Professional Learning Communities Establishing “Protocol”

No More in Hertford County!

What is the purpose of Professional Learning Communities? Respond by writing yes or no on your whiteboards Coordinate and improve classroom teaching strategies Focus on classroom management Share team logs Observe colleagues using relevant teaching strategies

What is the Purpose of PLCs? Examine student work Discuss administrative and “front burner” issues Analyze student thinking Reach a consensus regarding specific interventions for not-yet students

Definition A professional learning community (PLC) is an extended learning opportunity to foster collaborative learning among colleagues within a particular work environment or field. It is often used in schools as a way to organize teachers into working groups.

Characteristics Shared mission, vision, values, goals Collaborative teams Collective inquiry into “best practices” and our “current reality” Action orientation and experimentation Commitment to continuous improvement Result orientation -Dufour

Hertford County’s Initial PLC Goals To create content and or grade level professional learning communities in each school, which produces positive results for student learning To develop capacity among administrators, teachers and instructional assistants

Communication is Key!

Framework for Function Collaboration Consensus Safety Respect

Collaboration You are there to work with other people with different roles, points of view, and work ethics. Collaboration requires you to focus on how to work effectively with others.

Consensus The group must come to agreement that any decisions everyone CAN LIVE WITH! This does not mean everyone agrees with the decision; it means everyone can agree to move forward and SUPPORT the decision. No decision can be made until consensus is reached.

Safety Planning must be a place where truth can be told with the understanding that what happens in the room, stays in the room unless the group has decided to share with others

Respect Planning must be based on mutual respect for all the participants in the room. Respect for differences and styles must be honored.

Meeting Protocol Identify the objective (1 minute) According to the data, what worked so far and what teaching strategies have you tried (5 minutes) Chief Challenges (5 minutes) Brainstorm proposed solutions (10 minutes) Reflection: feasibility of each idea (5 minutes) Consensus around best actions (15 minutes) Put into calendar: when will tasks happen?

Roles Facilitator- drives adherence to protocol for smooth discussions Timekeeper- holds team accountable to allotted time Recorder- creates a written record of discussion and decisions made

Team Norms Norms- agreed upon expectations developed by the team that guides the work process Use docu-camera to show examples

Create Team Norms Using the Framework for Function, and Meeting Protocol, create Norms for your teams.

Next Steps Explore these questions. Do we have a mission, vision, values and goals that are school-wide regarding assessment for learning? What is the reality of where my teachers are in developing an authentic professional learning community process?

Clear or Clueless?