By Joellen Killion

Results, Dec/Jan. 2000

Teacher learning in the award-winning schools is characterized by a choice of content and opportunities for learning at times that are convenient to teachers; collaboration about the "real work" of schools; alignment of school goals with student learning needs; a strong principal; and adequate resources and time.

During the study which was done for WestEd, I found that teachers valued more opportunities for "informal" learning. Informal learning is job-embedded, job-related, teacher-directed, more spontaneous, and is continuous and unbound by rigorous time schedules. Informal learning includes teacher planning, grade-level or department meetings, conversations about students, reflection on students’ and teachers’ work, problem solving, assisting each other, classroom-based action research, coaching and supporting one another, making school-based decisions, developing assessments, curriculum, and instructional resources, etc. In informal learning, teachers largely determine what and how much they will learn and how much effort they will invest in learning. "Every conversation between two professionals is professional development," said one teacher. In the award-winning schools, more informal learning occurred than "formal" learning.

Formal learning, for the purpose of this study, was defined as coordinated by someone other than the teachers themselves, bound by time, organized around specific learning outcomes, frequently held outside the school setting, and not directly related to the daily work of teaching. Formal learning includes conferences, workshops, training programs, making and attending presentations. While teachers acknowledge that formal learning experiences provide the foundation knowledge that helps teachers engage in their own, more informal learning, they value more the time invested in informal learning experiences.

What is notable about these schools is the balance of time. Far more informal learning occurs in these schools. Learning is part of what each teacher does each day — exactly what is recommended by the NSDC standards. Teachers seek each other’s help without concern. At one school, for example, the teacher whose students scored lowest on the state math assessment sought advice and help from the teacher whose students scored the highest. There was no embarrassment, no fear of being judged, just a genuine desire to improve practice to help students learn and perform successfully.

The notion of tipping the scales in schools toward more job-embedded, informal learning that is more teacher-directed raises questions about traditional staff development programs. Programs that offer a catalog of courses to meet a wide variety of needs without a focus on district or school improvement plans or goals, are characterized by infrequent or occasional inservice days where teachers hear a presentation, or are focused on topics not directly related to teachers’ work with students may be less effective or valuable than informal staff development.

The West Ed study confirms that teachers need and value learning opportunities that are informal, varied, and multi-faceted. When schools provide such staff development, teachers become excited about learning, growing, and changing their classroom practices.