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Created by the Mobile Technology Learning Center at the University of San Diego

Collaborating in PLCs Educators will use the professional learning community (PLC) structure to collaborate effectively to improve student learning.

Key Method Educators work collaboratively to analyze student learning and develop appropriate learning experiences.

Method Components Suggested strategies for implementing an effective PLC

§ Establish a clear mission, vision, and goals. § Establish boundaries (time). § Establish norms and community guidelines. § Develop a practice of collective inquiry. § Listen attentively. § Create space for everyone to speak. § Allow for thinking time and engagement. § Learn through experience to create meaning. § Foster flexible and unbiased conversations. § Hold everyone accountable.

Questions to operate from

§ What do we want each student to learn? § How will we know when each student has learned? § How will we respond when a student experiences difficulty in learning?

Suggested strategies for addressing a student’s difficulty in learning

§ As a PLC, develop strategies to ensure that struggling students receive additional time and support, no matter who their instructor is. The response should be: - Timely. The school quickly identifies students who need additional time and support. - Based on intervention rather than remediation. The plan provides students with help as soon as

they experience difficulty rather than relying on summer school, retention, and remedial courses. - Directive. Instead of inviting students to seek additional help, the systematic plan requires students

to devote extra time and receive additional assistance until they have mastered the necessary concepts.

§ Notify parents or guardians about the concern.

Supporting Research § DuFour, Richard. "What Is a Professional Learning Community?" Schools as Learning Communities

61.8 (2004): 6–11. http://bit.ly/1itO1ZA

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Professional learning communities (PLCs) shift the practice from one in which teachers look at what students are being taught to a lens in that evaluates are students learning. In addition professional learning communities look at practices to help all students achieve at high levels. All the while, teachers collaborating with one helps establishes common ground and shared knowledge. Dufour outlines three essential questions that should drive PLCs to ensure all students are learning.

§ Pirtle, Sylvia & Tobia, Ed. Implementing Professional Learning Communities. Vol 2. No. 3, SEDL. 2014. http://www.sedl.org/insights/2-3/implementing_effective_professional_learning_communities.pdf The implementation of effective PLCs depends on engaging teachers in ongoing conversations about teaching and learning that are directly related to their daily work with students. For that to happen, district and school leaders must provide support and feedback and cultivate an atmosphere of trust, the conditions in which PLCs can thrive. When educators foster these professional learning environments, teachers can act on the guidance that fellow teachers provide to solve significant issues faced by educators and as a profession.

Resources § Edutopia, How to Create a Professional Learning Community,

http://www.edutopia.org/professional-learning-communities-collaboration-how-to

§ PLC Team Norms, http://www.mcsk12.net/schools/hickoryridge.mi/site/documents/plcforms.pdf

§ All Things PLC, http://www.allthingsplc.info/about

§ Best Practices for Professional Learning Communities, http://bit.ly/1ijZryk

Submission Guidelines & Evaluation Criteria To earn this micro-credential, you must receive a passing evaluation for Parts 1 and 3 and an Exemplary score for Part 2. Part 1. Overview question (500-word limit) Provide a detailed contextual description of the collaborative PLC, using the following questions as guidance:

§ Does the school have a culture of PLCs? If so, describe their structure and how often they occur. § Please describe the background of the focus area for the PLC. How did the need come about? § Have PLCs been sequenced for this focus area? If yes, where does this PLC fall in the sequence? § Please describe who is involved in the PLC. § Who is facilitating the PLC? § Who are the stakeholders? § Were any support materials utilized in the meeting to support this focus area? If so, why?

- Passing: Description gives evaluator a clear picture of the school’s culture of PLCs, how the PLC depicted evolved, who was involved, and what materials were used to facilitate the meeting.

Part 2. Work examples/artifacts Submit artifacts/evidence that were created while collaborating in PLCs (such as links to writing, audio, images, video, or other products), including such items as:

§ An annotated video of a PLC meeting or § Intervention plans created by the PLC to meet the needs of at least three students

(Note: all personal information about parents and guardians should be anonymous.) Your artifact will be assessed on the following rubric. You must earn an Exemplary score on this portion of the submission in order to earn the micro-credential.

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Needs Improvement Developing Exemplary

Evidence does not demonstrate a PLC run effectively enough to positively impact student learning.

Evidence may demonstrate the beginning of a collaborative PLC, but outcomes do not effectively support student learning.

Evidence demonstrates the PLC collaborates effectively to strongly support student learning.

Part 3. Reflection Provide a reflection on what you learned using the following questions as guidance (300-word limit):

§ How did working collaboratively with a PLC help support student learning? Moving forward, how might your practice change as a result of what you have learned? - Passing: Educator describes how working in PLCs to focus on student learning has affected

teaching and learning. The educator has also described how this experience will change their future practice.