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A Professional Learning
Community (PLC) is a group of educators or team members that meets regularly to
share data and ideas, and works collaboratively to improve teaching practices
and academic performance of students. PLCS enables teachers and staff to learn
from one another and share what does work and what doesn’t work. In order to create a Professional Learning
Community, DuFour (2004) believes that there are four “big ideas” to
implement. The four big ideas are ensure
student learning, create a culture of collaboration, focus on results, and have
hard work and commitment. Implementing
and having a successful PLC is not easy, but the outcomes are worth it.
In the article provided
by Ferguson (2013), school administration at Bayside Elementary struggles
implementing a professional learning community without using additional funds. In
order for a PLC to work schools need to make sure everyone must belong to a
team and the teams must have time to meet during the workday (DuFour, 2004). Bayside Elementary implemented two PLCS, one
for instruction and one for assessment.
Assessment PLCS occur after school every two weeks for 30 minutes
each. During assessment PLCS teachers
pick two students who are having difficultly in a subject matter and share
concerns. Many teachers miss assessment
PLCS because they are dealing with students and parents after school. According
to Ferguson (2014), teachers feel assessment PLCS are an added burden, too
structured, and forced. Instructional
PLCS are held during school hours for 100 minutes once every month. During instructional PLCS teachers discuss
strategies they could use in their classroom.
Bayside struggles finding coverage for teachers during PLCS due to lack
of funding. They implemented “Buddy
Days” where teachers of different grade levels supervise each other’s classes
during PLCS.
In the article provided
by Thompson, Gregg, and Niska (2004), described the 5 disciplines a learning
organization needs to have in order to be a true professional learning
community. The fives disciplines include
body of knowledge (understanding patterns and making changes), commitment to
learning, mental modes (reflections), shared vision, and team learning. These five disciplines mask the four “big
ideas” DuFour believes a professional learning community needs to have. Not
only did the article focus on the five disciplines, but also discussed the
leadership and student learning in a PLC. According to Thompson, Gregg, and
Niska (2004), teachers must be learners for students to learn. Through studies the teams that had a strong
collaboration had high math and reading achievement. The collaboration did not have one leader,
instead every team member was vital and important to the team.
Through these articles
and class readings I can relate to the pros and cons of a professional learning
community. In my school of 600 students
our professional learning communities are called team based team meetings (TBT)
and are comprised of the teachers in our grade level. We are required to meet two times a month
during our common planning time. Just like the teachers in Organizing For Professional Learning Communities, our meetings are
too structured and don’t allow for time to discuss any other matters outside of
the data. Since my team believes in the
fourth big idea of DuFour, hard work and commitment, we set aside more time to
meet to discuss other matters such as, parents, common planning, state testing,
and student achievement. Our TBT meetings
do not have a leader, instead all of our voices are heard, we share ideas, and
work together. According to Thompson,
Gregg, and Niska (2004), no single individual is more important than another
individual in a team.
References
DuFour, R. (2004). What is a "professional
learning community? Educational Leadership, 61(8), 6-11.
DuFour, R. (2011). Solution Tree: Rick DuFour
on he Importance of PLCs. You Tube, Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnWDJFxfAKE
Freguson, K. (2013). Organizing
For Professional Learning Communities. Canadian Journal of Educational
Administration and Policy, 142.
Provini, C. (2012). Best Practices for
Professional Learning Communities. Education World, Retrieved from http://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/best-practices-for-professional-learning-communities.shtml
Thompson, S., Gregg, L., & Niska, J. (2004). Professional
learning communities, leadership, and student learning. Research in
Middle Level Education, 28(1).
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