Designing professional learning for effecting change : partnerships for local and system networks

This article presents (i) a purpose-built conceptual model for professional learning and (ii) a leadership framework designed to support a large-scale project involving diverse sites across the state of Queensland, Australia. The project had as its focus teacher capacity building and ways to improve literacy and numeracy outcomes for students at educational disadvantage. It involved 15 intersectoral clusters and brought together Middle School teachers, principals, curriculum leaders and management personnel from Education Queensland, the Association of Independent Schools Inc., and the Catholic Education Commission. In the article the authors discuss how the project worked at the interface of research and practice. Further, they discuss how professional learning was facilitated by a multi-layered approach that acknowledged the importance of research-based learning, curriculum and pedagogic leadership by principals, and strong opportunities for teacher agency through cross-cluster and intersectoral collaboration. The article discusses the conceptual model and the modes of communication, including professional learning communities, which were employed. It also consider key issues that emerged in the course of the project relating to implementation. In conclusion, the authors invite readers to consider how the approach represents a radical new way to think about what could count as valued professional learning interactions. [Author abstract, ed]