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Influenced by EPSS, generative learning, and intentional learning strategies, a Web-based tool -- called the Web Resource Collaboration Center (WRCC) -- was developed to support learning communities in building their own Web-based learning and performance support systems to support lifelong learning and professional development. Using various online communication and collaboration technologies, the WRCC is designed to not only enable learning communities to (1) build a learning and professional development resource that will provide them with immediate support and guidance and (2) help them develop structure, strategies, and skills for subsequent lifelong learning and professional development activities, but also (3) take responsibility for creating original resources that support lifelong learning and professional development.

Growing interest in the role of student agency within schools, as well as the need for effective professional learning, emphasises the importance of further investigation into initiatives aiming to develop meaningful and sustainable student involvement in school improvement approaches. This article explores the role of student leadership in professional learning approaches that aim to improve learning through collaborative reflection on teaching practice. It provides a review of literature that investigates student involvement in professional learning, specifically through the development of student voice and the inclusion of students as co-researchers in school improvement initiatives. Following this, the article draws on the findings from a case study that examined the role of a Student Learning Community (SLC) in professional learning and presents an overview of current practice where students are involved in a research approach to professional learning called a Best Practice review. The insights drawn from the case study and practice example, both situated in a secondary school in England, offer considerations for educators wishing to explore and/or introduce student leadership approaches to professional learning, as well as recommendations for further study into the role of students as agents in school improvement initiatives. Keywords – student agency, student leadership, learning communities, student researchers, professional learning

In order to support professional development of their teachers 14 Dutch secondary schools developed and implemented a series of interventions. The concept of School as Professional Learning Community was used to frame these school interventions. Data were collected through project documents, interviews with school principals and project leaders, group interviews with teachers and focus groups with project leaders. Interventions can be grouped into five clusters: 1) Shared school vision on learning; 2) Professional learning opportunities for all staff; 3) Collaborative work and learning; 4) Change of school organisation, and 5) Learning leadership. Interventions aimed at teacher-leaders, team leaders and school principals were relatively rare. Interventions belonging to the clusters Professional learning opportunities and Collaborative work and learning were the ones most frequently mentioned including formal and informal teacher groups working and learning together. In general, we conclude that the more embedded an intervention was in the organisation and culture of a school, the more sustainable it appeared to be.

This ADiBE case study explores an innovative, integrated approach to addressing diversity in secondary classrooms in England where more than one language is used and learned. We position diversity in multilingual and multicultural communities where schooling seeks to provide meaningful learning experiences for all students and to guide learners towards being and becoming global citizens. Within a UK context, underpinning values emphasise social justice and inclusion embodied in classroom practices which actively involve teachers as researchers with their learners - in terms of ‘curriculum-making’ and reinterpreting the impact of diversity on ‘successful’ learning communities. This research analyses contextual and exploratory factors that enable diverse learners with diverse needs to engage in learning partnerships with each other and their teachers. Using a framework to capture collaborative professional learning, synergies are explored between two different approaches to bilingual learning – English as an Additional language (EAL) and Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL). The case study identifies potentially rich sites for building pedagogic capital and explores ways in which diversity can enable more young people to feel valued, respected and successful bilingual learners in formal schooling.

This chapter contrasts three complementary sets of ideas: first, a textual analysis of Dewey’s writings on the relationship between inquiry, the school curriculum and democracy which explores the relationship between theory and practice; second, data and reflections from ‘experiments in practice’, research projects working alongside teachers in schools; and, third, an analysis of pedagogy and curriculum. The final section returns to the role of research in professional learning and proposes a model for the education of teachers which is rooted in professional experience but supported by research evidence through both ‘inquiry’ and ‘enquiry’. This aims to empower the development of teachers’ professionalism to address the needs of their students as participants in a democratic society, whilst also being aware of the demands of accountability. The limits of the warrant from evidence from research, however rigorous, and how findings must be recontextualised in a particular teacher’s practice are key themes in resolving the traditional dichotomy between theory and practice.

The wording change from “staff development” to “professional learning” emphasizes the synergy between the learner and the training; this requires the participant to take an active role in his or her continuous improvement—while focusing on the learning. The current standards were developed from the research on professional development and grounded in evidence-based practices. “Gifted education specialists advocate for the allocation of appropriate resources for the preparation and professional development of all personnel who serve individuals with exceptionalities.” Sparks and Loucks-Horsley described five delivery models in professional development: individually guided professional development, observation and assessment, involvement in a development or improvement process, training, and inquiry. In individually guided development, each teacher designs his or her learning activities. An assumption of this model is that individuals can best judge their own learning needs and are capable of self-direction in the learning process.

Specialized schools focused on performing arts education including dance, music, drama/theater, and visual arts engage students in the four critical areas of development identified in necessary 21st-century skills. These are: collaboration and teamwork, creativity and imagination, critical thinking, and problem solving. There are a number of considerations when choosing instructional methods and materials for developing artists in specialized schools. In drama, theater, and dance, specialized schools develop knowledge, skills, and understanding associated with their independent disciplines; however, all three domains focus on cultivating innovators and creators while immersing students within diverse elements and context. Coordinated professional learning plans at the county, district, and school levels should be the norm and be focused on ongoing professional learning for administrators, teachers, and school communities to implement, improve, and sustain a creative school environment. Like H. LaGuardia, Jefferson County’s public school status means that admission is limited to district residents and students attend tuition-free.

This chapter discusses the importance of differentiating for the needs of gifted learners, and offer an overview of professional learning for gifted education teachers and how adult learning theories can improve professional learning. Differentiation is only one approach along a continuum of special services that may be necessary to build an appropriate and comprehensive gifted education program to address gifted students' needs. High-quality professional development can also support teachers learning to differentiate for gifted students, which can be an inspiring and belief-changing experience. The intersection of recent reform efforts in professional development, theories of adult learning, and principles of differentiation offer a unique and timely opportunity for an exploration in how to better train teachers to the understand and appropriately challenge gifted students. Professional learning is logically grounded in research and theory related to the education of the adult learners.

The thing has already taken form in my mind before I start it. The first attempts are absolutely unbearable. I say this because I want you to know that if you see something worthwhile in what I am doing, it is not by accident but because of real direction and purpose.

Teacher quality has been consistently identified as the most important school-based factor in student achievement. Although high-stakes assessments have prioritized schoolwide improvement that allows more students to demonstrate proficiency, many teachers of the gifted and/or coordinators of gifted and talented programs rarely benefit from school-based professional learning opportunities. Educational strategies such as acceleration and ability grouping that benefit gifted students are rarely aligned with ongoing school or district professional development programs, and administrators and peers may provide support for best practices in gifted education, sometimes overtly opposing the implementation. As well, they can build on their professional learning to undertake new QUESTs in the future, reflecting on what methods and policies better reflect best practices for high-ability learners and what could still be improved for their gifted and the talented programs or for advanced students in the schools and districts.

Arts educators, including teachers of the visual and performing arts, face unique challenges in pursuing professional learning opportunities. However, the importance of the arts to develop critical and creative thinking skills, academic achievement, motivation, and areas of talent (e.g., Catterall, 2009) make it imperative that teachers of the arts receive high-quality professional learning opportunities (Sabol, 2006). This professional learning should include active engagement with the discipline, arts-specific pedagogy, opportunities for collaboration, and reflective practice. As arts educators who teach gifted learners, these experiences can provide the necessary foundations for the development of talent of advanced learners and artistically talented students.

Professional development around advanced curriculum as described in this text must also include an emphasis on the particular learning needs of advanced learners and how the curriculum responds to those needs, as well as demonstrating, in many cases, how teachers may also build differentiation of the curriculum for a wider range of learners in their classrooms. Research on the effectiveness of professional development has long been somewhat limited by the difficulty of measuring direct connections between teachers' professional learning and such outcomes as increased student engagement or achievement. Learning Forward's Standards for Professional Learning emphasize the importance of considering what people know about learning when designing professional development activities. Planners of professional development initiatives must assemble a repertoire of approaches to support teachers' sustained professional learning over time. Planning, implementing, and evaluating professional development around content-based curriculum requires thorough attention to setting goals, gathering data, and assessing outcomes to determine the degree to which goals have been met.

Case studies on critical issues related to meeting the needs of gifted and talented students and differentiating instruction can be used in a variety of professional development settings as a vehicle to promote ideas and evaluate policies and procedures for improved services for gifted and advanced learners. Case studies are learning scenarios mirroring real-world problems that end in a dilemma, thus engaging the reader in a reflective analysis of teaching and learning. Case studies that focus on instructional strategies-and in particular on differentiated instruction, identification, and service models-are useful for classroom educators and school leaders tasked with creating an infrastructure that supports gifted, highly able learners. Change in delivery of services for gifted and talented students from once-a-week pull-out classes to in-class cluster grouping requires longterm, in-depth professional development to ensure appropriate services for students. The campuses in University School District can be divided into categories that range from meeting needs of all learners to meeting needs of struggling learners.

The act of teaching requires deliberate interventions to ensure that there is cognitive change in the student; thus the key ingredients are being aware of the learning intentions, knowing when a student is successful in attaining those intentions, having sufficient understanding of the student's prior understanding as he or she comes to the task, and knowing enough about the content to provide meaningful and challenging experiences so that there is some sort of progressive development. Accelerated students are more successful, have higher productivity rates, more prestigious occupations and they earn more and increase their income faster compared to older, similar-ability, non-accelerated peers. Acceleration is one of the most curious phenomena in the field of education. Acceleration is a central consideration in gifted education, with close linkages to most definitions and conceptions of giftedness in childhood and adolescence.

This chapter argues that a way to bridge the gap between the science education and gifted education literature on professional learning is to design professional learning experiences that emphasize the science and engineering practices (SEPs) and crosscutting concepts (CCCs), from the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). The two dimensions of the NGSS, the SEPs and the CCCs may be less familiar to science teachers of the gifted than the disciplinary core ideas. Professional learning for teachers of science should be generative, such that it leads to greater professional expertise, both in terms of teachers' science content knowledge and their pedagogical content knowledge. Immersion professional learning experiences for science teachers often take place during the summer. When examining student work related to a CCC or SEP across instructional units, teachers can develop a deeper understanding of how learning develops over time and how to help students engage in the complex thinking needed to understand core ideas across the sciences.

Administrators take courses on policy, planning, and leadership. They are trained to enact change, observe teachers, hire and fire staff, and develop budgets. They oversee curriculum development, manage testing requirements, and put out metaphorical fires on a daily basis. But one area that administrators rarely have training is in gifted education. Without representation in federal legislation, special education case law, or national curriculum standards, gifted education is not a standard part of teacher training programs, educational specialist degrees, or administrative preparation programs. Simply stated, none of the typical paths to educational leadership are paved with gifted pedagogy.

Underachieving gifted students often frustrate and confuse their teachers. If the "gifted" label implies advanced aptitude and achievement, then how can a student be gifted when her academic performance is average or even poor when compared to her gifted peers? Although aptitude is certainly an important criterion in determining giftedness, gifted students' actual performance in school may fluctuate for a variety of reasons, making aptitude a less reliable indicator of giftedness. Reis and McCoach (2000) defined underachievement as the discrepancy between potential and actual performance that persists over time and is not a direct result of a learning disability. Potential is most often determined by cognitive ability tests, while actual performance, or achievement, refers to class grades. Understanding why gifted students underachieve and how to prevent this pattern of behavior requires sustained professional learning that is relevant to teachers and can be easily applied to their current classroom situations.

Twenty-first century classrooms are challenged by the norms of society to become more sensitive to the diverse cultures and ethnic groups of students attending our schools. This chapter provides insights into critical professional learning needs and resources for teachers that will encourage them to teach in a holistic and culturally responsive manner as they provide services to gifted learners from diverse backgrounds. Equity in and access to gifted education and advanced learner programs has become the clarion call drawing attention to a more inclusive approach to educating our nation's best and brightest. Culturally responsive teaching and learning has become a hallmark of educating our nation's increasingly diverse student population. Successful teachers understand their students' strengths and needs, and have the capacity to build trustful relationships with their students.