1. Developing a Professional Learning Community Through Effective Professional Development
My topic has developed because of several factors in my experience: 1) small school with limited number of staff 2) isolation- geographic and professional- need PD 3) high staff turn-over rates and therefore need to establish a sense of community 4) no cycle teams= need for a PD plan but also the environment of a school like this is such that there must be a community for survival.
I will be focusing on the professional learning community aspect of my research for this presentation.
As I was exploring these areas, I realized that the work of Richard DuFour was significant. He has recently published a book, which I chose to review and because it was such an interesting book, I wanted to share it with you. So I will give you a brief overview of PLC and DuFour’s book, then follow with an activity.
Julie Fram Greig
Bishop’s University: GSE 510
November 27th, 2004

2. Professional Learning Community
connected, highly qualified and engaged educators
passionate about change and ongoing action
greatest potential for improving schools
Effective schools emphasize a
high level of learning for all students.
Begin with a definition of a Professional Learning Community:
Research indicates that effective schools emphasize a high level of learning for all students. Authors refer to this often, e.g. No Child Left Behind policy in the US, and how many schools adopt a mission statement about “learning for all” with good intentions but that few actually deliver that promise.
DuFour has written two books previously on PLC: Professional Learning Communities at Work and Getting Started: Reculturing Schools to Become PLC’s. They deal with introducing the model of the PLC and how to change a school’s culture. The third book, Whatever it Takes, deals with achieving high levels of learning for all students and how do we accomplish this??
Whatever it Takes: How Professional Learning Communities Respond
When Kids Don’t Learn (DuFour, DuFour, Eaker, & Karhanek 2004).

3. PLC Collaborative culture Shared mission, vision, values and goals
Collective inquiry
PLC
Continuous improvement
Results driven
There are several characteristics that distinguish schools with the PLC model from traditional schools.
Shared mission, vision, values and goals- believe in learning for all, focus shifts from teaching to learning and looking at results constantly to improve teaching in order to achieve student success- fundamental purpose of a school is learning, not teaching.
collaborative culture- work in collaborative teams, see learning as a collective responsibility instead of an individual one
Collective inquiry- discover best practices, share, improve achievement levels- ongoing reflection and analysis
Continuous improvement- constantly reexamining results and practices to improve learning.
Action orientation and experimentation – turn vision into reality- do not tolerate inaction.
Results driven- study of results on a regular basis to see who is learning what- very important part of the process
Action orientation
and experimentation
Professional Learning Communities at Work: Best Practices
for Enhancing Student Achievement (DuFour & Eaker, 1998)

4. Four critical questions:
1. What do we want our students to learn?
How will we know when our students
have achieved this essential knowledge
and skills?
What happens in our school when
a student does not learn?
Three critical questions must be the focus of a PLC because of this focus on learning and the expectation of high levels of learning for all students:
This book is a response to the third question, and in their mind, it is the most essential of the questions. You have not arrived as a PLC if you are not responding to this question.
How can we enrich learning for those
who have demonstrated proficiency?

5. How Professional Learning Communities Respond When Kids Don’t Learn
Whatever it Takes:
How Professional Learning Communities Respond
When Kids Don’t Learn
fundamental purpose of schools
critical question
learning
struggling student
Main ideas from the book:
fundamental purpose: all students to learn- high levels of learning- always asking what do we want them to learn and are they learning it??
“test scores will take care of themselves if educators commit to ensuring that each student masters
essential skills and concepts in every unit of instruction, align their practices and resources toward that purpose, and discontinue many traditional practices that do not serve that purpose” (p. 27)
last piece of the PLC puzzle is the third critical question- true test of a PLC- you can have all the other elements in place but you are not a PLC if you do not respond to your struggling students in some systematic way that allows them to achieve high levels of learning
process-
process

6. case studies Whatever it Takes:
How Professional Learning Communities Respond
When Kids Don’t Learn
process
determine essential concepts
provide additional time and support
monitor student progress
Determine essential concepts- skills and knowledges, as a team of teachers and examining the curriculum and know these well– what are the most essential elements that all students must learn? Constantly determine who is achieving and who is struggling.
Additional time and support- this is the key- they believe that all students can master the determined essential concepts provided they are given enough time to do so, and additional support whenever they are initially seen to be experiencing difficulty. School schedules, time tables will need to be reorganized to do so, reallocate staff and funds for personnel. “think outside the box”
Monitor student progress- careful and regular monitoring is necessary in order to determine when student are having difficulty and to give them the support and time right away.
Process of systematic interventions- I.e. what exactly is the plan in your school when a student is struggling with an essential concept?? E.g mentor program, tutorials, house system, guidance advisory program, student support team, conferencing- not necessarily a spec. ed. Code! It is intervention, as opposed to remediation.
Case studies provide support to their work to show how these support systems are developed and maintained and their impact on student learning. Elaborate system of interventions to support the struggling learner with whatever support they might need in order to learn the essential skills.
Keep in mind that this is a long process to determine how your school will respond to struggling students and their needs, each school has a unique process- not prescriptive. Deals also in the book with obstacles to PLC in this journey, not without its challenges.** emphasis is on direct, timely systematic intervention
develop process of systematic interventions
case studies

7. Discussion Questions:
Can all students achieve
high levels of learning?
How does your school deal
with struggling students?
Is this approach realistic and feasible?
My interpretation of this book was that it was very straight-forward and pragmatic with an informal writing style, but was it too idealistic? Potentially controversial subject matter… can all students achieve the same essential skills and outcomes if they are just given more support and time to do so? Is this feasible and realistic given the constraints of our system, or do we need to just think more outside that box?
**Think-Pair-Share
Do you have elements of a PLC in your school?

8. References
DuFour, R., DuFour, R., Eaker, R., & Karhanek, G. (2004).
Whatever it takes: How professional learning
communities respond when kids don’t learn,
Bloomington, ID: National Education Service.
DuFour, R. & Eaker, R. (1998). Professional learning
communities at work: Best practices for enhancing
student achievement, Bloomington, ID: National
Education Service.