Adamsville Elementary January 2015

A Culture of Learning and professional Learning Communities The new way of doing business

 What is a Culture of Learning?  What is a Professional Learning Community?  How are they connected?  Why is there a sense of urgency to change how we approach the business of learning?  What are the expectations? TODAY’S LEARNING:

What is a culture of learning?

Culture It generally refers to the beliefs, perceptions, relationships, attitudes, and written and unwritten rules that shape and influence every aspect of how a school functions. One way to describe “culture” is to look at it as “the way we do business” as an organization.

CULTURE OF LEARNING It is a set of organizational values, conventions, processes, and practices that encourage individuals—and the organization as a whole—to increase knowledge, competence, and performance. It is the way we go about the business of learning across all levels: students, teachers, and administrators (school-based and central office)

Student Learning: Within a culture of learning, when it comes to student learning, the “way we do business” should be focused around four questions:  What is it our students need to learn?  What will our evidence be that they have learned it?  What will we do if they don’t learn it?  What will we do if they already know it? DuFours – Learning By Doing

Adult learning: Within a culture of learning, the adults need to become the lead learners. When it comes to adults (teachers, school and district administrators), the way we go about the business of adult learning should be focused on …

 We need to know and understand what our students need to know and be able to do - STANDARDS (content and practice)  If this is what our students need to know and be able to do, what do WE (the teachers) need to know and be able to do, to make this happen?  If this is what teachers need to know and be able to do, what do school administrators and district leaders need to know and be able to do to support the teachers make this happen?

To Know what Adult learning needs to take place, we first need to understand: Our purpose Our current reality Our gaps between our purpose and our current reality

What is our purpose? Why are we here? High levels of learning for all students

What is our current reality?  Do we have a deep understanding of the standards (content as well as practice)? -

Current reality? Cont…  Do we know the mastery level for each of our students on every standard?

Current reality? Cont…  Do we individually have the time to do this for all of our students for each content area?

What are our Gaps?  Is there a difference between what our students need to know and what they actually know? What is our evidence?

What is a Professional Learning community?

A professional learning community Is: An ongoing process in which educators work collaboratively in recurring cycles of collective inquiry and action research to achieve better results for the students they serve.

Elements of a PLC:  A Focus on Learning  A Collaborative Culture with a Focus on Learning for All  Collective Inquiry Into Best Practice and Current Reality  Action Orientation – Learning by Doing  A Commitment to Continuous Improvement  Results Orientation

Big Ideas & Core Values that drive the work of PLCs:  Ensuring that students learn –Learning for all  A Culture of Collaboration –Teamwork  Focus on Results –Data-Driven Decisions

Pyramid of 25

F J R N U L A O S P E V D X C Y K T G W B I Q M H

Pyramid of 25

F J R N U L A O S P E V D X C Y K T G W B I Q M H

Pyramid of 25

Were you a group or a Team? GROUPTeam

What is the difference between a Team and a Group?

why do we need a culture of Learning with embedded PLCs? There is a sense of urgency to change the way we approach the business of learning.

There comes a time when the systems & processes of yesterday no longer adequately address the needs of tomorrow…

Context for our work?

What are the expectations? As an organization:  Learning should be apparent in the values and daily behaviors of students and adults. Applying collective knowledge to problems and needs should be the norm.

What are the expectations? As an individual:  Work collaboratively with others for common goals  Practice what I have learned

“Leaders of the future will have to master the art of forming teams…. Future leaders will have to master teamwork… and work with and through others because no one person can possibly master all the divergent sources of information necessary to make good decisions.” Ulrich, 1996, p. 213

The things we truly value…. We will give our TIME, ATTENTION, ENERGY, & RESOURCES

 What is “Effective Instruction”?  What does it look like?  How would your teachers define it?  How do we develop a shared understanding?

 It does NOT matter how much we know about “research”, “best instructional practices”, “student engagement”, “data”, or “learning theory” – if we don’t have the capacity to create the correct environment for adult and student learning!

CRITICAL QUESTIONS  Why do you do what you do?!  What are your fundamental beliefs?  What is your VISION for your school?!

Simon Sinek: How Great Leaders Inspire Action

 People are creatures of habit – we usually do what we usually do - consistently  Thing about your own behavior – restaurants? Gas stations?  People will change their behavior b/c of either a change of heart or new learning/information.

“Organizations are products of the way people within them think…” (Peter Senge)

The things we truly value…. We will give our TIME, ATTENTION, ENERGY, & RESOURCES

How do we make our organizations more effective?

Leadership  Thing about the majority of the students at your school…  In my experience, the majority of the students do the right thing most of the time.

The things we truly value…. We will give our TIME, ATTENTION, ENERGY, & RESOURCES

BEFORE YOU LEAVE 1.Was this helpful/beneficial? 2.What do you need next?