Professional Learning Communities with Purpose

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Professional Learning Communities with Purpose

• (Using a Walk-Through Protocol as a Catalyst)

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School Background

• Skowhegan Area High School is a large class A
  school in Maine with approximately 1300 students
  of lower socioeconomic status
• The community does not put academics high on
  their list of priority
• The teaching community and culture at SAHS is not
  healthy.

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Culture

• Teachers tend to feel that what goes on in their
  classroom is for them to know and no one else
  should find out.
• They do not value the importance of producing a
  professional learning community that is open to
  constructive criticism or accept new ideas that
  are surrounded by improving teaching methods

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Major Problems

• New Principal
• Starting New initiatives
• Nondiscussables
• Lack of focus with PLC
• Freshman Failure rate High
• Unhealthy school culture

• Teachers over worked
• Teachers without a voice
• Teachers have close door mentality
• No true purpose, vision, mission

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Last Year Initiative

• PLG (Facilitator)
• Freshman Initiative (Active member)
• Technology integration team (Active member)
• Principal Advisory team
• NEASC

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This Year

• I have been asked to facilitate PLGs and help
  get them focused on student learning.
• I have had training and conducted my own research
  on different protocols and methods of
  facilitating PLGs

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Purpose and Objectives

• create a safe environment for teachers to share
  ideas, produce best practice of teaching methods,
  and produce higher achieving students.
• created a stronger relationship within the school
  that I believe has created a healthier culture
  for change.
• A well-organized professional learning community
  that is focused on the mission, values, and
  beliefs will foster stronger teaching methods and
  instruction that will produce higher achieving
  students

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Purpose of walkthroughs

• Walkthroughs focus the discussions around student
  learning and teaching methods
• They are designed to interject quickly with
  intervention rather than remediation.
• targets teaching methods that directly affect
  student achievement.

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First step (PLG Purpose)

• Question 1 what do we want our students to
  learn?
• Question 2 how will we know when each student
  has learned it?
• Question 3 how will we respond when a student
  experiences difficulty in learning?

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Second Step (Create a personal protocol for
initiating change)

• Go over handout
• The steps that I must take in order to
  incorporate walkthroughs into my PLG are as
  followed.
• Discuss

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Third Step (Walkthrough Protocol)

• Go over Handout
• Discuss

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Design of the PLG Meeting Time

• Each day that the group meets we will start out
  with conversational topic of the day.
• Then we will reflect on the data found during
  the walkthroughs.
• Determine if there are any issues that need to be
  addressed and new steps taken

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What will success look like with respects to
culture?

• PLG is structured around improving student
  learning and teaching methods
• The nondiscussables will be limited and require
  less discussion in the PLG.
• Other group members will become more involved in
  the generation of new protocols that the group
  can directly influence student learning.
• PLG will create a culture that is open and
  willing to accept constructive criticism.
• Conversations that produce deep trust and respect
  for the professional and their values will create
  a sustainable culture

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What will success look like with respects to the
walkthrough?

• Teaching strategies and methods will be shared
  and improve student achievement?
• Teachers will be accepting towards letting other
  teachers in their classrooms

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Assessment tools

• Meeting minutes are observed on the group
  webpage.
• Student surveys discussing teaching methods
• Examination of student work during the entire
  process
• Data collected during the walkthroughs
• Webpage that reflects PLG work.
• Group recognition