florin high school professional learning communities rationale flexibility effectiveness...
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A focus on the essential teaching and learning questions What are we supposed to teach? How do we prioritize, sequence and deliver our instruction? How do we know they’re learning? What do we do when they’re not learning?TRANSCRIPT
Florin High SchoolProfessional Learning Communities
RationaleFlexibility
EffectivenessSustainability
FHS Core Values“Inspiring and Educating
Our Diverse Community to Achieve Excellence”
• PROFESSIONALISM– Florin High School Staff Values:
• Professional behaviors and qualities we instill in our students.• Autonomy and innovation while encouraging and supporting collaboration.
• STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT– Florin High School Staff Values:
• High expectations for academic achievement and personal growth.• Meeting individual student needs and offering varied paths for student success.
• FLORIN HIGH COMMUNITY– Florin High School Staff Values:
• Parents, community members and local businesses as partners in the education of their children.
• A safe and inviting campus. • INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICE
– Florin High School Staff Values:• Critical thinking and problem solving as the focus of instruction.• The use of engaging instructional practices.
A focus on the essential teaching and learning questions
• What are we supposed to teach?• How do we prioritize, sequence and deliver our
instruction?• How do we know they’re learning?• What do we do when they’re not learning?
Key Characteristics of Professional Learning Communities
– A focus on student learning – A collaborative culture– Collective inquiry into research-based best
practice – Action orientation – professional learning by
doing– All members mutually accountable for targeted
results
Why Professional Learning Communities?
• Abundant research indicates they work• Collective intelligence is more powerful than
any individual • Do we believe in this?
– We have addressed this question and reached a strong affirmative consensus.
SUSTAINABILITY
• How can we work to create learning communities that support enduring change that results in:– Improved teaching and services to all students?– Improved student achievement for all students?
ENSURING FLEXIBILITY
• Having the freedom to pursue important tasks for a long period of time (staying the course)
• Being nimble enough to confront new challenges, to take on new members with alacrity
• Expanding focus when the need arises
ENSURING FLEXIBILITY
• How do we balance – – Depth and Breadth?– Stability and Change?– Diversity and Focus?– Networking and Integration?
• These are often times opposing forces.
PLC EFFECTIVENESS
• Not all PLCs are equally effective• We need to ensure there is clarity, precision,
rigor, discipline and clear purpose to the work of PLCs so that it successfully raises both staff and students higher levels of performance.
What are we supposed to teach?
How do we prioritize and order our instruction?
How do we know they’re learning?
What do we do when they’re not learning?
Training in district standards and expectations for learning
Strategies for enhancing awareness of the standards
Examining research-based practices
Developing essential questions
Grade-level and course specific collaboration
Curriculum planning and mapping
Examining of student work (protocols)
Determining exemplars of proficiency
Guiding the development of common formative and summative assessments, and rubrics
Pyramid of Interventions
Student study team process
Academic literacy
Data analysis of intervention programs
Site PLCs
Elements of a PLC
Site Support
Contibutions •A focus on
student learning•A collaborative culture•All members mutually accountable for targeted results•Collective Inquiry into research-based practices•Action orientation
•Departments•Grade-level or Course-pecific Teams•Academies•Action teams•Professional Development PLCs
LeadershipProfessional development Courageous conversationsMeeting facilitationProject managementAction researchData analysisTeam building inc norms and agreements