The Reflective Educator's Guide to Professional Development: Coaching Inquiry-Oriented Learning Communities

"A tool box overflowing with ideas that will help every staff developer craft a school culture hospitable to adult and student learning."
―Roland S. Barth, Author, Lessons Learned

"The book speaks to many audiences, including instructional coaches, PLC leaders, action researchers and group leaders, and university professors working with action researchers and PLCs."
―Gail Ritchie, Coleader, Teacher Researcher Network
Fairfax County Public Schools, VA

"A terrific resource for connecting teacher networks and action research to create powerful professional development opportunities. This book is a joy to read."
―Ellen Meyers, Senior Vice President
Teachers Network

Powerful tools for facilitating teachers′ professional development and optimizing school improvement efforts!

Professional learning communities (PLCs) and action research are popular and proven frameworks for professional development. While both can greatly improve teaching and learning, few resources have combined the two practices into one coherent approach.

The Reflective Educator′s Guide to Professional Development provides educators with strategies, activities, and tools to develop inquiry-oriented PLCs. Nationally known school reform experts Nancy Fichtman Dana and Diane Yendol-Hoppey cover the ten essential elements of a healthy PLC, provide case studies of actual inquiry-based PLCs, and present lessons learned to help good coaches become great coaches. With this step-by-step guide, readers will be able to:

• Organize, assess, and maintain high-functioning, inquiry-oriented PLCs
• Facilitate the development of study questions
• Establish the trust and collective commitment necessary for successful action research
• Enable PLC members to develop, analyze, and share research results
• Lead successful renewal and reform efforts

By combining two powerful training practices, coaches, workshop leaders, and staff developers can ensure continuous, robust school-based professional development.

Nancy Fichtman Dana is professor of education and distinguished teaching scholar at the University of Florida, Gainesville. She began her career in education as an elementary school teacher in Hannibal Central Schools, New York. Since earning her PhD from Florida State University in 1991, she has been a passionate advocate for teacher inquiry and has worked extensively in supporting schools, districts, and universities in implementing powerful programs of job-embedded professional development through inquiry across the United States and in several countries, including Belgium, the Netherlands, China, South Korea, Estonia, Slovenia, Spain, and Portugal. She has published 12 books and more than 100 articles in professional journals and edited books focused on her research exploring teacher and principal professional development and practitioner inquiry. Dana has received many honors for her teaching, research, and writing. Among them are the Association of Teacher Educators Mentoring and Distinguished Research in Teacher Education awards, the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate’s David G. Imig Distinguished Service Award, the National Staff Development Council (now Learning Forward) Book of the Year Award, and was one of three finalist in Baylor University’s prestigious Robert Foster Cherry Award for Great Teaching 2020 competition. Before joining the faculty at University of Florida in 2003, she worked at The Pennsylvania State University for 11 years, creating and launching their award-winning inquiry-based Professional Development School program with the State College Area School District. At the University of Florida, she worked to embed inquiry as a signature pedagogy into the undergraduate teacher education program, as well as developed and taught three popular classes on inquiry at the master’s and doctoral levels. In  partnership with the Lastinger Center for Learning, Dana led the development and implementation of inquiry-based professional development for teachers across the state that included  several of the nation’s largest school districts.  Further, she was instrumental in the development of UF’s Teacher Leadership for School Improvement Program and Professional Practice Doctorate in Teachers, Schools, and Society, both national award winning programs that highlight inquiry as a signature program feature and have been recognized by U.S. News & World Report as the #1 Online Graduate Education Programs in the nation.

Diane Yendol-Hoppey is professor of teacher education in the College of Education and Human Services at the University of North Florida. She has served as dean, associate dean of educator preparation and partnerships, department chair, and center director. She taught for many years at the University of Florida where she was the evaluator of numerous district, state, and national professional development efforts. Before beginning her work in higher education, Yendol-Hoppey spent 13 years as an elementary school teacher in Pennsylvania and Maryland. She holds a PhD in curriculum and instruction from The Pennsylvania State University. Yendol-Hoppey’s current work explores national and international research focusing on teacher education clinical practice, job-embedded professional learning, and teacher leadership. Yendol-Hoppey has received the AERA Division K Early Career Research Award and the ATE Distinguished Teacher Educator Award for her ongoing commitment to researching innovative approaches to teacher learning. She has published six books, more than 60 articles in professional journals, and secured 20 million in external funding to support teacher learning.