1. By: R. Nat Lunn Principal, Rider High School
PLC
By: R. Nat Lunn
Principal, Rider High School

2. Challenges Developing and applying shared knowledge
Sustaining the hard work of change
Transforming school culture

3. Traditional Practices & Assumptions
From Old to New
Traditional Practices & Assumptions
Change
Schools exist to ensure that students are taught
Schools exist to ensure that all students learn at high levels

4. Traditional Practices & Assumptions
From Old to New (cont.)
Traditional Practices & Assumptions
Change
The fundamental purpose of schooling is to ensure that all students acquire the knowledge, skills, and dispositions essential to their success as ongoing learners
The ability to achieve high levels of learning is reserved for the elite, and that schools serve society best by sorting and selecting students based upon their ability to learn and their likely occupations

5. Traditional Practices & Assumptions
From Old to New (cont.)
Traditional Practices & Assumptions
Change
Summative Assessments (Assessment of Learning)
Formative Assessment (Assessment for Learning)
Identifies students who need additional time and support
Informs teacher practice

6. Traditional Practices & Assumptions
From Old to New (cont.)
Traditional Practices & Assumptions
Change
Compare student performance to other students and rely grade on averages
Compare student performance to mastery of each essential knowledge and skill

7. Develop Widespread Leadership
Develop leadership potential of all staff throughout the school
Empower and support teacher leadership to improve teaching practices
Develop a culture that sustains improvement despite departures of key individuals.
Move from “if only” to “can do”
Accept the fact that we are part of the problem rather than helpless victims of cultural circumstances

8. Collaborative Teams Must:
Clarify essential outcomes
Build common assessments
Reach consensus on the criteria by which teachers will judge the quality of student work
Work together to analyze data and improve results

9. Challenges to Collaborative Teams
Assessments have been left to the discretion of individual teachers rather than developed by a collaborative team
Sharing student results with colleagues is not readily embraced
Assuming responsibility for ineffective instruction as opposed to deferring to differences in student ability
Teacher assumes responsibility for only their own students

10. Challenges to Collaborative Teams
Easier to work alone than together
Revise staff development
Pursue collective goals of the team, rather than personal interests and agendas
Judging success by results, not activities
Discontinue practices that are not aligned with goals

11. The Questions What is it we want all students to learn?
How will we know when each student has mastered the essential learning?
How will we respond when a student experiences initial difficulty in learning?
How will we deepen the learning for students who have already mastered essential knowledge and skills?

12. Formative Assessment must be:
Timely- teachers and students receive frequent and ongoing feedback on the extent of each student’s learning
Standards Based- they help answer the question: How do we know if each of our students is acquiring the knowledge and skills we intend? Compare student work to standards, not to other students

13. Formative Assessment must be: (cont.)
Formative- they are used as tools to identify where a student is experiencing difficulty so that the student can receive the time and support until he or she has mastered the skill
Accessible & Shared- teachers can then assist each other in addressing areas of concern

14. How will we begin to recognize our school is transforming into a true PLC?
Teachers are embracing learning for all as the fundamental purpose of the school
Teachers are recognizing that some students will require additional time and support in order to be successful
The school is developing processes for providing time and support during the school days, on a timely, directive, and systematic basis

15. How will we begin to recognize our school is transforming into a true PLC? (cont.)
Teachers are shifting their focus from summative assessments to formative assessments
Teachers are comparing each students performance to an agreed-upon standard rather than comparing students to each other

16. How will we begin to recognize our school is transforming into a true PLC? (cont.)
Teachers are concentrating on each student’s mastery of each essential knowledge and skill rather than relying on averages
Teachers are recognizing the need to work together collaboratively rather than in isolation