Little, Judith Warren. Organizing Schools for Teacher Learning. The new standards vary in rigor, but many of them push expectations beyond current levels by asking students to engage in complex thinking and problem-solving. To help students meet these standards, teachers themselves face a formidable learning curve. In this chapter of a comprehensive handbook on professional development, Judith Warren Little describes how school leaders can mobilize teacher learning through a careful combination of instructional vision and focused management practices.
All teachers learn from experience by observing their students.
Little says that this learning, which is usually informal and individual, should become collective, systematic, and sustained. When teams of teachers engage in dialogue and debate over the quality of student work, or join together to analyze assessment results, the payoff is deeper insight into the learning process. Organize daily work to support teacher learning. Daily routines can hinder or help teacher learning, and they also send important signals about the organization's priorities. For instance, teacher assignments can be based on internal politics, or they can be used to put teachers in settings that will make the best use of their knowledge and skills.