Professional Learning Communities

Copyright © 2013 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved. Blackboard Collaborate Communication Tools 3

Copyright © 2011 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved.Copyright © 2013 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved. Collaborate Tools Sliders adjust mic and speaker volume Press to Talk and activate Video Sliders adjust mic and speaker volume Press to Talk and activate Video Chat Tool Participant Tools: Emoticons Step Away Raise Hand Polling Participant Tools: Emoticons Step Away Raise Hand Polling 4

Copyright © 2011 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved.Copyright © 2013 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved. Participant Features Audio Setup Wizard Audio Setup Wizard Audio & Video Settings 5

Copyright © 2011 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved.Copyright © 2013 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved. Testing the Audio Setup Wizard 6

Copyright © 2011 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved.Copyright © 2013 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved. Participant Features Audio & Video Volume Controls Video On and Off Talk On and Off Video Preview Keep the Talk and Video off when not speaking. 7

Copyright © 2011 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved.Copyright © 2013 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved. Questions? ① Please raise your hand. ② Wait to be called on. ③ Turn on Talk (and Video!) button. ④ Ask your question. ⑤ When done, please turn off Talk button. ① Please raise your hand. ② Wait to be called on. ③ Turn on Talk (and Video!) button. ④ Ask your question. ⑤ When done, please turn off Talk button. 8

Copyright © 2013 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved. 9

Copyright © 2011 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved.Copyright © 2013 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved. Connections to Survey Results Q9.1d Teachers work in professional learning communities to develop and align instructional practices. Q9.1e Provided supports (i.e. instructional coaching, professional learning communities, etc.) translate to improvements in instructional practices by teachers. Q9.1h Teachers have autonomy to make decisions about instructional delivery (i.e. pacing, materials and pedagogy). Q2.1b Teachers have time available to collaborate with colleagues. Q2.2b In an average week, how much time do you devote to the following activities during the school day? 10

Copyright © 2011 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved.Copyright © 2013 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved. Professional Learning Community: A Definition A community with the capacity to promote and sustain the learning of all professionals in the school community with the collective purpose of enhancing student learning. * Bolam, et al

Copyright © 2011 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved.Copyright © 2013 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved. Just because they are called “Professional Learning Communities” … doesn‘t mean they are. How can we support teachers not only to be collaborative, but to help build and lead a collaborative culture focused on student learning?

Copyright © 2011 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved.Copyright © 2013 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved. What are the four core principles of PLCs?

Copyright © 2011 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved.Copyright © 2013 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved. 1) PLCs strive to ensure student learning What do we want each student to learn? How will we know when each student has learned it? How will we respond when a student experiences difficulty in learning?

Copyright © 2011 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved.Copyright © 2013 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved. 2) PLCs operate in a culture of collaboration Have a systematic process for teachers to work together to analyze and improve their classroom practice Engage in ongoing cycle of questions that promote team learning and lead to higher student learning.

Copyright © 2011 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved.Copyright © 2013 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved. Collaboration Enablers Focus on what students learned Allocate time to collaborate Less excuses for failing to collaborate Find a way to make it happen

Copyright © 2011 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved.Copyright © 2013 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved. 3) PLCs are led in an inquiry process Team leadership stimulates members to formulate and share their own perspectives on questions Differentiated to accommodate the different developmental and experiential levels of the members Facilitation Division of labor Materials Inquiry process is protected by norms to make the process structured and safe for members

Copyright © 2011 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved.Copyright © 2013 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved. 4) PLCs focus on results and data Identify current level of student achievement Set goal to improve Work together to achieve that goal Gather evidence of progress Must embrace data, even if it is brutal

Copyright © 2011 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved.Copyright © 2013 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved. Applied Learning Observe the short video of a PLC in action Use the PLC Video Note Taking Guide to capture evidence of these core principals

Copyright © 2011 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved.Copyright © 2013 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved. What did you observe? Examples, Evidence, Language Collaborative Student Focused Data Driven Inquiry Based

Copyright © 2011 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved.Copyright © 2013 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved. What are the developmental levels of a high functioning PLC?

Copyright © 2011 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved.Copyright © 2013 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved. Four Levels Forming Storming Norming Performing

Copyright © 2011 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved.Copyright © 2013 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved. Forming High expectations Anxiety of fitting in Dependent on a leader or facilitator to create structure Members are polite but guarded

Copyright © 2011 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved.Copyright © 2013 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved. Storming Members rebel against each other and the structures, the group, and the assigned tasks Jockey for power People tempted to opt out at this point or mentally check out

Copyright © 2011 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved.Copyright © 2013 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved. Norming Overcome resistance Develop cohesion Emerging trust and support Building skills and procedures for doing the work Confronting issues and not teammates

Copyright © 2011 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved.Copyright © 2013 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved. Performing Work interdependently Share leadership Flexible, adaptive Close High support

Copyright © 2011 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved.Copyright © 2013 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved. A Quick Assessment Consider the current state of PLCs in your school Use the graphic below to plot where PLC groups reside If you do not know, take the time to consider what steps you might take to assess your PLCs Example Forming 6th grade Language Arts (three beginning teachers) Storming 8th grade Science 7 th grade Science Norming Foreign Languages 6 th Grade Social Studies Performing 7 th Grade Math 6 th Language Arts

Copyright © 2011 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved.Copyright © 2013 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved. How Can I Promote PLC Development?

Copyright © 2011 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved.Copyright © 2013 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved. Enable Trust to Develop Analyses from previous surveys suggests that there are a couple of important components to building trust Model consistency in your actions Include the entire team in decision making processes Commit to a clear, shared vision

Copyright © 2011 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved.Copyright © 2013 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved. Consider Your Words How you speak can have a powerful impact on PLC development Framing questions Active listening Acknowledging and Clarifying what you are hearing Summarizing and organizing ideas Ability to move between Instructive, Collaborative, and Facilitative postures

Copyright © 2011 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved.Copyright © 2013 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved. Develop Norms Agreements generated by the team Intended for all team members to uphold Aligned with the function and context of the team Subject to change as the team’s development or task changes

Copyright © 2011 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved.Copyright © 2013 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved. Develop an Effective Agenda Sent out ahead of the meeting Posted or distributed during meeting Have clear outcomes Communicate norms Assign roles of participants if needed Allot times for each intended activity Include next steps, timeframe and responsibilities Include all team members in providing feedback and input on next agenda

Copyright © 2011 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved.Copyright © 2013 New Teacher Center. All Rights Reserved. For Additional Resources