The ABC's of PLC's
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Transcript of The ABC's of PLC's
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