First Look at Instructional Look Fors

LUSD conducted initial research into its Instructional Look Fors, a series of learner behaviors, organized into six principles, each aligned with several educator actions that facilitate or demonstrate the Look Fors. This early research was completed to help the district understand whether the Instructional Look Fors demonstrated a sound way of understanding the relationship between professional learning and learner achievement.

• A First Look at Instructional Look Fors at LUSD: Reliability and Validity of Instructional Look For Educator Actions

  • Look Fors Executive Summary; Look Fors Accessible Version

  • Video: Instructional Look Fors In-Depth; Video: Instructional Look Fors Overview

Learner Behaviors and Actions During Personalized, Remote Learning

In this standalone study, LUSD captured educator perceptions of their learners’ experience during COVID school closure in the Spring of 2020. The findings from this report informed planning for the district’s fall return to remote learning.

• Perceptions of Learner Behaviors and Actions During Personalized, Remote Learning: An Analysis of the Instructional Look Fors in LUSD

  • Remote Learning Analysis Executive Summary; Remote Learning Analysis Accessible Version

Initial Explorations into the Effects of Personalized Professional Learning

Throughout the first two years of the TSL Grant, LUSD conducted small studies to examine the efficacy of specific professional learning programs on learner growth as well as to begin the validation process for their Instructional Look Fors.

• Guided Reading Professional Learning: Effect on Instructional Behaviors and Learner Achievement

  • Guided Reading Executive Summary; Guided Reading Accessible Version

• BetterLesson and PBLWorks Professional Learning at LUSD: Effects on Instructional Behaviors and Learner Outcomes

  • BetterLesson/PBLWorks Accessible Version

Understanding the Effects of Personalized Professional Learning

LUSD conducted a three-year study (2017-2020) of the effects of personalized professional learning on learner growth as part of its three-year, federal Teacher and School Leader (TSL) Grant.

• Effects of Personalized Professional Learning Opportunities on Learner Growth: Final Report

  • Executive Summary

  • Effects of Professional Learning Opportunities on Learner Growth: Background and Information Supporting the Three-Year TSL Grant

  • Effects of Professional Learning Opportunities on Learner Growth: Cluster Analysis

  • Effects of Personalized Professional Learning Opportunities on TK-8 Learner Growth

  • Effects of Professional Learning Opportunities on TK-8 Learner Growth: Analysis of the Cluster Characteristics

  • Effects of Personalized Professional Learning Opportunities on 9-12 Common Core Literacy

• Initial Analysis of Grant Years 1 and 2

  • Initial Analysis Executive Summary; Initial Analysis Accessible Version

In Spring 2020, schools abruptly closed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in an unprecedented disruption to teaching and learning. LUSD partnered with TLA to examine the context around COVID-19 closures and unfinished learning – and to examine the progress LUSD learners were able to make in the face of the challenges posed by the pandemic.

• Learning Found, Not Lost: Examining Learner Growth and Supports in LUSD During and Beyond the COVID-19 Crisis

  • Executive Summary

• Helping Each Learner in the Here and Now: Strategies for Addressing Unfinished Learning Literature Review

Creating a Culture of Adult Wellbeing at School

Drawing from a series of focus groups with district leaders from across the country and over 60 diverse pieces of literature, this literature-based report serves as a first step towards gaining a deeper understanding of adult wellbeing in the context of school communities and determining potential strategies for improvement. It includes a discussion of:

• Emerging evidence of adult wellbeing and its impact on student learning

• The interdependent drivers of adult wellbeing in school communities

• Actions leaders can take to invest in immediate and sustained community care

• Practical steps to sustain adult wellbeing in schools and systems

The need for professional learning does not stop in a crisis – in fact, it intensifies. Educators who are new to the field need additional support; experienced professionals need quality learning opportunities to continue their growth; and new or amplified issues arise that educators need to be equipped to address. This report describes the implementation of LUSD’s personalized professional learning pathways in the midst of a pandemic, the features and structures designed to support personalized professional learning, and recommendations to guide future implementations.

• Personalized Professional Learning During a Pandemic