Building Professional Learning Communities

What is a Professional Learning Community? Ongoing teams that meet on a regular basis to learn, plan lessons, and solve problems.

Mission Commitment to continuous improvement in daily work to advance student achievement.

Learning Communities may be various sizes and serve different purposes based on areas of need and interest.

A Learning Community is a practical way to improve teaching and learning.

Teachers assist each other in examining student standards, planning lessons, critiquing student work and solving problems of teaching.

Identify needs and ways to meet those needs by – Acquiring necessary skills or behaviors – Observing each other in classroom settings – Sharing job related strengths

Professional learning communities can be a powerful staff development approach and a potent strategy for school change and improvement.

Attributes of Learning Communities: Five Dimensions 1. Supportive and Shared Leadership. 2. Shared Values and Vision. 3. Collective Learning and Application of Learning (Collective Creativity). 4. Supportive Conditions. 5. Physical conditions and human capacities that support such an operation.

Procedures for Developing Learning Communities Collaboration embedded into daily work – purposeful – structured – facilitated – accountability Training in collaboration Collective work-shared lessons, student work

Procedures for Developing Learning Communities, continued Protecting shared values Celebrating progress-individual and collective Reflective dialogue

Procedures for Developing Learning Communities, continued Curricular focus- – collaborative adoption process – research-based, use of data assessment model – commitment to continuous improvement Role of leadership- – be fixated on results, – focus on learning rather than teaching, – shared decision making

Determine need Identify facilitator Set scheduled meeting times and dates Identify barriers and boosters Assign Learning Community roles Establish ground rules for Community First Steps

Results of Professional Learning Communities in Action for Teachers Reduction of teacher isolation Increased commitment to the mission and goals of the school Shared responsibility for the total development of students and their success Creation of new knowledge and beliefs about teaching and learners Higher likelihood that teachers will be well informed, professionally renewed, and inspired to inspire students More satisfaction, higher morale, and lower rates of absenteeism

Results of Professional Learning Communities for Students Decreased dropout rate and fewer classes skipped Lower rates of absenteeism Greater academic gains in math, science, history, and reading than in traditional schools Smaller achievement gaps between students from different backgrounds

**Communication is key.

Resources DuFour,R. & Eaker, R. (1998). Professional Learning Communities at Work. National Educational Service. cfm