The PLC Process

Abraham Alarcon

February, 26, 2009

3 Big Ideas

1. We are in the business to help all kids learn.

2. We do not do it alone – we do it together.3. We look at results, relevant data, and

research-based practices to promote student improvement and instructional practices.

4 Questions

1. What do we want our students to learn?

2. How will we know if they have learned?

3. What will we do if they don’t learn?4. What will we do if they already know

it?

What is a Professional Learning Community?

• Educators are committed to working collaboratively in ongoing processes of collective inquiry and action research in order to achieve better results for the students they serve.

• PLCs operate under the assumption that the key to improved learning for students is continuous, job-embedded learning for educators.

Why Should We Collaborate?

• Gains in student achievement• Higher quality solutions to problems• Increased confidence among staff• Teachers are able to support one another’s strengths

and accommodate weaknesses• Ability to test new ideas• More support for new teachers• Expanded pool of ideas, materials, and methods.

- Judith Warren Little (1990)

PLC Process1. Team Norms2. Team SMART Goals3. Common Essential Outcomes4. 1st Common Formative Assessment5. Analysis of Student performance on 1st Common

Formative Assessment6. Identify and implement intervention strategies7. Assess implementation of team interventions8. 2nd Common Formative Assessment

Cleveland LAL PLC

• Smart Goal: