PLCs

PROFESSIONALLEARNING

COMMUNITIES

What are they and why do we need them?

What are PLCs? Professional learning communities are

teams of educators systematically working together to improve teaching practice and student learning.

Characteristics include:supportive and shared leadership shared values and vision collective responsibility for pupils learning the promotion of personal reflection and team collaboration supportive physical and personal conditions

Linda StarrEducation World®

Copyright © 2006 Education World

What are PLCs?

According to Richard and Rebecca DuFour in the book On Common Ground, “the PLC concept is specifically designed to develop the collective capacity of a staff to work together to achieve the fundamental purpose of the school: high levels of learning for all students.”

Why do we need them?

The general consensus in most schools concerning teachers has been the more knowledgeable the teacher, the more successful the classroom and the school.

Teachers working in isolation; however, do not necessarily equate to more success for student learning.

Why do we need them?

In order to build a “collective capacity,” teachers need to work together.

Sharing our ideas and concerns will result in improved practices and increased learning for both students and teachers.

What do they look like?

Indicators of a Professional Learning Community □ Demonstrates a shared vision of goals and expected results □ Achieves repeated short-term gains over extended periods

of time and reports these to students and parents □ Uses trial and error to discover more effective ways to

differentiate instruction and improve learning

□ Engages members in ongoing dialogue about their work □ Requires all members to design teaching materials,

align assessments, and select resources together □ Establishes daily times for professionals to come together to plan, restructure,

refine and improve lessons

Copyright©2007 by Timothy Berkey

What do they look like?

Indicators of a Professional Learning Community

□ Promotes incremental improvements in teaching and learning driven by a sense of urgency

□ Enables professionals to learn from each other whileperforming their jobs

□ Creates communities of professionals who research and learn together in order to better serve their students

□ Engages professionals in working, reflecting and exchanging together. □ Builds strong relationships between the home and school □ Expects results that are confirmed by internal and external audits

Copyright©2007 by Timothy Berkey

How do we get started?

Within the core subject areas at Kenedy High School, there are three teachers for each subject; English, Math, Science and History.

While each subject area should incorporate its own PLC, I also feel it would be beneficial to consider meeting with all of the groups at least once each grading period.


To begin the process, we will need to meet and discuss goals and visions.

These goals and visions should be driven by:

data assessmentsneeds assessmentsoverall campus/district goals


By using the chart on the next slide, we will work together as a team to discuss our common vision and goals.

Instruction _____________ _____________

_____________

Curriculum Assessment

______________ ____________________________ ____________________________ ______________


Each department will be given a common planning period.

Departments will meet at least once a week during this planning period to assess progress and make adjustments as necessary.


Teachers will be encouraged to “team teach” at least one class period (or more) each grading period to gain feedback on best teaching practices. (Substitutes will be made available in order for this to happen!)

How do we know if it’s working?

Clarifying essential outcomes Continually monitoring progress Common formative assessments Consensus on the criteria used to judge

student work Working together to analyze the data and

working on improvements needed

Kenedy High School as a PLC

In order to improve our school, we must first acknowledge we cannot work individually – we must work as a team.

Second, we must agree that data-driven change is both necessary and essential for improvement in the classroom.

Finally, we must believe in the concept of a professional learning community and strive to make this type of learning environment a reality in our school.