Teaching is about teaching, but it is also about learning. In other words, teachers know that teaching does not happen until others learn.

As professionals, however, teachers also understand that sustained professional practice rests on their own professional learning. It is the hallmark of the teaching profession that its members continue to learn so that they can continue to teach.

The good news is that teachers are engaging in quality learning already, and have been for some time. We know this because we asked them about their experience of professional learning as the first step in drafting a national framework for teachers’ learning.

Teachers told us they are engaging in professional learning in a wide variety of ways. They attend subject association meetings. They attend conferences throughout the year. They share their learning with each other and the public at the Féilte festival of education.

They organise their own “teachmeets” around the country. They take part in a public, online discussion every Monday evening using the hashtag #edchatie. The topics for these discussions are chosen by teachers and they have covered a wide variety of educational issues.

Teachers mentor their newly qualified colleagues. Mentors tell us that they learn as much from the mentoring process as new teachers do.

Sharing insights

We also know that teachers carry out research to inform their practice, and are pursuing postgraduate study at master and doctoral level. They meet regularly to share the insights of their own research and that of other researchers.

One example is the research engagement group hosted by the Teaching Council. Teachers from all over the country, including Cork, Donegal and Galway, have come to our offices to discuss the connections between research and practice.

They wrote our first research ezine, which gave teachers short summaries of research in areas such as inclusion, leadership and curricular reform. It was one of our most popular, reflecting the fact that, in ever-increasing numbers, teachers are engaging with the free access to education research that the council has made available to them.

So, what can we learn from all of this activity about teachers’ learning?

We learn that it is happening now – all over the country and online. We learn that teachers are embracing the responsibility of leading their own learning. We know they are as keen as anybody else to ensure that their learning benefits their students’ learning. We know that teachers’ learning is innovative, dynamic and creative.

Above all else, we learn that once they are given the space, time and support to lead learning, for themselves and their students, they bring learning alive for everyone.

Cosán, the new national framework for teachers’ learning, provides a clear context for new conversations about teaching and learning at local, regional and national levels. It also seeks to inform understanding of the complexity and richness of good teaching and learning.

Cosán is the Irish word for “pathway”. In choosing this title, the Teaching Council is seeking to reassure the profession and the public that teachers’ learning is an ongoing process and that teachers continue to learn throughout their careers.

Every day, every year, they meet students and pupils with ever-evolving learning needs. They know they need to continue to learn as professionals so that they can empower students to be the best learners they can.

Like the public and wider society, teachers want to know that their professional learning will have an impact where it matters most: on their students’ learning. They also want the space and time to exercise their professional judgment, in partnership with others, to choose the most relevant learning opportunities that will meet this goal.

In selecting learning areas in Cosán for teachers to focus on, the council is seeking to create a flexible, quality framework for teachers to exercise that professional choice in a way that leads learning for everybody. Teachers want as much reassurance as parents and the wider community that the learning opportunities they pursue are relevant to them as leaders of learning.

Teachers’ learning, as outlined in Cosán, is all about a rigorous pursuit of improvement, focused on the needs of all learners: students and teachers.

The national framework is sufficiently robust to reassure us all that the learning will be high-quality and relevant. It is flexible in order to empower teachers and students to adapt their learning to the myriad challenges of the unknowable future. Rooted in this framework, let’s start a new conversation about teaching and learning that will help us create that future together.

• Tomás Ó Ruairc is director of the Teaching Council