Who We Are

As a publishing and professional development company, MiraVia brings learning theory into practice.

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What We Do

MiraVia provides learning-focused professional development and products presenting practical strategies, useful resources, and innovative ideas for thoughtful educators.

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Why It Matters

Navigating the demands of the current climate requires a professional culture committed to learning.

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Leading Learning Focused Teams

A team is not a static thing; it is a living system with the potential for growth and positive change.
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Facilitating Learning Focused Data Work

Teachers blaze the path to knowledge generation when pairs, small groups, and entire faculties purposefully use data as a source for analyzing progress and proactively planning for improvement.
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Conducting Learning Focused Conversations

The ability to structure and facilitate powerful learning-focused conversations lies at the heart of building productive relationships and enhancing professional expertise.
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Creating Learning Focused Classrooms

Discover the bridge between current learning theory and effective classroom practice.
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MiraVia offers keynote presentations that inspire, inform, and instruct. These interactive sessions provide relevant content based on compelling educational issues. Our keynotes deliver research-driven ideas and effective tools that put theory into practice in your schools. Learn More

Spotlight

The Teaching Performance Plateau: Debunking the Myth

The conventional wisdom about teachers is that their performance plateaus after their first few years of teaching –– they get good enough to get the work done but stall out over time in the classroom in terms of steadily increasing their professional knowledge and craft skills. Surprise! A refined look at the research challenges these claims and offers compelling evidence that when conditions are right, teachers continue to learn, grow, and improve after their beginning years in the classroom (Papay and Kraft, 2016, Goodwin and Slotnik, 2019).

Teachers’ learning growth is steepest in the first three years of teaching if their teaching assignments are stable. With greater time in the classroom, their students’ performance on both academic and dispositional measures such as school attendance continues to get better. The learning culture in the school is a key factor in effecting this growth. Settings where there are thoughtful Interactions with colleagues produces greater learning for both teachers and students in their classrooms (Kini & Podolsky 2016).

This good news is tempered by findings that teachers in some schools improve more than others. Sadly, when schools and districts do not establish the appropriate environments and incentives for life-long professional learning, teachers stagnate and stay stuck on the performance plateau.

Conditions for success

  1. Effective hiring, induction, and mentoring processes and programs. The goals are to attract and retain people with a demonstrated passion for teaching.
  2. Stability in teaching assignments. Like all forms of expertise, teaching expertise is narrow; focused by grade level, subject knowledge, cultural knowledge, and sensitivity to student learning needs and learning pathways in specific content areas.
  3. Supportive adult learning environments. Teacher growth thrives in collaborative cultures of learning with and from peers. This development requires effective teams and departments organized by teacher leadership and coaching supports.
  4. Well implemented standards-based evaluation systems. Effective supervisors provide teachers with detailed feedback about what & how to improve (Taylor and Tyler, 2012).

References

Kini, T. & Podolsky, A. (2016). Does teaching experience increase teacher effectiveness? A review of the research. Palo Alto, CA: Learning Policy Institute.

Goodwin, B. & Slotnik, W. (2019). Debunking the myth of the teacher performance plateau.

Papap, J.& Kraft, M. (2016 ,May). The myth of the performance plateau. Educational Leadership, pp. 36-42.

Taylor, E. & Tyler, J. (2012). The effect of evaluation on teacher performance. American Economic Review, 102 (7). 3626-3651.

 

Don’t Over-facilitate Your Group

In our book, Leading Groups: Effective Strategies for Building Professional Community , we describe seven essential premises for guiding and growing positive and productive groups.

  1. Groups develop and their development can be positively influenced.
  2. Human behavior has a biological and sociological legacy.
  3. There are predictable dynamics in groups.
  4. Work sessions should be learning sessions.
  5. Investing energy in design saves energy in delivery.
  6. Shaping the discourse determines direction.
  7. You can’t lead where you won’t go.

These premises need to inform the decisions and behavior of all group leaders . But, there are hidden dangers for group leaders who are not clear about their intentions, behaviors, and expectations when planning for group development and guiding group member interactions. LEARN MORE