Creating Professional Learning Experiences That Value Teachers

Think about the last time you walked out of a professional learning (PL) experience, and you were so excited that you couldn’t stop talking about what you learned. I recently had a teacher send me a follow-up email, saying, “When you go to a Math PL and learn lessons about life, you know you are in the right place!” That feeling of being in the “right place” is exactly the kind of experience every educator deserves, one where they are valued for their experiences and positioned as co-constructors of learning.

As a senior math specialist at the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching (NCCAT), I’ve been able to focus on how schools can help every teacher feel that way, and it starts with how professional learning is designed.

5 WAYS TO ENSURE That TEACHERS FEEL VALUED IN PROFESSIONAL LEARNING EXPERIENCES

Building on extensive research on effective PL and the lived experiences of thousands of North Carolina educators, NCCAT developed a framework around five principles that put research into action: building community, active learning, collaboration, reflection, and goal setting.

This approach is grounded in the simple belief that educators deserve professional learning experiences as rich as the learning they design for their students. School leaders across contexts can use these same five strategies to guide the design and facilitation of professional learning.

1. Build and sustain community. As a leader of professional learning, the first thing I do, no matter the time constraint, isn’t to dive right into content. Instead, I always start with some kind of game. A simple, quick, friendly activity helps to break down social and emotional barriers that often exist at the start of PL experiences. The goal is simple: Create a culture of laughter and joy.

The reality is that when teachers feel genuinely known, valued, and free from judgment, they take risks and ask questions. In practice, building and sustaining community can take many forms, including these:

• Starting learning experiences with a structured community-building routine
• Embedding community-building after breaks or as needed throughout the session
• Establishing and reviewing community agreements
• Learning and using participants’ names

The message it sends is simple but powerful: You belong here, and your presence matters.

2. Make it active. Think about your most impactful PL experience. Who was doing the thinking? Was it you or the facilitator? As educators, we know that students learn best when they are active participants, and the same is true for teachers. In my practice, before I name an instructional strategy, I want educators to experience the strategy first.

I want them to sit in the learner’s seat, experience the “aha” moment, and engage in productive struggle. The shift from watching to doing honors educators as adult learners. In practice, active learning can look like this:

• Engaging educators in the same types of learning you expect from students
• Using authentic tasks that require doing, thinking, or creating, such as solving problems, analyzing student work, or designing lessons

When learning is active, educators are honored as capable and curious learners.

3. Make collaboration purposeful. While a turn-and-talk is one form of collaboration during PL, it isn’t the only way for teachers to collaborate. In my practice, I aim to give teachers opportunities to work through complex tasks together, allowing them to learn new strategies from one another and expand their thinking. In practice, purposeful collaboration can look like the following:

• Positioning educators as experts by inviting them to share their experiences
• Using flexible grouping strategies to mobilize educator knowledge
• Using protocols such as chat stations or write-pair-share to ensure equitable participation
• Structuring conversations with clear purposes

The collective expertise in the room may be the most underutilized resource in professional learning. When collaboration is purposeful, educators don’t just learn from the facilitator; they learn from each other.

4. Build in reflection. I would argue that we don’t necessarily learn from an experience, but instead, we learn from reflecting on that experience. In my practice, reflection isn’t a quick takeaway at the end of the day; it’s an integral part of the entire PL experience.

Intentional reflection is essential for teachers to make meaning, connect new learning to their classrooms, and plan for implementation. In practice, intentional reflection can look like the following:

• Building in structured reflection after each chunk of new learning
• Offering varied formats (written, verbal, visual) to reflect
• Asking questions that connect learning to practice and push thinking forward
• Providing time to synthesize learning, not just react

When educators are provided protected time to reflect, it sends a message that their thinking and growth are worth investing in.

5. End with a real plan. Professional learning that doesn’t connect to the classroom isn’t worthy of educators’ time. That’s a strong statement, but one that I believe deeply. Educators deserve PL that supports their classroom practice. I’ve found that goal setting is that bridge between learning and practice.

By providing time for teachers to set goals and leave with a real plan, PL facilitators can help teachers turn their learning into positive change for students. In practice, goal setting can look like the following:

• Providing time to write, share, and refine goals
• Identifying one or two specific, actionable next steps
• Naming potential barriers and support
• Establishing an accountability partner or follow-up structure to sustain learning

Leaving with a real plan makes the difference between an experience that felt amazing and one that actually can impact students.

For designers and facilitators of PL, it’s our responsibility to ensure that the experience is worthy of the teachers in the room so that every educator feels like they are in the right place. School leaders can start by leveraging these five strategies to ensure that professional learning is done with teachers, not to them.