Professional Dialogue and Continuous Improvement

I read the latest issue of American Educator yesterday, and I noticed that some of the takeaways from an article by Claude Goldenberg on how to best serve English Learners stressed the creation of school conditions that echo a few of the points I made in my last post on data:

We must create settings in schools where teachers have the time and space to:

• Systematically study with colleagues the CCSS or whatever standards or learning goals teachers are expected to follow; 

• Specify and articulate what these standards and goals mean for curriculum and instruction in their classrooms;

• Implement curriculum, and plan and carry out instruction, based on these understandings;

• Systematically collect student work indicating student progress toward desired outcomes;

• Analyze and evaluate student work with colleagues to help determine what is working and what is not; and

• Repeat the above continuously and systematically, throughout and across school years. (bold added)

Professional dialogue. Study authentic student work. Continuous improvement in practice and curriculum.