Professional Learning to Support Agency
SAAL integrated five professional learning constructs to support rich opportunities for adult learning. Professional learning featured teacher-led video study groups, grounded in the use continuous improvement cycles and supported by collaborative inquiry protocols. Teachers were encouraged to continuously reflect with and learn from their students through both video reflection and by engaging students in dialogue about their learning. These five constructs worked synergistically to ensure that teacher learning consistently supported current research on high-quality professional learning.
“At first, I was focused on ‘the right way.’ Am I doing this right? Now I am trying things out. I feel more confident to say, here is what I tried.”
– Arizona Teacher Participant, SAAL
Video Study Groups
To achieve the goal of advancing student agency in their classrooms, teachers engaged in two, eight-week digital learning modules that focused on a specific dimension of student agency. In each module, teachers participated in Video Study Groups (VSG) in teams of four, which involved capturing classroom video and providing feedback to each other. Teachers were given a rubric on each dimension of student agency to support reflection, feedback, and planning. The VSGs supported an adult culture of learning by providing a safe space in which to take risks, make mistakes, and explore next steps with colleagues. Download the SAAL Project Overview document below for more details.
Professional Learning Resources
Below you will find a collection of the learning resources used by teachers during their SAAL experience.
| SAAL Project Overview | A high-level project overview, this document identifies how the authors have conceptualized student agency and outlines the SAAL professional learning structures for teachers, academic coaches, and leaders. Download  |
| How Students Learn | Background research that outlines key characteristics of self-regulated learning including metacognition, behavior and motivation, and ways that teachers can support self-regulation in the classroom. Download |
| Assessment Framework | A comprehensive assessment system framework outlining key categories of educational assessment and their intended uses. The framework is followed by discussion prompts to guide review of a school or district’s current assessment practices. Download |
| Learning within the Video Study Group | An outline of the collaborative practices that guide the Video Study Group design, including collaborative inquiry, meeting protocols, and the use of a continuous improvement model. Download |
| Role of Formative Assessment in ESSA | Ways to consider formative assessment within ESSA, with a focus on how formative assessment aligns with (and can be supported by) Title programs and funding. Download |
| SAAL Theory of Action | A description of the changes in practice that are necessary for both teachers and leaders in order to support student agency. Download |
| Teacher Learning Culture Diagram | A visual representation of study results (Birenbaum, 2014) regarding the characteristics of adult learning that strengthen formative assessment implementation. Download |
| Teacher Researcher | In the second semester of SAAL, teachers were asked to identify an inquiry question to guide and deepen their focus on specific areas of practice. This document outlines ways to engage in teacher research, including how to develop a compelling inquiry question and what types of data to collect. Download |
| Sample Teacher Timeline | A timeline showing the delivery of new content and the schedule of Video Study Groups. Download |
| Peer Feedback Continuum | A rubric that identifies dimensions of both student and teacher practice in peer feedback, with descriptions of implementation for each dimension of practice, from novice to more expert implementation. Teachers used the Peer Feedback Continuum to guide video review and to provide peer feedback during the Video Study Groups. Download |
| Self-Assessment Continuum | A rubric that identifies dimensions of both student and teacher practice in peer feedback, with descriptions of implementation for each dimension of practice, from novice to more expert implementation. Teachers used the Self-Assessment Continuum to guide video review and to provide peer feedback during the Video Study Groups. Download |
| Video Analysis Template | If teachers wished for written feedback on their video, this template offered a structure to provide written feedback to one another, as part of the Video Study Group process. Download |
| VSG Meeting Agenda & Structured Protocol | Protocols help teachers in authentic inquiry. A structured agenda helps team members provide feedback based on evidence from the video and promote a safe environment to reflect on one’s own practices. Download |
| Lesson Planning in Support of Student Agency | A series of questions teachers ask themselves as they are planning formative assessment lessons and a description of how to create opportunities during the lesson for students to engage in learning activities that support student agency. Download |
| Earl & Timperley Cases | Two vignettes from a study by Earl and Timperley (2014) that showcase two different examples of formative assessment implementation and highlight the differences between implementing formative assessment to the “letter” and an implementation that meets the “spirit” of formative assessment. Download |
| Supporting Self Regulation | An outline of seven practices teachers can integrate into daily practice, as well as strategies for teaching these practices. Download |
| Module 1 Journal Prompts | Prompts for ongoing teacher reflection, including guiding questions, self-assessments, inventories and teacher goal-setting. Download |
| Module 2 Journal Prompts | Prompts for ongoing teacher reflection, including guiding questions, self-assessments, inventories, and teacher goal-setting. Download |