Learning Forward @LearningForward

No passive listening. Four days of active, evidence-based professional learning with 2,700+ educators from across the country. Register for Unite for Learning before Nov. 4 and save up to $640. Dec. 6-9, Dallas. conference.learningforward.org #learnfwd26

Your team spots the problem in the student work. Someone already has a fix ready. Before the team adopts it, there’s one question worth asking: What do we need to learn first? Kellie Randall and John Eyolfson walk through the five stages of the learning team cycle, including the step teams skip most often. They share how a ninth-grade English team paused to study a respected colleague’s writing approach together and designed something even stronger. Read the post: learningforward.org/2026/10/02/bet… Kellie and John will facilitate PC17 | Becoming a Learning Team at Learning Forward’s 2026 Annual Conference in December. conference.learningforward.org #ProfessionalLearning #LearningTeams #learnfwd26

George Couros. Haesun Moon. Joe Sanfelippo. 270+ evidence-based sessions. Four days of professional learning unlike anything else in the field. Register before Nov. 4 and save up to $640. Dec. 6-9, Dallas. conference.learningforward.org #learnfwd26

Early registration for the 2026 Learning Forward Annual Conference closes Nov. 4. Register before the deadline and save up to $640 on your conference experience in Dallas, Dec. 6-9. Four days. 270+ sessions. conference.learningforward.org #learnfwd26

Evaluation: The key to improving professional learning learningforward.org/2026/09/15/eva… Evaluation does not have to be an afterthought. When it is built into professional learning from the start, it becomes the tool that tells you what is working, why it is working, and how to make it better. Thomas Guskey's new blog introduces his five-level framework for evaluating professional learning — and makes the case that meaningful evaluation is within reach for every district. Join him Dec. 6 in Dallas for preconference session PC04, Uniting Our Efforts to Evaluate Professional Learning. #learnfwd26 #ProfessionalLearning

"I didn't realize how long it had been since I felt like a learner." That's what one educator told Trish Hinze and Terri Iles after last year's preconference session — and it's shaped their 2026 session, Powerful Practices for Professional Learning. In their newest blog post, they explore why so many educators are working harder than ever with fewer chances to actually experience meaningful learning themselves, and how professional learning designed around physical, social, and learning needs can change that. Read the full post to see their LEARN → APPLY tool for turning professional learning into lasting practice — and register to join Trish and Terri's session on Sunday, December 6th at the 2026 Annual Conference. Registration details are in the post! #LearnFwd26 @LearnTexas @LearningForward learningforward.org/2026/09/08/rec…

Healthy teachers, happy classrooms learningforward.org/2026/09/25/hea… Teacher burnout is not a personal failing. It is a signal that the systems around educators need to do better. Marcia Tate has spent decades studying the brain research behind what helps teachers stay well, stay passionate, and keep showing up for students. Read her latest blog and then join her Dec. 6 in Dallas for preconference session PC02, Healthy Teachers, Happy Classrooms. #learnfwd26 #EdLeadership

Where should a growth-minded coach begin? Wanda Mangum and Kelly Wegley, who together bring more than 30 years of coaching experience, point to two foundational elements: deep listening and partnership agreements. They explain why "rescue mode" can erode teacher agency and how clear agreements keep coaching purposeful, protected, and built on trust. Read the full post. New to coaching, or supporting coaches who are? Join Wanda and Kelly for PC12 | Foundational Strategies for Beginning Coaches on Sunday, Dec. 6, at the Learning Forward 2026 Annual Conference at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center! #LearnFwd26 @MwandaMangum @kelwegley @LearningForward learningforward.org/2026/09/21/fou…

As AI reshapes classrooms, whose voices are we centering? Shane Safir and Sawsan Jaber, co-authors of Pedagogies of Voice, explain why the most urgent response to AI is pedagogical, not technical. They also share small shifts educators can make to protect what AI can't replicate: student imagination, agency, and voice. Read the full post. Want to go deeper? Join Shane and Sawsan at the Learning Forward 2026 Annual Conference at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center! #LearnFwd26 @ShanesSafir @LearningForward learningforward.org/2026/09/21/edu…

When 3,000+ educators gather, the learning does not stop at the session door. It continues in hallways, lunches, and conversations that follow you home. Unite for Learning | Dec. 6-9 | Dallas, Texas | conference.learningforward.org #learnfwd26

Ever had a "mighty mirror moment"? Peter Carpenter did — while trying on a cart full of clothes that looked perfect online but told a different story in the mirror. In a new blog post, he asks what it would look like to hold that same honest mirror up to our professional learning design. Do our ideas just look fun and trendy, or are they actually meaningful and aligned? Read the full post to see how he and Tina Howle are using the "Know, Do, Feel" framework to help you supercharge your adult learning — and register to join their session on Sunday, December 6 at the 2026 Annual Conference. Registration details are in the post! #LearnFwd26 @LearningForward learningforward.org/2026/08/31/mir…

Systemic professional learning is not built in a single workshop. It is built in sustained, collaborative, standards-aligned work across a whole district. Join us at Unite for Learning to explore what that looks like in practice. Dec. 6-9 | Gaylord Texan, Dallas | conference.learningforward.org

"Your cup is already full." That's the image Jennifer Abrams uses to describe why receiving feedback well is so hard. It's just one piece of her newest blog post, which breaks down two distinct, learnable skills: saying the hard thing (starting with observation, not judgment, then sitting in silence) and hearing the hard thing (suspending your certainty that you're right). Read the full post to see all four moves — and register to join her pre-conference session on Sunday, December 6th at the 2026 Annual Conference. Registration details are in the post! #LearnFwd26 @jenniferabrams @LearningForward learningforward.org/2026/08/24/giv…

George Couros. Haesun Moon. Joe Sanfelippo. Three keynotes. Four days. One community united for learning. When students need us most, educators come together. Dec. 6-9, Gaylord Texan, Dallas. conference.learningforward.org #learnfwd26

"Do students know what they are learning? Not what they are doing." That's the distinction Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey draw in their newest blog post. A finished poster or a completed worksheet is evidence of activity — not proof of learning. In the post, they break down the four questions that create real teacher clarity: What are we learning? Why does it matter? What does success look like? How will we know? Read the full post to see all four — and register to join their pre-conference session on Sunday, December 6th at the 2026 Annual Conference. Registration details are in the post! #LearnFwd26 @DFISHERSDSU @NancyFrey @LearningForward learningforward.org/2026/08/10/bus…

Understanding the Mind Transforms the Way We Teach and Learn Margaret Lee and Jim Heal ask what really changes when educators understand *how* learning happens — not just which strategies to use. One striking result from their work with Cicero SD 99: after a year of building shared learning-science knowledge, the share of educators choosing the instructional activity best aligned with how learning works jumped from 22.3% to 65.2%. Read the full post to see what that shift looked like in practice — and register for Meg and Jim's preconference session, Evidence-Informed Instruction: Understanding the Mind Transforms the Way We Teach and Learn, on Sunday, December 6th at the 2026 Annual Conference. Registration details are in the post! #LearnFwd26 @LearningForward learningforward.org/2026/09/14/und…

270+ sessions. Standards-aligned. Evidence required. No exhibit hall. 4 days of deep professional learning and valuable collaboration. | Dec. 6-9 | Dallas, TX | conference.learningforward.org

Thomas Guskey previews his Learning Forward 2026 preconference session, "Uniting Our Efforts to Evaluate Professional Learning." He breaks down the 5 critical levels of evidence for evaluating PL, how generative AI can streamline data gathering and analysis, and how to plan backward from the student outcomes you want to see. Read the full post to see how evaluation can become a built-in part of professional learning — not an afterthought — and register to join Tom's session on Sunday, December 6th at the 2026 Annual Conference. Registration details are in the post! #LearnFwd26 @tguskey @LearningForward learningforward.org/2026/09/15/eva…

Ready to transform your vision for student success into lasting, systemic change? Applications are now open for the Learning Forward Academy Class of 2029! Join a dynamic, collaborative community of educational leaders to gain practical strategies, actionable tools, and the support needed to drive meaningful impact within your school or district. Apply today to take the next step in your professional growth: learningforward.org/academy/

The people improving schools rarely make headlines. But they are the reason students succeed. Join the community that supports them. Unite for Learning, Dec. 6-9, Gaylord Texan, Dallas. conference.learningforward.org #learnfwd26