Oct. 11, 2023 – The Research Partnership for Professional Learning (RPPL) released a new publication that underscores why effective measurement of teacher professional learning efforts is critical to improving student outcomes and how we can improve measurement tools. Learn more.
How to Strengthen Teacher Learning: A Q&A with Researchers
March 27, 2023 – Instruction Partners, a RPPL member, interviewed RPPL Senior Researchers, Heather C. Hill and John P. Papay, to discuss emerging evidence on how effective PL features can inform school and system leadership decisions and how identity-affirming classrooms may benefit children. Learn more.
RPPL Featured in Psychology Today
March 25, 2023 – Psychology Today, the largest publishing enterprise exclusively dedicated to human behavior, recently published a blog post on RPPL's work to help advance teacher professional learning and the importance of helping teachers learn better so that students can do better. Learn more.
RPPL Featured on TeachThought podcast
Jan. 25, 2023 – TeachThought, a podcast focused on professional learning and teacher training, interviewed RPPL Executive Director Stacey Salicea and Senior Researcher Heather Hill about RPPL's "Building Better PL" brief, the organization's goals and what lies ahead in 2023. Listen to the interview.
RPPL Network Featured By Leading Educators
Jan. 17, 2023 – RPPL's Executive Direct Stacey Alicea and the organization's founding members were featured on Leading Educators' blog, with a piece about the issues and challenges facing professional learning in 2023. Learn more.
Online event: Building Better PL
Nov. 16, 2022 – More than 100 people registered to attend our online event to hear senior RPPL researchers discuss their new brief, Building Better PL: How to Strengthen Teacher Learning. The brief spotlights the “how” and “what” of PL that gets top results. Download the slides here.
RPPL Research Featured in Ed Week
Oct. 25, 2022 – Ed Week's Madeline Will wrote about a new brief by RPPL Senior Researchers Heather Hill and John Papay that examines the strategies and techniques that make PL effective for educators and students. “Building Better PL: How to Strengthen Teacher Learning” is full of insights into “what” is most effective and “how” PL providers can best implement it. Learn more.
Dr. Stacey Alicea named RPPL's first Executive Director
Aug. 30, 2022 – RPPL’s Advisory Board has named Dr. Stacey Alicea, a practitioner-researcher with experience in learning strategy, professional development, and capacity building, as the organization’s first executive director. Learn more.
RPPL Research Featured in Ed Week
Aug. 29, 2022 – RPPL’s brief on common myths surrounding professional learning outlines how these beliefs often perpetuate the idea that professional development is a problem that needs fixing instead of the solution to education challenges that it could be. The piece, from RPPL Senior Researchers Heather Hill, John Papay, and Nate Schwartz, was published on Rick Hess' blog, Straight Up. Learn more.
The National Science Foundation has awarded RPPL $2.9 million
July 18, 2022 – The four-year grant will be used to conduct research that identifies the features of teacher professional learning experiences that lead to better mathematics outcomes for both teachers and students. RPPL board members John Papay and Heather Hill will lead the work. Learn more.
Hechinger Report: Debunking the myth that teachers stop improving after five years
March 7, 2022 – The Hechinger Report’s “Proof Points” column takes a deep dive into the myth that veteran teachers don’t benefit from professional learning. RPPL Senior Researcher John Papay of the Annenberg Institute lays out the research. Read the article.
District Administrator: PD isn’t a waste of time, plus 5 other myths about teacher development
March 1, 2022 – RPPL’s research brief, “Dispelling the Myths” earned coverage on the website District Administrator. RPPL Senior Researcher Heather C. Hill, a professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the Annenberg Institute, is cited. Read the article.
Online event: Busting Professional Learning Myths
Feb. 15, 2022 – More than 110 people attended an online event to hear researchers dispel some myths about the research on effective teacher development, and to learn details on becoming a RPPL affiliate organization. You can watch a recording of the event here, and download the slides here.
Op-ed in The74: "Teacher professional development is in a rut. Better research can help."
Dec. 15, 2021 – RPPL's efforts to move the education research field beyond a "thumbs up or thumbs down" approach to program evaluation is featured in The74. Vice Chair Sarah Johnson writes it is vital that we better understand how ineffective our current research model is and that we get real about how we’re going to address it. Read the column >
RPPL Vice Chair Sarah Johnson interviewed on TeachThought podcast
Nov. 26, 2021 – Sarah Johnson, CEO of The Teaching Lab and RPPL Vice Chair, joined The TeachThought Podcast to discuss the RPPL’s work, the ways in which teacher professional learning is being implemented well (and how it is lacking), as well as the tension between truth, evidence, and research. Listen to the podcast.
Oct. 21, 2021 – In a new column published in THE Journal, RPPL Vice Chair Sarah Johnson argues that before we can accelerate student learning, we must first understand how to improve teaching. Johnson writes that only by thoroughly researching and understanding what works in teacher development — and why — will the field be able to create the kind of professional learning opportunities that truly push all students further. Read Johnson’s column >
National partnership to generate new knowledge on teacher learning for equitable student outcomes
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (August 31, 2021) – Today the Research Partnership for Professional Learning (RPPL) launches a learning agenda and call to action to transform professional learning (PL) research and practice. The collaborative of researchers and PL organizations will generate new knowledge on how teacher learning improves classroom experiences and academic growth, especially for students from historically marginalized groups. Read more >