Professional Learning Communities

Return to the Big Ideas

Power of Professional Learning Communities at Work

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEgmHHeCl4U

The PLC Model for Continuous Improvement

ALL decisions are centered around one question: Will this POSITIVELY AFFECT STUDENT LEARNING?

The Professional Learning Community at Work (PLC) model offers a systems approach to school improvement. Teachers are organized into grade level, course specific, or interdisciplinary collaborative teams in which educators work interdependently to achieve common goals for which members are mutually accountable.

Systemic Approach

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlJcFW9qMiI

The PLC concept demands a systematic approach to intervention. It eschews the randomness of traditional practice and guarantees all students will be the beneficiaries of a coordinated, methodical, multi-layered, fluid plan of intervention–regardless of the teacher to whom they are assigned.

PLC’s—The Big Ideas

Big Idea#1—Ensuring that students learn What do we want each student to learn?▪ Core Curriculum▪ Power Standards

How will we know when each student has learned it?▪ Assessment—Formative and Summative

How will we respond if a student has difficulty with the learning?▪ Reconnect with material and retest

How will we respond if a student already knows the material?▪ Enrichment activities

Formative Assessments

Must address the questions: Where am I going? Where am I now? How can I begin to close the gap?

Ongoing assessments WHILE TEACHING not AFTER.

Can be paper and pencil, white boards, thumbs up-thumbs down etc. but must provide specific information

Assessments are not formative if the information is not used to affect instruction.

Summative Assessments

At the end of a unit or course that summarizes what the student learned during that unit or course.

Intended to be used for grades and determining the overall learning of a student against a standard.

Big Idea #2 Collaborative Culture Collaboration for School Improvement

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hV65KIItlE

Teachers work interdependently to achieve common goals for which members are mutually accountable.

FLA and Grade Level Teams work together to achieve their goals and to improve student learning.

Collaborate on curriculum, lessons, assessments, etc.

Big Idea #3—Focus on Results

Results from frequent common assessments should be utilized to determine the effectiveness of lessons, activities, assessments and of the curriculum.

Research shows that involving the students in the process of gathering and analyzing data is effective in motivating students to do better.

Expectations for Grading

Grades need to reflect LEARNING—Must Measure what is learned PROVIDE SUPPORT FOR STRUGGLING LEARNERS▪ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTeIA8l_Jl8▪ No Matter What the Reason!!!!▪ Whatever it takes!

No Zeros Limit Extra Credit Limit or Eliminate grades for organization Calculate grades using total points not averages. Avoid “Toxic” Grading Practices

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHZyrz0NcuE

What Should I Be Doing Now? Identifying the essential learnings and

power standards for each unit Using those to create activities that will

help students practice and understand the standards

Assessing these standards periodically to test the students’ knowledge of the standards

Reteaching/Reinforcing Retesting if necessary Repeat the process as needed.

What Should I Be Doing Now?

These skills are crucial and teachers must be proficient.

Collaborate with others to get ideas for activities and formats

These will be evaluated more strenuously on the 11-12 evaluation.

Do I Need To Be Proficient in Differentiating Instruction?

This year we are trying to differentiate by academic level and by interest.

Next year we will work more with differentiation

Year 12-13 Teachers will be expected to be proficient in Differentiating by both academic level and by interest.

Next Year’s Focus Skill

Homework

By year 13-14 Staff will have to be held accountable for what we will study next year on their evaluation.

2 year cycle for all study items.

Questions