Professional Learning Communities

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Professional Learning Communities

• At
• Glasgow High School

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What are Professional Learning Communities (PLCS)?

• A professional learning community is
  characterized by the collaborative work of
  educators to continuously seek, share, and act on
  their learning in order to improve
• their practice for the purpose of improved
  student outcomes (Astuto, 1993).

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Why Are Professional Learning Communities
Important?

• They function as an effective strategy for
  building school capacity around core issues of
  teaching and learning (Darling-Hammond, 1995)
• They foster the democratic practices required to
  undertake and sustain fundamental, systemic
  change (Bryk, 1994) and,
• They can serve as a mechanism for transforming
  school culture.

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How Do PLCS Impact Students?

• By modeling collegiality, intellectual inquiry,
  critical discourse, and continuous improvement,
  professional learning communities raise the
  expectation and standard for students level of
  engagement, development, and achievement.
• Studies indicate that students tend to be engaged
  in learning at high intellectual levels when the
  adults are engaged with one another and with
  their students at high intellectual levels around
  a shared vision for student success.

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What are Key Characteristics of PLCS?

• Shared Norms and Values
• (Vision/Mental Image)
• Collective Responsibility for Shared Norms and
  Values
• Focus on Student Learning
• De-Privatization of Practice
• Collaboration/Collective Creativity

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Conditions and Structures Necessary to Support
PLCS

• School leadership support, school autonomy and
  shared decision- making.
• Time for teacher planning and analysis.
• Professional development opportunities.
• Resources.
• Training in the skills required to facilitate
  collaborative work.

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Quality PLCS are characterized bythe same
attributes associated with high quality
professional development.

• They shift the notion of professional competence
  from individual teacher expertise to professional
  community expertise
• They foster a collective sense of responsibility
  for students progress (Anderson, Rolheiser,
  Gordon, 1998)
• They are inherently job-embedded and team-based
  (Darling-Hammond, 1996,1998b)
• They require a community of learners to translate
  into higher levels of learning for all (Jones,
  1998 Sparks Hirsh, 1997) and,
• They are embedded in school-wide goals for
  student learning specific to the school community
  (Renyi, 1998 CCSSO, 1997 Sparks,1998).

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PLCS Use Defined Protocols.Some Examples

• ATLAS Learning from Student Work
• The Charette
• Collaborative Assessment Conference
• Consultory
• Critical Incident Protocol
• Descriptive Review of Student Work
• Tuning protocol.

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PLCS Set SMART Goals

• Specific
• Measurable
• Attainable
• Realistic
• Tangible

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PLCS Produce Real Products

• PLC logs
• PLC Action Plans
• PLC Portfolios

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Observed Outcomes For Staff

• Increased commitment to the mission and goals of
  the school and increased vigor in working to
  strengthen the mission.
• More satisfaction, higher morale, and lower rates
  of absenteeism.
• Significant advances in adapting teaching to the
  students accomplished more quickly than in
  traditional schools.
• Commitment to making significant and lasting
  changes.
• Higher likelihood of undertaking fundamental
  systemic change.

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Observed Outcomes For Staff

• Shared responsibility for the total development
  of students and collective responsibility for
  students' success.
• Reduction of isolation of teachers.
• Powerful learning that defines good teaching and
  classroom practice and that creates new knowledge
  and beliefs about teaching and learners.
• Increased meaning and understanding of the
  content that teachers teach and the roles they
  play in helping all students achieve
  expectations.
• Higher likelihood that teachers will be well
  informed, professionally renewed, and inspired to
  inspire students.

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Observed Outcomes for Students

• Decreased dropout rate and fewer classes
  "skipped.
• Lower rates of absenteeism.
• Increased learning that is distributed more
  equitably in the smaller high schools.
• Greater academic gains in math, science, history,
  and reading than in traditional schools.
• Smaller achievement gaps between students from
  different backgrounds.

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When Do PLC Teams Work Together?

• Common Plan Time
• During Inservice Time
• During Meeting Times
• After School
• During School (release time)

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What is the Timeline for Implementation for PLCS
at GHS?

• Aug. 25 -PLC Teams Established, Initial meeting
  and Task Completed.
• September Defined/discrete tasks completed
  (Including team building and training in
  collaborative interactions).
• October- Development/Approval for Action Plan for
  PLC Team Project. Work on Project.
• November-Completion of Project, Team Portfolio,
  Self/Team PLC Evaluation. Sharing of Results.
  Revision of teams as necessary.
• December-New/revised Action Plans. Work on
  Project.
• January- Work on Project. Portfolio Update.

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Examples of PLC Projects

• Lesson Study
• Differentiating Instruction
• Developing Interdisciplinary Units
• Integrating Community Resources
• Using MAP Data to Drive Instruction
• Incorporating Instructional Technology
• Using Formative Assessments

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All PLC Work Has in Common

• Focus on Student Learning.
• Analysis of Student Work/Performance.
• Collaboration/Collective Creativity.
• Teacher Reflection on Practice.

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Together We CAN Make a Difference!