PROFESSIONAL LEARNING

COMMUNITIESFALL 2014

LEARNING GOALSPARTICIPANTS WILL UNDERSTAND:• WHAT A WELL-DONE PROFESSIONAL LEARNING

COMMUNITY LOOKS LIKE• WHY PLCS ARE THE MOST EFFECTIVE MEANS OF

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT• HOW PLCS WILL WORK IN OUR DISTRICT

PRESENTATION WITH NOTES AVAILABLE ON PLC RESOURCES WEBPAGE.

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PLC DISCUSSIONTWO-MINUTE INTERVIEW ACTIVITY

ONLINE TIMER

WHAT IS A PLC?• A PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITY (PLC) IS A TEAM

OF TEACHERS WORKING TOGETHER TO REACH A COMMON GOAL. • THE TEAM WORKS WITH A SPECIFIC GOAL SELECTED BY

THE MEMBERS THAT GUIDES THE PLC TO DESIGN A PLAN TO MEET THE GOAL, IMPLEMENT THE PLAN, AND THEN DISCUSS THE RESULTS OF THE IMPLEMENTATION (STUDENT DATA).

WHY PLCS?

• RESEARCH SHOWS THAT PLCS ARE THE MOST EFFECTIVE FORM OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT.• PLCS ARE TEACHERS TEACHING TEACHERS, ADDRESSING

ITEMS THAT ARE OF UTMOST CONCERN THAT DIRECTLY IMPACT THEIR CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION.

WHAT DOES A PLC LOOK LIKE?

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES

LIBERTY MIDDLE SCHOOL, BETHEL WA

PLC FOCUS 2014-15• PLCS ARE THE DISTRICT’S STRUCTURE TO HELP TEACHERS

PRACTICE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NEW STANDARDS OR THE THREE INSTRUCTIONAL PILLARS• PLCS FORMED INCLUDE • THE NEW FLORIDA STANDARDS (LAFS AND MAFS – STATE

INITIATIVE) AND • SELECTED INSTRUCTIONAL PILLARS (DISTRICT INITIATIVE).

• PLCS WILL BE EMBEDDED INTO THE EDUCATOR PDP GOALS AND DELIBERATE PRACTICE FOR THE 2014-15 SCHOOL YEAR.

Evidence

Based Decisio

n Making

Problem Solving

Teaching

Assessment Cycle

With Feedback

Instructional Pillars

PLC STRUCTURE• TEACHERS ARE DIVIDED INTO A MINIMUM OF SIX PLCS.• THREE INSTRUCTIONAL PILLAR PLCS (TEAMS ROTATE

PILLARS EACH 9-WEEK PERIOD)• THREE FLORIDA STANDARDS PLCS (TEAMS FOCUS ON

PRACTICING AND IMPLEMENTING FLORIDA STANDARDS)

• THE PLC FACILITATOR (YOU) IS ASSIGNED TO ONE GRADE LEVEL OR CONTENT AREA PLC WITHIN YOUR SCHOOL.• TEACHERS WILL REMAIN WITH THE SAME PLC TEAM FOR

THE ENTIRE YEAR.

PLC STRUCTUREEACH PLC MEETS AT LEAST THREE TIMES PER QUARTER. • MEETING 1 (PLANNING) WILL BE TO DEFINE AND EXPLORE A SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONAL

PILLAR OR FLORIDA STANDARD(S) AND SET A TIMELINE FOR CLASSROOM PRACTICE. BETWEEN 1ST AND 2ND MEETING TEAM MEMBERS WILL WORK IN THEIR CLASSROOM ON THE AGREED UPON PILLAR OR STANDARD.

• MEETING 2 (DEBRIEF/PLANNING) WILL BE TO DISCUSS SUCCESSES AND ROADBLOCKS THAT EMERGED AND TO SET A TIMELINE FOR ANOTHER CLASSROOM PRACTICE.

CLASSROOM PRACTICE CONTINUES.

• MEETING 3 (DEBRIEF/POST) WILL BE TO DISCUSS SUCCESSES AND ROADBLOCKS THAT EMERGED IN THE 2ND CLASSROOM PRACTICE AND SUMMARIZE EXPERIENCES FOR THE QUARTER.

CLASSROOM PRACTICE CONTINUES AFTER WRAP UP OF PLC AND DELIBERATE PRACTICE IS DOCUMENTED IN PDP AS NEEDED.

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PLC ARTICLE

• “TEACHER MEETINGS DO NOT MAKE A COMMUNITY” BY JOELLEN KILLION

• T-CHART ACTIVITY

ONLINE TIMER

RICK DUFOUR’S RESEARCH MODEL• THE DISTRICT HAS ADOPTED RICK DUFOUR’S RESEARCH

FRAMEWORK FOR OUR PLC TEAMS AND WILL BE WORKING TO REACH FIDELITY.• THE FRAMEWORK MODELS DELIBERATE PRACTICE AND

CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT.• IT ENCOURAGES TEACHERS TO WORK TOGETHER USING

STUDENT WORK AND DATA TO DETERMINE IF THE STRATEGIES (CHANGES) ARE HAVING AN IMPACT ON STUDENT PERFORMANCE, AND IF NOT WHAT CAN WE DO DIFFERENTLY.

FOUR GUIDING QUESTIONS1. WHAT DO WE WANT STUDENTS TO LEARN?2. HOW WILL WE KNOW WHAT STUDENTS HAVE

LEARNED?3. HOW WILL WE TEACH IT?4. WHAT WILL WE DO WHEN STUDENTS DO NOT

LEARN OR REACH PROFICIENCY BEFORE EXPECTATIONS?

ADAPTED FROM DUFOUR, EAKER AND MANY, 2006

THE PLC CYCLE• Focus • Assessment

• Strategies• Response

What do we want

students to learn?

How will we know what

students have

learned?

How will we teach it?

What will we do when students do not learn it?

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SIGNS OF A LEARNING COMMUNITY“WHEN YOU WALK INTO A LEARNING COMMUNITY YOU’D SEE TEACHERS WORKING TOGETHER IN COLLABORATIVE TEAMS ENGAGED IN COLLECTIVE INQUIRY. THERE WOULD BE FOCUS ON DATA AND A COMMITMENT TO CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT.”

RICK DUFOUR

PLC FACILITATOR STEPS• WORK WITH ADMINISTRATOR TO DETERMINE STRUCTURE OF YOUR

PLC TEAM.• PLC TEAMS SHOULD HAVE INITIAL MEETING AT THE START OF

EACH QUARTER (TEAM PRE-ASSESSMENT -- RUBRIC PROVIDED, TEAM NORMS, MEETING TIMES, GOALS TO WORK ON).• IDENTIFY DURING THIS MEETING WHAT EACH TEACHER WILL DO

PRIOR TO THE NEXT PLC MEETING (CLASSROOM PRACTICE).• AT THE SECOND AND THIRD MEETINGS LEAD PLC MEMBERS IN

REPORTING THE WORK THEY HAVE DONE TOWARD THE TEAM’S GOAL. (END OF EACH QUARTER: TEAM POST-ASSESSMENT – USE ONLINE RUBRIC).

FACILITATOR RESOURCES

• ONLINE BOOK STUDIES• LEARNING BY DOING – A HANDBOOK

FOR PLCS AT WORK™• 10 WEEKS (STARTING UP SOON)• INFORMATION WILL BE SENT VIA EMAIL

• PLC RESOURCES WEBPAGE• DISTRICT PERSONNEL

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QUESTIONS?