A case for plc's
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Transcript of A case for plc's
A Case for PLC’sWhy change is sometimes good!
What is a PLC?A PLC is a Professional Learning Community.
In simple terms it means the entire school building is working together to make sure all students are working to their fullest potential.
It requires a lot of team work and the ability to be transparent in all you do.
How does it work?Develop Teams
Define Norms and Expectations
Align teaching to Oregon State Standards
Develop Common Assessments
Track Data
Review and Revise
Who has time for that?
Early Release/Late StartMy school went to an early release schedule
14 times a year, the kids get released 2 hours early
During the two hours we meet as teams to design assessments, review data and plan for upcoming units.
Is that really enough time? No it isn’t.
We also meet once per month in kid focused meetings to look at individual students.
What do you really think?Pros
Aligns teaching with standards.
Kids in different classrooms get same materials.
Team work allows for shared ideas and feedback
Common assessment help determine student learning.
Cons
More meetings than ever.
Never enough time to get it all in.
Not everyone is on board yet.
Takes a shift in mindset from “my” kids to “our” kids.
What resources exist?Great conferences and professional
development.
Technology, technology, technology. We use it in our team all the time. Team Blogs, Google Docs, Wikis.
Books, podcasts and You Tube videos.
What about the kids? Struggling students are
now identified quickly
Students know what learning targets are for each unit.
Frequent data analysis allows for students to move between enrichment when doing well to interventions when struggling.
Students identify classrooms as doing “the same thing”. Less teacher competition.
Final Thoughts…….A PLC offers more of a team approach to each
student.
There is no longer a “close your door and teach” approach in my building. I love that.
We always talk about students needing to become problem solvers and being able to work effectively in teams. This model is one in which we ourselves practice what we preach.