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On-site professional learning communities :. One center’s experience with site-directed learning. Our setting. Winnemucca Adult Learning Center. Small, rural site, 113 students Seven part-time staff members 200-plus miles for professional development Limited time for improvements.
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On-site professional learning communities: One center’s experience with site-directed learning
Winnemucca Adult Learning Center • Small, rural site, 113 students • Seven part-time staff members • 200-plus miles for professional development • Limited time for improvements
Where we are Winnemucca, Nevada
Our problem: How can we: • Make professional development relevant to OUR needs? • Find time for improvements? • Do this without burdening staff?
Our answer: learning communities Combine study with action… • Focus on our specific needs • Spend extended time on topic • Collaborative • Credits earned decided by each instructor
Our format • Meet monthly • Examine research • Share lesson plans • Support each other • Develop improvements
Our topics…first semester Nevada Content Standards… How can we: • Become familiar with standards? • Use our new textbooks? • Include standards in lesson plans?
What we did: • Studied the standards • Created monthly lesson plans • Shared experiences with peers • Made it a habit • Built in social time
Our topics…current semester Student goal-setting, achievement: • Integrate goal work into classroom • Encourage student ownership of goal process
What we’re doing now… • Reading what research says • Assessing our current program • Creating monthly questions • Creating lesson plans to try-- then share
Conclusion Learning communities are: • Site specific • Flexible • Staff-friendly • Practical
Site specific • Focus on Winnemucca • Use materials we already have • Solutions work with OUR students
Flexible • Respond quickly to changes. • Snowstorm stopped technology LC • Goal-setting quickly took its place!
Staff-friendly • Puts teachers in the driver’s seat • Topics generated by instructors • Builds in time for study, reflection • Gives “excuse” to get together
Challenging • Deeper learning over period of time • Instructors as collaborators • Active process “feels” like more work • Actually, time spent is same