Awards Program
This annual awards program recognizes and rewards the exemplary work of professionals in the field of professional learning. This page offers information about the types of awards given, application deadlines, and past winners.
The nomination deadline has passed. Learning Forward will notify the Shirley Hord Learning Team Award winner in June, and the other award recipients in August. For questions about the awards program, please contact Jacqueline Kennedy at 972-421-0900 or jacqueline.kennedy@learningforward.org.
Best Research recognizes research that demonstrates the impact of professional development on student performance and contributes to the knowledge base of the field.
Criteria for Nomination:
Research projects should address the relationship between professional development and student learning and may also address professional development theory, evaluation of professional development, and creating/implementing professional development programs.
Research is judged according to relevance to professional development field, quality of writing, clarity of problem statement and rationale, appropriateness of research method(s) to the question(s) addressed, valid use of research methods, and appropriateness of conclusions/recommendations.
Submission must include short resumé of nominee (not to exceed 5 pages), abstract addressing statement of the problem or research question, design and method, results, and major conclusions (not to exceed 600 words).
Dissertation submissions must have been completed within two years of the submission deadline.
Best Evaluation of Professional Development may be given to an individual or organization for outstanding professional development evaluation. The award will be given based on the quality of the evaluation design, clarity of communication, and usefulness of the findings rather than on whether the evaluation demonstrates the value or impact of professional development.
Criteria for Nomination:
Evidence of a design that provided ongoing examination of the effects of professional development on professional practice and student learning.
Use of appropriate evaluation methodologies to answer the question(s) posed in the design and to measure results.
Use of multiple sources of appropriate and reliable data.
A clearly organized evaluation report written in accessible language that includes well-supported findings and recommendations for improvement.
Evidence of usefulness to policymakers, practitioners, and/or other appropriate audiences.
Adherence to the Joint Committee for Program Evaluation Standards and AEA's Guiding Principles for Evaluators.
Submission must include resumé for nominee and other appropriate researchers.
Contribution to the Field Award celebrates a person who has made a significant contribution to the field of professional development as a thought leader. Given since 1989, this award acknowledges a person's research, writing, work, and teaching in the field of professional learning.
Criteria for nomination:
Explanation of how the individual's contributions have impacted the field of professional learning and offers specific examples of this impact over a period of time. Some examples of contributions, although not limited to, include:
Author of books, articles, reports about professional development
Researcher in the field of professional development
Teacher/lecturer about professional development
Consultant with federal, regional, provincial/state agencies
Practitioner who develops processes, tools, strategies, etc., to support effective professional learning
Susan Loucks-Horsley Award recognizes a member whose research, writing, and professional relationships improve the field's understanding of change and promote high-quality professional learning, particularly in the areas of mathematics and science. The Susan Loucks-Horsley Award honors the contribution Susan made to the field of professional development and remembers the many ways in which she nurtured and supported the work of numerous colleagues and friends.
Criteria for nomination:
Open to individuals who work, or have worked, in the field of professional learning at the local, state, regional, or federal levels
Explanation of the work of the nominee that addresses how the individual:
Has built bridges between organizations;
Mentored others in research and writing;
Instilled in others a sense of possibility for change and student achievement;
Learning Forward's Distinguished Service Award celebrates a person who has made a significant contribution to Learning Forward and its purpose. Given since 1984, this award acknowledges the power of one person and all that he or she contributes to this association.
Criteria for nomination:
Nominee must be a member of Learning Forward
Explanation of how the individual's contributions have impacted Learning Forward, its members, and their work and offers specific examples of this impact over a period of time. Some examples of service, although not limited to, include:
The Shirley Hord Learning Team Award honors excellence in professional learning. Based on Learning Forward's definition of professional learning, the award recognizes a school team that successfully implements the cycle of continuous learning for professional learning that results in student achievement.
Read more specific details on how to apply for this award.
Marco A. Muñoz, Thomas R. Guskey, and Jennifer Aberli - 2008
Joseph Shields - 2005 (Texas Education Agency)
Contribution to the Field
Andy Hargreaves - 2010
Douglas Reeves - 2010
Thomas Guskey - 2009
Shirley Hord - 2009
Ellen Moir - 2008
Karen Seashore Louis - 2007
Dennis Sparks - 2006
Beverly Daniel Tatum - 2005
Theodore Sizer, Coalition of Essential Schools - 2003
Peter Senge - 2002
Hayes Mizell - 2000
Kati Haycock - 2000
Robert Garmston - 1999
Linda Darling Hammond - 1998
Ron Brandt - 1997
Judy-Arin Krupp - 1995
Michael Fullan - 1995
Susan Loucks-Horsley - 1993
Carlene Murphy - 1991
Madeline Hunter - 1989
Arthur Costa - 1989
Susan Loucks-Horsley Award
Peg Smith - 2010
Page Keeley - 2009
Judy Mumme - 2008
Francena Cummings - 2007
Nancy Love - 2006
Susan Mundry - 2006
Harold Pratt - 2005
Shirley Hord and Gene Hall - 2004
Dennis Sparks - 2003
Learning Forward Distinguished Service Award
Deborah Childs-Bowen - 2010
Marti Richardson - 2009
Rob and Kathy Bocchino - 2008
Audrey Hobbs Johnson - 2007
Diana Raney Williams - 2005
Rick DuFour - 2004
Sandee Crowther - 2003
Dale Hair - 2003
Gayle Moller - 2002
Kathryn Blumsack - 2002
Cathy Berlinger-Gustafson - 2001
Thomas Swenson - 2000
Shirley Hord - 1999
Ann Delehant - 1996
Sybil Yastrow - 1994
Jim Henkelman - 1992
Susan Ellis - 1990
Sue Schiff - 1989
Sarah Caldwell - 1988
Shirley Havens - 1987
Fred Wood - 1986
Jim Metzdorf - 1986
Steve Wlodarczyk - 1985
Lynne Chidley - 1985
Pat Zigarmi - 1984
Betty Dillon-Peterson - 1984
Shirley Hord Learning Team Award
Third-grade team at Clinton Elementary School - 2011
Rocklin Academy - 2010
We no longer present awards in the following categories.
Staff Development Book of the Year
Parry Graham and William M. Ferriter - 2010 (Building a Professional Learning Community at Work: A Guide to the First Year)
Michael Fullan and Andy Hargreaves (Editors) - 2009 (Change Wars)
Nancy Fichtman Dana and Diane Yendol-Hoppey - 2008 (The Reflective Educator's Guide to Professional Development: Coaching Inquiry-Oriented Learning Communities)
Karla Reiss - 2007 (Leadership Coaching for Educators: Bringing Out the Best in School Administrators)
Marilyn Tallerico - 2006 (Supporting and Sustaining Teachers' Professional Development: A Principal's Guide)
Glenn E. Singleton and Curtis Linton - 2006 (Courageous Conversations About Race )
Alan M. Blankstein - 2005 (Failure Is Not an Option)
