Amy Colton is a senior consultant for Learning Forward and Executive Director of Learning Forward Michigan. Amy’s work is influenced by her experience as a special education teacher and a district professional learning consultant. As a teacher-in-residence for the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, she coordinated the development of the Board’s first teaching certificate. She engages district staff in a variety of learning experiences in support of their journey to cultural. In addition, Amy facilitates professional learning in the areas of: Collaborative Inquiry, Teacher Leadership, PLC development and the Design, Implementation and Evaluation of Professional Learning. Amy is the co-creator of the Collaborative Analysis of Student Learning, a collaborative inquiry process that engages teachers in the study of student work to improve their practice. Her work appears in publications including the The Learning Professional, ASCD, and Corwin Press. She also serves as Learning Forward’s lead evaluator and project manager for the Learning School Designation.
Teacher collaborative professional learning leads to improved teaching and student learning when it is skillfully orchestrated. In this book, Colton, Langer, and Goff provide an essential resource rich with strategies, tactics, tools, and examples to guide both facilitators and team members to structure collaborative inquiry, analysis, and learning in ways that deepen their learning and practice and increase results for all students. -- Joellen Killion, Senior Advisor Research has shown for many years that the isolation of teachers is one of the biggest obstacles to improving teacher effectiveness. This book provides practical insights and recommendations on how teachers can work together to increase their impact on student learning. For educators seeking strategies for improving teaching and learning, this important new book will be an invaluable resource. -- Pedro A. Noguera, PhD, Distinguished Professor of Education