Ongoing Professional Learning

Ongoing professional learning is rooted in the idea that teaching and learning are adaptive processes requiring continual reflection (Moll et al., 1992; Gay, 2010). It supports educators in developing a critically conscious lens toward instruction, curriculum, assessment, history, culture, and institutions. Professional learning requires self-direction and engagement in opportunities that directly impact student outcomes.

At MTSS Rhode Island, supporting students begins with supporting educators. Within a multi-tiered system of supports, intentional systems are designed to support adult learning and behavior change in the service of improved student outcomes. This focus on adult practice is essential to advancing equity. Ongoing professional learning—particularly around culturally responsive-sustaining education, equity, and implicit bias—plays a critical role in strengthening instructional practice.

How does a culturally responsive-sustaining MTSS framework support ongoing professional learning?

• Provides structured opportunities for educators to reflect on their instruction, curriculum, and assessment practices.
• Supports development of culturally responsive practices and equity-focused decision-making.
• Encourages self-directed, collaborative learning that directly impacts student outcomes.

¹ New York State Education Department. Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Education Framework. Available at http://www.nysed.gov/crs/framework .