1. OEA Leadership Academy 2011 Michele Winship, Ph.D. winshipm@ohea.org

2.  What they are  What they aren’t  Conditions required for successful PLCs  Data needed for successful PLCs  Getting PLCs off of the ground  Sustaining PLCs

3.  A professional learning community is a group of educators committed to working collaboratively in ongoing processes of collective inquiry and action research in order to achieve better results for the students they serve. PLCs operate under the assumption that the key to improved learning for students is continuous, job-embedded learning for educators. (DuFour, et. Al, 2006)

4.  A school that operates as a professional learning community brings the entire group of professionals together to engage in learning within a self-supportive and self- created community. (Morrissey, 2000)

5.  The Professionals  Teaching staff  Administration  Support staff, if indicated  The Learning  Teacher learning comes first, but…  Student learning is the focus  The Community  Collaborative inquiry

6.  Teaching Learning  Classrooms are becoming more and more diverse  Teachers have different strengths and areas for improvement  School improvement means that ALL student learning is increases, not just some groups  Teachers need to continually learn how to teach more effectively for all students

7.  What is it we want students to learn?  How will we know if students have learned it?  What will we do if students have not learned?  How will we deepen the learning of students who have already mastered essential knowledge and skill? (Hinman, 2007)

8.  What their students are learning…and what they aren’t learning  How their students are learning…and how they aren’t learning  Which students are learning…and which students aren’t learning  Which teachers are successful in promoting student learning…and which teachers are not as successful  What specific professional practices can be used to increase student learning

9.  How to access and analyze student performance data  How to analyze their own teaching practices  How to take risks in a safe environment  How to observe and give constructive feedback  How to change their teaching practice to benefit all learners

10.  Created by administrative directive  Top down mandate PLC  The “community” must decide this is how it wants to pursue school improvement  The “community” must have the same values and vision  The “community” must OWN the process  Leadership, power and decision-making are shared in PLCs

11.  Typical professional development  PLCs are not something to “do”  PLCs are not another way to create groups or another name for grade-level/content teams  PLCs are not about outside presenters  PLCs are not a one-shot, occasional meeting  A quick fix  PLCs develop over time  School change occurs over time

12.  Leadership is supportive and shared  Values and vision are shared  Learning is collective and applied  Conditions are supportive  Personal practice is shared (Hord, 1997)

13.  Principal provides conditions and resources to support teachers in their continuous learning  Principal shares decision-making with teachers on substantive issues  Principal regards teachers as leaders is school improvement efforts  Principal keeps the vision of what the school is trying to become in the forefront

14.  Point of focus for improvement determined and made a priority  Teacher development and improvement seen as crucial for student improvement  An understanding that change is difficult and must be done in a supportive, low-risk environment  A willingness to confront the realities of what is in order to move ahead

15.  Learning takes place within a culture of collaboration and support  Teachers work together to analyze and improve classroom practice  Teachers work in teams and engage in ongoing questioning  Changes are implemented and analyzed for effectiveness and revision

16.  Time and conditions are created for teachers to observe each other’s classrooms and to meet on a regular basis  Multiple sources of data are provided, as well as tools and training for turning the data into useful information  Risk-taking is encouraged and “learning,” not “success” is the main outcome

17.  Teachers invite access to their classrooms  Teachers willingly share best practices  Student data is shared and analyzed  Teachers examine comparisons of student performance across dimension for the purpose of improving professional practice  Teachers hold themselves accountable for professional development and growth

18.  Bad PLC Bad PLC  Good PLC Good PLC

19.  A tuning protocol is a procedure to help PLCs focus on the work they are supposed to do  Members of the PLC have defined roles including a facilitator who takes the group through the tuning protocol  ASCD Examining Student Work is a video that shows educators using the tuning protocol to examine student work  Tuning Protocol Tuning Protocol  Tuning Protocol Example Tuning Protocol Example

20.  Knowledgeable and supportive principal  Time and space created for PLCs to work  Access to data  Respect and trust among colleagues  Effective communication structures  Shared professional practice  Willingness to move from a focus on teaching to a focus on learning

21.  High Five Regional Partnership for High School Excellence High Five Regional Partnership for High School Excellence  http://trianglehighfive.org  Communicating Change Communicating Change

23.  The Ohio Improvement Process The Ohio Improvement Process  Ohio’s Leadership Development Framework  Specifically, building-level teams  Work collaboratively to create improvement goal(s)  Implement PLCs as the process  Teacher data teams  RttT initiatives  Professional development experiences  Master Teacher portfolio development

25.  All Things PLC Website  http://www.allthingsplc.info/ http://www.allthingsplc.info/  PLC Online course PLC Online course  Publications Conzemius, Anne and Jan O'Neill. The Handbook for SMART School Teams. Bloomington, Indiana. Solution Tree, 2002. Conzemius, Anne, Jan O'Neill and Carol Commodore, Carol Pulsfus. The Power of SMART Goals. Bloomington, Indiana. Solution Tree, 2006. DuFour, Richard, and Robert Eaker. Professional Learning Communities at Work. Bloomington, Indiana. Solution Tree, 1998. DuFour, Richard, Robert Eaker, and Rebecca DuFour. On Common Ground. Bloomington, Indiana: Solution Tree, 2005. DuFour, Richard, Robert Eaker, and Rebecca DuFour. Getting Started: Reculturing Schools to Become Professional Learning Communities. Bloomington, Indiana: Solution Tree, 2002. DuFour, Richard, Rebecca DuFour, Robert Eaker, Thomas Many. Learning by Doing. Bloomington, Indiana. Solution Tree, 2006. DuFour, Richard, Rebecca DuFour, Robert Eaker, Gayle Karhanek. Whatever It Takes. Bloomington, Indiana. Solution Tree, 2004.

26.  Michele Winship  614-227-3001  winshipm@ohea.org winshipm@ohea.org 26