Powerful Professional Learning Communities

NZPF Conference 3 July 2008

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WHAT IS A PLC?WHAT IS A PLC?

When members of your school collaborate in an intentional and consistent manner to support student learning.

Adapted from Joan Dalton and David Anderson www.plotpd.com

Working together,

sharing ideas and being

supported to update

knowledge and skills

To raise student achievement

through evidence based learning conversations

occurs in the context of your school environment

LearningA Professional Community

•decreased teacher isolation•increased commitment to mission•shared responsibility•more powerful learning•higher likelihood of fundamental system change

Why bother?

DuFour, DuFour & Eaker (2002)

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COLLABORATIVE CULTURE

Working together, sharing ideas and being supported

to update knowledge and

skills

Diversity

Systems

SUPPORT

Yeah RIGHT!

Develop the key competencies in your adults

Staff feedback - induction, satisfaction, and exit

This is an easy way to initiate a PLC

What are we currently doing in our school?

What connections have you made?

FOCUS ON RESULTS

CHALLENGE

To raise student achievement

through evidence based

learning conversations

Building capacity

Professional Inquiry

Implementing a PLC - beyond support

Q1 I’ll decideC

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Extent of leader’s control over colleagues’ decisions and actions

Q2 We’ll discuss

I’ll decide

Q3 We’ll discuss

We’ll decide

Q4 You decide

Wilf Jarvis - Four Quadrant Leadership

School Talk

Non-learning Talk Learning TalkTeacher practice, student learning and so what?

Non-teaching TalkEg organisation, resourcing

Teacher Practices TalkDescribes practice without attached analysis or learning

Professional InquiryAdapted from Annan, Lai & Robinson 2003

With recognition to Roween Higgie,

Principal of Remuera School

Human systems move in the

direction of what they most

frequently and persistently ask

questions about.

What you study

GROWS

Yeah RIGHT!

Firebox - Auger - Tuyere

What are the things you persistently ask questions about in your school?

Are these the most important things?

What one area do you want to work on next in order to bring about the next step of your challenge?

If you’re not moving forward you’re going backward.

RELATIONSHIPS

CULTURE BUILDING

Sustaining the change

Sustaining a PLC - beyond support and challenge

Shared norms values and beliefs about learning

WiderInvolvement

"Don't let this be a onetime thing.”

"It would be good if teachers have this conversation with us on the first day. But often, they don't change anything."

Reflecting on our meeting time…

Which aspects of our team charter are we using well?

What’s not working so well, that we need to focus on more?

What resources/informaton do we need to help us?

Increased Trust =

Increased speed + Decreased cost

Increased focus on learningAdapted from The Speed of Trust by Stephen Covey

DWWSWWD

Decreased Trust results in…

decreased speed + increased cost

Decreased focus on learning

When the safety and well being of students is compromised

challenge comes before support.

Adapted from The Speed of Trust by Stephen Covey

Yeah

RIGHT!

Embed feedback systems for students, staff and parents into your ‘way of doing things’ - never assume!

Find safe ways of getting feedback about yourself and take action

You can’t do it alone.

It’s messy.

It’s moral.

It’s everyone’s responsibility!

Trust….credibility…

….Shared norms….

…whose voices….

What would your staff say about the relationships you have?

FOCUS ON LEARNING

What do we want each child to learn?

WHY?How will we know when each child has learnt it?

How will we respond when students experience difficulties in learning?

DuFour et al, 2004

http://twentyfivedays.wordpress.com/

Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach http://www.21stcenturycollaborative.com/

INTO THEIR FUTURE…

Role of other voices - all staff, students and parents

Google -Docs, Groups, Alerts www.google.com/

Blogs http://www.blogger.com/

Wikis www.wetpaint.com

FaceBook www.facebook.com Skype www.Skype.com

Online Surveys www.freeonlinesurveys.com www.surveymonkey.com

http://thinkbeyondltd.blogspot.com/

Knowledge Cafes www.gurteen.com/

http://communityengagement.wetpaint.com/

A Professional

Working together:

-within your schools

-between schools

--with external agencies

LearningCommunity

Focus on teachers,

students and the interaction

between them - get into the

learning environment

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Relationships

www.thinkbeyond.co.nz

What’s the smallest change that could make

the biggest impact?

1. Identify where you are at now - what you can change or influence.

2. Once you know this aim to close the gap between what you know and what you do.

3. Build shared knowledge and understanding to gain commitment.

4. Eliminate practices that don’t align.

5. Make small, powerful changes that translate the vision into action…

6. “It’s what you do that matters, not what you call it.”

How do we get started?

Eaker, DuFour & DuFour (2004)

Reference ListBoyd, S. (2005). Teachers as lifelong learners. A paper presented at NZARE, Dunedin, 2005. NZCER:New Zealand. Downloaded from http://www.nzcer.org.nz/pdfs/14717.pdf

Eaker, DuFour and DuFour, 2002). Getting Started: Reculturing Schools to Become Professional Learning Communities. Bloomington, Indiana: National Education Service.

DuFour, R., DuFour, R., Eaker, R. & Many, T. (). Learning by doing: A handbook for professional learning communities at work. Bloomington: Solution Tree.

Robinson, V. & Lai, M.K. (2006). Practitioner research for educators: A guide to improving classrooms and schools. Australia: Hawker Brownlow.

National College of School Leadership and Louise Stoll - pdfs can be downloaded from http://www.ncsl.org.uk/networked/networked-o-z.cfm

Timperley, H., & Parr, J. (2004). Using evidence in teaching practice: Implications for professionallearning. Auckland: Hodder Moa Beckett.

Timpereley, H., Wilson, A., Barrar, H., & Fung, I. (2207). Teacher professional learning and development: Best evidence synthesis iteration (BES). Wellington: Ministry of Education. Can be downloaded from http://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/publications/series/2515/15341

McKinsey Report (2007).How the world’s best performing school systems come out on top.Can be downloaded from www.mckinsey.com/clientservice/socialsector/resources/pdf/Worlds_School_Systems_Final.pdf

Other researchers/writers to explore include - Lorna Earl. Andy Hargreaves, Karen Seashore Loiuse, Bill Mulford and Jan Robertson.

It’s not just about what students are taught…

it’s about ensuring that they learn

- no matter who their teacher is.

Learning uncomfortable enough to keep you on your toes

Learning comfortable enough to engage with it - Wenger

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