For years, professional development in schools has enjoyed all the prestige of a fire drill. Mandatory, mildly disruptive, and often forgotten by lunchtime.
But as complexity in Australia’s classrooms grows in tandem with rising expectations on teachers, the old-fashioned ‘box-ticking’ approach is starting to look less like a formality and more like a liability.
Indeed, school leaders are waking up to a blunt reality: you can't build brilliant classrooms on burnt-out, disengaged staff.
At Methodist Ladies' College (MLC) in Perth, that rethink has produced a groundbreaking model now the best in Australia. Throughout the campus, teachers’ own growth sits at the very heart of the College's approach to supercharging student learning.
On 7 August, MLC’s approach was recognised on the national stage when it was awarded Best Professional Learning Program at the Australian Education Awards 2026.
The philosophy driving MLC's approach
Director of Learning and Teaching Excellence, Dr Penelope Russell said the College's philosophy rests on a straightforward premise – give teachers the same agency the school hopes to build in its students, and let that shape everything else.
“At MLC, we believe exceptional student outcomes are driven by empowered, expert teachers. Our philosophy is grounded in the idea that student agency is strengthened when teachers themselves experience agency in their professional growth,” Dr Russell told The Educator.
“Professional learning is not viewed as a standalone activity, but as a connected and purposeful process that aligns individual development with whole-College improvement priorities.”
Dr Russell said MLC’s approach, guided by research and evidence, focuses on making a meaningful difference to student learning and bringing the College’s Vision for Learning to life.
“We create opportunities for staff to collaborate, reflect, innovate and continuously refine their practice,” she said. “Ultimately, professional learning is a powerful lever for change, enabling educators to grow their expertise, strengthen student outcomes and create engaging, future-focused learning experiences for every student.”
Listening to what staff really need
Dr Russell says the past year has surfaced a clear pattern in what teachers want from their own development.
“The strongest demand from teachers has been for professional learning that helps them make a greater impact on student outcomes,” she said. “Teachers enter the profession to make a positive difference in the lives of young people, so they value development opportunities that are purposeful, relevant and directly connected to their practice.”
The College has also seen a growing desire for greater agency in professional learning, Dr Russell noted.
“Rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach, we have designed a flexible framework that allows teachers to engage with different areas of growth depending on their interests, career stage and professional goals,” she said.
“Central to this is the belief that professional trust should be a structural feature of learning design, not simply a cultural aspiration. By providing choice within a clear strategic framework, we support meaningful growth while maintaining focus on improved outcomes for students.”
Turning research into real practice
The gap between research and classroom reality is where most professional learning models fall short. Dr Russell said research is most powerful when teachers can test, refine and apply it in their own context.
“Through our CREATE Hubs, staff investigate evidence-based approaches and measure their impact on student learning, agency and achievement,” she said. “This has led to tangible improvements across the College.”
An example of this, said Dr Russell, is teachers who used the Melbourne Metrics competency packs and Ruby platform to strengthen the assessment of complex competencies, providing students with clearer learning intentions, greater transparency and more actionable feedback.
“Another Hub brought together teachers from Mathematics, Music, Humanities and Social Sciences and Science to align assessments with SCSA generalised skill descriptors, improving the consistency and precision of assessment practices,” she said.
“We have also seen strong results through initiatives such as the Year 8 cross-curriculum project, which increased student engagement and sustained participation late in the academic year. These outcomes demonstrate how professional learning translates directly into enhanced teaching practice and richer learning experiences for students.”
The important work that lies ahead
Winning the Best Professional Learning Program doesn’t mean MLC is resting on its laurels heading into 2027. Dr Russell said there's still much ground to cover, particularly in how teachers learn from one another day to day.
She said MLC’s CREATE Hubs are one element of the College’s broader Ad Alta professional learning framework, which is designed to bring MLC’s Vision for Learning to life.
“The framework empowers teachers to drive their own professional growth while ensuring learning remains evidence-informed and aligned with the College’s strategic priorities,” she said. “Looking ahead, we want to further strengthen mentoring and coaching relationships, creating more opportunities for teachers to learn with and from one another.”
Dr Russell said MLC is also focused on making professional growth conversations more meaningful and closely connected to classroom practice, so that every teacher feels supported, valued and connected within the College’s learning community.
“As the framework evolves, our goal is to provide increasingly personalised pathways for professional growth while maintaining a strong connection to our shared vision for learning,” she said.
“Ultimately, we want every teacher to feel empowered to grow their expertise, contribute to the learning community and maximise their impact on student outcomes.”