Partnering to Facilitate Teacher Professional Learning

As the principal and instructional leader of a Kindergarten to Grade 6 elementary school located in a large urban school district, I actively promoted and participated in the teachers’ professional learning. However, I could not conduct this complex work alone. Being fully aware of the power of collaboration, the school partnered with a learning coach from a university based research and professional learning organization. This professional learning coach provided onsite professional learning and online support to teachers to facilitate the design of authentic tasks for students, while focusing on knowledge creation and formative assessment through an emphasis on discipline-based inquiry (Friesen, 2009). In this article, I present some of my research, which documents how partnering with a learning coach positively impacted teacher professional learning. I also provide suggestions for the school principal to consider with regard to creating successful professional learning partnerships within the school.