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?