1. Westport Middle School
Professional Learning Communities (PLC)
Laying the Foundation

2. What is a Professional Learning Community?
Brainstorm: Use paper on the table to write down what a PLC means to you.

3. PLC’s at Work-How many of these practices did you list?
Learning Focused
Collaborative team
Based on best practices
Learning by Doing
Results Oriented
Continuous Improvement
Dufour, Richard, Dufour, Rebecca, Eaker, R., & Many, T. (2010). Learning by Doing: A Handbook for Professional Learning Communities at Work. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press

4. Focus on Learning From the Dufours Warhawk PLC
The essence of a PLC is the commitment to the learning of each student.
A corollary to this is for adults to continually learn.
Commitment to Intervention & Enrichment.
Utilize each other through the PLC process to learn and grow!
Reach out for support when the PLC needs additional resources or training.

5. Collaborative Team From the Dufours Warhawk PLC
Team members work interdependently to achieve common goals for which members are mutually accountable.
Collaboration does NOT lead to results unless people are focused on the right issues.
Develop PLC Norms and Mission Statement.
Hold ALL members accountable for the norms.
Distribute roles and leadership amongst all members of the PLC.

6. Based on Best Practice Warhawk PLC From the Dufours
Focus on best practices in teaching and learning.
Arrive at consensus on vital questions by building shared knowledge rather than pooling opinions.
Determine and utilize best practices.
Develop and implement high level questioning techniques in the classroom.

7. Learning by Doing From the Dufours Warhawk PLC
The very reason teachers work in teams and engage in collective inquiry is to serve as catalysts by action.
Deconstruct standards into Learning Targets
Create common formative assessments and rubrics.
Analyze student data and determine results of best practices.
Implement intervention and enrichment for ALL students.

8. Results Oriented From the Dufours Warhawk PLC
Efforts must be focused on results rather than intentions.
Common formative assessments will gather the ongoing evidence of student learning.
Weekly Common Formative Assessments.
Daily Formative Assessment Strategies.
Data Analysis

9. Continuous Improvement
From the Dufours
Warhawk PLC
The goal is not to learn a new strategy, but instead create conditions for perpetual learning.
Innovation is not viewed as a task to accomplish, but as a way of conducting business.
Professional Learning Communities Continuum.
Plus/Delta of PLC work.

10. The PLC Journey
Tight (sacred) and Loose Commitments

11. Tight PLC Commitments Meet 4 times a week.
Deconstruct standards into learning targets.
Give a weekly Common Formative Assessment
Collect and Analyze data from the CFA
Provide interventions and enrichment for students based on data.
Focus on Best Practices
Stay on pace with each other (within reason).
Rotate PLC lead and recording responsibilities.
Hold each other accountable to team norms.

12. Loose PLC Commitments Strategies and methods for instruction
Types of formative assessments given each week
Tool utilized for discussing weekly data
Types and format of daily and weekly intervention and enrichment strategies.
Grading of Assessments as a PLC

13. Weekly Warhawk Agenda

14. TOOL USED TO IMPROVE STRUCTURE OF THE WORK
PLUS DELTA THE DAY
TOOL USED TO IMPROVE STRUCTURE OF THE WORK