Professional Learning Community - Solution Tree



|Professional Learning Community |

| |

|Handbook |

| |

|2010/2011 |

| |

| |

|Office of Learning Support Services |

|JS Morton District 201 |

1. Professional Learning Communities (PLCs)…What are they?

PLCs Defined

A professional learning community is a group of individuals who have committed to meet regularly for an agreed upon amount of time guided by a common purpose. PLCs provide a forum for learning, assessing, planning and reflecting as a team. PLCs create a collaborative environment where teachers can share, problem solve and set goals that will strengthen teaching and learning resulting in improved student learning and outcomes. Professional Learning Communities focus on learning outcomes, indicators of success and best practice. Professional Learning Communities are a tool by which schools and teachers can continue to grow professionally through their own internal capacity.

The Goal:

The goal of PLCs is to help all team members become more knowledgeable about their chosen topic through collaboration during team meetings and through individual study/work between team meetings, with the overall purpose of increasing student achievement.

Basic Assumptions for Professional Learning Communities

• Every teacher will belong to a Professional Learning Team (PLT).

• Every team will establish a curricular goal/target.

• Collaborative cultures are more effective than teacher isolation.

• Improved student learning is most often linked to improved instruction.

• PLTs are a means of school improvement and professional development.

• Teachers will share expertise.

• Teachers will identify instructional practices that have been used in the past and research best practices in the areas chosen for improvement.

• Members of the PLTs will utilize expertise both from within the group and from outside the school environment to improve academic results in the areas identified for improvement.

• Structured time is required for PLCs/PLTs to be successful.

• Both horizontal (grade alike/subject alike) groupings, vertical (across grades) groupings, and interdisciplinary (different content areas with common goal) are important.

• The PLC/PLTs need to have in place strategies for accountability and strategies for keeping things on track.

• Every PLT will report to back to his/her Lead Teacher. A simple form will be provided.

• PLT meetings are guided by agreed upon norms.

• PLCs focus more on learning than on teaching.

• A focus upon results versus a focus upon activities.

• Teachers learn best from other teachers in settings where they teach each other the art of teaching.

• Intervention is better than remediation.

• Isolation and competition are enemies of improvement.

• Some students need more time to learn and succeed than others.

• Teachers and schools can make a difference.

4 Critical Questions for a PLC/PLT

1. What is it we expect students to learn?

2. How will we know when they’ve learned it?

3. How will we respond when they don’t?

4. How will we respond when they already know it? How will we deepen the learning for students who have already mastered essential knowledge and skills?

Characteristics of a Professional Learning Community – “Meeting Grounds for Learning”

• Shared Mission (What are we trying to achieve?)

• Shared Vision (What do we hope to become?)

• Shared Values (How will we behave?)

• Trust

• Spirit of Collaboration

• Action orientated - things happen at and between meetings

• Commitment to continuous improvement

• Outcomes orientated – focus on results

• Open classrooms

• Teams that gather data, identify strengths and pinpoint weaknesses

• Develop plans for improvement

• Share ideas, success and frustrations

• Environments where teachers talk about their practice

• Work on closing the achievement gap

• Focus on essential learning outcomes

PLCs move us from asking “what are we expected to teach” to …

How will we know when each student has learned?

How will we respond when they don’t?

“NONE OF US IS SMARTER THAN ALL OF US”

“LEARNING WILL OCCASIONALLY HAPPEN IN WORKSHOPS BUT MOST OF IT WILL OCCUR AS TEACHERS PLAN LESSONS TOGETHER, EXAMINE STUDENTS’ WORK TO FIND WAYS TO IMPROVE IT, OBSERVE ONE ANOTHER TEACH, AND PLAN IMPROVEMENT.”

2. How will the District 201 approach PLC implementation?

In large urban settings, teachers have little opportunity to meet with other grade or subject-alike colleagues. With this in mind, our first year of PLC development will focus on inter-departmental teams. To facilitate this, teams have been developed based on common core subjects.

The overall goal is to improve student learning by providing teachers in DISTRICT 201 with structured time to work collaboratively with colleagues. For the 2010-2011 School Year this will be accomplished through Tuesday/Wednesday meetings. As available, certain 1/2 Day SIP and Full day teacher institutes will be used for PLTs. SIP Days as well as Teacher Institute Days will provide an opportunity for cross-town collaboration (teachers will have the opportunity to meet with others in grade-alike groupings to focus on specific outcomes). The specific learning outcomes will be determined by each group.

3. What are the suggested timelines?

Initial tasks for PLTs include:

1. Establish Mission/Vision for Department

2. Establish group norms

3. Use existing assessment data to identify goals or targets for the group (examples: problem solving, reading comprehension, number sense, writing, etc.)

4. Identify essential learning outcomes from the established curriculum to achieve the goal.

5. Develop teacher-created common assessments to measure student progress and establish benchmarks.

6. Analyze assessment data.

7. Identify and share existing instructional practice and research best practice. Adjust instruction.

These tasks will be accomplished by following the timeline outlined below. This timeline should allow a PLC to complete one cycle during one year. Some teams may find themselves ahead of this schedule and are encouraged to move ahead in the PLC journey.

|Date |Task |What to Bring |

|Sept. 7/8 |Introductions, Establish Team Norms |PLC Handbook, |

| |Develop Mission for PLT. |District Vision, Mission, Goals, and PLC |

| |Develop Vision for PLT. |guide created by LSS. |

| |(time permitting) | |

|Between Meeting Tasks – Give Final Exam as a Pre-Assessment Tool; Create a Cover Sheet for this Final and Call it “Diagnostic Assessment”; and Run Item |

|Analysis |

|Sept. 20/21 |Introductions, Review Team Norms, determine major focus area |Item Analysis Form (one per prep) |

| |Review diagnostic assessment item analysis | |

| |Identify goals or targets as suggested by assessment data. | |

| |Develop SMART Goals | |

| |Develop Action Plan to achieve Smart Goal. | |

|Between Meeting Tasks: Implement Action Plan |

|Oct. 5/6 |Introductions, Review Team Norms, determine major focus area |PLC Team Planning Template |

| |Evaluate Action Plan Implementation to Date | |

| |Develop Common Unit Design for 2nd Quarter (East, West, and FC | |

| |Pick Unique Units, then Exchange in 2011-2012 School Year to | |

| |Become District-Wide) | |

|Between Meeting Tasks – Compile Individual Assessments for the Unit |

|Oct. 19/20 |Develop Common Assessment for 2nd Quarter (Use the Same Unit You|Sample Assessments |

| |Chose for the Unit Design on Oct. 5/6) |Test Element Sheet (Key, IL and ACT Standard|

| | |Addressed, Bloom’s Taxonomic Level, etc.) |

| | | |

| | | |

|Between Meeting Tasks – Give Common Assessment |

|November 16/17 |Nov 16: Analyze Results of Common |Item Analysis Sheets |

| |Assessment | |

| | | |

| |Nov 17: How Do We Plan for Lack of Student | |

| |Achievement on this Common Assessment? | |

|Between Meeting Tasks – Implement Plan for Addressing the Students Who Didn’t Demonstrate Mastery |

|December 7 Half-Day Institute | | |

|Between Meeting Tasks |

|December 15 |Final Exam Implementation Plan | |

4. What do PLC teams actually do at meetings?

• ESTABLISH GROUP NORMS

The first thing the PLC team needs to do is to establish “norms” and a method to monitor them. In a PLC, norms represent protocols and commitments to guide members in working together. Norms help team members clarify expectations regarding how they will work together to achieve their shared goal.

When establishing group norms, consider:

TIME and Place

_ When do we meet?

_ Where do we meet? How do we determine this?

_ Will we set a beginning and ending time?

_ Will we start and end on time?

LISTENING

_ How will we encourage listening?

_ How will we discourage interrupting?

CONFIDENTIALITY

_ Will the meetings be open?

_ Will what we say in the meeting be held in confidence?

_ What can be said after the meeting?

DECISION MAKING

_ How will we make decisions?

_ Are we an advisory or a decision-making body?

- Will we reach decisions by consensus?

_ How will we deal with conflicts?

PARTICIPATION

_ How will we encourage everyone’s participation?

_ Will we have an attendance policy?

EXPECTATIONS

_ What do we expect from members?

_ Are there requirements for participation?

• Identify Essential Learning Outcomes (Targets)

Criteria for Identifying Essential Common Outcomes/Targets

To separate the essential from the peripheral, carefully apply these three criteria to each standard:

1. Endurance: Are students expected to retain the skills/knowledge long after the assessment is completed?

2. Leverage: Is this skill/knowledge applicable to many academic disciplines?

3. Readiness for the Next Level of Learning: Is this skill/knowledge preparing students for success in the next grade/course.

• Develop a Guaranteed Viable Curriculum (Designing Instruction)

True empowerment in a high performing PLC involves taking ownership for WHAT is taught, as well as for HOW it is taught. The purpose of using Understanding by Design is to document exactly how that ownership manifests in a PLCs work, stage by stage and cycle by cycle. Equally important, the UbD framework develops a common curriculum understanding that allows the team to inquire about instruction on common ground when considering student progress, in order to identify common areas of need.

Instructional content which is agreed upon by the team should be explicitly described, including appropriate reading selections and strategies, other resources, as well as calendar pace. This does not mean that team members lose autonomy over their instruction. Rather, it means that some (if not considerable) instructional content is committed to by each member of the team. Much of this content will already be viewed as commitment, by virtue of state standards and district intended curriculums. Additionally, a high performing PLC will also commit to certain agreed upon common pedagogies and practices, in an effort to focus learning on the Essential Standards or Learning Outcomes.

A curriculum is GUARANTEED when it can be found in every team member’s classroom and VIABLE when it is focused on identified student needs.

• Develop Common Formative Assessments

In an effective, high performing PLC, student achievement is measured through teacher-made common assessments administered multiple times throughout the year. In fact, the construction and administration of these common assessments eventually becomes the primary task of the PLC. From the data gathered as a result of the assessments, teachers within the PLC can examine their instructional approach, resources and practices, and make decisions that better serve the students in their classrooms. It is also at this point that teachers within each PLC collaborate and share teaching strategies for their continual growth as practitioners

“Common formative assessments are created collaboratively by a team of teachers responsible for the same grade level or course and administered to all the students in that course or grade level. Common formative assessments are used frequently throughout the school year to identify:

1. Individual students who need additional time and support for learning

2. The teaching strategies most effective in helping students acquire the intended knowledge and skills

3. Areas in which students generally are having difficulty achieving the general standard, and Improvement goals for individual teachers in the PLC.”

--R. and R. Dufour, 2004

In the first couple of years of existence, however, being a high performing PLC is the goal, not the reality. Members of the team will only be in the process of developing common assessments. In the meantime, and additionally, numerous student assessment tools exist that can be used to examine current teaching practices, and to function as a starting point in determining the focus for the PLC

Suggestions for developing the Common Assessments:

Decide upon a specific minimum number of common assessments to be used in your course or each subject area during the cycle.

1. Articulate how you’re assessment is a demonstration of the essential learning standards and goals.

2. Specify a SMART goal, which will indicate to you and the PLC when the goal has been reached.

3. Clarify the conditions for consistent administration and scoring of the assessment.

4. Identify and articulate calendaring of Common Formative Assessments.

• Analyze Assessment Data and Adjust Instruction

Many schools suffer from the problem of being “data rich but information poor”. The key to becoming a high-performing PLC is to be able to turn the data received through the common assessment into information that can be used in the classroom.

Data Needs to Inform and Data Needs to be Shared

After assessing students using common assessment instruments, goals are set by the PLC team. Initial benchmarks are determined and student growth is measured periodically. The team sets goals for student achievement and growth. These goals are realized through the sharing of teaching strategies, resources and best practices. In fact, it is at this point in PLC development that collegial collaboration truly affects the teaching-learning process in classrooms.

Implement new strategies and approaches – Monitor results – Adjust

• Identify and Share Existing Practices and Researched-based Practices

Once common assessments have been created and administered, teachers will share current practices as well as begin to research best practices.

Once best practices have been identified for each learning outcome, the PLC team will agree upon an implementation plan for the chosen instructional approaches. The team will then implement the plan into their daily teaching and re-assess student progress in an agreed upon manner.

5. Tools to Begin Working in PLTs

Professional Learning Team Norms

In PLCs norms represent protocols and commitments developed by each team to guide members in working together. Norms help team members clarify expectations regarding how they will work together to achieve their shared goals.

A Strategy for Establishing Team Norms

Ask team members to think of a past negative experience they have had serving on a team or committee and to identify a specific behavior that prevented that group from being effective: for example, whining and complaining, arriving late and leaving early, being disengaged during the meetings, and so on.

For each negative norm identified by members of your team, establish a positive commitment statement (a norm) your team should adopt that, if everyone adhered to it, would prevent the past negative experience from recurring.

Examples of Team Norms

• We will maintain a positive tone at our meetings.

• We will not complain about a problem unless we can offer a solution.

• We will begin and end our meetings on time and stay fully engaged throughout each meeting.

• We will contribute equally to the workload of this team.

• We will listen respectfully and consider matters from another’s perspective.

Tips for Establishing Team Norms

• Each team establishes its own norms.

• Norms are stated as commitments to act in certain ways rather than as beliefs.

• Norms are reviewed at the beginning and end of each meeting until each team member internalizes them.

• One norm should require the team to assess its effectiveness at least twice during each school year. This assessment should include a review of members’ adherence to team norms and the need to add new norms.

• Less is more. A few key norms are better than a laundry list.

• Violations of norms should be addressed. How is your group going to deal with them.

Norms of Our Learning Team

Team Members:

Name Signature / Date

1. __________________________ ____________________________________

2. __________________________ ____________________________________

3. __________________________ ____________________________________

4. __________________________ ____________________________________

5. __________________________ ____________________________________

6. __________________________ ____________________________________

In order for our meetings to be highly productive and effective, we make the following commitments to each other:

i. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

ii. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

iii. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

iv. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

v. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

|Fist-to-Five Consensus-Building |

|  |

|INTRODUCTION: When a group comes to consensus on a matter, it means that everyone in the group can support the decision; they don’t all have to think it’s|

|the best decision, but they all agree they can live with it.  This tool is an easy-to-use way to build consensus among diverse groups. |

|  |

|POINT TO PONDER: "It is the law of love that rules mankind. Had violence, i.e. hate, ruled us we should have become extinct long ago. And yet, the tragedy|

|of it is that the so-called civilized men and nations conduct themselves as if the basis of society was violence." - Mahatma Gandhi |

|  |

|DIRECTIONS: Whenever a group is discussing a possible solution or coming to a decision on any matter, Fist-to-Five is a good tool to determine what each |

|person’s opinion is at any given time. |

|  |

| |

|COMBINING YOUR TEAM’S IDEAS: BUILDING CONSENSUS USING FIST-TO-FIVE |

| |

| |

|  |

|  |

|To use this technique the Team Leader restates a decision the group may make and asks everyone to show their level of support. Each person responds by |

|showing a fist or a number of fingers that corresponds to their opinion. |

|  |

|Fist |

|A no vote - a way to block consensus. I need to talk more on the proposal and require changes for it to pass. |

|  |

|1 Finger |

|I still need to discuss certain issues and suggest changes that should be made. |

|  |

|2 Fingers |

|I am more comfortable with the proposal but would like to discuss some minor issues. |

|  |

|3 Fingers |

|I’m not in total agreement but feel comfortable to let this decision or a proposal pass without further discussion. |

|  |

|4 Fingers |

|I think it’s a good idea/decision and will work for it. |

|  |

|5 Fingers |

|It’s a great idea and I will be one of the leaders in implementing it. |

|  |

|If anyone holds up fewer than three fingers, they should be given the opportunity to state their objections and the team should address their concerns. |

|Teams continue the Fist-to-Five process until they achieve consensus (a minimum of three fingers or higher) or determine they must move on to the next |

|issue.) |

|  |

|  |

|Suggested Citation |

|Fletcher, A. (2002). FireStarter Youth Power Curriculum: Participant Guidebook. Olympia, WA: Freechild Project. |

PLT Meeting Agenda / Action Record

|TEAM NORMS: |

| |

TEAM NAME: ___________________________ DATE: _____________________

Roles:

➢ Facilitator: _________________________________

➢ Time Keeper: _________________________________

➢ Recorder: _________________________________

|Purpose / Goal(s) for this meeting: |

| |

| |

| |

| |

|Meeting Topics: |Desired Outcomes: |

| | |

|1. |1. |

| | |

|2. |2. |

| | |

|3. |3. |

MEETING MINUTES (To be completed by the recorder):

|Team Members Present |Team Members Absent |

| | |

| | |

| | |

| | |

| | |

| | |

|Discussion / Decision Summary: |

| |

| |

| |

| |

| |

| |

| |

| |

| |

| |

|Action Steps (week? Month? Qtr? Sem?): |Person Responsible: |

| | |

|1. |1. |

| | |

|2. |2. |

| | |

|3. |3. |

| | |

|Agenda Items for next meeting: |Artifacts attached from this meeting: |

| | |

|1. |1. |

| | |

|2. |2. |

| | |

|3. |3. |

| | |

Date of next meeting: _______________________

Date feedback submitted: _______________________

-----------------------

qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmrtyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmrtyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmrtyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmrtyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmrtyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmrtyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmrtyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnm

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download