Page 55 - Learning for All – A Guide to Effective Assessment and Instruction for All Students, Kindergarten to Grade 12, 2013

5. Learning for All through Professional Learning
The approaches outlined in Learning for All, K–12 are designed to bring about personaliza- tion and precision in learning, starting from the premise that (1) teachers need to know their students, and (2) assessment for learning, in conjunction with professional learning, is critical to achieving that goal. These approaches provide a road map to assist educators in reaching every student.
This chapter focuses on professional learning, which is critically important to any attempt to improve student achievement and close the achievement gap. To be effective, professional learning should be learning “in context” – that is, learning that helps educators develop the particular knowledge and skills they need to provide focused assessment and instruction
for the students in their classrooms.
Commitment to professional learning within school and board communities, discussed later in this chapter, develops the collective capacity of staff to work together to achieve the fundamental purpose of the education system – that is, high levels of learning for all students. Every student’s learning experience can be improved when there is a shared commitment to high expectations for every student and when educators are engaged in a collaborative problem-solving process that is focused on student learning. Assessment for learning is integral to this process. Ongoing professional learning is driven by educators to create knowledge and opportunities that support these practices.
“The glue that binds these three components [personalisation, precision, and professional learning] is moral purpose: education for all that raises the bar
as it closes the gap.”
(adapted from Fullan et al., 2006, pp.16–26).
If education partners lose sight of the moral purpose of serving all students to
a high standard, they run the risk of implementing the three components in ways that may fail to bring about the desired changes in education.
53