PLCs Professional Learning Communities Staff PD

Professional Learning Committees The purpose of our PLCs includes but is not limited to: teacher collaborationNOT- venting sessions targeted instruction school business data analysis building wide student interventions SMART goals frequent common assessments lesson planning continuous school improvement and many other things……BUT…… ALWAYS CENTERED AROUND INSTRUCTION

 1. What do we want students to learn?  2. How will we know if they have learned?  3. What will we do if they don’t learn?  4. What will we do if they already know it?

In PLCs norms represent protocols and commitments developed by each team to guide members in working together. Norms help team members clarify expectations regarding how they will work together to achieve their shared goals.

 Strategic and Specific  Measurable  Attainable  Results-Oriented  Time Bound  Create 1-3 Goals for the school year.

 This will be the template you will utilize as you develop your site improvement plan. The goal is to keep it simple, but useful…not something created to sit on a shelf. Instead, a document to refer to often, and to help you maintain and sustain your focus.

Each content area PLC serves as a specific site improvement team as related to what is being taught and the level of student achievement. In establishing SMART Goals the team performs the following tasks:  Collects data from multiple sources  Disaggregates data in multiple categories  Analyzes data to identify problems and needs to be addressed in improvement plan The team evaluates the needs assessment process:  Were all stakeholders part of the process?  Was needs assessment information current?  Were needs assessment items directly related to the desired conditions?  Were all populations equitably represented?  Has the needs assessment process been documented?  Aligning your mission to that of Central Middle School vision and mission is also critical.

Example:  SMART Goal = Vocabulary  During the school year, non-proficient students (as indicated by the OCCT/EOI vocabulary subtest) at Flight Academy School will improve their vocabulary skills by 5% as measured by an increase in the percentage of students scoring in the “advanced” and “proficient” levels on the OCCT/EOI vocabulary assessment. Let’s examine…this sample of a Smart Goal for Vocabulary. At your table determine if this goal is SMART why or why not. Could it be better? How?

Example:  SMART Goal = Math computation  During the school year, proficient 8th grade students in the f/r subgroup group (as indicated by the OCCT math computation) at Flight Academy School will increase by 10% as measured by the OCCT math computation subtest. Let’s examine…this sample of a Smart Goal for Vocabulary. At your table determine if this goal is SMART why or why not. Could it be better? How?

ACTIVITY With your PLC partner(s), develop a SMART Goal for increased academic achievement in your content area. Be prepared to share your goal with the group at large

How do you know if your team is progressing to meet your SMART Goal(s)?  We have identified team Norms and protocols to guide us in working together.  We have analyzed student achievement data.  We have aligned essential learning with the state standards.  We have agreed on how to best sequence the content of the course and have established pacing guides to help students achieve essential learning.  What have identified the prerequisite knowledge and skills students need in order to master the essential learning of each unit of instruction.  We have identified strategies and created instruments to assess whether students have the prerequisite knowledge or skills.  We have developed strategies and systems to assist students in acquiring prerequisite knowledge and skills when they are lacking in those areas.  We have developed FREQUENT COMMON FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS that help us determined each student’s mastery of essential learning.  We use the results of our common assessments to assist each other in building on strengths and addressing weaknesses as a part of an ongoing process of continuous improvement designed to help students achieve at higher levels.

 We use the results of our common assessments to identify students who need additional time and support to master essential learning, and we work within the systems and processes of the school to ensure they receive that support.  We have agreed on the criteria we will use in judging the quality of student work related to the essential learning of our course, and we continually practice applying those criteria to ensure we are consistent.  We have taught students the criteria we will use in judging the quality of their work and provided them with examples.  We have developed or utilized common summative assessments that help us assess the strengths and weaknesses of the program.  We have established the proficiency standard we want each student to achieve on each skill and concept examined with our summative assessments.  We formally evaluate our adherence to team norms and the effectiveness of our team at least twice a year.

100% of PLC discussion is on INSTRUCTION!!

Collaborative teams of teachers regard ongoing analysis of evidence of student learning as a critical element in the teaching and learning process. Teachers are provided with frequent and timely information regarding the achievement of their students. They use that information to:  Respond to students who are experiencing difficulty.  Enrich and extend the learning of students who are proficient.  Inform and improve the individual and collective practice of members  Identify team professional development needs  Measure progress toward team goals