Much of the work of a PLC cannot be done by a team but instead requires a schoolwide or districtwide effort. So we believe it is helpful to think of the school or district as the PLC and the various collaborative teams as the building blocks of the PLC. Second, once again, the PLC process has a pervasive and ongoing impact on the structure and culture of the school. If educators meet with peers on a regular basis only to return to business as usual, they are not functioning as a PLC.
So the PLC process is much more than a meeting. So, what is a PLC? We argue that it is an ongoing process in which educators work collaboratively in recurring cycles of collective inquiry and action research 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. The following section examines the elements of the PLC process more closely.
The very essence of a learning community is a focus on and a commitment to the learning of each student. When a school or district functions as a PLC, educators within the organization embrace high levels of learning for all students as both the reason the organization exists and the fundamental responsibility of those who work within it.
In order to achieve this purpose, the members of a PLC create and are guided by a clear and compelling vision of what the organization must become in order to help all students learn.
They make collective commitments clarifying what each member will do to create such an organization, and they use results-oriented goals to mark their progress. A corollary assumption is that if the organization is to become more effective in helping all students learn, the adults in the organization must also be continually learning. Therefore, structures are created to ensure staff members engage in job-embedded learning as part of their routine work practices. There is no ambiguity or hedging regarding this commitment to learning.
Whereas many schools operate as if their primary purpose is to ensure that children are taught, PLCs are dedicated to the idea that their organization exists to ensure that all students learn essential knowledge, skills, and dispositions. All the other characteristics of a PLC flow directly from this epic shift in assumptions about the purpose of the school.
Collaboration is a means to an end, not the end itself. In many schools, staff members are willing to collaborate on a variety of topics as long as the focus of the conversation stops at their classroom door. Use the sessions to exchange ideas and suggestions for improvement.
This will allow everyone to grow professionally by learning from one another, which creates better results for students, which creates a more unified spirit amongst colleagues and fuels your efforts. Call a meeting and arm the group with post-it notes and markers. Establish it as a judgment-free zone.
Then ask everyone to write down the norms they think the community should abide by. Goal setting is one of the most important tasks in starting up your PLC. The mission of the community is to agree upon goals, strategize to achieve those goals and when successful, set even more ambitious ones.
So, what exactly do you set out to achieve? Make sure none of the goals are impossible to measure, such as "We want our students to be lifelong learners. So, you may do all of the above and discover that this whole PLC thing is harder than you thought. Bringing in an outside consultant with a broader perspective could be all you need to get over the hump and keep things going. PLC consultants live, sleep and breathe these communities and have seen it all. For more information, read: Framework for Improving Student Outcomes.
Over the next four years, more than government schools will receive intensive implementation support that includes a comprehensive program of professional learning and expert advice from regionally-based teams.
These teams, made up of experienced educators including a dedicated PLC regional manager, advise, coach and train school and instructional leaders in all aspects of PLC implementation, including:. Victorian PLC schools have access to a continuous stream of data about the impact of PLC implementation on teacher practice and student perception. For each key element of an effective PLC, the Maturity Matrix provides indicative statements so that a school can self-assess its level of progress and set developmental goals.
The evaluate the impact of your teaching toolkit is for leading teachers and schools implementing a PLC. Implement the Victorian PLC approach in your school.
The PLC Online Modules will support the implementation of the Victorian PLC approach by teaching participants about the necessary changes to mindsets, knowledge, behaviours, practices, structures, curriculum, assessment and pedagogy and how to lead and sustain change in their own contexts. For further information about the benefits and expectations for participating schools, read: Learn about the Victorian PLC initiative edumail login required. Our website uses a free tool to translate into other languages.
This tool is a guide and may not be accurate. For more, see: Information in your language. You may be trying to access this site from a secured browser on the server.
0コメント