A Focus on “Learning” Rather than “Teaching”

What is it....“…A Professional Learning Community is a

collaboration of teachers, administrators, parents and students, who work together to seek out best practices, test them in the classroom, continuously improve processes, and focus on results.”

Rick DuFour, 2002

The “Big Four”Questions that guide instructional decision making.

1. What should students know and be able to do as a result of this course, class or grade level?

2. How will we know that the students are not learning?

3. How do we respond when students do not learn?

4. How do we respond when students learn more?

Characteristics of a PLC1. Shared Mission, Vision, Goals2. Collaborative Culture3. Collective Inquiry4. Action Orientation/Experimentation5. Commitment to Continuous

Improvement6. Results Orientation

Shared Mission, Values and Goals

Mission of Pender County SchoolsThrough a 21st century infrastructure , Pender County

Schools willaggressively pursue fiscally responsible and measureable

methods of providing innovative and creative learning opportunities that motivate students to succeed in a

globally competitive world.

Motto:

Pender County Schools…..the future in progress

Collaborative Culture

There’s no “I” in Team!

Collective InquiryPeople in a learning community relentlessly question the status quo, seek new methods of teaching and learning, test the methods, and then reflect on the results.

? They reflect publicly on their beliefs and challenge each other’s beliefs.? They share insights and hammer out common meanings.? They work jointly to plan and test actions and initiatives.? They coordinate their actions, so that the work of each individual contributes to the common effort.

Action

Orientation/Experimentation

Members of PLC’s constantly turn their learning and insights into action. They recognize the importance of engagement and experience in learning and testing new ideas.

Commitment to Continuous Improvement

•What is our purpose?•What do we hope to achieve?•What are our strategies for improving?•How will we assess our efforts?

Results Orientation

Assessment and re-evaluation are the keys to continued

improvement.

Ready…Set…GrowThe steps needed to create effective

PLC’s in your school community…

Step 1: The Seed Determine School and Staff

ReadinessStep 2: The RootUse Experts/Facilitators

Step 3: The StemIdentify Barriers and Boosters

Step 4: The LeafBegin with the Learning

Step 5: The FlowerCreate a Theory of Change

Group ActivityBreak into groups of 4 or 5. Each group will

be given one of the steps and part of a plant. Discuss how your step would look

in a data meeting. Write down your thoughts on the plant part and be ready to

share with the group.

The Steps…againStep 1: Determine School and Staff Readiness

Step 2: Use Experts/FacilitatorsStep 3: Identify Barriers/BoostersStep 4: Begin with the LearningStep 5: Create a Theory of Change

Summing it up…PLC’s can “look” lots of ways , but must include the

following beliefs and behaviors of the participants:

Caring deeply about learning.Feeling free to take risks.Challenging each other and raising the expectations

of everyone.Respecting and valuing perspectives other than their

own and seeking every member’s input.Intentional in seeking to do the work better.Aggressive in continually building capacity of each

member to work smarter.

Professional Learning Communities: A Fable