Using a Lab Classroom Approach for Professional Development

Professional development (PD) is one of the most important investments a school can make, yet too often the closest expertise is overlooked. While conferences, consultants, and workshops all have their place, many educators are looking for learning experiences that are authentic, practical, and immediately applicable to their own classrooms. In short, many teachers and their leaders wish they could find professional development opportunities closer to home.

Leaders echo this sentiment about how they see evidence of effective practices available within the classrooms of their schools but have trouble visualizing a way to amplify and spread the practice to other classrooms. They want to use these teachers as “lighthouses” or sources of educational brilliance who could light the way for others to duplicate these practices in their own classroom. My search for the best way to do this holistically led me to something called lab classrooms.

What is the Lab Classroom?

I was first introduced to this approach while working with school leaders in New York City Public Schools as part of the NYC School Leader Networks. One of the leaders had implemented the practice at her school with the help of resources from WeTeachNYC and said it helped her overcome many challenges that dogged her efforts at implementing systemic, schoolwide PD.

Here are three benefits of the lab classroom approach:

• Lab classroom requires less dedicated PD time and can be implemented within the school day.
• It follows the coaching cycle process utilized in preservice and teacher development programs.
• As funds for PD become harder and harder to come by, it is a low-cost “grow your own” alternative.

As someone who has worked in the PD space for many years, I can say that being able to view a strategy or analyze parts of a person’s practice in the classroom environment is far superior to simply learning about it outside of this context. Being able to see it live with students, reflect upon it in the moment, and engage with the classroom teacher and students while it happens is the best-case scenario.

Identify Model Lab Classroom Teachers

The process begins with identifying classroom teachers or other educators in your building who do something very well that you’d like to see become systemic. It can be something small, such as effective methods of redirection or informal assessment. Perhaps they have had early success implementing a new literacy curriculum that others have struggled to understand. Or maybe it’s something larger, like project-based learning or restorative circles, that you would love to see spread to other grade levels or within departments. Whatever it may be, taking stock of the assets among your own staff is the first step.

After you’ve taken inventory of who you have on hand, approach your grade-level or subject-area teams and ask them to identify a target practice from the last observation that they would be willing to learn more about and try to implement themselves. Choice is important because it promotes buy-in and it allows your teachers to identify someone whom they’d be comfortable with observing or who seems to match with their own schedule.

Leaders can reinforce this by being on hand to answer questions or provide structural supports for coverage. One principal I know found free coverage for observation times by having parent volunteers substitute for part of a day.

Prepare Before the Observation

The next part of the process involves setting teachers and demonstrators up for success during the live observation. As with a coaching cycle, you’ll want to make sure that there is a pre-meeting where everyone discusses what it is they hope to see, a standardized reflective form to focus the observation and help teachers process their own steps for implementation, and then a debrief where everybody discusses what they learned. This is helpful for the people in the audience and the demonstrators because they have a chance to hear about things they may not have seen or be alerted to opportunities they may have missed.

The lab classroom model is predicated upon the belief that everybody has something of value to contribute. If you aren’t hosting people and making your practice public, then you’re participating in the reflection process with your team or trying out strategies modeled by others.

Keep Your Mind Open

While the lab classroom is an effective strategy for amplifying best practices between teachers, leaders should be cautious when it comes to utilizing it as a complete alternative to all PD. There may be strategies, models, or other pedagogical approaches you want to implement—where the expertise is not yet present among your staff.

Leaders should always be open to bringing in and hosting skilled consultants either from within your district or from outside groups. The lab classroom approach can be used effectively in conjunction with skilled PD consultants. For example, allow them to come in to observe demonstrating teachers and give feedback to refine teachers’ practices so that they can be more effective models for other educators. Consultants can also help lead the reflective process.