‘Book Study’ Helps Teachers Hone Skills

On media-center couches and at conference-room tables, downing Cokes and sipping coffee together, teachers around the country are cracking open books to get better at what they do—and, often, relishing the experience.

The pairing of books and teachers might seem natural, but it has taken the convergence of at least two trends to move “book study” far up the list of the way teachers spend their professional-development time.

For one, many observers, not least teachers themselves, are convinced that teachers are obligated to upgrade their classroom skills. For another, the most effective way to do that, according to a growing chorus of educators and experts, is through work on practice located within schools, conducted among colleagues, and, above all, well integrated...