Professional Learning

Communities (PLC)
Where do we begin?
(Adapted from Professional Learning Communities at Work
Designed by DuFour, DuFour and Eaker)

What does PLC mean?

An on going- process in which educators work
collaboratively in recurring cycles of collective
inquiry and action research to achieve better
results for the student they serve.
PLCs operate under the assumption that the key to
improved learning for students is continuous, job
embedded learning for educators.
DuFour, DuFour, Eaker and Many (2010)

PLC
Big Ideas & Core Values
Ensuring that students learn
Learning for all

A Culture of Collaboration
Teamwork

Focus on Results
Data-Driven Decisions

The PLC Big Ideas #1

LearningWe accept learning as the fundamental
purpose of our school and therefore are
willing to examine all practices in light of
their impact on learning.
the fundamental purpose of the school is to
ensure that all students learn rather than
see to it that all students are taught-an
enormous distinction. from Raising the Bar and
Closing the Gap-Whatever it Takes

Critical Questions of Learning

1. What is it that we expect them to
learn?
2. How will we know when they have
learned it?
3. How will we respond when they
dont learn?
4. How will we respond when they
already know it?

The PLC Big Ideas #2

Collaboration- To co labor
We are committed to working together to achieve our
collective purpose. We cultivate a collaborative
culture through development of high-performing
teams.
A systematic process in which we work together,
interdependently, to analyze and impact professional
practice in order to improve our individual and
collective results.
DuFour, Dufour & Eaker

Why Collaborate?
Gains in student achievement
Higher quality solutions to problems
Increased confidence among all staff
Teachers able to support one anothers strengths
and accommodate weaknesses
Ability to test new ideas
More support for new teachers
Expanded pool of ideas, materials, and methods
Judith Warren Little (1990)

Wide ranging researchshows it is

impossible for even the most
talented people to do competent, let
alone brilliant, work in a flawed
system. Yet a well-designed system
filled with ordinary-but well trainedpeople can consistently achieve
stunning performance levels
Pfeffer and Sutton (2006)

Lucky Number 7
Seven Keys to Collaboration in a PLC
1.
2.

3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Embed collaboration with a FOCUS ON LEARNING in

routine practices of the school.
Schedule time for collaboration in the school day and
school calendar.
Focus teams on critical questions.
Make products of collaboration explicit.
Establish team norms to guide collaboration (See next
slide.)
Pursue specific and measurable team performance goals.
Provide teams with frequent access to relevant
information.

Why Norms?
When all is said and done, the norms of a group help
determine whether it functions as high-performing team or
becomes simply a loose collection of people working
together.

Positive norms will stick only if the group puts them into
practice over and over again. Being explicit about norms
raises the level of effectiveness, maximizes emotional
intelligence, produces a positive experience for group
members and helps to socialize newcomers into the group
quickly.

TIPS for Team Norms

Each team establishes its own norms.
Norms are stated as commitments to act or behave in
certain ways.
Norms are reviewed at the beginning and end of each
meeting until they are internalized.
One norm requires team to assess its effectiveness every
six months. This assessment should include review of
adherence to norms and the need to identify new norms.
Less is more. A few key norms are better than a laundry
list.
Violations of norms must be addressed.

The Big Ideas of PLC #3

ResultsWe assess our effectiveness on the basis of
results rather than intentions. Individuals,
teams, and schools seek relevant data and
information and use that information to
promote continuous improvement.

How Should We Determine what is the right

work?- Best available evidence of positive impact
on student learning
Keys to Formative
Assessment
It is used to identify
students who are
experiencing difficulty
in their learning?
Are students who are
having difficulty
provided with an
additional time and
support for learning?
Are students given an
additional opportunity
to demonstrate their
learning?

If We Implemented What We Know

to be Best Practice
Common Curriculum -Learn What?
Teachers must come together to
agree on the Learn What
Common Pacing -Implementing the
Common Curriculum collaboratively
Common Assessment -Formative
Assessments designed around the
common curriculum to monitor
student learning

Are PLCs an Option?

Loose vs. TightEffective school cultures dont simply encourage
individuals to go off and do whatever they want, but
rather establish clear parameters and priorities that
enable individuals to work within established
boundaries in a creative and autonomous way.

Procedures are tight

Agreement on what is to be taught, not
how it is to be taught

Changing the Focus

Old Focus
Every student can learn

New Focus
Every student will learn

Focus on teaching

Focus on learning

Isolation

Collaboration

Assessment OF learning
(Summative)

Assessment FOR
learning (Formative)

Failure is an

option

Failure is not and option

Culture Shifts in a PLC

Shift in Fundamental Purpose
From teaching to learning
Shift in Use of Assessments
From summative to frequent
formative

Shift in the Work of Teachers

.. From isolation to collaboration

Shift in Response When

Students Dont Learn
.. From remediation to
intervention

Resources
www.allthingsplc.info
www.allthingsassessment.info
http://go.solutiontree.com/PLCbooks
http://quality.cr.k12.ia.us/PLC/index
PLC.html
AEA staff