English Leadership Quarterly - Volume 37, Issue 2, 2014

The “inspiring” in this ELQ theme is intended as both verb and adjective. In their own distinct styles, the authors in this issue go about answering two key questions about Inspiring Professional Learning: 1) How do we do it? and 2) What does it look like? Interwoven throughout the experiences of the authors are two consistent themes. First, authentic professional learning is constructive, bottom-up, and “pull-not-push.” It produces observable results. In Chenelle and Fisch’s “Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration with Informational Text,” the grade-level PLC group activities described are prime examples.Second, for the most part, the best professional learning demands and invites time. Teachers need a supportive and “tuned in” network to carve out time for ongoing reflection, questioning, and dialogue. In “The GIR Model: Mentoring for Teacher Effectiveness,” Vicki Collet illustrates how to make the move from coach to collaborator. In “Nurturing Teacher Leadership through Homegrown Professional Development,” Emily Meixner explains how tuning in to her students’ requests for more specific instruction helped her form meaningful professional learning experiences for her preservice teachers.