Professional Learning Communities Whatever it Takes!
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Transcript of Professional Learning Communities Whatever it Takes!
Professional Learning CommunitiesWhatever it Takes!
The most promising strategy for sustained, substantive school improvement is developing the ability of school personnel to function as
professional learning communities.
-Richard DuFour
Essential Questions
• What is a PLC?• What are the components of a PLC?• How does a PLC address the needs of
struggling learners?• Where do we begin?
A PLC is…
• Composed of collaborative teams whose members work interdependently to achieve common goals linked to learning for all
• “The way we do things”
• “Another program”• Just a series of meetings
A PLC is NOT…
Why?
• A single, shared, fundamental purpose:– Ensuring high levels of learning for ALL STUDENTS
Why School Reform Efforts Fail
– Complex task– Misplaced focus– Lack of clarity on intended results– Lack of perseverance– Failure to appreciate and attend to the change
process
Essential Components of a PLC
1. Shared mission, vision, and values2. Collective inquiry3. Collaborative teams4. Action orientation and experimentation5. Continuous improvement6. Results orientation
Shared mission, vision, & values
• Why do we exist as an organization?• What do we want to become?
Envision our school 5 years from now. In what significant ways would you like it to be different than it is today?
Collective Inquiry
• Continuous search for best practices• Inquire about current realities and student
achievement• Question the status quo, seek new methods,
test the methods, and reflect on results• Curious and open to possibilities
Collaborative Teams• Not effective by “invitation”• Embedded into daily life• Teams = effective structure• Time to meet needs to be built into the schedule• Purpose must be made explicit• Structures to facilitate collaboration needed• Training for staff• Accept responsibilities for working together as
true colleagues to LEARN
CoBLABoration• Don’t ask: Are we collaborating?• Ask: What are we collaborating about?– What is it we want our students to learn?– How will we know if each student has learned it?– How will we respond when some students do not
learn it?– How can we extend and enrich the learning for
students who have demonstrated proficiency?
Action Orientation
• Aspirations -> Action• Visions -> Reality• Teachers collaborate to serve as a catalyst for
action• Until we “do differently” there is no reason to
expect improved results
New actions
New experiences
New awareness
Shifts in attitudes and beliefs, which, in time, transform the culture of a school
Continued Improvement
• Constantly search to do things more efficiently and effectively
• Seek to create conditions for perpetual learning
• Not a “fad diet!” – a commitment!
Results Orientation
• Assess our efforts on the basis of results rather than intentions
• Subject initiatives to ongoing assessments• Use of data/technology• Data drives action research and the
continuous improvement process
Why?We all share the same needs:•To feel successful in our work•To feel a sense of belonging•To live a life of significance by making a difference
A PLC can help address these needs in all of us: staff, teachers, community.
Critical First Steps• Curriculum updates• Develop common assessments• Strengthen assessment practices• Increase communication among staff• Build collaboration time into schedules• Build shared knowledge of the current reality– What does the data say?– What do we currently do for struggling learners?
PLCs Seek to Answer…• What do we want students to learn?• How will we know when they’ve learned it?• How will we respond when they do not learn?
*
*The answer to the third question separates learning communities from traditional
schools.
Agree or disagree?
Individual teachers working in isolation as they attempt to help all of their students achieve at high levels will eventually be overwhelmed by the tension between covering the content and
responding to the diverse needs of their students in a fixed amount of time with virtually
no external support.
Helping Struggling Learners
• HOW– Interventions provided
in a timely manner– Direct students to
participate– Students are guaranteed
to receive the support no matter who their teacher is
• WHY– Learning must be the
constant– Regard time as a tool, not
a limitation– Ask: Was it learned?
Don’t ask: Did I teach it?– Formative assessments
are pointless if we do not intervene when we discover some students aren’t learning
So what do we do about it?
• Provide a collective response in a timely, directive, and systematic way
• Create schedules that support interventions for all struggling learners
• Assess the appropriateness of daily schedules• Provide appropriate accommodations for ALL
learners• Shift the focus to learning, not teaching
Expectations for All
– Plan differentiated, small group reading instruction for ALL students, to be delivered in the regular classroom
– Non-benchmark students receive daily small group instruction in the classroom
– Plan activities for students not meeting in small groups – extending or supporting essential content
Up Next – 9:00-9:30• Grade Level Teams– Share your small group reading schedule, including time
and frequency in which you meet with each group– What are your other students doing while you meet
with small groups?– How are you including LS students (if any) into both core
instruction and small group instruction?– What instructional activities do students complete when
intervention group is not meeting? Specialists: “Adopt” an anchor work
9:30-10:00
• Cross-grade Level Groups– Share the same ideas as you discussed in your
grade level teams.– How can your colleagues in other grade levels help
you in planning for small group reading instruction?
Cross-Grade Level Groups
• GROUP 1- Audra, Kelli, Mandy, Steffany, Cristen, Laurette, and Amber (Conf. Room LH Side)
• Group 2 – Julie, Bonnie, Margaret, Donna, Heather, Karen (Conf. Room RH Side)
• Group 3 – Jena, Sharon, Kelly, Bev, Ryan, Tracy, Wendy (Library)
10:00 Session Groups
• With Liz: Jena, Bonnie, Mandy, Margaret, Ryan, Laurette, Amber, Lei (Conf. Room LH Side)
• With Greg: Kelly, Kelli, Steffany, Donna, Tracy, Karen, Sue (Conf. Room RH Side)
• With Mrs. Hilt: Audra, Sharon, Julie, Bev, Cristen, Heather, Wendy (Library)