Thought Leaders (TLXX)

Hazen-Nicoli Professor of Teacher Learning and Practice
Harvard
Graduate School of Education
TL01 | What Really Works? Dispelling Myths About Teacher Professional Learning
Identify professional learning features and content most likely to boost student outcomes. Synthesizing results from dozens of experimental studies, we'll first debunk common myths — ideas unsupported by evidence — and then talk about what works.
Participants will:
- Differentiate between less and more productive approaches to teacher professional learning;
- Gain insight into how research has built knowledge of these less and more effective professional learning features and content; and
- Discuss how these findings might impact the design of their professional learning for teachers.

Associate Prof. of Education & Economics
Brown University
TL02 | Implementing and Scaling Effective Teacher Coaching Programs
Explore research on the role of teacher coaching programs as part of a broader school-wide commitment to continuous improvement and professional growth. Use research findings to design teacher coaching programs to be effective, sustainable, and scalable. Leverage coaching as a tool to increase teacher satisfaction, performance, and retention.
Participants will:
- Understand key program design features of effective teacher coaching programs based on rigorous research and meta-analyses;
- Learn about common pitfalls and obstacles that arise when scaling coaching programs; and
- Explore how coaching programs fit within a broader career ladder for teachers.

Professor of Education
Harvard
Graduate School of Education
TL03 | The Science Behind Reading Comprehension: What Professional Learning Leaders Need to Know
Research has illuminated the complex processes involved in learning to read, with important implications for how educators teach and how school systems support them to align their instruction with evidence and best practices. Principals, coaches, teachers, and other educators need to be on the same page about reading instruction, and research provides the foundation for that coherence. This session will zoom in on the research behind a particular challenge for many students, making sense of content-rich text, and on strategies for addressing it.
Participants will:
- Understand why students often struggle with reading comprehension in science and social studies;
- Explore what research reveals about the role of vocabulary and background knowledge;
- Identify small but powerful shifts in curriculum, instruction, and assessment that lead to lasting improvements in reading comprehension; and
- Leave with practical strategies to support educators’ practices so all learners can access and understand complex texts.

Patricia and Rodes Hart Chair | Professor of Education Leadership and Policy | Vice Dean
Vanderbilt University
Peabody School of Education and Human Development

Chief Learning Officer
School District of Philadelphia

Associate Superintendent
Cumberland County Schools
TL04 | Implementing Principal Pipelines for Long-Term Sustainability
Principal pipelines are a growing approach to address leadership development and support to ensure all schools have highly effective school leaders, but scalability remains an issue. Building on concepts found in the Implementation for Sustainability Framework, we will address how central office policies and practices support the sustainability of leadership pipelines. The framework builds on decades of prior research and was further developed through findings from the Principal Pipeline Learning Community (PPLC), funded by the Wallace Foundation.
Participants will:
- Understand the essential domains of principal pipelines;
- Learn the Implementing for Sustainability framework as an early and ongoing part of developing long-lasting principal pipelines;
- Examine four case studies of how central office leaders created the processes, policies, and culture to sustain principal pipelines; and
- Hear from two district leaders who will share guidance on implementing sustainability in their ongoing work of developing principal pipelines.
Jane Fields, Cumberland County Schools