The Future of Education

Research demonstrates teacher expertise development is a recursive, career-long pursuit of growth through inquiry, reflection, and purposeful practice (Hanushek & Rivkin, 2010). While some teachers are instinctively driven to pursue expertise, other teachers need more support to guide and build expertise. Professional learning opportunities built into school cultures can become a mechanism for encouraging the pursuit of mastery in ways aligned with qualities (traits) of high-quality professional development such as learning situated in one’s real practice, professional learning that treats teachers as professionals capable of generating their own knowledge, and professional learning focused on student needs (Desimore, 2009). The practices and habits of teachers who continuously pursue expertise are practical, when sustainably incorporated into school settings, for all levels of teaching from recruitment to teacher leader for increased effectiveness.  When each classroom in our nation is facilitated by a teacher who consistently and purposefully pursues expertise, all children may have better chances to experience an equitable and developmentally appropriate education. The purpose of this practitioner session is three-fold. First, it discusses the importance of the pursuit of expertise in terms of a purposeful focus on meeting the needs of all children and teachers developing a sense of professional drive through the pursuit of mastery (Donohoo, 2017). Secondly, research-based best practices and processes for the pursuit of expertise are shared and discussed including reflective practices, practitioner inquiry, lesson study, and professional learning communities (Hall & Hord, 2020).  Finally, the session concludes with the role of leadership in developing a culture that builds in purposeful processes for the pursuit of expertise (Dana, Thomas, & Boynton, 2011). 

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