Megan Webster, Ph.D., is a teacher, teacher educator, and professional development (PD) consultant based in Montreal, Quebec who specializes in how to improve teaching at scale. Her research focuses on the nature of expertise in facilitating PD for teachers, and she applies her research by coaching district leaders and teacher educators with the Ministry of Education of Quebec, numerous school boards, universities and colleges. Megan has previously held roles as a curriculum writer and consultant at the Ministry of Education of Quebec, a university teacher educator, and high school teacher. In recognition for her work as a teacher, she was awarded the Prime Minister’s Teaching Award in 2009. Supervisors: Kara Jackson, Bronwen Low, and Suzanne Lajoie
Educational leaders face an immense challenge: they must support huge numbers of teachers – with ... more Educational leaders face an immense challenge: they must support huge numbers of teachers – with widely varying degrees of skill – to such an extent that student achievement improves across the system. This article proposes key moves educational leaders can make in order to improve instruction at scale. Leaders need to work towards improving expertise across the system and provide significant support to successful teachers, not only struggling teachers, while implementing a system of mentorship within schools for all teachers. This article has implications for the work of board and Ministry leaders, principals, consultants, and teacher leaders.
A key aspect of supporting teachers’ learning
on a large scale concerns mathematics leaders’ prac... more A key aspect of supporting teachers’ learning on a large scale concerns mathematics leaders’ practices in designing for and leading high-quality professional development. We report on a retrospective analysis of an initial design experiment aimed at supporting the learning of three math leaders who were charged with supporting the learning of middle-grades mathematics teachers across a large US school district. Initial goals for the math leaders’ learning included: (a) viewing teachers’ improvement of their classroom practices as a progression; (b) designing supports for teachers’ learning that were informed by assessments of teachers’ current practices, were oriented towards long-term goals for teachers’ practices, and would enable teachers to attain short-term goals that constituted reasonable next steps; and (c) facilitating professional development by pressing on teachers’ ideas differentially and building on their contributions. Findings suggest that the math leaders increasingly viewed teachers’ improvement of their classroom practices as a developmental progression and began to design connected sequences of activities. However, they struggled to facilitate the activities in ways that would meet their ambitious goals for teachers’ learning. Based on our findings, weindicate potential improvements to our design for supporting math leaders’ learning. More generally, we provide the field with a set of potentially revisable learning goals for math leaders’ learning, a set of principles to guide the design of supports for their learning, and a provisional design to support the development of their practices.
This article details the key features of a series of professional development (PD) sessions desig... more This article details the key features of a series of professional development (PD) sessions designed to support school leaders in schools transitioning to curriculum and assessments aligned with more rigorous standards, such as the Common Core State Standards in Mathematics (CCSS-M). The authors implemented this PD design in the context of a research-practitioner partnership with leaders from two large urban school districts in states adopting more rigorous standards and assessments. We specify three central goals that guided the design of the sessions, and describe methods for accomplishing those goals with guided discussions and activities.
The authors explore the assumption that intelligence is static through a case study of one studen... more The authors explore the assumption that intelligence is static through a case study of one student with special needs, demonstrating how a growth-oriented paradigm supports students. With a growth mindset, teachers can build the necessary confidence for students to risk learning through scaffolding the emotional, cognitive, and social components of learning.
Educational leaders face an immense challenge: they must support huge numbers of teachers – with ... more Educational leaders face an immense challenge: they must support huge numbers of teachers – with widely varying degrees of skill – to such an extent that student achievement improves across the system. This article proposes key moves educational leaders can make in order to improve instruction at scale. Leaders need to work towards improving expertise across the system and provide significant support to successful teachers, not only struggling teachers, while implementing a system of mentorship within schools for all teachers. This article has implications for the work of board and Ministry leaders, principals, consultants, and teacher leaders.
A key aspect of supporting teachers’ learning
on a large scale concerns mathematics leaders’ prac... more A key aspect of supporting teachers’ learning on a large scale concerns mathematics leaders’ practices in designing for and leading high-quality professional development. We report on a retrospective analysis of an initial design experiment aimed at supporting the learning of three math leaders who were charged with supporting the learning of middle-grades mathematics teachers across a large US school district. Initial goals for the math leaders’ learning included: (a) viewing teachers’ improvement of their classroom practices as a progression; (b) designing supports for teachers’ learning that were informed by assessments of teachers’ current practices, were oriented towards long-term goals for teachers’ practices, and would enable teachers to attain short-term goals that constituted reasonable next steps; and (c) facilitating professional development by pressing on teachers’ ideas differentially and building on their contributions. Findings suggest that the math leaders increasingly viewed teachers’ improvement of their classroom practices as a developmental progression and began to design connected sequences of activities. However, they struggled to facilitate the activities in ways that would meet their ambitious goals for teachers’ learning. Based on our findings, weindicate potential improvements to our design for supporting math leaders’ learning. More generally, we provide the field with a set of potentially revisable learning goals for math leaders’ learning, a set of principles to guide the design of supports for their learning, and a provisional design to support the development of their practices.
This article details the key features of a series of professional development (PD) sessions desig... more This article details the key features of a series of professional development (PD) sessions designed to support school leaders in schools transitioning to curriculum and assessments aligned with more rigorous standards, such as the Common Core State Standards in Mathematics (CCSS-M). The authors implemented this PD design in the context of a research-practitioner partnership with leaders from two large urban school districts in states adopting more rigorous standards and assessments. We specify three central goals that guided the design of the sessions, and describe methods for accomplishing those goals with guided discussions and activities.
The authors explore the assumption that intelligence is static through a case study of one studen... more The authors explore the assumption that intelligence is static through a case study of one student with special needs, demonstrating how a growth-oriented paradigm supports students. With a growth mindset, teachers can build the necessary confidence for students to risk learning through scaffolding the emotional, cognitive, and social components of learning.
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on a large scale concerns mathematics leaders’ practices
in designing for and leading high-quality professional
development. We report on a retrospective analysis of an
initial design experiment aimed at supporting the learning
of three math leaders who were charged with supporting
the learning of middle-grades mathematics teachers
across a large US school district. Initial goals for the math
leaders’ learning included: (a) viewing teachers’ improvement
of their classroom practices as a progression;
(b) designing supports for teachers’ learning that were
informed by assessments of teachers’ current practices,
were oriented towards long-term goals for teachers’ practices,
and would enable teachers to attain short-term goals
that constituted reasonable next steps; and (c) facilitating
professional development by pressing on teachers’ ideas
differentially and building on their contributions. Findings
suggest that the math leaders increasingly viewed
teachers’ improvement of their classroom practices as a
developmental progression and began to design connected
sequences of activities. However, they struggled to facilitate
the activities in ways that would meet their ambitious
goals for teachers’ learning. Based on our findings, weindicate potential improvements to our design for supporting
math leaders’ learning. More generally, we provide
the field with a set of potentially revisable learning goals
for math leaders’ learning, a set of principles to guide the
design of supports for their learning, and a provisional
design to support the development of their practices.
on a large scale concerns mathematics leaders’ practices
in designing for and leading high-quality professional
development. We report on a retrospective analysis of an
initial design experiment aimed at supporting the learning
of three math leaders who were charged with supporting
the learning of middle-grades mathematics teachers
across a large US school district. Initial goals for the math
leaders’ learning included: (a) viewing teachers’ improvement
of their classroom practices as a progression;
(b) designing supports for teachers’ learning that were
informed by assessments of teachers’ current practices,
were oriented towards long-term goals for teachers’ practices,
and would enable teachers to attain short-term goals
that constituted reasonable next steps; and (c) facilitating
professional development by pressing on teachers’ ideas
differentially and building on their contributions. Findings
suggest that the math leaders increasingly viewed
teachers’ improvement of their classroom practices as a
developmental progression and began to design connected
sequences of activities. However, they struggled to facilitate
the activities in ways that would meet their ambitious
goals for teachers’ learning. Based on our findings, weindicate potential improvements to our design for supporting
math leaders’ learning. More generally, we provide
the field with a set of potentially revisable learning goals
for math leaders’ learning, a set of principles to guide the
design of supports for their learning, and a provisional
design to support the development of their practices.