Linking effective professional learning with effective teaching practice

Linking effectiveprofessional learning witheffective teaching practicePeter ColeDirector of PTR Consulting P/L2012Note: This is a commissioned background report, not an AITSL policy paper. The viewsexpressed in this paper are not necessarily those of AITSL or of the Australian Government.

The Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership was formed to provide national leadership for the Commonwealth, state and territorygovernments in promoting excellence in the profession of teaching and school leadership with funding provided by the Australian Government.© 2012 Education Services Australia as the legal entity for the Standing Council on School Education and Early Childhood (SCSEEC).ISBN 978-0-9872351-9-0Education Services Australia, as the legal entity for the Standing Council on School Education and Early Childhood (SCSEEC) owns thecopyright in this publication. This publication or any part of it may be used freely only for non-profit education purposes provided the sourceis clearly acknowledged. The publication may not be sold or used for any other commercial purpose.Other than as permitted above or by the Copyright Act 1968 (Commonwealth), no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored,published, performed, communicated or adapted, regardless of the form or means (electronic, photocopying or otherwise), without theprior written permission of the copyright owner.Address inquiries regarding copyright to: SCSEEC Secretariat, PO Box 202, Carlton South, VIC 3053, Australia.

ContentsIntroduction ........................................................................................................................ 2What is the definition of effective professional learning? .................................................... 3What is the link between professional learning and improved classroom practice? ........... 5What are the characteristics of effective professional learning? ......................................... 7How is a strong professional learning culture developed? ................................................. 10How can effective professional learning practice be coupled witheffective teaching practice? ................................................................................................ 15Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 17Appendix 1: Suggested elements of a school’s Professional Learning Policy ..................... 20References ......................................................................................................................... 21About AITSL .......................................................................................................................22Linking effective professional learning with effective teaching practice

The National Professional Standards for Teachers (theStandards) 1 describes the key elements of qualityteaching and makes explicit the knowledge, practiceand professional engagement required acrossteachers’ careers.Implicit in the developmental framework of theStandards is the understanding that throughouttheir teaching life, teachers like other professionalswill be actively engaged in updating and extendingtheir professional knowledge and practice. This isnecessary for them to remain effective in their roleas they progress to being an exemplary classroompractitioner and a leader in the profession.The context within which schools strive to prepareall young Australians to ‘become successfullearners, confident and creative individuals, andactive and informed citizens’ 2 will continue to evolve.Globalisation and technological, environmental,social, demographic and economic change andrapid and continuing advances in informationcommunication technologies will place greaterdemands on, and provide greater opportunities for,young people. These changes will also place greaterdemands on and opportunities for teachers andschool leaders.School leaders and teachers will need to keep abreastof research findings of relevance to their professionalrole and of the practices that emerge from anincreasing understanding of young people, theircontext and how learning takes place and be ableto incorporate these practices into their schools andclassrooms.Engaging in professional learning will be the primaryvehicle for ensuring that the practices of schools,school leaders and teachers are continually refreshedin ways that ensure their ongoing effectiveness inpromoting the learning that today’s and tomorrow’syoung people will value and need.The purpose of this paper is to outline whatconstitutes effective professional learning and toprovide practical advice to schools about how toimplement professional learning processes that aremost likely to result in improving teaching practicesand improving student learning outcomes.This focus has been adopted as it is the professionallearning policies and practices within and acrossschools that largely determine whether or not teachersengage in relevant and powerful professional learning;professional learning opportunities are provided forall staff; and all staff are actively engaged in activitiesthat help to grow their professional knowledgeand practice. They also determine whether or notprofessional learning produces improvements andconsistency in teaching practice; enhances teachers’sense of efficacy; and ultimately improves students’engagement and learning achievement.1 Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership, 2011.2 Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs, 2008.2 Linking effective professional learning with effective teaching practice

What is the definition of effectiveprofessional learning?Key points• Leaders’ and teachers’ definition of professional learning influences the practices that are adopted topromote professional learning.• When professional learning is understood to be an end in itself rather than a means to an end thecorrespondence between participating in professional development and improved practice is likely to be poor.• The purpose of professional learning is to produce more effective practice for both the individual and theschool and thereby improve all students’ learning.• Schools’ and teachers’ professional learning practices should reflect this understanding and they shouldjudge the effectiveness of their professional learning in light of this understanding.One of the difficulties in discussing professionallearning 3 is that what is commonly understood to beprofessional learning varies significantly. Sometimesprofessional learning is what happens when youattend a conference, workshop or curriculum daypresentation. Sometimes it is what happens whenyou sit down with a colleague to plan a lesson ordiscuss a student’s work. Professional learning canbe promoted through a casual piece of advice froma colleague and one’s own reading and throughattendance at an international conference andexposure to the ideas of a globally-recognisededucational expert. Professional learning can beconcerned with promoting professional awareness(e.g. a briefing on a new policy initiative), withdeveloping teaching competencies (e.g. ademonstration lesson) and with embedding andrefining new practices (e.g. lesson observations andfeedback).However, ‘real’ professional learning tends to beunderstood as being what is experienced at thevarious international, national, state-wide, regional anddistrict gatherings of teachers where a professionallearning program is delivered by experts in curriculum,pedagogy, child development and other matters ofhigh concern to school leaders and teachers. It islargely these sorts of events that schools expend theirprofessional learning budgets on, that professionallearning coordinators bring to the attention ofstaff, that teachers request funding to attend andthat educational authorities, private providers andcurriculum associations adopt to support teachers toimprove their teaching knowledge and practice.This tendency is not as strong as it was a decadeor so ago, as research into the effectiveness ofprofessional learning has highlighted that many of thepractices associated with ‘real’ professional learning,whilst effective in raising awareness of new policiesand practices, are not all that effective in bringingabout improved teaching. Research is also revealingwhich professional learning processes are most likelyto lead to teachers changing their practice and whichteaching strategies and teaching techniques are mosteffective in improving student achievement.A key starting point for ensuring that successfulteaching practices 4 become ubiquitous is to ensurethat the main means for achieving this, professionallearning, actually contributes to the ongoingimprovement of teachers’ knowledge and practice.3 Although in literature professional development is often defined as actions that promote professional learning for the purposes of thispaper professional learning is used to describe all activities that support teachers to alter their teaching behaviours in ways that improvetheir students’ learning.4 Teaching practices refer to instructional and classroom management strategies and techniques and the curriculum designedby the teacher.Linking effective professional learning with effective teaching practice3

A common definition of professional learningsuggests that it is ‘activities to develop anindividual’s skills, knowledge and expertise and othercharacteristics as a teacher’ 5 . Another commondefinition is that professional learning is ‘the sum totalof formal and informal learning experiences throughoutone’s career from pre-service teacher educationto retirement’. These definitions correctly describeprofessional learning as consisting of ‘activities’ and‘learning experiences’ but avoid reference to thepurpose of professional learning and fail to recognisethe context in which teachers work.Schools and systems use professional learning tosupport improvement and reform agendas. Individualteachers engage in professional learning to improvetheir knowledge and skills. Professional learning is notsupposed to be an innocuous activity; it is supposedto make a difference. And while the difference shouldbe evident in terms of an improvement in an individualteacher’s practice, more importantly it shouldalso be evident in the overall effectiveness of theschool. This commitment to changing practice andacknowledgement that professional learning shouldnot leave a school unchanged should be built into aschool’s working definition of professional learning. Amore apt definition of professional learning to guide aschool’s professional learning policy and practice isas follows.Professional learning is the formal and informal learningexperiences undertaken by teachers and schoolleaders that improve their individual professionalpractice and the school’s collective effectivenessas measured by improved student engagement andlearning outcomes.This definition of professional learning introduces aneffectiveness dimension by setting the expectationthat professional learning will produce changes inpractice and ultimately in student learning outcomes.It acknowledges the diversity of formal and informalprofessional learning opportunities and activitiesavailable to teachers. It focuses on the outcomesrather than the inputs of professional learning andextends the outcome of professional learning fromprofessional awareness, and the improvement inteaching knowledge and skills to the applicationof newly acquired knowledge and skills withinclassrooms. It also positions professional learningas being concerned with not only the learning of theindividual teacher but of the whole school as it isnot highly effective individual teachers or pockets ofeffective practice that change schools, but consistentapplication of effective teaching practice acrossthe school. Finally it acknowledges that the ultimatepurpose for professional learning is to improve allstudents’ learning outcomes.This definition counters some of the taken forgranted practices that arise from and contributeto common confusions about what constituteseffective professional learning. For example, teacheraccreditation agencies often stipulate that to maintainaccreditation teachers need to attend a minimumnumber of hours of approved (i.e. real) professionallearning each year. Schools tend to allocate fundsfor professional learning in response to individualteachers’ requests to attend externally-providedprofessional learning events. Teachers often considerthat it is their prerogative to decide whether or not theywill participate in professional learning and if they sodecide, it is also up to them to determine the focus fortheir professional learning.Such practices and expectations tend to reinforcethe often false perception that there is a strong linkbetween professional learning and improved teachingpractice and whole school improvement.This definition of professional learning is premisedon the view that for teachers to be effective not onlymust their ongoing professional learning be effective,they must also work in a setting where they can usewhat they know and learn. That is, to improve studentlearning, professional learning needs to be conceivedas both a means for improving teacher effectivenessand a means for improving the effectiveness ofschools and this cannot be done if decisions aboutprofessional learning are primarily viewed as theprerogative of the individual teacher.Whilst professional learning needs to addressindividual teachers’ needs, it needs to do so withinthe context of the school’s overall priorities andimprovement strategies. This is because a commoneffort from (leaders and) teachers is needed to inorder for a school to improve its teaching and learningeffectiveness.5 OECD, 2009.4 Linking effective professional learning with effective teaching practice

What is the link between professional learningand improved classroom practice?Key points• Professional learning has long been seen as being synonymous with attending an externally provided event.• Evidence reveals that transference from this style of professional learning into changed teaching practice isvery poor.• A school with a poor professional learning culture has low expectations that there needs to be anytransference.The literature on professional learning is extensive.A recent search of an education database using theterms ‘professional development’ and ‘in-serviceteacher education’ identified more than 34,000references alone. A more focused search of researcharticles, books, websites and theses that providedinformation about both professional developmentopportunities for teachers and personal, social and/or academic outcomes for students identified only97 studies 6 . Relatively few studies have tracked theimpact of professional development to outcomes forstudents.Research 7 into the effectiveness of professionallearning is fairly consistent in the view that mostprofessional learning is ineffective in bringing aboutimprovements in teaching and student outcomes.Surveys 8 of the effectiveness of professional learningactivities reveal that professional learning generallyconsists of unfocused, fragmented, low-intensityactivities, such as short-term workshops with little orno follow-up and consequently that the capacity of theprofession to engage most of its members in effectivemodes of professional learning over the long term hasbeen weak.It is not only the limitations of the externally provided,one-off event that explain why there is often a poortransference between what is learnt through engagingin professional learning and what is done in the schoolor classroom. The expectations that school leadersand teachers have towards professional learning canalso contribute to poor transference.School leaders can inadvertently contribute to poortransference by conveying through their actionsthat they do not expect participation in professionallearning to be a significant catalyst for change. Thisunintended message can be conveyed if they:• are not strategic in the way they allocateprofessional learning resources• do not require those engaging in professionallearning to identify the implications that theirlearning has for the rest of the school• rely on the identification of new approaches toteaching to emerge from individual staff members’serendipitous participation in professional learningevents• do not set up processes to ensure that evidencebasedteaching practices are adopted by all teachers.6 Timperley et al, 2008.7 Bredeson and Scribner, 2000.8 Corcoran, 1995; Ingvarson,2003; Newmann et al, 2000; and Supovitz and Turner, 2000.Linking effective professional learning with effective teaching practice5

Teachers can also contribute to poor transferencebetween professional learning and improvedclassroom practice. This can happen if they:• consider their professional learning to be a privatematter that has consequences only for them• do not expect that their participation in aprofessional learning might lead to a change intheir teaching practice• are not supported to introduce improved teachingpractices into their own classes• are not held accountable for the implementation ofimproved teaching practices• are not encouraged and supported to assist othersteachers in the school to understand and take upthe improved teaching practices.So, even when teachers’ experience of professionallearning has been profound and the new knowledgethey have acquired would greatly benefit their ownpractice and that of other teachers in their school,unless there is a positive professional learning culturewithin the school the transference of this learning maybe very low. A single messenger has to be extremelypersuasive in order to convince the majority of theschool staff that a new approach should be adoptedand they have to be equally tenacious to perseverewith a new practice that most other teachers in theschool may not endorse.‘The funnel of professional learning transference’contained in Box 1 illustrates the point that whilst vastnumbers of teachers may become informed about anevidence-based instructional practice, and many willseek further information and even receive training inthe application of the new practice, the transferenceof this learning into practice dwindles at each stage ofimplementation at the school level.Box 1: The funnel of professional learning transferenceIntroduced to a highly effective new practiceInvestigates and receives training in the new practiceTrials the new practice in classesReflects and seeks feedback toimprove practice masteryAdds practice to repertoireHelps others toadopt the practiceThe challenge for schools and systems is to refine their professional learning processes and practices in ways thatstrengthen the link between professional learning, improved classroom and school practice and improved studentlearning. A starting point for this is to have a clear picture about what constitutes effective professional learning.6 Linking effective professional learning with effective teaching practice

What are the characteristics of effectiveprofessional learning?Key points• New forms of professional learning are proving to be more effective in promoting improved practice inschools than many of the ‘traditional’ professional learning events.• Research suggests that to be effective, professional learning needs to be primarily school-based and schoolmanaged and focused on improving teaching practice.The National Professional Standards for Teachersdeveloped by AITSL define the key elements of qualityteaching. Effective professional learning focuses ondeveloping the core attributes of an effective teacher.It enhances teachers’ understanding of the contentthey teach and equips them with a range of strategiesthat enable their students to learn that content. It isdirected towards providing teachers with the skillsto teach and assess for deep understanding and todevelop students’ metacognitive skills.Studies of effective professional learning havedelineated several characteristics found to be relatedto increased teacher capacity. One synthesis 9 ofvarious ‘best practice’ professional learning designprinciples concludes that to be effective professionallearning needs to be:• embedded in or directly related to the work of teaching• grounded in the content of teaching• organised around collaborative problem solving• integrated into a comprehensive change process.Another 10 concludes that ‘to promote the kindof teacher learning that leads to improvementin teaching, professional development shouldconcentrate on instruction and student outcomes inteachers’ specific schools; provide opportunities forcollegial inquiry, help, and feedback; and connectteachers to external expertise while also respectingteachers’ discretion and creativity’.It has also been suggested 11 that effectiveprofessional learning ‘focuses on concrete classroomapplications of general ideas; it exposes teachers toactual practice rather than to descriptions of practice;it involves opportunities for observation, critique, andreflection; it involves opportunities for group supportand collaboration; and it involves deliberate evaluationand feedback by skilled practitioners with expertiseabout good teaching’.Whilst research that questions the usefulnessof traditional forms of professional learning forteachers is becoming more widely understoodand more influential in changing the nature ofprofessional learning, the ‘new and improved’ formsof professional learning are still at the ‘looks highlypromising but not proven’ stage. Indeed Elmore andBurney (1997) observe that ‘while we know a gooddeal about the characteristics of good professionaldevelopment, we know a good deal less about how toorganise successful professional development so asto influence practice in large numbers of schools andclassrooms’.9 McRae et al, 2001.10 Newmann et al, 2000.11 Elmore and Burney, 1997.Linking effective professional learning with effective teaching practice7

That is, researchers are now fairly consistent in theirconclusions about what doesn’t work and are happyto speculate about what should work, but the time gapbetween when professional learning occurs, teacherpractice changes and student learning improvesand the multiplicity of influences on a teacher thatcould contribute to changes in their practice makesresearch into ‘best practice’ professional learningfairly problematic at this stage.The call for a reorientation of ‘traditional’ professionallearning practices in schools is not based primarily ona concern about the quality of the advice and trainingprovided in the vast majority of professional learningevents which teachers attend. After all, it is because oftheir expertise and ability to effectively communicatenew knowledge and demonstrate new techniques thatpresenters get invited to run workshops and deliveraddresses at conferences. The concern is based onthe evidence of the poor transference of what is learntin these events to the school setting.The problem of poor transference is a result of thelimitations of the professional learning delivery model.Presentations to a large, mixed audience of teacherstend to work best when they focus on conveyinginformation of interest to a broad constituency andwhen for logistic reasons they do not try to teach howto implement and refine an instructional practice.They are good for alerting participants to the need forchange, but not for producing change.There is an emerging consensus about the shiftsin practice that are needed to make professionallearning more effective in bringing about teaching andlearning improvements across a school. It is broadlyagreed that professional learning should be primarilyschool-based and school managed and be focusedon improving teaching practice. It is also agreed thatschools need to become learning communities inwhich professional learning is a part of the teacher’severyday work and structured in ways that enableteachers to focus on how to become more effectivepractitioners.Box 2 below summarises some of the reorientationneeded in professional learning practice to make itmore effective.Box 2: Rebalancing professional learning practices 12Traditional practiceProfessional learning is an isolated event triggered by theindividual teacherProfessional learning usually equates to attendance at anexternally-provided conference or workshopThe professional learning focus is on the acquisition ofeducational knowledge (e.g. new theories, new policies andnew research findings)Individual pursuit of professional learning for individualimprovementAnnual individual professional learning plans are structuredaround generic professional learning goals linked to annualperformance management processesStrengthened by this practiceProfessional learning is a routine practice within theschoolProfessional learning is promoted by teaching expertsworking in classrooms with teachers and by teacherslearning from each other by sharing experiences andexpertiseThe professional learning focus is on the implementationof teaching strategies and mastery of teaching techniquesIndividual, group and whole school pursuit of professionallearning for school improvementIndividual, group and whole school professional learningplans are structured around actions designed to promoteprecision teaching by skilling teachers in the use ofevidence-based micro-teaching strategies and techniques12 Source: Cole, 2005.8 Linking effective professional learning with effective teaching practice

It should be noted that the items in the left handcolumn are not replaced by those in the right handcolumn; rather it is suggested that the practices in theright hand column are to be given greater emphasisthan those on the left hand column. Indeed, insome instances it might not be possible to achievethe practices in the right hand column without firstexperiencing the practices in the left hand column.For example, it is likely that teachers who are astuteat regularly sourcing workshops where expert adviceis provided that enhances their curriculum contentknowledge and guides their teaching practice woulddeliver engaging and effective lessons. The problemthough is that few teachers can be afforded theopportunity to regularly attend external professionallearning events; not all teachers are skilled enough totransfer into their own classroom practice what theyheard or saw once at a workshop; and the vast bulkof teachers would not be able to find a professionallearning activity that was tailored to meet theirparticular learning needs.Box 3 summarises some of the tradition professionallearning practices that need to be replaced.Box 3: Rebalancing professional learning practices 13Traditional practiceNo expectation of contributing to colleagues’ professionallearningProfessional learning plans are a private matter and are notmade publicIndividual professional performance plans reviewed annuallyStrengthened by this practiceContributing to colleagues’ professional learning iscommon practiceTeachers’ professional learning plans, and particularly theteaching practices that are the focus of these plans, aremade public so that teachers with a common learningfocus can support each other and teachers who may beeffectively using a practice that other teachers are lookingto develop can offer them assistanceIndividual, group and whole school professionalperformance milestones are reported on and professionallearning plans are reviewed and renewed each termThe practices listed in the right-hand side of Boxes2 and 3 characterise a school in which professionallearning is being managed by the school to meet theimprovement needs of the school. The practices inthe left-hand column of Boxes 2 and 3 characterise aschool in which the professional learning is instigatedby the teacher and reacted to by the school. Inthis latter case, professional learning may not beserving the improvement needs of the school. This isbecause the school is likely to have pockets of goodpractice, pockets of adequate practice and pocketsof less than adequate practice.The professional learning practices described onthe right hand side of Boxes 2 and 3 encourageteachers to ‘function as members of a communityof practitioners who share knowledge andcommitments, who work together to create coherentcurriculum and systems that support students, andcollaborate in ways that advance their combinedunderstanding and skill’ 14 .Such an outcome is desired as effective schoolsare learning communities where there is a culture ofteacher collaboration and collective responsibilityfor the development of effective teaching practicesand improved student learning. Being part of alearning community is not simply about the pursuit ofindividual learning goals it also is about contributingto the learning and knowledge base of one’scolleagues and the school.13 Source: Cole, 2005.14 Darling-Hammond and Bransford, 2005.Linking effective professional learning with effective teaching practice9

How is a strong professional learningculture developed?Key points• Teaching practice needs to be ‘de-privatised’ so that a culture of professional sharing, experimentation andcritique can flourish in schools.• Without a strong professional learning culture, the potential benefits from engagement in professionallearning will be dissipated.• There are numerous strategies that schools can adopt to strengthen staff interaction and trust and build astrong professional learning culture.There are many taken-for-granted practices in schoolsthat work against schools becoming places where‘every teacher engages in professional learning everyday so every student achieves’ 15 .One of the biggest challenges on the road toestablishing the school as a rich environment forteacher learning is to ‘de-privatise’ the work ofteachers and the results of this work. Signs of aprivatised mindset about classroom teaching includereluctance by teachers to:• jointly plan and review work programs• adopt common assessment tasks• follow agreed classroom protocols and procedures• allow others to observe them teach• mentor or coach less experienced colleagues• make their students’ achievements transparent.Very good teachers can have a ‘privatised classroom’mindset. Typically, they work hard at preparingtheir lessons, run an orderly classroom, develop agood rapport with their students and are effectiveat supporting their students to achieve high results.The pity about such teachers having a privatisedclassroom mindset is that they are missing out onopportunities to become even better teachers andthey are avoiding situations where they could assistothers to become better teachers.Very poor teachers can also have a privatisedclassroom mindset. Typically, they skimp on lessonpreparation, have difficulty managing classroommisbehavior, fail to develop positive and productiverelationships with their students and have limitedsuccess at supporting their students to achievehigh results. The pity about these teachers having aprivatised classroom mindset is that they are not heldaccountable for their actions and they are not helpedto become better teachers.In a school where practice is ‘de-privatised’ teachersconsider that it is their professional responsibility to:• make their practice public• keep learning and improving their practice• help colleagues with their professional learning• collect and share data about the performance oftheir students so that student, teacher and schoolperformance is transparent• be concerned about the learning and wellbeing ofall students in their school, not just those in theirclasses• set school, teacher and student improvement goalsand targets• adopt a collective responsibility for improvingstudent learning outcomes.15 National Staff Development Council (undated).10 Linking effective professional learning with effective teaching practice

In a school where practice is ‘de-privatised’, classroomteaching observation and feedback is commonplace;professional learning planning is focused, pragmaticand shared; professional learning opportunities arestructured into the day-to-day operations and routinesof the school; and a culture of professional sharing,experimentation and critique has become the norm.Unfortunately, many schools have not establishedsuch practices and still function in many ways that areconsistent with a ‘privatised classroom’ sensibility.So whilst it is easy to assert that teacher facilitatedand school-located professional learning focusedon classroom practice is most likely to improveclassroom teaching 16 , opportunities for this kind ofprofessional learning may not be all that common inmany schools. Indeed, it is likely that few teacherscurrently would agree that their school and colleaguespresent as the most effective sources for meeting theirprofessional learning needs. Box 4 suggests somereasons why this might be so.Box 4: Factors that impede school-based professional learning 17Most teachers:• are reluctant to volunteer to mentor or coach colleagues• are reluctant to demonstrate good practice• are reluctant to ask colleagues for assistance or feedback• are reluctant to have others observe them teach• are reluctant to observe others teach and provide themwith feedback• do not see it as their role to contribute to the training/learning of other colleagues• do not have the time to participate in or contribute toteacher facilitated trainingNevertheless, the factors in Box 4 above are notinsurmountable and provide an initial list of the areasthat could be worked on to make school workplacesrich with opportunities for professional learning andwhere professional learning arises from and feedsback into daily experience. A school with such aworkplace could be described as having a strongprofessional learning culture.A professional learning culture is most likely todevelop when there is a high degree of leadershipsupport for teacher learning and risk taking18 andwhen there is a high degree of staff interactionand co-dependence. Consequently strategiesdesigned to produce these conditions need tobe implemented. A few of the typical strategiesadopted by schools to build collegiality, trust andcooperation between staff are listed in Box 5 below.The first four strategies are designed to increaseteacher dialogue about teaching and learningand encourage co-dependence. The latter ‘softer’strategy, however, is equally important as teachertrust and risk-taking is more likely to be evidentwhen individuals feel they have the friendshipand loyalty of their colleagues as well as theirprofessional respect.16 It is acknowledged that a teacher in a very small school is more likely to benefit from external input and participation in networks as theirteaching environment is unlikely to provide adequate opportunities for meeting their professional learning needs.17 Source: Cole, 2005.18 Leithwood et al, 2004.Linking effective professional learning with effective teaching practice11

Box 5: Strategies for building staff interaction and cooperation 19Traditional practiceStrengthened by this practiceTeam planningworking with colleagues to jointly plan a syllabus, a unit of work, a lesson or an activitywithin a lesson, homework tasks, extra-curricular activities, parent meetings, and so forthLearning teamsteachers who agree to work together to explore teaching and learning issues andstrategies and share teaching experiencesTeaching teamsteachers who take responsibility for teaching a common group of students (e.g. studentsin Year 6 or 9) and cooperate in the planning and delivery of lessons to the student groupTeam teachingteachers who occupy the same classroom space (usually occupied by a class formed byconsolidating two or more ‘regular’ classes) and share in the running of the consolidatedclassroomMentoringestablishing a formal relationship whereby a highly competent and experienced teachersupports a less experienced and competent teacher though the offering of advice andfeedbackSocial gatherings any informal but planned activities that enable staff to relate within a social context –weekly social club, weekend retreats, staff dinners, staff sports teams, trivia nights,theatre nights, etcThese strategies and other ones such as action research groups and professional reading and discussiongroups provide the foundation for building a strong professional learning culture.A further layer of strategies that are likely to result in an examination of and feedback on one’s actual classroomteaching effectiveness build on the previous strategies and contribute to the development of a strongprofessional learning culture. These are outlined in Box 6 below.Box 6:Strategies that contribute to a strong professional learning culture 20Traditional practiceCoachingMentoringTeacher observationTeaching demonstrationWalk throughsLesson studyInter-school pairingStrengthened by this practicethe coach is responsible for participating in regular discussion sessions with the teacherand for suggesting strategies designed to improve their performance.a mentor is a more experienced person who supports and assists another person to growand learn in their rolein-class observation of a specified element of teaching and the provision of feedback onthe effectiveness of the teaching performanceprovision of a ‘model’ lesson with a prior discussion to clarify purpose, expectations anddesired outcomes and a debriefing session to review the lesson and its outcomesinstructionally-focused walk throughs use observers who visit numerous classrooms forshort periods of time to observe how a particular practice is being implemented and pooltheir individual observations to provide the leadership team with a reportthis strategy originated in Japan and is a structured method of planning, teaching,reviewing and redesigning a lesson to make it as effective as possiblethis strategy involves one teacher working alongside a teacher in another school for a daya week for several weeks and then swapping the arrangement around and debriefing onthe experience19 Source: Cole, 2005.20 Source: Cole, 2005.12 Linking effective professional learning with effective teaching practice

Schools committed to the development of a strongprofessional culture have looked across the schoolfor opportunities to change arrangements so thatincreased opportunities are provided for teachers toreflect on their practice and learn from each other.This has resulted in changes in the use of facilities,the way that professional learning resources areallocated, the management of professional learning,the school’s professional learning policy and the timeavailable for professional learning.Examples of various strategies adopted by schools tostrengthen their professional learning culture are listedin Box 7.Box 7: School actions that contribute to a strong professionallearning culture 21Facilities strategies• establishing a lesson demonstration area (e.g. amodified classroom with an adjacent viewing room)• establishing a workshop presentation area• establishing small group meeting rooms• providing teaching teams and their student group adedicated area for their classesProfessional learning management strategies• lifting the status of the school’s professional learningcoordinator by allocating this role to a leader ofsignificance within the school and including them in theschool’s leadership team• building professional learning plans around a series ofshort-term classroom focused activities and targets thatare reviewed regularly• making all teachers’ professional learning targets public• building the expectation that teachers with similarprofessional learning targets will work together todevelop and share their knowledge and skills• building the expectation that teachers will give timelyreports on their professional learning progress• building the expectation that collaborative teacheractivities will produce artefacts (e.g. units of work andrubrics) that other teachers can use to improve teachingand learning• requiring teaching teams and learning teams to set andreview progress towards improvement goals• focusing on getting pockets of good practice spreadacross the school• developing a professional learning policy that reflects acommitment to the maintenance of a strong professionallearning culture (see Appendix 1 for a sample policy)Resourcing strategies• using professional learning funds for in-school teacherrelease• maintaining a well-stocked and up to date professionalreading and viewing library• supporting groups, rather than an individual, to attendprofessional network meetings and external trainingevents• engaging classroom coaches and demonstrationteachers to work directly with teachers in theirclassroomsStructural strategies• allocating teaching duties in ways that result in adefined team of teachers taking responsibility for acommon group of students (e.g. a Year 7 or Year 9teaching team)• timetabling to create blocks of free time for teachers towork together• reallocating meeting time to professional learning time• establishing a regular regime of staff-led professionallearning events• establishing processes to enable external professionallearning experiences to feed into school-wideimprovement planning (e.g. by establishing a taskforce reliant on input from professional learninginvestigations)• including in experienced and effective teachers’ roledescriptions the responsibility for assisting other staffto improve their teaching competence21 Source: Cole, 2005.Linking effective professional learning with effective teaching practice13

Ideally the professional learning culture of the schoolwould be such that teachers would be committed tocontinually:• acquiring new knowledge and skills (learning whatand how to improve their teaching)• implementing new practice (applying newknowledge and skills in the classroom)• refining new practice through self-reflection andfeedback (improving implementation)• sharing new practice through demonstrations,workshops and presentations (teaching others whatand how to improve their teaching)• assisting others to implement improvementsthrough team planning and teaching, coaching andmentoring (spreading the implementation of newknowledge and skills in the classroom)• refining each other’s practice through observationand feedback.Research 22 suggests that creating a collaborativeculture within schools is ‘the single most importantfactor for successful school improvement initiatives,the first order of business for those seeking toenhance their schools’ effectiveness, an essentialrequirement of improving schools, the critical elementin reform efforts, and the most promising strategy forsustained, substantive school improvement’.It has also been suggested 23 that in a school wherethere is a rich professional learning culture evenflawed professional learning events can serve as acatalyst for professional growth as there are systemsto enable the insights from these events to beexamined and discussed.However, in a school context where teachers arenot collaborative and used to sharing ideas andexperimenting with their teaching practice, evenprofessional learning programs with solid content andpowerful training strategies are unlikely to be effective.22 DuFour, 1998.23 DuFour, 1998.14 Linking effective professional learning with effective teaching practice

How can effective professional learning practicebe coupled with effective teaching practice?Key points• Effective teaching practice produces effective schools.• Research is identifying those teaching and learning practices that hold the most promise for improvingteacher effectiveness and student learning.• The professional learning plans of teachers are more likely to produce improved teaching practice when theprofessional learning practices are school-based and collegiate.• Professional learning plans should be focused on evidence-based instructional strategies and techniques.• Shared learning about effective teaching strategies and techniques helps staff to adopt and refine their use ofthese new approaches.Advice about professional learning rightly observesthat it should be evidence-based and data-driven.The previous discussion has focused on the evidenceabout the kinds of professional learning processes andstrategies that appear to be most effective in promotinga strong professional learning culture in schools andimproving teaching practice. That is, it has beenconcerned about the forms of professional learning.An equally important concern relates to the contentof professional learning. What if we have adoptedforms of professional learning that research suggestsare effective in promoting improved teaching but thecontent of the professional learning activity itself isconcerned with promoting teaching practices thatsubsequently prove to be ineffective in improvingstudent engagement and learning? Clearly anevidence base needs to also inform the content ofprofessional learning activities.An oft repeated joke is that schooling is in very goodshape as there are only two questions remaining to beanswered: what to teach and how to teach it. A similarjoke could be made about professional learning asonly one issue remains unresolved and that is howto marry what we know about effective professionallearning with what we know about effective teaching.To address this issue it is becoming more commonfor schools to not only document their curriculum,but to also document the instructional and classroommanagement strategies and techniques that researchsuggests are the most promising for engaging andimproving the learning outcomes of students. Theseare the practices that the school’s teachers arecommitted to implementing.This development achieves several outcomes.By auditing teaching practice and engaging indiscussions about what instructional and studentmanagement practices the school should endorseand then codifying these teaching practices, greaterclarity is provided for teachers about:• what constitutes effective teaching practice• the teaching strategies and techniques that allteachers in the school should be adopting andthat should be observed when visiting each other’sclassrooms• the teaching strategies and techniques that theschool’s professional learning resources shouldprimarily be dedicated towards improving• teaching strategies and techniques that shouldbe given priority when developing professionallearning plans of individual teachers, teachingteams and the school.Linking effective professional learning with effective teaching practice15

One of the reasons for the poor linkage betweenprofessional learning and changed classroompractice is that often professional learning intentions,as documented in teachers’ professional learningplans, are described in generic terms – such as,to improve boys’ learning or to become better atpromoting cooperative learning. The more generic thedescription of a teacher’s professional learning needthe greater the likelihood that the teacher will havedifficulty identifying what to focus on first and whatprofessional learning activities they should participatein. However, this problem is significantly lessenedif the teacher’s learning intention is described withmore precision by wherever possible identifying aparticular teaching strategy they wish to implement ora particular teaching technique they wish to master.Teaching strategies and techniques which can relateto classroom instruction or classroom managementare sub-sets of teaching practiceThe difference between a teaching strategy andteaching technique is that a strategy is a generalisedapproach to problems and a way to inform decisions;whereas a technique is something you do or sayin a particular way. And because a technique is anaction, the more it is practiced the better the teachergets at performing it. By focusing on concrete actionsthat generally can be understood and implementedin a relatively short period, and then improved overtime, teaching capacity is built step by step and thearmoury of strategies and techniques available to theteacher is extended.Individual and group professional learning plansbecome highly effective tools for promoting teachercollaboration and classroom improvement when theyare practical, action oriented and contain specific ‘bitesized’ learning tasks that are to be completed withina 10 week timeframe. Such a professional learningplan would include the one or two research-basedteaching practices that the teacher wishes to acquireor refine; the research-based professional learningstrategies that the teacher plans to use to enablethem understand the teaching strategy or techniqueand how to apply it; and the timeline within whichthe new practice will become part of the teacher’sclassroom instruction.The adoption of a ‘bite-sized’ learning task meansthat it is not too time consuming to learn and nottoo daunting to implement in one’s classroom. Italso means that professional learning plans can beregularly renewed as learning tasks are translated inclassroom practice. In this way, teacher improvementis a continuous process of accumulating expertisein evidence-based instructional and studentmanagement strategies and techniques.When determining the teaching strategies andtechniques that the school will adopt as its preferredset of teaching practices, schools have turned to theadvice provided by education departments and tothe growing number of books on effective teachingthat have moved beyond describing what an effectiveteacher does to describing how to implement effectivepractices. Robert Marzano and Doug Lemov areamong the most prominent in the current collectionof authors 24 who have been successful in extractingfrom numerous research studies those teachingpractices that are most effective in promoting studentachievement.Marzano nominates nine general instructionalcategories and 34 specific behaviours and organisesthese strategies into a framework of effectiveinstructional design and Lemov nominates forty-nine‘essential techniques’ which can be mastered oneat a time and which operate in synergy to produceexceptional teaching. Many schools are using theseevidence-based, micro-teaching teaching strategiesand techniques as the content for their professionallearning plans.Teachers in these schools are assuming greatercontrol of their own professional learning by focusingon a couple of teaching strategies and techniquesat a time and conducting teacher-led professionallearning activities that introduce and then helpto improve the application of these practices inclassrooms across the school. These strategies andtechniques are also what teachers look for whenconducting instructional walk-throughs and classroomobservations.By doing this, schools are successfully linkingeffective professional learning practices with effectiveteaching practices and thereby optimising theeffectiveness of their professional learning.24 For example, Cleveland, 2011, Cole 2008, Hattie, 2008, Lemov, 2010, Lewis, 2011, Linan-Thompson and Vaughn, 2007, Marzano, 2001,2003 and 2007, Marzano et al, 2005, Munro, 2002, Petty, 2009, Rogers, 2011 and Tomlinson, 2001.16 Linking effective professional learning with effective teaching practice

ConclusionAn oft referred to rule of thumb about professionallearning is that the further way from the school andthe larger the professional learning event, the lesslikely that it will have an impact on the school. Whilstthis is generally the case, it is also the case that ifan individual is seeking to increase their knowledgeabout the topic being presented or to be stimulatedby new educational ideas, then a conference couldwell serve that purpose.Three additional rules of thumb to guide professionalpractice are that:• there are many options for acquiring educationknowledge but relatively few for learning how toimplement a teaching strategy or master a teachingtechnique• learning how to implement a teaching strategy ormaster a teaching technique is best done whenit is managed by the school and involves one’scolleagues• learning how to implement a teaching strategy ormaster a teaching technique is best done when thelearning task is concrete, specific and able to becompleted in a relatively short period of time.The National Professional Standards for Teacherscontains thirty-seven illustrations of the knowledge,practice and professional engagement thatcharacterise a highly accomplished teacher. A selectionof these statements has been provided in Box 8.Box 8: Characteristics of highly accomplished teachersHighly accomplished teachers:• select from a flexible and effective repertoire of teachingstrategies to suit the physical, social and intellectualdevelopment and characteristics of students (ProfessionalKnowledge – Standard 1)• support colleagues to plan and implement learning andteaching programs using contemporary knowledge andunderstanding of curriculum, assessment and reportingrequirements (Professional Knowledge – Standard 2)• model and share with colleagues a flexible repertoireof strategies for classroom management to ensureall students are engaged in purposeful activities(Professional Practice – Standard 3)• develop and share with colleagues a flexible repertoireof behaviour management strategies using expertknowledge and workplace experience (ProfessionalPractice – Standard 4)• work with colleagues to use data from internal andexternal student assessments for evaluating learningand teaching, identifying interventions and modifyingteaching practice (Professional Practice – Standard 5)• plan for professional learning by accessing andcritiquing relevant research, engage in high qualitytargeted opportunities to improve practice and offerquality placements for pre-service teachers whereapplicable (Professional Engagement – Standard 6)Linking effective professional learning with effective teaching practice17

What is most apparent about the qualities of highlyaccomplished teachers is not just that they have highlevels of personal teaching competence but they alsohave the capacity and willingness to work effectivelywith their colleagues to improve the teaching practiceacross the school.The professional learning practices discussed in theprevious sections reflect this understanding of whata highly accomplished teacher does. A school’sprofessional learning strategy must not only contributeto the development of leadership and teachingcompetence but also contribute to building a teacherworkforce that is collegiate and continually striving tobecome more effective so that teaching and learningacross the whole school is improved.Whilst individual teachers can and need to manageaspects of their own professional growth throughreading, sharing ideas with colleagues, attendingconferences, undertaking further study and beingactively involved in professional networks, thenature of schools also requires that teacherswork collaboratively to establish effective learningenvironments and develop consistency in the qualityof their teaching. School-based professional learninghelps to meet this requirement.However, just because professional learning is schoolbased and school managed does not necessarilyguarantee that it will impact on teaching practice inways that produce school improvement. If schoolssimply replicate the information-giving sessionstypically provided at conferences, require all teachersto attend regardless of their learning need, and usepresenters with less expertise than the presentersused by external professional learning providers theyare likely to provoke teacher resentment and gainvery little benefit. School based and school managedprofessional learning needs to be constructed aroundwhat we know about effective professional learningpractices and effective teaching practices.Schools that are most effective in bringing togetherwhat we know about effective professional learningand effective teaching have identified specific ‘microteaching’techniques that all teachers commit tointroducing into their repertoire of teaching practices.Teachers in these schools are:• sharing the responsibility for identifying highlyeffective micro-teaching techniques that will make adifference to the effectiveness of teaching practicewithin the school• agreeing on a range of teaching techniques that allstaff or teams of staff will adopt and refine over aset period of usually no longer than a term• setting school-wide take-up targets (e.g. the fourtechniques that help to establish high academicexpectations 25 will be evident in all Year 8 and9 classrooms by the last week of term) andincorporating their own targets into their personalprofessional learning plan• documenting, trialling and demonstrating theselected techniques• supporting and reinforcing the adoption ofthe selected teaching techniques throughcoaching and mentoring, working in smallteams, walk throughs and receiving feedbackfollowing classroom observations• monitoring progress towards the achievement ofthe professional learning targets for the school orteams of teachers• acknowledging and celebrating when a particularset of the techniques has become a permanentpart of most teachers’ repertoire of teachingpractices• restarting the cycle of determining the next set oftechniques to be adopted, establishing new schooltake-up targets in relation to these techniques,devising a whole school implementation plan,translating the whole-school’s targets into anindividual teacher targets and getting on withadopting the next set of bite sized behaviourchanges in their classrooms.25 Lemov, 2010, for example, lists six essential techniques for setting high academic expectations.18 Linking effective professional learning with effective teaching practice

This approach tends to reshape the sequence of‘learning’ often experienced in traditional professionallearning models. Here the emphasis is on the schoolidentifying ‘essential techniques’ or bite-sizedbehavioural changes, individual teachers trialling thechanged techniques and being supported by theircolleagues to improve their understanding of when aparticular technique is likely to have the most impact,and how to become more skilful in employing thetechnique. Traditionally the sequence of learning ina professional development context is exposure toa new approach through attendance at an externalworkshop or conference, an individual decisionwhether to find out more about the new approach,an individual decision about whether to adopt thenew approach and if the decision is to adopt thenew approach this too is an individual endeavour 26 .The focus on ‘bite-sized’ behaviour changes inthe classroom (e.g. in order to make engagedparticipation the expectation, call on studentsregardless of whether they have raised their hands ornot) enables teachers to act almost immediately tochange their practice, and then refine their techniquesthrough practice, observation and feedback. Ratherthan professional learning being a precursor tochanged teaching behaviour, it becomes a means forrefining the changed behaviour.Similarly, teachers’ learning growth plans are beingshaped in ways that differ from the traditional patternand process. Typically an individual professionallearning plan is determined following a performancereview discussion with the principal or their nominee,that identifies areas for improvement (often statedin generic terms such as improved classroommanagement) and possible professional learningstrategies designed to address these areas ofneed. Plans are typically reviewed half way throughthe year and at the end of the year. Evidence ofimproved performance could but may not include anobservation of teaching.In contrast, schools that are most effective in bringingtogether what we know about effective professionallearning and effective teaching tend to separate theprocesses of performance review and professionallearning or view the professional learning goals ina performance review document as an umbrellastatement that is supported by sequential term-longindividual learning growth plans that contain threeor four specific teaching techniques that the wholeschool has identified as being highly effective forpromoting improved learning and that the teacher willimplement and support others to implement over therelevant period.Such professional learning approaches are beingsupplemented by school-managed professionallearning that supports teachers to attend network,region and state-wide professional learning eventsin order to share their experience, learn from otherteachers and teaching experts and bring newsuggestions for improving school and teacherpractice back into the school. By being clear abouttheir professional learning objectives and wellorganised in the roll-out of their professional learningstrategy these schools are experiencing increasedfeelings of teacher efficacy, increased studentengagement and improved learning outcomes.It has been said 27 that ‘the major challenge inimproving teaching lies not so much in identifyingand describing quality teaching, but in developingstructures and approaches that ensure widespreaduse of successful teaching practices: to makebest practice, common practice’. By describingprofessional learning approaches that work, this guidefor teachers and leaders offers a contribution towardsmeeting this challenge.26 Refer to Box 1 which describes the funnel of professional learning experience that can also be applied to an individual’s experience.27 Dinham, et al, 2008.Linking effective professional learning with effective teaching practice19

Appendix 1: Suggested elements of a school’sProfessional Learning PolicyStatements that might be incorporated into theprofessional learning policy of the school are that:• all staff will actively support their colleagues toimprove their teaching• all staff will have a personal professional learningplan• professional learning plans will be based onchanges to practice that staff wish to initiate orrefine• professional learning plan targets will becommunicated to one’s colleagues• wherever possible staff with similar professionallearning targets will work together and supporteach other to achieve their target• professional learning plans will be reviewed eachsemester – this could be a professional learningteam group review of each other’s plans, a peerreview or a review by a senior staff member• wherever possible professional learning will beschool located• professional learning could be commissioned as ameans for finding out more about an issue/teachingapproach (e.g. a team may be commissioned tovisit an exemplary school, to research a particulartopic or attend a conference)• professional learning activities beyond the schoolwill be used as a means of extending networks andintroducing new approaches to the school• professional learning funds will be used to releaseteachers to undertake professional learningexperiences within the school.• the school will organise so that time is available forprofessional learning activities to be sustained• wherever possible, attendance at an externalprofessional learning activity will involve a minimumof three staff who will be responsible for reportingback on the activity and its implications for schoolpractice• all beginning teachers and teachers new to theschool will be provided with a mentor• the strength of the school’s professional learningculture will be reviewed annually• staff performance reviews will focus on whathappens in the classroom and what the teacher isdoing to improve student engagement and learningoutcomes.A process for developing a school’s professionallearning policy is to pose possible statements to beincluded in the policy as questions and seek staffresponses (e.g. ‘yes’, ‘no opinion’ and ‘no’) to thequestions via a survey entitled Staff Beliefs aboutProfessional Learning. For example, the first fewquestions could be:• Should staff actively support each other to improvetheir teaching?• Should all staff have a personal professionallearning plan?• Should professional learning plans be basedprimarily on promoting improved classroomteaching?20 Linking effective professional learning with effective teaching practice

ReferencesAustralian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership, (2011)National Professional Standards for Teachers, .Bredeson, P and Scribner, J 2000, ‘A state-wide professionaldevelopment conference: useful strategy for learning or inefficientuse of resources’, Education Policy Analysis Archives, February 21,vol. 8, no. 13.Cleveland, K 2011, Teaching boys who struggle in school: Strategiesthat turn underachievers into successful learners, ASCD.Cole, P 2005, ‘Leadership and professional learning: Forty actionsleaders can take to improve professional learning’, Seminar SeriesNo. 150, Centre for Strategic EducationCole, R (ed.) 2008, Educating everybody’s children: Diverseteaching strategies for diverse learners, 2nd Edition, ASCD.Corcoran, T 1995, ‘Helping teachers teach well: Transformingprofessional development’ CPRE Policy Brief Series No. RB-16.New Brunswick, NJ: Consortium for Policy Research in Education,Rutgers University.Darling-Hammond, L and Bransford, J (eds.) 2005, Preparingteachers for a changing world, Jossey-Bass.Dinham, S, Ingvarson, L & Kleinhenz, E and Business Council ofAustralia (2008) ‘Teaching talent: The best teachers for Australia’sclassrooms’, Teaching Standards and Teacher Evaluation, .DuFour, R 1998, ‘Why look elsewhere: Improving schools fromwithin’. The School Administrator, Vol. 2, No. 55, pp. 24-28.DuFour, R 2001, ‘In the right context’, Journal of Staff Development,Vol. 22, No. 1.Elmore, R and Burney, D 1997, ‘Investing in teacher learning: Staffdevelopment and instructional improvement in Community SchoolDistrict #2’, National Commission on Teaching and America’s Futureand the Consortium for Policy Research in Education, New York City,New York, pp. 2.Hattie, J 2008, Visible learning: A synthesis of over 800 metaanalysesrelating to achievement, Routledge.Ingvarson, L 2003, ‘Building a learning profession’, ACER PolicyBriefs Issue 3..Leithwood, K, Louis, K, Anderson, S, and Wahlstrom K 2004 Howleadership influences student learning, The Wallace Foundation,.Lemov, D 2010, Teach like a champion: 49 techniques that putstudents on the path to college, Jossey-Bass.Lewis, R 2011, ‘The developmental management approach toclassroom behaviour’, in Hopkins, D, Munro, J & Craig, W (eds.)2011, Powerful learning: A strategy for systemic educationalimprovement, Australian Council for Educational Research.Linan-Thompson, S & Vaughn, S 2007, Research-based methods ofreading instruction for English language learners, Grades K–4, ASCD.Marzano, R 2001, Classroom instruction that works: Researchbasedstrategies for increasing student achievement, ASCD.Marzano, R 2007, The art and science of teaching: Acomprehensive framework for effective instruction, ASCD.Marzano, R 2003, What works in schools: Translating research intoaction, ASCD.Marzano, R, Waters, T & McNulty, B 2005, School leadership thatworks: From research to results, ASCD.McRae, D et al 2001, PD 2000 Australia: A national mappingof school teacher professional development, CommonwealthDepartment of Education, Training and Youth Affairs, .Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and YouthAffairs (2008) Melbourne declaration on educational goals for youngAustralians, .Munro, J 2002, High reliability literacy teaching procedures: A meansof fostering literacy learning across the curriculum, .National Staff Development Council (undated) Purpose statement,.Newmann, F, King, M & Youngs, P 2000, April, ‘Professionaldevelopment that addresses school capacity: Lessons from urbanelementary schools’. Paper presented at the annual meeting of theAmerican Educational Research Association, New Orleans, LA.OECD, 2009, Creating effective teaching and learning environments:First results from the TALIS (Teaching and Learning InternationalSurvey), .Owen, S 2003, ‘School-based professional development – buildingmorale, professionalism and productive teacher learning practices’,Journal of Education Enquiry, Vol. 4, No. 2, pp. 102-128.Petty, G 2009, Evidence based teaching: A practical approach,Second Edition, Nelson Thornes Ltd.Reeves, D 2010, Transforming professional development intostudent results, ASCD.Rogers, B 2011, Classroom Behaviour: A practical guide to effectiveteaching, behaviour management and colleague support, ThirdEdition, Sage Publications Ltd.Supovitz, J & Turner, H 2000, ‘The influence of standards-basedreform on classroom practices and culture’, Journal of Research inScience Teaching, 37(9), 963-980.Timperley, H 2008, Teacher professional learning and development:Best evidence synthesis iteration [BES], International Academy ofEducation and & International Bureau of Education Paris, UNESCO,.Tomlinson, C 2001, How to differentiate instruction in mixed-abilityclassrooms, Second Edition, ASCD.Linking effective professional learning with effective teaching practice21

About AITSLThe Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership was formed to provide national leadership for theCommonwealth, state and territory governments in promoting excellence in the profession of teaching andschool leadership with funding provided by the Australian Government.AITSL works with the education community to:• define and maintain standards to promoteexcellence in teaching and school leadership• lead and influence excellence in teaching andschool leadership• support and recognise excellence in teaching andschool leadership.To find out more about AITSL and its work please visitaitsl.edu.au.Contact AITSLRequests for further information and any queriesregarding the Linking Effective Professional LearningWith Effective Teaching Practice should be directed toprofessionallearning@aitsl.edu.au.22 Linking effective professional learning with effective teaching practice

aitsl.edu.auFurther informationTelephone: +61 3 9944 1200Email: professionallearning@aitsl.edu.auMelbourne | Brisbane | CanberraAITSL is funded by the Australian GovernmentISBN 978-0-9872351-9-0