Measuring What Matters

Oct 23

Turning Professional Learning into Student Learning

At Teach Learn Thrive, we know our work has an impact because of the kind comments that make our day, like:

“That was the best PD I have ever attended!” 🫠

But here’s the real question: How do you actually quantify the impact of professional learning? As a school leader, how do you ensure that your investment in teacher development makes its way to the interactions between students and teachers that shape learning?

The best way is to start with the end in mind: build a PD plan that includes measurable success indicators.

It’s the difference between a leadership team saying, “Let’s focus on UDL this year!” and asking, “How would student success increase if we gave students more agency over their learning?”

What’s different about the second statement? It focuses on student learning outcomes and it’s limited in scope, making it manageable and attainable..

Clarity comes from a backward-designed, intentional plan. When everyone knows what success looks like, the process brings more satisfaction and better outcomes for both teachers and students. And yes—teachers should absolutely be part of those planning conversations. More on that in a bit.

Teach Learn Thrive’s Backward-Design Approach

Our PD planning method draws on Thomas Guskey’s model, which identifies five levels of data to evaluate professional learning. We start at Level 5 - “with the end in mind” - and work backward:

🎓 Level 5: Student Learning Outcomes

Schools should hold honest dialogues with stakeholders—leaders, teachers, families—around questions like:

In what areas of student learning do we want to improve?
What measurable student learning outcomes would we see if we met our goals?
Do we want higher scores on specific assessments?
More student ownership of learning?
Greater participation and engagement?

To set realistic goals, a clear-eyed picture of the school’s current reality is essential. Reviewing assessment data and classroom observation trends provides a strong starting point.

🛠️ Level 4: Use of New Knowledge & Skills

To meet schoolwide goals, what do faculty need to know, understand, and be able to do? Teacher voices should be centered here. Asking educators, “What do you need to learn in order to close the gap in…?” is critical.

Focus matters. One school I worked with zeroed in on learning targets for two years. It became the biggest “look-for” during classroom walk-throughs, and all professional learning was tied to it. That clarity paid off. The school increased its pass rate on state reading and math tests by 4% and 8%, respectively.

Learning targets have an effect size of 0.84, placing them in the "highly effective” range of practices, according to John Hattie’s research on visible learning.

🏫 Level 3: Organizational Support & Change

Has your school put systems and structures in place to support the growth you’re after? This might look like:

Collaborative planning time is built into the schedule.
Time embedded in staff meetings for teachers to share practices that are working.
Scheduling follow-up PD, so your August kick-off PD isn’t a “one and done” event, and so teachers have support and accountability in implementing new practices.
Administrators blocking time in their schedule for classroom visits and provide just-in-time, growth-focused feedback.

Revisiting and refining these systems is a key part of a global PD plan that truly impacts student learning.

📚 Level 2: Participants’ Learning (Take-Aways from PD Sessions)

What are teachers’ biggest takeaways from their professional learning experiences? If school leaders and/or PD facilitators offer surveys, they should include questions on what teachers learned and how they hope to use their new skills, tools, and ideas.

At Teach Learn Thrive, this survey question is our key to how effective our workshops are, which is directly correlated with how much useful content participants feel they gained. We use this data to refine the content and format of our workshops continuously.

🎯 Level 1: Participants’ Reactions

During a PD workshop, how engaged and interested were teachers? Did they enjoy it?

We love the glowing comments just as much as anyone would—“That was the best PD I’ve ever attended!” makes our day—but Guskey reminds us this is the most superficial level of impact. Smiles on the way out the door are just the first step in turning faculty learning into action, and action into measurable student growth.

Teach Learn Thrive’s mid- and end-of-year surveys ask participants to share anecdotal data on shifts in school culture and their use of new knowledge. At this time, we also invite schools to share student learning progress with us, so we can celebrate growth with them and analyze next steps.

📈 The Bottom Line: Student Learning

At the end of the day, it’s all about student learning. Linking PD to test data is complex, but wherever possible, we aim to make that connection clear.

When PD is planned with intentional backward design and teacher voice at the center, it leads to real gains in student learning. When it’s thrown together as a one-and-done or sit-and-get session, no one wins—least of all our students.

Troubleshooting Tip

Already did a one-and-done PD session? Don’t worry—there are ways to keep that learning alive:

Instructional coaching for individual teachers who want one-on-one support.
Instructional rounds to help faculty learn from each other through classroom visits.
Follow up workshops so faculty can build on their professional learning, share strategies with colleagues, and find renewed inspiration to try new approaches.

At Teach Learn Thrive, we help schools design PD with deep impact in mind. Reach out today to start planning.