Professional Learning Communities and Musings…

November 1, 2009 at 7:17 pm (Standards 6 & 7. Communication & Collaboration) (best practices, competency, EDU 6600, planning, professional development, Professional Learning Communities, teacher beliefs, teacher leader)

The difference between traditional PD and PLCs may have to do with collaboration being embedded in daily routine and data driven. PLC’s are purposeful. As stated in Zapeda (pg 79), learning communities are nurtured by leaders who continuously strive toward a common vision. Learning communities don’t just happen. As Dr. Lumpe said, PLC’s are more than a buzz word or a thing to do, they are an infrastructure, a way of working together that results in continuous school improvement. From what I have heard about what learning communities used to be like, learning communities now are striving to have an undeviating focus on student learning (lecture, 5).  They should be more than another meeting, but should be purposeful.

In part because of my masters work and because of being volunteered by some colleagues, I am taking on a much larger leadership role in my department and school than I ever anticipated. God is opening doors, increasing my sphere of influence, and pushing me to go places that I often don’t feel qualified to go. The reading this week helped to remind me of the amount of work it takes to really work collaboratively with colleagues. On Common Ground by Dufour is a great resource for how and why to establish collaborative groups at schools, whether or not we call them “PLC’s.”

My science department just underwent our first foray into the OEL process ( 5_OEL Findings ). Our whole department came together to design a lesson, watch it in progress, and really look at student learning. I can’t wait for the next installment of the process. Now that we have done it once we should be able to concentrate more on the “meat” of the process instead of the nuts and bolts. OEL should help us to design collaborative lessons and focus on how kids learn. I am excited for the gains in student achievement and the more purposeful collaboration, common vocabulary and vision we will share as a department.

I head out to NACL in 2 weeks and am looking forward to bringing back what I learn to my department. Between NACL, GLAD, AVID, and OEL I am surrounded by acronyms and great strategies. I need the words to share what I have learned with my colleagues, which I have not done a great job with.

Our department, school, and district are hungry (overall) for change. Most of us want to change the way things are done so that students benefit. I love working with my colleagues to develop lessons, and want to make sure that students are learning our Learning Targets and learning to think and feel confident in their abilities. Otherwise, what is the point of all of our hard work?