Focusing on outcomes
The terms “change at the instructional core”, “adaptive change”, “second-order change”, and “third-level change” all describe the substantial change that results when educators experience deep learning that changes their beliefs, theories, knowledge, and practices. Change and improvement of this sort takes conscious effort that is focused on clear outcomes, it takes the right set of conditions in the professional learning context, and it takes time.
Research into the effects of professional learning and development reveals that we cannot assume that because people appear to have learned, it follows that they will change their practice or that because they have changed their practice, it follows that student outcomes will improve. In searching the empirical literature about the impact of professional learning on student outcomes, Timperley, Wilson, Barrar, and Fung (2007) found that:
- changed practice may not always be effective in creating the desired outcomes for students; indeed, a number of studies indicated negative or neutral student outcomes;
- teachers’ self-reports about their changed practices and improved student outcomes were not always supported by the evidence.
Educators at all levels of the system need to test the impact of changed practices on the diverse learners for whom they are responsible, using inquiry skills to judge when their practice is having the desired outcomes and when it isn’t and needs to be changed. When such evidence-based practices are firmly embedded, they can generate their own momentum.
Each view of change described above reflects the fact that “changes in beliefs and understanding are the foundation of achieving lasting reform” (Fullan, 2007, page 37). However, “Understanding can follow action” (Spillane et al., 2002, page 421). Learning may be deeper when it follows attempts to try out new practices, and so both practices and beliefs need to be addressed through a continuous cycle of inquiry within and between educators’ communities of practice.
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