1. PLC Overview

2. Resources

3. Essential Questions: What do you mean by PLC?
How do PLCs fit within your current structures?
What will your PLC do?
What is your plan to implement PLCs?

4. Today’s Outcomes and Processes
Connect to prior learning
Myths and Legends of PLC’s
Benefits of PLC’s
PLC Readiness
Identify Necessary Conditions
Understanding Teams
PLCWashington.org
“T” Chart Activity
“123” Shoot Protocol
Using Surveys
6 Hats
Discussion
Reflection
Engagement

5. The Power of Professional Learning Communities
The most promising strategy for sustained,
substantive school improvement is building
the capacity of school personnel to function
as a professional learning community. The
path to change in the classroom lies within and
through professional learning
communities.
-Milbrey McLauglin, 1995

6. Educators in 100 different districts identified three broad areas of change that need to occur to improve student learning
Rethink and transform the current professional development paradigm.
Restructure the outcomes of teachers' professional development.
Re-culturing schools and communities for on-going, job-embedded teacher growth and professional development.
Source: Southwest Educational Development Laboratory - SEDL
What do you know about PLC’s?

7. The BIG IDEAS of a PLC
We accept learning as the fundamental purpose of our school (Students, Staff, Community)
We are committed to working together to achieve our collective purpose.
We cultivate a collaborative culture through development of high performing teams.
We assess our effectiveness on the basis of results rather that intentions.
We are Driven by the four foundational questions . . .

8. Teams in PLCs Collaborate About the Right Things: 4 Critical Questions of Learning
What is it we expect students to learn?
How will we know when students have learned it?
How will we respond when students don’t learn?
How will we respond when students already know it?

9. PLC’s are Learned Behaviors . . . With Great Benefits

10. Staff Benefits Student Benefits
Myths and Legends Activity
What have you heard from others about PLC’s?
What do you want to know about PLC’s?
What do you think a PLC is?
What do you think a PLC is not?
Is Is Not
Staff Benefits Student Benefits

11. A Professional Learning Community . . .
Is Educators Learning from each other
Is A collaborative process
Is Focused on student work and student learning
Is Focused on Instructional Practice
Is An empowering infrastructure of support
Is Effective professional development
Is Connected to the context of teachers’ classrooms
Is Action and results oriented
Is Continuous school improvement

12. A Professional Learning Community . . .
Is Not A prescription
Is Not A new “program”
Is Not Just a book study
Is Not Forced on educators
Is Not Another fad

13. Staff Benefits Reduced teacher isolation
Collective responsibility for student success
Increased understanding of the roles teachers play in helping all students achieve
More satisfaction
higher morale
less absenteeism
Southwest Educational Development Laboratory- SEDL

14. Student Benefits Decreased dropout rate Less absenteeism
Greater academic gains in comparison to traditional schools
Smaller achievement gaps between students from different backgrounds
Southwest Educational Development Laboratory - SEDL

15. What is a PLC?
Educators committed to working collaboratively in ongoing processes in order to improve student learning
School
Each PLC is organized into a series of high-performing collaborative teams which meet on a regular basis to focus on student learning.
Team
Four Questions
Each Team uses the four foundational questions to drive reflection, action research, essential learnings, lessons, formative assessments, support, and enrichment Resulting in . . .
Results
Improved Student Learning

16. What is a Team?
Team
School
A team is a group of people working interdependently to achieve a common goal, for which members are held mutually accountable
Team
Organized by a shared course, shared subject, shared grade level, or interdisciplinary program. There has to be a logical reason for putting teams together
Four Questions
Teams answer the four questions
Results

17. What are the Four Questions?
School
What do we want our students to learn? (Most essential curriculum 8-12 key learnings per semester)
2. How will we know they are learning? (frequent, team-developed, common, formative assessments)
3. How will we respond when they don’t learn? (timely, directive, systematic interventions)
4. How will we respond when they do learn? (timely enrichment/extension)
Team
Team
Team
Four Questions
Results

18. What is a PLC? School Necessary Conditions Time Team Norms Resources
Trust
Removing Barriers
Shared Knowledge
Job Embedded PD
Shared Purpose
Establishing Focus
School
Team
Team
Team
Necessary Conditions
Four Questions
Results

19. Team Defined
A team is a group of people working interdependently toward a common goal for which members are mutually accountable.
Not Teamwork

20. What do PLCs and the Blue Angels have in common . . . ?
Working as a Team
What do PLCs and the Blue Angels have in common ?

21. What are your teams? Discuss and share out your team structures…
What are your roles?
What questions are you exploring?
What support do you need in order to work more effectively as a team?

22. Professional Learning communities Looking at student work
Norms
Purpose
Teamwork
Coaching
Awareness
Norms
Time
Data
Trust
Coach
Professional Learning communities
Time
Trust
Trust
Time
Coach
Time
Norms
Data
Looking at student work
Data
Working with Adults
Protocols
Collaboration

24. Are you Ready for a PLC?
1,2,3, Shoot

25. 1, 2, 3, Shoot Reflective Dialogue 1 2 3 4 5
Faculty/staff members talk with each other about their situations and the specific challenges they face.
Not at all
Somewhat
50%
To a large degree
To a great extent 1 2 3 4 5
Discussion:

26. 1, 2, 3, Shoot De-Privatization of Practice
Teachers share, observe, and discuss each others’ teaching methods and philosophies.
Not at all
Somewhat
50%
To a large degree
To a great extent 1 2 3 4 5
Discussion:

27. Finish “Shooting” 15 - 20 Minutes PLC Survey

28. What barriers exist in your school?
Based upon the survey discussion or your experience…
What barriers exist in your school?
How do you plan to address them?
How will you engage others in this conversation?

29. Initial Thoughts Time for Learning & Collaboration Removing Barriers
Establishing Group Procedures
Working as a team/Teacher Isolation
Resources
Facilitation
Physical Proximity

30. Necessary Conditions
Challenge Cycle

31. When Establishing Norms, Consider
Developing Norms Worksheet
When Establishing Norms, Consider
Proposed Norm
Time
When do we meet?
Will we set a beginning and ending time?
Will we start and end on time?
Listening
How will we encourage listening?
How will we discourage interrupting?
Confidentiality
Will the meetings be open?
Will what we say in the meeting be held in confidence?
What can be said after the meeting?
Decision Making
How will we make decisions?
Are we an advisory or a decision-making body?
Will we reach decisions by consensus?
How will we deal with conflicts?
Participation
How will we encourage everyone’s participation?
Will we have an attendance policy?
Expectations
What do we expect from members?
Are there requirements for participation?

32. Norms Review your group norms…
Write 2-3 behavioral definitions for your norm. (What does it really look like?)
What will you do if norms are not followed?

33. Protocols Clearly define roles Create safety through structures
Are used purposefully
Define time, expectations, procedures and products
Build trust

34. Consultancy Protocol Read overview of consultancy protocol
Watch video on PLC Washington and jot notes/initial thoughts on protocol description
Discuss possible use in your team

35. 6 Hats Protocol

36. Central Question or Proposed Change (6 Hats Protocol)
Are we ready to implement this plan as presented?

37. Six Hats Protocol Proposed Future Change for the School
State the Central Question or Proposed Change so Everyone Understands
Assign One Color Hat to Six individuals (or subgroups from a larger group)
Each Color Hat will Focus on the Change or Central Question through the Lens of their Particular Hat

38. Six Hats Protocol White Hat = Data (Research, Effectiveness, Costs)
Black Hat = Caution (Downsides of this idea)
Red Hat = Emotion (How will people react to the idea? Who will like it? Who will be upset?)
Green Hat = Growth (Learn? Grow as a staff?)
Blue Hat = Process/Communication (who facilitates the process? How will this be communicated with stakeholders?)
Yellow Hat = Sunshine (Positive Aspects, Benefits? What good will come of this? )

39. Should We Implement This Plan?
Caution
Data
Emotion
Should We Implement This Plan?
Facilitate communication
Growth
Positive

40. Central Question or Proposed Change — Andy Law Creative Company
Should we implement the plan as presented?
"Unless you are prepared to give up something valuable you will never be able to truly change at all, because you'll be forever in the control of things you can't give up."
— Andy Law Creative Company

41. Protocol Assign “hats” to team members
Take 2 minutes to write at least one question for your hat
Starting with the white hat:
Pose question
Team asks clarifying questions (2 minutes)
Team discusses question (3 minutes)
Repeat for all hats
Debrief
What questions remain unresolved?
What next steps do you suggest for your team?

42. Something was missing…
What would you suggest to improve this protocol?
How could a protocol like this help you implement your team norms?
Left out a facilitator and recorder…other suggestions..

43. Investigating Protocols
Read procedure and recourse in your packet.
Discuss protocols you would like to learn more about, or try with your team.
Next steps?

44. Are you willing to investigate and implement a PLC at your school?
Write down your level of commitment on the sticky side of the sticky notes (so people can’t see the number when stuck on a wall). Don’t show anyone else in the group
Use a scale between 0% and 100% (in increments of 10 e.g. 40%, 70%, 10%, 90%)
Post on the ConSensoGram which produces a graph for a quick measurement check against the question above.
Process Matters

45. All of us are smarter than any one of us
Question: How willing are you to investigate and implement a PLC at your school? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
All of us are smarter than any one of us

46. My success is dependent on your success

47. Group IQ
There is such a thing as group IQ. While a group can be no smarter than the sum total of the knowledge and skill of its members, it can be much “dumber” if its internal workings don’t allow people to share their talents.
-Robert Sternberg

48. Questions?

49. Time Bandit

50. Why Professional Learning Communities?
Staff identifying their own needs and developing learning experiences to meet those needs
School-based and embedded in daily work
Organized around collaborative problem-solving
Continuous and on-going with follow-up and support
Apply new learning within the context of the classroom
Connected to a comprehensive change process
Recognized by research to improve student learning

51. Why Professional Learning Communities?
PLC’s will be the P.D. of the 21st Century
Schools are struggling with the Implementation of PLCs
People are learning some of the “What” but not the “How”
Necessary Conditions are not highly considered
More authentic way to improve schools
Focused on student learning and instructional practice