When teachers help shape PL, satisfaction and motivation rise, pointing to shared decision-making as a driver of success.
Status: Completed April 2024
This pilot study investigates how different approaches to selecting and using data to determine professional learning (PL) priorities influence teacher and leader perceptions of PL quality and utility in two partner districts, employing a mixed-methods approach including interviews and quantitative surveys with teachers, school leaders, and system leaders. The research aims to develop a framework describing the continuum of approaches for gathering data and stakeholder input to design effective PL.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS:
- What are the most effective data points to contextualize PL to specific schools?
- Who should be engaged in selecting, analyzing, and interpreting data to make decisions about PL priorities?
- How are those stakeholders best engaged?
- How do these choices influence teacher investment in PL and their commitment to new practices?
key findings:
- Despite significant differences in how Districts A and B involved teachers and leaders in PL decisions, both districts showed remarkably similar, middling levels of satisfaction and motivation regarding PL.
- Both teachers and school leaders expressed a desire for greater involvement in establishing PL’s goals, priorities, and specific activities.
- Teachers’ and school leaders’ satisfaction with PL correlated significantly with the degree to which they were involved in the PL decision-making process.