Professional Learning Communities

Making Written Curriculum an Instructional Reality

“The professional learning community model is a grand design - a powerful way of working together that profoundly affects the practices of schooling. But initiating and sustaining the concept requires hard work” (Dufour, 2004).

When you think of PLCs…

• What one word comes to mind?

• Share your word with the group.

• Using all of the words, create a definition of Professional Learning Communities.

Recasting PLCs

“Create and maintain an environment that fosters collaboration, honest talk, and a commitment to the growth and development of individual members and to the group as a whole” (Lieberman and Miller, 2011)

Key conditions are: norms of collaboration; focus on students and their academic performance; access to a wide range of learning resources for individuals and the group; mutual accountability for student growth and success (Talbert, 2010)

“An inclusive group of people, motivated by a shared vision, who support and work with each other, finding ways, inside and outside their immediate community, to enquire on their practice and together learn new and better approaches that will enhance all pupils’ learning” (Stoll and Louis, 2010)

PLCs and Student Achievement

Teacher Collaborati

on

Discussion of

Instruction

Instructional

Improvement

Increased Student Learning

PLCs and Written Curriculum

“Merely creating small structures for PLCs does not lead to changes in instructional practice” (Christman and Supovitz,

2005)

Curriculum Documents Unpacked

• Stage 1: • Standards Unpacked, Essential Questions, Enduring

Understandings

• Stage 2: • Exemplar Assessments (Formative and Summative)

• Stage 3: • Learning Plan• Aligned Resources

• Stage 2 & 3 are still under development. They will be added as our writing teams complete the work.

m

Curriculum

Coherent

Guaranteed

Viable

Written Curriculum

UbD PLC

Stage 1: Desired Results

What will students know, understand, and be able to do?

 

Stage 2: Determining Acceptable Evidence

How will we know they are learning it? 

Stage 3: The Learning Plan  (includes Enrich, Remediate, and Reflect)

What teaching and learning experiences we will provide?

What will we do when students already know it?What will we do if they don’t learn it?

What teaching and learning experiences were effective? How do we know?

Connection

The “New” PLC Flow

The Work and Learning of PLCs

Collaboration

Experimentation

Reflective Inquiry

Shared Insight

Expectations for PLCs

Roles and Responsibilities

• School Administrators• Coach and Support• Monitor and Assess

• Facilitators• Plan Agenda• Lead PLC Conversations

• Teachers• Prepare for PLC Meetings• Actively and constructively participate in the

conversations• Provide feedback on units and resources

Documentation of PLC Work

District Feedback on Units(Google Doc)

Resource Sharing(Google Doc)

Performance Rubric (October and May)

School One Common Assessment per Unit

Agendas/Minutes Data Analysis

Coaching and Support

Facilitator Training• August 22 or 23• All PLC leaders (facilitators) must attend one

session of the webinar• Any interested teachers may attend

All Teacher Training• In September, Michael Williams and Lisa Ashe

will visit each school to share the process and answer any questions.

Next Steps

First Week of Workdays…

• All Facilitators will receive training on August 22 or 23

• PLCs will meet to complete the first three steps of the PLC flow:• Stage 1: Access and discuss the standards and

curriculum documents to determine what students should know, understand, and be able to do in the first unit.

• Stage 2: Develop a common assessment for the unit.

• Stage 3: Discuss the best instructional practices for the unit.

Accessing the CCS Curriculum Documents

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Questions, Comments, or Concerns?