Why Professional Learning Teams? We as a school are moving from a conventional school setting (read characteristics) to one that focusses on our curriculum development and classroom learning through a PLT approach (read characteristics) The purpose of PLTs is to achieve high levels of learning for all students - with a common sense of purpose in relation to students. A common direction to improve learning outcomes of all students is crucial – all teachers need to know and understand where we are going and why. Where we are going and why – PLT Questions 1-4 is the first step in achieving this? This is why the PLT workbooks are based around the 4 questions.

Questions 1 – 4 are the basis of how we run our PLTs. In addition Question 5 + 6 are essential for a PLC

Understand the Purpose of a PLT Alice: Would you tell me please, which way I ought to go from here? Cheshire Cat: That depends a good deal on where you want to get to ? Alice: I don’t much care. Cheshire Cat: Then it doesn’t matter which way you go. In the book Transformative Collaboration it is highlighted that a lack of school wide direction is similar to the conversation between Alice in Wonderland and the Cheshire Cat. Until Alice decides upon the purpose of her journey she cannot know which road will take her in the direction she wants to go. Many conventional schools operate like Alice in this moment – no schoolwide sense of purpose and often following a pathway determined by external policy makers. As a result they remain teacher centric, curriculum centric and compliance centric to the point of not making any achievements.

In contrast – every PLT shares the same foundational purpose: high levels of learning for all students. PLTs place student learning at the centre of both day to day operations and schoolwide transformative collaboration. Unlike in a conventional school in a PLC all participants in the school have a role to play in making high levels of learning a reality of all students - school leaders, teachers, students and parents. In a conventional school it is teachers.

Clear direction and agreed upon practices build collective capacity and collective action – Transformative Schools have PLTs that focus on these 6 characteristics.

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Read 2nd Order change: The system is altered in fundamental ways requiring new ways of thinking and acting…