How does a school find the time to encourage the professional learning envisioned by NSDC?

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The real issue is not about finding time. Many schools have crafted the kinds of daily and weekly schedules we advocate. Instead, the question to ask is, what do you do with the time once you find it? Time is the educator's most precious resource. Leaders who commit to ensuring each teacher has time to participate in a learning team must also ensure that teachers use that time as it was intended.

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Context, process, and content issues must be addressed to produce the kinds of results expected from learning teams.

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Establish expectations for team learning. School boards, superintendents, and principals must be clear that student learning is the focus of team learning time. They must ensure that common distractions do no take away from that time. Teams should maintain public records of their meetings in order to demonstrate how they use their time and what they accomplish.

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Specify the content for learning team time. The content addresses what students need to know and be able to do. Three key questions focus their work.

1. What standards are addressed in the upcoming units of study?
2. What assessments can all team members create and/or use to determine if students are achieving those standards?
3. What content knowledge do students need in order to meet the standard?

Teachers review the assessment results to determine which students require additional help and to identify strategies to assist them. Teachers repeat this cycle throughout the year and thereby contribute to the continuous improvement by the team and its students.

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Teach processes that encourage smooth meetings. No one looks forward to attending a poorly run meeting. Effective meetings send a message that the teachers who participate are respected and valued by the school. Teacher leaders invest in developing the knowledge and skills associated with effective and productive meetings. Effective group facilitators can build consensus, address conflict, negotiate, facilitate conversations, run effective meetings, use dialogue, and engage all participants. Attendance will always be high at well-run meetings because participants rate them as productive.

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Many years ago, I helped a school garner community and district support for early release days. Teachers said they did not have enough time for learning so many people invested in finding the time they wanted. Administrators assumed teachers knew what to do with this found time. This was not the case. Left to their own devices, teachers allowed other priorities to fill the time, and soon they questioned whether this learning time was benefiting their students. The problem was identified too late, the damage was done, and several months later the decision was reversed.

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School leaders must pay equal attention to how all new learning time is created and used. In the end, how the time is used will contribute or not contribute to the results the schools seek.

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Stephanie Hirsh is NSDC's executive director.