FACILITATING IMPORTANT CONVERSATIONS PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITY FACILITATOR’S SKILLS

Section OVERVIEW Chunks of Content Introduction and Connections Establishing & Maintaining Routine Events and Step 0 Facilitating PLC Social Problem-Solving

THE POWER OF PLC’S Teachers collaborate to: ● Clarify what students must learn ● Gather evidence of student learning ● Analyze that evidence ● Identify the most powerful teaching strategies (tier 1 intervention/enrichment) Richard DuFour

ESTABLISHING & MAINTAINING “ROUTINE” PLC EVENTS FACILITATING STEP 0

Roles/Responsibilities of the Facilitator Facilitate …discussions about teaching and learning …questions to clarify team direction and consensus …team building and monitor PLC team dynamics …the team in new learning (Shifts, Marzano) …the communication of the district’s/school’s vision to team …the understanding of College Career and Life Readiness and relevant standards (CCSS, NGSS) …unit/lesson planning and/or strategy discussions …the communication of PLC needs and feedback to administration …the creation of /planning for common assessments

GROUP DISCUSSION PART I In Groups of 3-4, discuss the following: Think about your most recent PLC: What did your group do to address Step 0 last year? What Step 0 issues did your team have? What did you or your team do to address some of the identified issues?

STEP 0 AND PLC ROUTINE EVENTS: A YEAR AT A GLANCE Time of Year Potential PLC Processes and Routine Events Beginning of the YearEstablish Norms Establish Roles Support for New Members Develop SMART Goals for the PLC Middle of the YearReflect on Process Reflect on Norms and Roles Monitor, Reflect, and Revise as needed End of the YearReflect on Process Reflect on Norms and Roles Monitor, Reflect, and Revise as needed

SCENARIO: FACILITATING STEP 0 Break into groups of 3-4 to discuss Mr. Johnson is an Art Teacher and PLC facilitator. This is his first year facilitating. He wants his team to collaboratively plan based on Essential Skills, which is a new focus for his PLC team. Previously, they focused on sharing instructional strategies. What are potential barriers for Mr. Johnson? What recommendations would you have?

SCENARIO: A NEW PLC MEMBER Read the following scenario and discuss the following: A elementary specials PLC team worked very well together the previous year. Last year’s work was challenging, but they developed as a team together, and they are excited to continue to improve teaching and learning. A new teacher and member is joining the PLC. This new member is very skilled, but does not yet share the team’s vision for PLC work. What needs could you anticipate for a new member? What actions can you take based on those needs? DQ 3: Elements #15 and #19 Organize students and practice skills

FACILITATOR PLC SOCIAL PROBLEM-SOLVING

LEARNER SCALE FOR PLC SOCIAL PROBLEM-SOLVING Social Problem-Solving 4 I can manage PLC priorities and the differentiated needs of individual group members 3 I can problem-solve team dynamics within PLCs I can use effective communication techniques while facilitating my PLC 2 I can identify common problems with team dynamics I can define effective communication techniques 1 With prompting and support, I can know and do 2.0 content

Modes of Communication

Components of Effective Communication

COMMUNICATION SKILLS Listening Summarizing Questioning Paraphrasing Delivering Integrating Empathizing

Components of Effective Communication

DEEPENING PROJECT: COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUES AND TEAM DYNAMICS Individually: Identify a Social Problem Select 1 social problem that you experienced in your PLC or past work group. Group Work: Process the Problem & Seek Solutions After you have identified the social problem, answer the following questions with your small group: 1.Why does the problem exist? 2.What effective communication technique could be used with the social problem? 3.How would you bring this type of social problem up with your PLC in order to address it?

THANK YOU! All participants will engage in action planning at the end of today to coordinate next steps at your school Anyone interested in additional training on Facilitation Skills can look for our 1- Day Facilitation Skills training to be offered during the summer or early fall of 2016.