Powerful Teaching and Learning into Practice

Supportive Research

What does the research tell us about the effectiveness of Powerful Teaching and Learning in raising student achievement?

To help educators across the state understand what Powerful Teaching and Learning looks like and how teachers can develop these skills. The Powerful Teaching and Learning Project was conducted by the BERC Group during 2003–2005. By observing and interviewing teachers who exemplify high degrees of Powerful Teaching and Learning, the researchers wanted to determine:

1. How did participant teachers learn to teach in a way that exhibits the essential components of Powerful Teaching and Learning?
2. What is the thinking process for participant teachers when developing a Powerful Teaching and Learning experience for their students?
3. What role do colleagues play in the development of participant teachers’ instructional skills?

Research team members asked the participant teachers to develop and to deliver a lesson aligned with PTL. During the lesson, a BERC Group associate scored the lesson using the STAR Classroom Observation Protocol. Following the filming of the lesson, teachers participated in an abbreviated debriefing session followed by an interview. BERC’s primary interest was to determine how the teachers developed the essential components of Powerful Teaching and Learning.

The research study links these teaching practices to student achievement for all kids. In fact these practices are the only approach that has been found that overcomes the poverty barrier. The STAR Classroom Observation Protocol that is the basis of the group’s work came out of the research on the brain and how people learn best. Teaching practices based on how people learn were identified and the PTL Group supports schools and teachers in developing and implementing these practices.

Through ongoing self-reflective practice focused on Rigor, Reflection, Relevance, and Relationships teachers are continuously empowered to raise student achievement:

Rigor

Skills, and/or knowledge, are manifested in students developing conceptual understanding, not just recall.

Reflection

Thinking is evident because teachers provide opportunities for students to respond to open-ended questions, explain their thinking processes, and reflect to create personal meaning.

Relevance

Application of skills, knowledge, and thinking in relevant and/or real-world contexts is essential for engaging students in their learning and for helping students make connections that lead to understanding.

Relationships

Relationships are positive and essential for establishing optimal conditions for learning and include high expectations around challenging work, student social support for learning, and differentiation of instruction based on student needs.

How does the PTL Group help teachers develop these skills?

Teachers develop and refine powerful teaching and learning over time. The first step is to provide the research that the STAR protocol is based on. The next step is to have teachers observe students in a classroom setting looking at the classroom though the lens of the STAR Observation Protocol. Third, provide opportunities for teachers to talk about what they observed. A crucial part that helps develop these skills focuses on conversations with other teachers. This collaborative time to talk is an important part of the process.

Additional Research

• The Powerful Teaching and Learning Project: How Teachers in Washington State Developed the Essential Components of Powerful Teaching and Learning (pdf, 310KB)
• A Decade of Reform: A Summary of Research Findings on Classroom, School, and District Effectiveness in Washington State (pdf, 542KB)
• McREL Insights—Professional Development Analysis
• National Staff Development Council’s Standards for Staff Development
• Coaching: A Strategy for Developing Instructional Capacity (pdf, 695KB)
• Survey Results from a Typical Powerful Teaching and Learning Experience