A Roadmap to Vistas, Historical Sites, and Hot Spots on Your Journey to Becoming a PLC Janel Keating and Robert Eaker

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Clarify What Is a Professional Learning Community? Build shared knowledge of PLC characteristics and its links to research on effective schooling practices. Build shared knowledge of the current reality in our district or school. Develop a guiding coalition.   Emphasize that building shared knowledge and developing a guiding coalition applies to all plc initiatives.

Clarify What Is a Professional Learning Community? Establish a common vocabulary.   Emphasize that building shared knowledge and developing a guiding coalition applies to all plc initiatives.

Why Establish a Professional Learning Community? Articulate a moral purpose. Commit to ensuring high levels of learning for all—students and adults alike.   Big point about “promises to white river parents”. Emphasize adult learning—also learning of support staff

Build the Foundation for a Professional Learning Community Mission: Develop a clear understanding of our core purpose. Vision: Describe the district or school we hope to become, plus what it would look like if we really meant it. The “process’ of building the foundation of plc is just as important as the product. The foundation must be used! Tell how.

Build the Foundation for a Professional Learning Community Collective commitments: Articulate attitudes, behaviors, and commitments to advance our vision. Goals: Identify first steps, short-term achievable goals, and long-term stretch goals.  

Align Policies, Practices, and Procedures With the Learning Mission Develop an action plan. Communicate priorities. Develop systematic procedures. Monitor. Model. Ask the right questions. Allocate resources to support the learning mission. Celebrate. Confront.   People figure out what is valued by how we communicate priorities. And we communicate priorities by the above list.

Build Collaborative Teams That Focus on Learning Embed collaboration into the routine practices of the district and school. Provide time for teams to collaborate. Maintain team focus on the critical questions of learning. Clarify products teams will be expected to generate. Perhaps one of the biggest issues in a plc is not are we organized into teams, but rather what do teams do! Emphasize collaborative analysis of student work

Build Collaborative Teams That Focus on Learning Establish norms of collaboration. Ensure members of teams work interdependently to achieve common SMART goals, for which they are mutually accountable. Engage in ongoing collective inquiry into best practice and current reality.  

Focus on Learning: All Teams Clarify what each student is expected to learn—the essential knowledge, skills, and dispositions—of each course or subject, unit-by-unit. Monitor each student’s learning on a timely basis through the use of frequent, formative common assessments.   Each team will not do these things equally well at the same time..like kids, teams learn at different rates—teams need additional time and support too.

Systematic Time and Support for Learning: Intervention and Enrichment Id Identify students who need additional time and support or enrichment. Create systems to ensure students receive additional time and support if they are not learning. Provide timely intervention rather than sluggish remediation. Assess the effectiveness of your intervention plans. Plans must be in writing.

Systematic Time and Support for Learning: Intervention and Enrichment Direct rather than invite students to participate in intervention. Create systems to ensure students receive the additional time and support according to a schoolwide plan rather than the discretion of individual teachers. Create systems to ensure students receive enrichment and extension when they are proficient. Assess the effectiveness of your intervention plans. Plans must be in writing.

Focus on Results to Inform and Improve Professional Practice Each team will analyze evidence of student achievement to: Inform and improve professional practice of each member. Identify strengths and weaknesses in student learning.  

Focus on Results to Inform and Improve Professional Practice   Share effective instructional practices. Support members as the implement more effective practices. Gather new data to assess the impact of new practices. Identify professional development needs.

Facilitate Adult Learning Provide staff with the training, support, and resources to implement best practice. Ensure staff development is linked to student learning goals. Foster ongoing job-embedded learning into every position.   Emphasize again the support staff..use Meagan and the support staff in w.r. as an example.

Facilitate Adult Learning Create systems for frequent and public recognition of improvement—individually and collectively. Emphasize again the support staff..use Meagan and the support staff in w.r. as an example.

Strive for Continuous Improvement Establish SMART Goals to drive the work of teams. Align team goals with school goals and school goals with district goals. Ensure every individual receives frequent and timely feedback on his/her level of effectiveness compared to other members of the team.   Regarding goals—”if all goals were accomplished, what would be the probable effect on student learning?

Adult Learning Celebrate your progress each step along the way! Emphasize again the support staff..use Meagan and the support staff in w.r. as an example.

High Levels of Learning for ALL Students Emphasize again the support staff..use Meagan and the support staff in w.r. as an example.

Thank You! Solution Tree (800) 733-6786 To schedule Professional Development, contact… Solution Tree (800) 733-6786