The Networked School Leader
How to Improve Teaching and Student Outcomes using Learning Networks
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Chapter 1. The current context for Professional Learning Networks Chapter 2. The labyrinth Chapter 3. Connecting PLN learning with what happens in schools Chapter 4. How can we learn from PLNs in Germany and England? Chapter 5. Research Learning Networks in England: what do teachers and school leaders say? Chapter 6. Research Learning Networks in England: exploring social networks, cultures of trust and innovation Chapter 7. Pess Networks in Germany: hearing the voices of teachers and school leaders Chapter 8. Pess Networks in Germany: examining the use and value of networked learning Chapter 9. Conquering the labyrinth: lessons learned from cases in England and Germany
It will come as little surprise to anyone who has ever worked in a school or who has read anything about teacher CPD, that providing opportunities for teachers to collaborate and undertake professional learning together can lead to increased teacher job satisfaction, more effective teaching practice, and improved pupil outcomes. But the key word here is CAN - we also know that many forms of professional learning, including collaborative professional learning, fail to have a meaningful or long-term impact on teaching and learning. The devil is in the detail, in the implementation - and that is where this latest book from Chris Brown is so powerful. It offers key insight into the role of school leadership in harnessing the power of professional learning networks, and through a combination of theory and case studies of two Professional Learning Network (PLN) approaches, helps us begin to understand how such principles might work in practice. Picking up on often-neglected elements of the process - including how the learning from PLNs is shared and mobilised through the wider school - it highlights the conditions for success in collaborative professional learning (and the inhibitors of it!), providing a detailed view of not just the potential benefits of developing and engaging in PLNs, but the substantial challenges for school leaders in doing so effectively.
The great strength of The Networked School Leader is its comparative aspect. Chris Brown explores his ‘formalise, prioritise and mobilise’ advice to school leaders who want to harvest the full potential of Professional Learning Networks by drawing on his studies of networks in England and Germany. These diverse examples help to illuminate how and why networks can be powerful mechanisms for supporting learning and innovation within and across schools, but also why their leadership is challenging and why they so often fail to achieve their full potential.
This timely book is essential reading for school leaders looking to engage and collaborate with others. Written with a focus on lived experiences, Chris offers a compelling case of the benefits when leaders support learning networks in their schools, offering sound and realistic recommendations for how to do so.