"It's hard to imagine a simple five-step process that could integrate all of Learning Forward's seven professional learning standards, yet, that is exactly what Janice Bradley has done in the book, Designing Schools for Meaningful Professional Learning. The book outlines a practical, step-by-step professional learning process that embraces teacher engagement and choice. It also connects the content of professional learning with teacher evaluation frameworks while also focusing on student learning and engagement.
"I’ve never experienced professional learning such as this! Taking part in collaborative learning with my team gave me the opportunity to explore questions and curiosities about my students that have been buried in years of district-driven professional development. Now my colleagues and I research and reflect together in order to create a learning environment every child deserves.
"As a principal of an elementary school, it is crucial that professional learning is meaningful and impacts staff and student learning. The Five-Part Plan (FPP) provided us a simple, yet very impactful structure to focus on professional learning.
"So often teachers in our educational systems are left out of the decision-making that concerns their own practice as teachers. Yet we know that teachers learn each day in the classroom and that they learn through conversations they have with colleagues about practice. Further, we know that their learning is actually transferred to classroom practice when that learning is job-embedded and teachers have choice in the content. Janice shows us ways to do this that are doable and manageable in every school.