4/30/08huron middle school chamberlain 7-1: lessons learned and making use of plcs wednesday april...
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4/30/08 Huron Middle School
Chamberlain 7-1: Lessons Learned and Making Use of
PLCs
Wednesday April 30, 2008
Huron Middle School
4/30/08 Huron Middle School
Presenter
Allan Bertram, Teacher Leader
Chamberlain School District
4/30/08 Huron Middle School
Contact Information
http://tm026.k12.sd.us
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Change in Schools
“Educational change depends on what teachers do and think—it is as simple and complex as that”
Fullan
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Communication
“I wonder how many children’s lives would be
saved if we educators disclosed what we knew
to each other"Roland Barth (2001)
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PLCs
The question confronting most schools and districts is not “What do we need
to know in order to improve?” but rather, “Will we turn what we already
know into action?”
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PLCs
The most promising strategy for sustained substantive school
improvement is building the capacity of school personnel to function as a
professional learning community. The path to change in the classroom lies
within and through professional learning communities.
Rick DuFour PresentationASCD Pre-conference, 2004
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Three Critical Questions (PLCs)
Exactly what is it we want all student to learn?
How will we know when each student has acquired the essential knowledge and
skills?
What happens in our school when a student does not learn?
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Attributes of Professional Learning Communities
• Inquiry Based
• Focused on Student Learning
• Goal and results orientated
• Collaborative
• Reflective
• Based on shared values and beliefs
• Committed to continuous improvement
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Characteristics of Professional Learning Communities
• Shared mission, vision, values, goals
• Collaborative teams focused on student learning
• Collective inquiry into “best practice” and our “current reality”
• Action orientation/experimentation
• Commitment to continuous improvement
• Results orientation
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Why not PLCs?
Schools:Do not believe inDo not invest inFail to focus on their development
PrivatizationTalking about a cultural change
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Focus on Learning
The very essence of a learning community is a focus on and a
commitment to the learning of each student
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Question 1
• What are you currently doing with PLC’s at the Huron Middle School?
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Collaborative Culture
A PLC is composed of collaborative teams whose members work
interdependently to achieve common goals linked to the purpose of
learning for all
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Collaborative Culture
“Successful schools are places where teams of teachers meet regularly to focus on student work through assessment and
change their instructional strategies accordingly to get better results”
Fullan
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Collaborative Culture
Michael Fullan…..
Improving schools require collaborative cultures……without collaborative skills and relationships, it is not possible to learn and to continue to learn as much as you need
to know to improve.
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Collective Inquiry
In a PLC teams engage in collective inquiry into both best practices in teaching and
best practices in learning
This enable team members to develop new skills and capabilities that in turn to new
experiences and awareness
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Action Orientation
Members of PLCs are action oriented: They move quickly to turn aspirations
into action and visions into reality
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Commitment to Continuous Improvement
Inherent to a PLC are a persistent disquiet with the status quo and a constant search for a better way to achieve goals and accomplish the
purpose of the organization
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Results Orientation
Members of a PLC realize that all of their efforts must be assessed on the basis of results rather then intentions
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Question #2
• What positives have you seen through the PLC process so far?
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Question #3
• What has been the biggest obstacle or difficulty through your PLC process so far?
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PLCs and Curriculum Mapping
How do they fit together?
Is it “One More” thing?
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Curriculum Mapping on the Edge
“Curriculum mapping makes teachers’ work transparent. This transparency can make
mapping seem threatening. It also becomes a key tool for sustaining PLCs.
Mapping becomes an electronic town square where educators can collaborate
and exchange ideas”
Heidi Hayes Jacobs
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Projected maps for a period of time
(months or entire year)
Diary mapthroughout the
school year
Creation ofconsensus mapsfrom diary maps
Core maps withdiary mapping against
the core maps
Projected maps withdiary mapping against
projected maps
Data Entry
First Stage
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Elements of literacy – reading, writing,
and speaking across the curriculum
Analysis of standardized assessment
results
Analysis of classroom assessment
types
Alignment – gaps and
redundancies
Spiraling content (cognitive demand)
Read-Throughs
Second Stage
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Third Stage
Systemic SchoolImprovement
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Lessons Learned-Cautions
Not talking about implementing a program
Term travels faster than the concept
Thought of as a intra-school phenomena
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Lessons Learned-Structural Concerns
Time to meet and talkPhysical proximityCommunication structures (Strategic)Teacher empowermentSchool autonomy
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Lessons Learned-Social/Human Concerns
Openness to improvementTrust and respectCognitive and skill baseSupportive leadershipSocialization
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Lessons Learned-Final
Requires a complex cultural changeTeacher resistance to deprivatization
of the classroomNeed to address Structural,
Technological and Social/Human issues to ensure success
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Where are we at?
• 2007-08 New Foundational Statements– Mission, Vision, Collective Commitment &
Goals
• 3rd year of Curriculum Mapping (Tech Paths)
• Collaborative Structure– Grade K-6 Grade Level Collaborative Teams– Grade 7-12 Department Meetings
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2007-08 Implementation
• Teacher Leadership Team formed
• Separated K-6 and 7-12 into two separate groups with different needs
• Shifted from a focus on read-throughs to improve the quality of the maps to read-throughs that made use of mapping data
• Starting to merge curriculum mapping data with the collaborative structure
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Question 4
• In what ways do you feel that HMS could use PLC’s to enhance student achievement and performance?
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Resources
“The New Meaning of Educational Change”M. Fullan
“On Common Ground: The Power of Professional Learning Communities”
R. DuFour, R. DuFour & R. Eaker“Whatever it Takes: How Professional Learning
Communities Respond When Kids Don’t Learn”R. DuFour, R. DuFour, R. Eaker & G Karhanek
“Getting Started: Reculturing Schools to Become Professional Learning Communities”
R. DuFour, R. DuFour & R. Eaker
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Resources
“Professional Learning Communities at Work: Best Practices for Enhancing Student Achievement”
R. DuFour, R. DuFour & R. Eaker
“Sustaining Professional Learning Communities”
A. Blankstein, P. Houston & R. Cole
“Learning by Doing: A Handbook for Professional Learning Communities at Work”
R. DuFour, R. DuFour, R. Eaker & T. Many