Professional Learning Communities at Work
Conference Attendees: Burkhead, Curry, Grimes, Kenney, Le, Miller,
Sallee, Shaw, Starr
The Way Things Are…
with Ms. Starr
What is a PLC?Please take a moment to share your
thoughts.
Professional Learning Community (PLC) Defined
Educators are committed to working collaboratively in ongoing processes of collective inquiry and action research in order to achieve better results for the students they serve.
PLC’s operate under the assumption that the key to improved learning for students is continuous, job-embedded learning for educators.
Du Four, Du Four, Eaker & Many (2006)
Characteristics of a Learning Community
Shared mission, vision, values, goalsCollaborative teams focused on learningCollective inquiry into best practice and current realityAction orientation and experimentationCommitment to continuous improvementResults orientation
Du Four, Du Four, Eaker & Many (2006)
“Healthy” School Culture
“Educators have an unwavering belief in the ability of all their students to achieve success, and they pass that belief on to others in overt and covert ways. Educators create policies and procedures and adopt practices that support their belief in the ability of every student.”
- Peterson (2002)
Critical Questions of Learning
What is it we expect them to learn?
How will we know when they have learned it?
How will we respond when they don’t learn?
How will we respond when they already know it?
Hand in Hand, We All Learn
“Ultimately there are two kinds of schools, learning enriched schools and learning-impoverished schools. I have yet to see a school where the learning curves…of the adults were steep upward and those of the students were not. Teachers and students go hand in hand as learners…or they don’t go at all.”- Roland Barth (2001), pg. 23
Learning By Doing
“Capacity Building…is not just workshops and professional development for all. It is the daily habit of working together, and you can’t learn this from a workshop or course. You need to learn it by doing and having mechanisms for getting better at it on purpose.”
- Micael Fullan (2005)
In Other Words…
“It’s not another program, it’s a change in a way of thinking.”
- Keightee Starr (Yesterday at 1:30 p.m.)
Stages of Implementation
When NOT to get discouraged
Closing the Implementation Gap“ You won’t close the implementation gap with
another set of three-ring binders or announcements about the latest initiative.”- Richard DuFour (2007)
“ Structural change that is not supported by cultural change will eventually be overwhelmed by culture, for it is in the culture that any organization finds meaning and stability.”- Schlechty (2001)
Dysfunctions of a Team
The inability to…
Establish trust
Engage in honest dialogue regarding disagreements
Make commitments to one another
Hold each other accountable
Focus on results
Du Four, Du Four, Eaker & Many (2006)
Where We’re Heading…
Towards vertical and horizontal collaboration
with Miss Le
Teachers As Leaders: Motivate and Inspire
“The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.”
We Need Educators Who Have
The will to act
The courage to act
Persistence to keep on acting
Capacity Building
“People who thrive here have a certain humility. They know they can get better; they want to learn from the best. We look for people who light up when they are around other talented people.”
- Taylor & LaBarre, 2002
Who is that for you?