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Lessons learned

Based on findings derived from an array and comprehensive set of monitoring and evaluation instruments and methods used to collect data over the course of the journey and implementation of PT PLAN, the following are lessons learned:

Team development

• 1. In order to shift from working in isolation to working collaboratively, individuals must understand how effective teams operate. Teamwork skills need to be developed and practiced.
• 2. Don’t underestimate the importance of team development. Before districts optimized the value and benefits of inter/between district sharing, districts needed to focus internally first, working to develop their group into a team. Districts that more quickly began to function like a team accelerated their growth and development and the positive direction and movement of their work.

Skilled facilitation and coaching: key component

• 3. Skilled facilitation and differentiating between content and process is an important leadership competency for building organization and instructional leadership capacity.
• 4. The external facilitator/coach component was essential for supporting participating members and district teams in building organization and instructional leadership capacity, accelerating positive change, and transferring research knowledge to practice.
• 5. The knowledge, skills and personal attributes of the coach/facilitator were critical to accelerating the development and growth of district teams. Capacity building of coach/facilitators was vital to maximize progress of all district network and on-site work.
• 6. Selecting the right coach/facilitators and providing them with quality and continued support was critical. The knowledge, skills and dispositions of a coach/facilitator significantly impact the growth, development and forward leadership motion of individuals and the team. On-going professional learning opportunities through skillful facilitation training and participation in a coach/facilitator community of practice was key.

Explicit and tacit knowledge

• 7. Effective application of “explicit knowledge” derived from research also requires tacit knowledge. Having access to and using external research is a necessary, but not a sufficient condition for practitioners to improve the quality of their organizations (Wenger, McDermonott, and Synder, 2002). Although the Leadership Cycle research provided a framework for district transformational work, it was limited in addressing the tacit knowledge that is vital for successful transformation. Since the effective application of the “explicit knowledge” requires tacit knowledge, the learning processes used within the professional learning model such as storytelling, skillfully facilitated dialogue and conversation, context mapping, action learning labs, learning fairs, and coaching set in the context of leadership practice communities were paramount for converting knowledge research to practice.

Reflection, effective feedback and accountability

• 8. Opportunities and processes for individual, collective district team, and network reflection and effective feedback were highly valued and important to both individual and organization growth and development.
• 9. As district leadership teams began to internalize a common framework for leading change and continuous improvement (Leadership Cycle), administrators began to integrate their functional, day-to-day work with the deeper, transformational work necessary to lead reform efforts and change district cultures.

Summary and significance

Evidence suggests that what happens in school systems matters, and quality practices at all levels of the system profoundly impacts student achievement. American education is filled with instances in which students with similar backgrounds and traits achieve very different results. Educator proficiency is an absolute requirement for student proficiency, and the extent to which society develops and uses its human capacity is a chief determinant of its prosperity (Auguste, Hancock,&Laboissiere, 2009). So often compelling and promising knowledge research remains compelling only on paper - never really utilized, never converted to action or change in practice. Understanding the professional learning approaches that are high impact and useful in converting knowledge to leadership actions and building organization and instructional leadership capacity are essential to closing the knowing-doing and system-based gaps that significantly impact students’ life chances and the nation’s economy. This paper presented one promising professional learning model, to Practice from Theory Professional Learning Action Network ( the PT PLAN).

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