The challenge
The CREC Resource Group provides a variety of cost-effective programs and services to meet the educational needs of children and adults in Greater Hartford, Connecticut. Resource Group staff recognized a need for shared understanding to eliminate inconsistencies in how professional learning was designed and delivered across the organization and with client districts. They also held varying understandings of what constituted high-quality professional learning, and while some members were familiar with the Standards for Professional Learning, others had not yet been introduced to them, which created differences in language and approach. These challenges created an important opportunity for the organization to build coherence, strengthen collaboration, and ensure greater consistency in the quality of its professional learning services.
Team members recognized the value of an external perspective to help align thinking and foster constructive dialogue, so they contacted Learning Forward because they had worked with us in the past and knew us to be a trusted authority and partner.
Solution
To address the group's challenges, Learning Forward created a customized program designed to meet staff where they were, recognizing their differing levels of familiarity with the Standards for Professional Learning, their varied job responsibilities, and the diverse audiences they serve. The approach emphasized differentiation, ensuring that every participant could connect their role and expertise to the shared goal of delivering high-quality professional learning.
A key step was creating shared understandings within and across teams. Using strategies from the learning sessions and the Standards for Professional Learning, staff were able to calibrate their current practices, assess next steps, and develop a common language.
The program wove together several critical frameworks and practices, including Standards for Professional Learning that provided a foundation for coherence; adult learning theory and professional learning design to support effective planning, with emphasis on the Learning Designs Standard; and change management principles to guide conversations about implementation and sustainability, drawing from the Implementation Standard. These elements combined to equip the group's staff with the tools, frameworks, and confidence needed to align their services, strengthen collaboration, and consistently deliver high-quality professional learning to the districts they serve.
Results
As a result, the partnership has shifted staff approaches to professional learning from scattered efforts to a more intentional, theory-based, collaborative model.
Some of the immediate results reported by CREC Resource Group include:
Shifted Coaching Philosophy
CREC Resource Group moved from a service delivery model to a collaborative partnership approach with adults. The message that "coaching adults is a form of professional learning" became central to their work, transforming how they viewed their role as professional learning leaders.
Adult Learning Theory Application
While the professional learning team was familiar with adult learning concepts, Learning Forward presented these principles in new ways and introduced science of learning principles and change management considerations they hadn't previously considered. This provided critical context that had been missing from their approach.
Sustained Learning Culture
The team already knew the limitations of "one and done" professional development, but with Learning Forward’s support, they began designing professional learning for client districts that promoted and built sustainability that continued beyond the group's service visits.
Improved Facilitation Skills
Team members noted that their learning extended beyond the explicit content of the program to include the insights they gained from participating in professional learning that modeled the embedding of processing time, adjusting discussion prompts as needed, and the in-session, responsive use of participant feedback. They also noted the use of engaging facilitation and activities that encourage engagement with the content and colleagues, and that these strategies set the stage for sustained application of their new learning. The group's team members reported that they’ve already begun using some of these same strategies in their own professional learning designs and were seeing changes as a result.
Evidence of immediate application of learning
Team leads report that time spent with Learning Forward is already resulting in innovations in the designs of professional learning proposals submitted by team members, evidencing a deeper understanding of professional learning design for engagement and sustainability. Learning Forward team members noted that CREC Resource Group team members are speaking with more enthusiasm and a shared sense of purpose.
About Learning Forward’s customized approach
Learning Forward recognizes that every educational system faces distinct challenges, contexts, and goals, which is why our highly qualified consultants design customized solutions and personalized learning experiences that address the unique needs of each school or system we serve. Rather than offering one-size-fits-all approaches, we emphasize collaboration-centered consulting that works with educators instead of imposing solutions on them, ensuring that every engagement builds internal capacity rather than creating dependency.
Our evidence-based methodology integrates data and research findings at all stages of planning, monitoring, and assessment, while our deep education context and systems thinking approach allows us to develop differentiated professional learning designs that serve all students and reach each learner effectively. We tailor every service to meet clients where they are, building sustainable, educator-owned solutions that transform entire systems rather than creating isolated pockets of improvement.
Learn more about what our bespoke services can do for your organization:
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Learning Forward contracts with districts and states to provide high-impact professional learning services and tools to transform professional learning, increase educator capacity, and improve student achievement.
