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Transformational professional learning needs to be more than a cosmetic change

By Learning Forward
April 2011
Vol. 32 No. 2
It has been my experience that when respected voices in the educational community start talking about professional development being transformational or revolutionary, I had better hold onto my seat. My experience tells me I need to be prepared to be fixed, for my programs or staff to be operated on, and for new external providers to quickly come up with “new and improved” products or workshops to transform strategies and guarantee student success. All too often, what was promised to be transformational is cosmetic, simply a reworking of old ideas — much like a new haircut. We do have a lot to change regarding professional learning — we truly need transformation. Too often, we see a scenario like this: At the beginning of the year,

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Authors

Mark Diaz

Mark Diaz is president of Learning Forward’s board of trustees.


Learning Forward is the only professional association devoted exclusively to those who work in educator professional development. We help our members plan, implement, and measure high-quality professional learning so they can achieve success with their systems, schools, and students.


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