A scoping review of the literature on professional learning for MTSS

This article provides a scoping review of the nascent empirical literature on professional learning for MTSS. We used a systematic search strategy to find studies on the impact of professional learning on educator and implementation outcomes. Seventy-nine studies utilizing a variety of designs were included. We found that research most frequently evaluated training and professional learning community focused interventions in elementary schools. We also observed strong alignment between professional learning interventions and the MTSS model studied, research design used, outcomes evaluated, and methodological rigor (e.g., Professional Learning Communities tended to be evaluated using qualitative methods that varied in rigor). Studies evaluated educator knowledge, skills, and dispositions, as well as implementation of the practices that comprise MTSS; however, educator aspirations were rarely evaluated. Moreover, few studies comprehensively evaluated the relations among professional learning and educator knowledge, skills, and dispositions and how those variables interacted to impact implementation. We call for more rigorous research on the impact of professional learning for MTSS and on factors that facilitate and hinder effectiveness.