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Professional Learning Communities

Professional Learning Communities. Nancy Colflesh and Larry Thomas Educational Consultants. Purpose of Day.

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Professional Learning Communities

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  1. Professional Learning Communities Nancy Colflesh and Larry Thomas Educational Consultants

  2. Purpose of Day • This day long seminar is to broaden district-level leaders’ knowledge and skills as they develop the concept of Professional Learning Community with their leadership teams and support principals and teacher leaders as they build PLC’s in their school settings.

  3. Learning Outcomes • To understand what is meant by Peter Senge’s phrase “Learning Organizations” and Richard DuFour’s “Professional Learning Communities and how they support the concept of continuous learning and improvement in classrooms, schools and districts; • To learn the key components of a Professional Learning Community using the pillars of shared mission, vision, values and goals;

  4. Learning Outcomes • To identify ways that Curriculum Directors can model PLC concepts also support principals and teacher leaders as they develop PLC’s in their schools; • To develop and/or strengthen knowledge and skill for planning, facilitating effective meetings, work sessions, study groups and other on-going professional development experiences;

  5. Learning Procedures • Lecture Bursts • Large Group Discussions • Videotaped Presentations • Table Talk • Modeling and Examples • JIGSAW

  6. KWL • What do you know about PLC’s? • What do you want to know? • What learning has taken place?

  7. Characteristics of PLC’s • Shared mission, vision, values, goals • Collaborative teams • Collective inquiry into “best practices” and our “current reality” • Action orientation and experimentation • Commitment to continuous improvement • Result orientation - DuFour

  8. Becoming a Professional Learning Community* Four Pillars

  9. Becoming a Professional Learning Community* 3 Big Ideas • Ensure all students learn • Collaboration • Focus on results

  10. Becoming a Professional Learning Community* Four Critical Questions • What do we want students to learn? • How will we know if they have learned it? • What will we do if they don’t? • What if they walk in the room knowing it? DuFour

  11. Becoming a Professional Learning Community* Goals • Smart Goals S Specific, Strategic M Measurable A Attainable R Results Driven T Time Bound Write a goal using these criteria

  12. Becoming a Professional Learning Community* Advantages of Collaborative Teams • Gains in student achievement • Higher quality solutions to problems • Increased confidence among all staff • Teachers able to support one another’s strengths and accommodate weakness • Ability to test new ideas • More support for new teachers • Expanded pool of ideas, materials and methods Judith Warren Little

  13. Becoming a Professional Learning Community* Team Norms • Establishing agreed upon norms • Committing to them • Aim for the target • Monitoring the team • Focus on results

  14. Becoming a Professional Learning Community* Collective Inquiry Focus Questions • What do we plan for? • What questions do we ask? About students, learning, adults, public education? • What/how do we confront? • What do we model? Are there models to learn from? • What do we monitor? • How do we allocate resources: time, money and people? • What do we celebrate? • For what results?

  15. Becoming a Professional Learning Community* Action orientation and experimentation • How aligned are actions to the vision and data? • Is the school providing a coherent system for students? • Are our actions getting desired results from learners? • Do our actions enhance adults behaviors/beliefs toward desired results?

  16. Becoming a Professional Learning Community* Leadership • Loose – Tight Leadership • Effective leaders don’t simply encourage schools to go off and do whatever they want, but rather establish clear parameters and priorities that enable schools to work within established boundaries in a creative and autonomous way.

  17. Becoming a Professional Learning Community* Continuous Improvement • Think about your system, you have two choices • It’s improving • It’s not improving • Why do you think what you think? • What evidence do you have to support your perception? • Who would agree with you? • Who would disagree? Elmore and McNulty

  18. Becoming a Professional Learning Community* Results Focused • The combination of three concepts constitutes the foundation from results: • Meaningful teamwork • Clear, measurable goals • Regular collection and analysis of performance data - Mike Schmoker,1996

  19. Becoming a Professional Learning Community* Central Offices Role • Support for the “reculturing” • Support for the “restructuring” • Resources • Time • Data • Professional development • Curriculum • Change agents

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