Whakatauki

What are the key steps to effectively facilitating a professional learning group?

Access the sheet “Relationship Building Exercises. Together we are going to participate in each of the tasks. You can decide if any or all might work for your PLG start-up tomorrow. 1. Using small sticky pads each person in the group is to write down something that no-one else will know about them. Fold them up and place in a receptacle. Lets see if the group can guess who belongs to each statement. 2. Each group member is to talk about themselves in relation to a geographical position.(we will do this in pairs) What place do I have the strongest connection with and why? What body of water do I connect to and why? What is something/somebody that I could not do without in my life and why? 3. Use the ‘Blob tree’ resource and get each group member to colour in the blob that most shows where they are at in their professional career today. Write a phrase beside the blob that describes the choice made. Now colour another blob that shows where you would like to be by the end of Term 4. Write a descriptive phrase beside that. Now each group member to share their first blob and their thinking with the others. Repeat that process for the second blob.

Understanding the purpose of a PLG Work in pairs with the same reading.(either A or B) Read from opposite ends of the article until you reach the ‘middle’. (NOT backwards-just end to end!) Summarise for your partner the key points in what you have read. Highlight key ideas that pop out (3-5 max) Consider what skills/attributes a PLG facilitator needs THEN: Find a pair who read the other article and share your understandings from the articles. You have 20 mins in total so ensure you use the time respectfully so everyone can contribute effectively. NOW: As a group of 4, agree and record on the sheet provided: The purpose of a PLG Key features of a PLG Key skills/attributes of a PLG facilitator

Key PLG Skill – Listening What does ‘Active Listening’ Mean?-group to share current understandings. Activity: Find a partner and a space. Speaker – When I am in a professional learning situation, these are the things that are important to me, or you may wish to know to support me. (3 minutes maximum) Listener – Listen silently and actively to the speaker. After the monologue, summarise what you have heard. Change roles and repeat. Now scan the ‘Becoming an active listener’ handout. Use the article headings to critique each others performance. Do we need to add to our original understandings?

Protocols for PLGs Protocols are specific to a group and need to be agreed between the members. Read the handout and think about what your partner has just shared with you about their needs in professional learning situations. What protocols would this group construct in order to support your work as PLG facilitators? Let’s try the process!

What did you hear in the listening exercise that may need some ground rules to ensure? How would you like to be supported in the work of PLG facilitation? How will you know they are safe to try new things? What would take the anxiety out of the facilitation for you? What are the strengths within the team that you can draw from? What do you know about important considerations when working with adult learners?

Effective Questioning The art of helping others to see on their own behalf If this is the desired outcome – What must a facilitator believe and do? What must a facilitator not believe and do?

Access the ‘Butterfly’ sheet in your kit. Work with a different partner Consider protocols carefully This is NOT a role play so please enjoy some thinking time before you commence the exercise. When you have completed the exercise access the extra resources in your kits. (3 level Questioning and Coaching and Mentoring Questions)

What do we already understand? With a new partner complete the task sheet “What is a Learning Conversation?’ Share your understandings with another pair. The whole group now pool their thinking. What does some of the research say? Skim through the reading using a highlighter pen Is there anything else you wish to add to the group thinking?.

Using the bookmark, notes sheet and reading resource complete the open to learning work sheet on your own.Choose a scenario from your current practice that is creating a tension for you. Consider: What questions do you need to ask yourself? What opening statements might you use? How might the other person perceive the situation? What outcomes would you like and are these in everyone’s best interest? How will I set up this conversation so it is not an ambush? Now share your thinking with a new partner. Remember the confidentiality protocol

What do we know about Teaching as Inquiry? In 10 mins, in 4 groups, pool your understandings and come up with: A statement about what Teaching as Inquiry means to the group – using your own words A graphic representation of what the process looks like. (use pens and blank A3 paper provided)

What the theorists say: Teaching as inquiry allows me to investigate my own wonderings in a deliberate fashion. I use the tools of a researcher to investigate my own environment and practice. Teacher action research provides the impetus for teachers to find solutions to their own professional wonderings’ (Borst, 2009) ‘Teaching as inquiry is a systematic, intentional inquiry into one’s own practice. Inquiring professionals seek out change by reflecting on their practice. They gather data to gain insights in to their own wonderings, analysing data alongside other relevant readings in order to make changes’. (McRae, 2011)

Using the other TAI cycle resources available, check to see if there are other aspects of TAI we might want to include in our graphic. Does the concept of TAI accommodate what we believe about the purpose, and processes of operating a PLG?

What are the needs of the learners in my PLG? What are MY own learning needs in order to meet the needs of the learners in my PLG? How does my preparation and design of tasks/activities/learning opportunities influence the learners in my PLG? How effective are my leadership actions in influencing PLG learners ? What impact are OUR inquiries having on outcomes for students?