Emphasizing the importance of teacher learning draws attention to the activity. Reinforcing why it matters adds depth and significance to the message.

Attend professional development sessions, participate, and take notes. Spend some time in online courses your district is offering then talk with people about what you learn. Demonstrating the importance and usefulness of learning to you presents an influential model. Discussing what you learn also adds credibility to your knowledge and learning commitment.

Ask teachers what is helpful and what they find challenging about what they are learning. Encouraging staff to reflect on what they have learned helps them to integrate the experience. Inquiring about what they find challenging opens the door to further conversation and can offer hints to learning needs that remain unmet.

If you are having online or virtual meetings, devote some portion of the time to timely, focused, relevant professional learning. A key insight, exposure to a crucial piece of research, or a best practice shared regularly can make a big difference over time.

Use your observation of teachers to reinforce what they have learned and explore with them what additional learning might be useful. These can be excellent opportunities to demonstrate that you notice emerging practices and provide feedback. They can also offer insights regarding future learning needs to be met.

The COVID-19 crisis has tested our leadership in many ways, but never more than in the area of student learning. The true secret to leading in the year ahead will be finding ways to prioritize your time and attention to capture opportunities. And the opportunity before us—which is within our control—is to use our position to promote teacher learning, and as a result student learning and growth. We can do this. What’s more, we must. For more information on professional learning resources for your teachers that incorporate the tools you need to actively participate and engage with them in discussion, we recommend two programs: