PLC Implementation: A FEW IDEAS ON WHERE TO BEGIN

Macomb PLC Group 3-16-14 Draft Beginning Note: As I have watched great administrators I consistently see one trait: Great administrators create a sense of positive purpose that unites and guides a staff in their work. Ask yourself What positive purpose am I willing to work with staff to create in our building? I would argue that the purpose should focus on student learning. Using professional development time to set a vision and to establish behaviors that guarantee the following occurs is one way of creating a positive purpose to improve your school. Rick Repicky PLC Guiding Thought PLCs are PD that views school improvement as preparing teacher teams to quickly reflect and react to their students' learning of the essentials identified by the team. Everything else is just details. The following is a draft of ideas on how to start or rejuvenate PLC efforts in your buildings. Draft means this will be continuously edited. Its value relies on the quality of the ideas that are shared at our meetings. We will discuss this document in our Macomb PLC meetings knowing that there is no guaranteed sequence for the PLC process. Implementation is part art and part science since the needs of every staff differs.

Six PLC Leadership Responsibilities

1. 2. Leadership must determine who will lead the implementation process. Leadership must create a clear vision of the purpose of a PLC and work with staff to define the commitments necessary to get there Establish what PLCs look like and what they do. Leadership must motivate 90% of both leaders and staff to embrace/accept PLCs. Leadership must build the staffs capacity to function as a PLC before passing judgment. After building capacity, leadership must begin an accountability process to ensure teams are on course. Leadership must maintain a laser focus on PLCs by communicating a constant, consistent message on the importance of a PLC building. This is a process, not an event.

3. 4. 5. 6.

How to Accomplish the Six Leadership Responsibilities: Suggested Steps for the Implementation Process Suggestions for Requirement 1 Leadership: Who Will Lead?
1. How far up the leadership ladder must PLC efforts: a. Be understood & endorsed? i. Leadership must ensure that the board understands basic PLC concepts since leadership will inevitably be requesting PLC support from them. This support includes such things as early release time, funding for training, technical support, etc. ii. Active PLC leadership works best at building level. Principals must lead the charge. It has been said often that the principal is the most important factor in changing a school into a PLC. iii. Central office has an obligation to support principals as they scramble to lead PLC discussions amid their myriad of other duties. It helps a principal lead if central office creates a learning community for the principals to exchange ideas on leading a PLC. Side notes: One district has moved from building to district-developed tests because its building tests were not focused on state standards seems to be lack of understanding on the purpose of common assessments Another districts experience with district developed testing is that the tests are less meaningful because they are not created by teachers who are asking the questions they feel are most important for their kids. Districtmade tests have the advantage of being faster to institute, but they have the disadvantage of not relying on teacher professionalism. b. Be actively led? This is clear the biggest key to leading a PLC within the school lies in the dedication of the principal and the core leadership team. If the principal does not recognize PLC implementation as the best means of school improvement and does not dedicate the majority of his/her efforts in this direction, support from above diminishes in its effect. Ideally, central office will facilitate the principals efforts by providing implementation training, team time for teachers, and create a district-wide PLC amongst its administrators to share implementation and maintenance issues. Again, PLCs live or die based on the effectiveness of building leaders. Central office can assist building leaders in this challenge. What do you do if the higher ups remain disengaged? Presume positive intentions If the higher ups are not interfering, assume support for your efforts.

c.

2.

Describe the advantages of forming of a core, teacher-leader team to assist in PLC implementation. a. Advantages: Buy-in, shared leadership, builds capacity in core team members 2

b.

Are there disadvantages? i. A core team can work against leadership if it does not include positive the right people ii. A core team can also be detrimental if it delivers widely varied versions of its message. Too many interpretations can confuse the staff. Lack of clarity tends to stir resistance.

3.

If you decide a leadership team is important, what traits make good teacher-leaders? a) Open to new ideas b) Willing to change c) Non-judgmental d) Push in a positive direction e) Good communicator f) Self-directed move from general thoughts to describing specifics on their own g) Capable of describing the gap between where we are and what we should be and describing what we need to do to get there h) Honest relationship with the principal i) Comfortable with their abilities as teachers j) Capable of leading when they look behind, they see people following them k) Viewed by peers as effective teachers l) People that their peers will not ignore Other ideas?

4.

Suggestions for Requirement 2 Establishing a Clear PLC Vision & Purpose and working with staff to define the commitments necessary to get there Establish what PLCs look like and what they do.
Its not what the vision is, but what it does that matters. Koffman & Senge,1993 5. See Schmoker & DuFour descriptions distributed at the Nov 2011 meeting: Appendix Item 1. Also note the Beginning Note atop p. 1 of this guide. What chapters, articles, presentations or visitation opportunities will clarify what a PLC is? a. See Suggested Readings, last item in Appendix. b. Visit a school that is more advanced to observe the authenticity of its structure & culture Be aware that most schools have PLC pockets of greatness and pockets of apathy c. Use a PLC consultant to work specifically with your staff to develop your schools PLC vision and overcome resistance from within your building. d. Form a district PLC of administrators who meet monthly to discuss PLC strategies, successes and problems. 3

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e.

f.

Do a quarterly celebration where every PLC team must report something good that they are doing encourage (eventually demand after capacity building with PLC teams) the use of data to show progress. Conduct structured building-wide PLC share sessions such as a fifth grade team shares their successful ideas with an elementary staff. Note: Sharing can be more complicated at the secondary level since staffs tend to be less open to new ideas. Secondary sharing tends to be met with greater apathy and perhaps more jealousy. Speaker Larry Bell has described secondary teachers as being prone to a Little professor syndrome where they see themselves as experts who just want to be left alone. This is a cultural obstacle that can be eroded with time, especially if sharing teams can show data on student learning improvement AND explain why that data improved (what was done differently). Teams not only should share data to show change; Doug Reeves insists that they also explain why the change occurred.

7.

How do you set parameters for appropriate team duties & activities during PLC time? a. With the core team of teacher-leaders, the principal should draw up a list of PLC activities See Appendix, Items 3-7 b. Teacher tube has videos of a good and bad PLC meetings google good PLC meeting and youll see how to access video clips of both good and bad meetings. Should your school establish a list of Behaviors Counterproductive to Student Success? If so, what types of behaviors should be included? We can make a lot of lists. The key is how are they perceived. A list like this can be a bit of a hand grenade to the PLC process. Looking for an argument? a. Consider that the list might derail the PLC process by making an argument the focus rather than student success. b. Teacher leaders must lead this discussion. c. Need to avoid the "what is the administration going to do about it" focus d. It might be better to clearly establish why the behavior is counter to the commitments and mission/vision as agreed upon by the group. e. Hot topics - Grades, zeroes, bell curve Three excellent sources of information are: a. http://steveventura.com/ken1.Pdf - This Powerpoint has a slide that features criteria for classroom practices that support learning b. The November 2011 Educational Leadership is dedicated to articles that address grading concerns. Abstracts of these articles were distributed at our February 2012 Macomb PLC Self-Help Group Meeting. The EL website is: www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership.aspx c. Jeff LaPerrieres presentation of Powell Middle Schools grading policy can be a great way to begin the grading conversation in your school. Jeffs presentation addresses the topics below. The presentation appears in the (More . . . Presentations) section of the Macomb weebly (http://macombplc.weebly.com/). Think adapt vs. adopt. Meaning of grades Importance of homework Need for grading consistency Defining mastery 4

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How can these two PLC building blocks clarify PLC work: a. Student learning goals? i. Team Goals: Each teacher team sets student learning goals for the essentials tested on a common assessment. Example: 90% of the teams students will score 80% or above on each essential tested at the end of the (unit, quarter, semester). Again, adapt vs. adopt. Once 90% is reached, raise the bar. Consider if 80% is the right figure for all essentials tested. ii. School Goals: The principal and core team lead a staff discussion of general weak spots in student learning and decide that they will combine Looking for a efforts to improve scores in a particular subject by a specific number of better example points on a designated assessment. Example: Reading scores will improve than Dibbels by 5 points on the Dibbels assessment given in January. b. Staff commitments (sometimes called vital behaviors or values)? Commitments are Vital Behaviors (We will . . . statements) that define what the staff has agreed to act in their effort to achieve their mission and vision. As mentioned in our meetings, Einstein described INSANITY as doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. If a school seeks better student learning results, then the staff must behave differently in order to influence the students toward that vision. While a mission statement asks the school to consider WHY it exists, and a vision statement asks WHAT it might become, a statement of core values asks people to clarify HOW they intend to make their shared vision a reality (DuFour & Eaker, 1998, p. 88). A good set of starter commitments will define how the staff will act in its efforts to answer the Five Critical PLC questions listed in Appendix Item 3. 10. How can you involve your staff in discussions of PLC change as opposed to lecturing them? Do you have specific ideas? We have frequently mentioned the Tom Heethuis idea of breaking up your audience into smaller groups, each headed by a member of your core team. Groups of 4-7 plus the leader are recommended. These groups can be used for understanding checks as basic PLC ideas are described or they can be used for working through controversies as they arise. When working trough controversies, each team member should be allowed to voice their opinion with the leader noting comments in categories. Category suggestions are: Things I Accept Things I Can Live With Things I Question Comments come back to the principal and core team to analyze. They must address each question knowing that some faculty members may not be satisfied. The leadership group 5

9.

has a responsibility to hear all voices, but moving on is ideally based on achieving consensus of the group or (less than ideal) the principal calling the shot. Defining Consensus Consensus is not unanimity. It occurs when everyone has had the opportunity to express his or her ideas, and the will of the group is evident to all (even those who oppose it) (DuFour and Eaker, 1998, p. 81). See DuFours suggested method of reaching consensus in Appendix Item 8.

Suggestions for Requirement 3 Motivating Change

11. Think of the potential of uncovering the gap between real and ideal at your school. a. Do you think such a gap exists? A possible answer: Yes there are gaps in multiple areas such as achievement & social. There are also gaps between where students want to be & where teachers want them to be. b. How could leadership demonstrate this? i. Define gap ii. Provide data on gap iii. Once the gap is clearly defined, allow teams to create strategies to close the gaps Will individual or team efforts work best for closing this gap? i. Depends on who has is empowered to make these changes and the quality of their change ideas, but generally speaking, the more the staff is involved, the better chance that the solution will be carried out. ii. Note: at our next meeting, we will ask for people to describe the process used in creating a successful major change at a school.

c.

12.

By googling Daniel Pink and viewing on his 19 min video entitled The Surprising Science of Motivation, you will hear him describes three key motivating factors for complex tasks. How can you use these traits to motivate teacher leaders and staff to embrace change: Note: This is a must see video that will help explain some key points about motivation. If you are not aware of Pinks research, you are missing a valuable tool in your ability to move staff for change. a. Autonomy Showing the freedom teachers have with PLCs If teachers are unaware of their ability to create in a PLC, motivation suffers b. Mastery Helping teachers master their craft i. If teachers do not view PLCs as a way to master their craft and help students improve learning, motivation suffers. ii. Mastery means more than just producing data it includes explanations of the changes (pedagogy, relationships, expectations, grading, technology, homework, etc.) that contributed to the data.

c.

Purpose Showing how PLC increase student learning i. Staff imaginations will run wild on why a change to PLCs is being presented. Leaders must continually stress that the overriding reason is to improve student learning. ii. It helps to provide some secondary reasons such as how PLCs hold advantages for staffs as well. Items in this category include focused, meaningful professional development that has teams sharing SPECIFIC ideas on what to teach, how to teach, how to assess and how to intervene/accelerate learning in THEIR content areas with THEIR students. Other advantages will be added to Appendix 10.

13.

How can these factors help leadership motivate the need for change to the staff? PLC purpose must be related to mission & vision. a. Mission? DuFour & Eaker state that mission answers the question, What is the purpose of our school? and has to be short enough to be remembered. Larry Lezotte joins DuFour & Eaker in suggesting this example school mission: Learning for all, whatever it takes. It would seem difficult to write a school mission without some reference to student learning. b. Vision? DuFour & Eaker state that vision describes, Where do we want to be in five years? Vision is important because it should describe the end result of your efforts. DuFour adds, Until educators can describe the ideal school they are trying to create, it is impossible to develop policies, procedures, or programs that will help make that ideal a reality. In the indisputable logic of the great Yankee philosopher, Yogi Berra, If you dont know where you are going, you probably arent going to get there. Consider department standards even related to student data. Think/ask: Is this the best we can do? c. Current & prior data? How can you use this quote to make a point: Without data you only have an opinion? Data is evidence and can be used to show the need for change quote is helpful.

14.

What is the significance of establishing a mission an easily remembered statement that defines the purpose of your school? One of the best ways to begin building a PLC is uniting at least 90% of the staff in the purpose of your school. DuFour says that you cant have a successful PLC if a large percentage of staff members teach with the philosophies Charles Darwin (Survival of the fittest), Pontius Pilate (Its not my fault that students didnt learn because I taught it), or a Mrs. Goodheart (Has low expectations and just wants every student to enjoy school). Two quotes on purpose that DuFour uses on pp. 29-30 of Learning By Doing, 2nd ed. (2010) are: A synthesis of effective school leadership concluded that a key leadership 7

responsibility was creating a purposeful community that was clear on its purpose & goals. (Marzano) The best schools we visited were tightly aligned communities marked by a palpable sense of common purpose and shared identity among staffa clear sense of we. By contrast, struggling schools feel fractured; there is a sense that people work in the same school but not toward the same goals." (Lickona & Davidson)

Since reform requires reculture, DuFour suggests that the change leaders in a building begin by having their own discussion on questions like the following and then take the discussion to the staff: a. Why does our school exist? b. c. d. e. What are we here to do together? What exactly do we hope to do we stand for? What are two or three major issues that need to be addressed in your school? What are some ways the faculty could be engaged in building shared knowledge around these issues? What resources could be made available to assist the faculty in building shared knowledge? Does your groupworking today at this meetingwant to suggest further starter questions? For additional questions, see Appendix Item 2.

f.

g.

h.

15.

If your mission and vision statements do not point the way to improved learning: a. How do you change these statements? Revisit Mission The Richards & Heethuis presentations on mission will be added to the Appendix Items 8 & 9. b. When should you change these statements (immediately or as part of the PLC implementation process?) These cannot be changed by an individual. Changes must be a collaborative effort.

16.

How do you show your leaders and staff that: a. PLC changes are worth their efforts? One way to start is to show data on important issues and ask, Is this the best we can be? As Robert Workman, a Farmington teacher stated at a Macomb PLC meeting years ago, Without data, you only have an opinion. If you can find successes in other schools on the same issue where you have data reflecting poor performance, a visit to the school could be helpful. What is your freshman failure 8

rate? How are your schools reading or math scores? Use data to define the problem then sit down with your leaders to define a solution. A second way is to find articles, books, DVDs, etc. that describe a school that has, or is in the process of stretching itself into being similar to the school you want to be. Compare their processes and results to yours. A third method is to use a consultant to guide your leadership team through a change process. In addition, PLC leaders should be constantly on the lookout for success stories in their schools. Do not sit in an office and wait for the stories to come to you. Leaders must constantly: Clarify the PLC vision Build capacity in teacher teams Monitor individual team progress attend portions of meetings (best) or examine artifacts. When monitoring, keep in mind this concept from Fullan: Build capacity before passing judgment.

17.

Can you paint a picture of twins going through your school and have drastically different learning experiences based on the lottery of the teachers they drew? If so, is this good? Answers will vary by building Is it important that your staff is given a regular forum to examine what students have learned and share successful ideas that contributed to this learning? What other ideas do you have for PLC change motivation?

18.

19.

Suggestions for Requirement 4 Build Staff Capacity Before Evaluating

20. In his 2006 article PLC-appropriately entitled School Reform From the Inside Out, Using a leadership teams viewpoint, Richard Elmore writes of Reciprocal accountability stating: For every increment of performance I demand of you, I have an equal responsibility to provide you with the capacity to meet that expectation. Likewise, for every investment you make in my skill and knowledge, I have a reciprocal responsibility to demonstrate some new increment in performance. Based on this thought, what responsibilities do the following positions have in the PLC implementation process? a. Central Office Administration Ideally, central office should be leading the change. This means training the principals regarding PLC leadership, demonstrating that PLCs are a top priority, and clearing the way for teacher-release time to do PLC work. 9

Minimally, central office must provide teacher release time and not interfere with building PLC efforts. b. Principal Principals must lead their buildings by developing the knowledge and skills of core team members (teacher leaders) who, in turn, assist the principal in educating the staff. The principals sessions with the core team are key in determining how PLCs should be adapted (not adopted) by the school. The importance of the principal and building administration team leading the PLC charge cannot be overstated. A leadership void at this level is perhaps the biggest detriment to PLC progress. Building administration leadership means a constant presence at PLC meetings particularly in the early stages. Teams function much better if they have guidance. See Core Leadership Team below. c. Core Leadership Team The core team of teacher leaders has a responsibility to learn how PLCs function and to determine, with the principal, how PLCs should be adapted by the school. The core team serves as a two-way communication conduit between PLC leaders and staff. Together, the principal and core team can make strategic decisions on how quickly to institute PLC characteristics. There is an art to change leadership. Part of that art is determining when and how hard to push for change. While the principal makes the final call, the core team and staff must be heard. d. Teachers to teammates Each PLC team member has a responsibility to respect team norms and be a contributing, supportive yet questioning member of the group. Team members accept responsibility for at least 90% of their teams students learning the essentials. When the team hits the 90% mark, it raises the bar toward better success.

21.

There are several books on the change process. One of the best is The Influencer. The book identifies six areas of influence that change leaders should address. The authors claim that if leaders successfully address at least four of these areas, the chances for implementing successful change are ten times greater: a. Personal Motivation: What should leaders do to influence the staff toward a positive answers for the, Is it worth my effort/why should I do this? questions that staff will ask. Make the undesirable desirable. Help staff find the answers to these questions: Whats in it for the faculty and principals? (See Appendix 11.) Whats in it for students? (See Questions 24 & 25.)

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How do PLCs appeal to the facultys personal values to their sense of pride and competition to their desires to produce learning results with their students?

b.

Personal Ability: What should leaders do to influence the staff toward a positive answers for the, Do I have the skills and time to do this? questions that staff will ask? Present PLCs as an alternative to traditional one size fits all - professional development. Help staff find the answers to these questions: Do all faculty and principals understand PLC concepts and have the capacity to execute them? What quick and frequent feedback can PLC leaders provide to continually guide the PLC change process? Social Motivation: What should leaders do to influence the staff toward a positive answer for the, How do my peers, especially the schools most respected teachers, perceive the change? question that staff will ask? Help staff find the answers to these questions: Who are the buildings opinion and union leaders? How can these leaders be engaged in open dialogue about adapting PLCs? How can peer pressure be mounted to create momentum toward PLCs? How can peers hold both teachers and principals accountable for PLC progress? Social Ability: What should leaders do to influence the staff toward a positive answer for the, Will my teammates help and support me in this endeavor? question that staff will ask? Help staff find the answers to these questions: Do all PLC teams have a list of clearly defined duties of which they have the abilities to perform? These duties should come from Appendices of this document. How should the information from the appendices be disbursed so the staff is not overwhelmed? What consent cooperation or help do teams need to accomplish these new tasks? Structural Motivation: What should leaders do to influence the staff toward a positive answer for the, What rewards will come from my school or district/building? question that staff will ask? PLC leaders must work together to determine: Early in the process, what small but meaningful incentives can be directly linked to faculty performing PLC vital behaviors/commitments as opposed to linking to only results? What warnings and eventual sanctions are appropriate for those who do not engage in these vital behaviors?

c.

d.

e.

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f.

Structural Ability: What should leaders do to influence the staff toward a positive answer for the, How well will the school or district support this change? question that staff will ask? PLC leaders must work together to determine: Is there time provided to meet as a PLC team? What systems are in place to provide an item analysis of the essentials on common assessments? How can the learning environment, particularly technology, complement PLC vital behaviors?

22.

In Learning By Doing, 2nd ed (2010, p. 2), DuFour and his co-authors warn PLC implementation leaders of additional issues staff will raise. These are issues your core team should be prepared to face. List some ideas how you would prompt conversations on these topics with your leadership team: a. GUIDING THOUGHT What makes PLCs more important than other school improvement efforts? PLCs create professional development directly linked to student learning results. They require teachers to quickly reflect and react to their students' learning of the essentials identified by the team. PLCs create a forum where teachers discuss: What are the essential learnings for their course? How are these essentials best taught? What do we do when students do not learn the essentials? What do we do for students who quickly master the essentials whils others are still struggling? Teachers study simple forms of student learning data to determine which classroom practices work best for students learning the essentials. More detail for this answer can be found in Appendix 3. b. WHAT are the templates for specific tasks? If a school is truly adapting PLCs, the principal and leadership team of administrators and teachers will adapt the templates given throughout the appendices to fit their particular needs. ADAPT from Appendices 3, 4, 5, 6 & 7. WHEN will we have time to do this? Is there anything that can be taken off our plate? There should be a two-pronged approach to this answer: The principal and core team must figure out a way to blend PLC efforts into the routines of teachers. They must examine options for dropping or blending other efforts to minimize the appearance of one more thing. See Question 31. The principal, core team and central office must unite in creating regular chunks of school day time for PLC work to occur.

c.

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d.

TIMELINE When will we be expected to show signs of progress? A timeline should be determined by the principal and core team. Ideally, administrative observation of team activities will determine what adjustments are necessary to the deadlines or the work expected by each deadline. Less ideal, adjustments will come from team feedback. QUALITY Assuming that capacity building will precede judgment, what criteria will be used to judge the quality of our work? Recall the concept of reciprocal responsibility. Just be sure that teach ers are trained on to do whatever task you are asking. VOICE Will the staff have a voice in expressing concerns as we move through the process? It is important that PLC leaders stretch the facultys growth rate, but stay attentive to staff concerns and understanding of challenges. PLCs often break down through misunderstanding of required tasks. There must be constant two-way dialogue, actually formative assessment, regarding the staffs understanding of PLC principles. YEAH, BUT questions What questions beginning with these words do you anticipate from staff? Heres an example YEAH, PLCs may be great in (more affluent, more parent-involved, more etc.) schools, BUT how do you expect them to work here because our school is not like that? One of the main functions of the core leadership team is to anticipate the Yeah, but statements from the staff. In the early stages, the principal and core leadership team should meet regularly to anticipate problems and create soultions.

e.

f.

g.

23.

One of many ways to influence staff change is to take the high road and present research demonstrating the value of the change. Here is an example of a statement that demonstrates the value of collaboration for staff. Here is a sample quotation from Gardner: Effective learning mirrors effective living. The real world demands collaboration, the collective solving of problems . . . Learning to get along, to function effectively in a group, is essential. Evidence and experience also strongly suggest that an individuals personal learning is enhanced by collaborative effort. The act of sharing ideas, of having to put ones own views clearly to others, of finding defensible compromises and conclusions, is in itself educative. a. Can you see an effective way to use this quote with staff? Answers will vary by building. b. Is there another quote or concept that comes to mind that demonstrates the high road reason to change? There is no shortage of good quotes in PLC literature. 13

24.

Another highbrow way to influence change is to pose the question: What do PLCs offer students? What ideas can you offer here? a. PLCs remove much of the instructional lottery aspect of a school. Especially at the secondary level, McLaughlin and Talbert (2001) state that a pair of twins can often move through the same school, taking the same courses from different teachers, and emerge with little in terms of a common learning experience (p. 64). PLCs offer students the best a collaborative teacher team can offer based on its self-reflection and research of the most effective methods of presenting the teamidentified content. b. Speaking at the 2005 Michigan Association of School Administrators January Conference, Harvards Richard Elmore stated that 80% of the difference in student performance comes from the variance between teachers within a building. In contrast, only 30% of the difference in student performance is tied to the school students attend. Dr. Elmore went on to say that students who go through a year of poor instruction may need as much as two years to recover. Students who get three consecutive years of poor instruction often do not recover. Teachers working in PLCs reduce the range of teacher effectiveness by sharing content, pedagogy, materials, and assessments. Teachers on a team assume responsibility for the learning of students of all teammates. PLCs make finding student support easier. Because teachers focus on the same measurable skills, they can design a plan of support for students who arent doing well. Under the current system it is difficult for students to seek help outside their classrooms because two courses with the same title sometimes have very little in common. PLCs define the target. If teachers know where theyre going, students can know too. If they can see the target and if we can help them learn to aim, they can HIT the target.

c.

d.

25.

Regardless of the success you have answering the two previous high road questions, its in everyones best interest if you address the inevitable: What do PLCs offer teachers? See Appendix 11.

Suggestions for Requirement 5 Evaluating PLCs

26. Answer these questions assuming you are an active member of a PLC team: a. If visitors sat in on your PLC meeting, what behaviors would they observe that would indicate learning was indeed the central, overriding purpose of the team? Observers would see: Discussion regarding the 4 DuFour critical questions (Appendix 3, second page) Discussion regarding student learning data on essential items 14

Discussion regarding what teaching methods worked and ideas on new teaching methods Discussion on how to reach the individual students who failed to reach proficiency with the essentials. Discussion on assessment how to efficiently administer formative assessments and what kinds of questions and how many to ask on a summative assessment Discussion on establishing a target percentage for summative student proficiency on each essential. All team teachers contributing ideas in an effort to get all team students to the proficient level for each essential. There should be talk of proficiency being a team responsibility rather than an individual responsibility.

b.

If visitors sat in your classroom, what behaviors would they observe that would indicate learning was your central, overriding purpose? Student-centered activities that highlight essential learnings Formative assessment checks Interventions for students who are struggling with essentials Advanced work for students who have mastered the essentials.

27.

In a PLC, there is no ambiguity regarding the commitment to learning, and not just the learning of students. Adults in a learning community are continually learning. How does your school promote learning for the adults who work there? Your answer should include traits that are systemic, meaning that PD is not isolated to teachers in a few subject areas. The training must be relevant for every teacher in terms of checking learning with all of his/her students. If your PLC team/school is acting as a PLC, there should be a detailed assessment of the current reality of the state of student learning vs. an ideal state. How would teams determine essentials? (about 10-12 items per semester that the teachers guarantee that 90% of the students will learn Thanks to Fraser High Schools Mike Lonze for this description) This determination is made by combining: Teacher experience regarding student needs Assessment scores on specific items. Assessments should include both: o Common teacher-made assessments o Standardized tests. Ever-changing state demands In his book The Six Secrets of Change, Fullan writes that change leaders must build capacity before formally evaluating. As a PLC leader, name 2-3 ways you could build each teamss capacity to function as a PLC. Answers will vary by school

28.

29.

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30.

A reality is that most people do what is inspected, not what is expected. As a PLC leader, identify 2-3 effective ways you would inspect each teams PLC work. a. Leaders must be present at PLC meetings b. Each team should be required to present the results of their essential assessments to the principal and demonstrate the discussions that take place. See Appendix 6. The principal and administrators must be in constant communication with PLC team leaders regarding PLC progress and concerns.

c.

Suggestions for Requirement 6 Focus: Maintaining a Laser Focus on PLCs by communicating a constant, consistent message on their importance.
31. DuFour states, In reality, many schools have multiple purposes that go unstated: ensuring the happiness of the adults who work there, protecting individual personal autonomy, providing a place for teachers to teach, and so on. You can add several more items to his thoughts. With this being the case, your teachers (and probably you) will think/say, Im so busy now, how do you expect me to do one more thing? a. While it is true that schools are asked to do many things, what do you think is the most basic, fundamental purpose of your school? Your school mission should make it clear that student learning is #1. Keep mission statements short so they are memorable. b. Identify 2-3 ways you and your leadership team address this One more thing issue? Ask: What can be dropped? (Are there other school improvement initiatives that are not required and less profitable than PLCs? What can be blended since the key to PLCs is getting teacher teams to quickly reflect and react to their students' learning of the essentials identified by the team, can all school improvement efforts be streamlined in this direction?

32.

A key to communication is building shared knowledge regarding the student learning issues that confront your school and developing ways to resolve these issues. a. How would a leadership team go about identifying the key learning issues in your building? b. c. How could you pull the faculty perhaps by teams into this discussion? What resources could be made available to assist the faculty in building shared knowledge?

33.

Learning By Doing articulates seven actions the principal and staff should use to convey their commitment to improving their school. These actions are:

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a. b. c. d. e. f. g.

Initiating structures and systems to foster qualities and characteristics consistent with the school they are trying to create. Creating processes to monitor critical conditions and important goals. Reallocating resources to support the proclaimed priority. Posing the right questions Modeling what is valued Celebrating progress Confronting violations of commitments Answers will vary by building 1) Is your school currently using any of these actions for the purpose of increasing student learning? 2) Knowing that Actions speak louder than words, are there some actions that need to be intensified or pulled from this list to communicate your schools genuine commitment to improving student learning? Are the effects of your schools improvement actions monitored? If so, how effective have your schools actions been? What additional actions would you suggest to improve learning in your school?

3)

4)

34.

Reflect on this statement: When something is truly a priority in an organization, people do not hope it happens; they develop and implement specific plans to ensure that it happens. What gets planned for in your school? Answers will vary by building

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Appendices 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 What Does a PLC Look Like? Background Questions for PLC Leaders What Do PLC Teams Do 5 Simple Steps PLC Beginner Steps Elementary & Secondary PLC Intermediate Steps PLC Team Report PLC Team Checklist Reaching Consensus Fist to Five Mission Presentation Dave Richards Logo Presentation Tom Heethuis Whats in It for Teachers?

Final: Resource List Articles, Presentations, Websites, Books

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Appendix
Item 1: What Does a PLC Look Like? Mike Schmokers Classic Description of What a PLC Looks Like
To illustrate how simple the concept is, consider the math department at Johnson City High School in New York. In one year, only 47% of their students passed the New York Regents Competency Exam. Did they decide to invest in a new math text or program or to bring in an outside consultant to conduct a series of workshops? No. Instead, math teachers simply divided the essential skills and knowledge from the Regents Exam into four quarters. They assembled a set of short, quarterly assessments for these topics and then met regularly to help each other prepare, test, and refine the best lessons and strategies they could devisetogether rather than individuallyto address the most difficult topics. Their common assessments acted as a self-managing mechanism. Andno surprise herethese assessments greatly increased the odds that teachers would teach the essential skills. But these common, short-term assessments also gave teachers something just as essential but rare in the teaching profession: frequent feedback on how well their short-term efforts were succeeding. Without this frequent feedback, improvement was impossible. With it, teachers could make corrections and adjustments when it countedregularly during the school year. As a result of this simple set of practices, the number of students who succeeded on the New York Regents Exam rose from 47% to 93% in a single year (in Dufour, Eaker, DuFour, 2005, p. 137.)

DuFours Answer: For the Advanced

From Defining A Learning Community by Dr. Rick DuFour, The School Administrator, May 2003 Numerals & underlines added.

The term professional learning community is in vogue these days, but what is a professional learning community? What would we expect to see in an organization that is functioning as one? First, the people in the organization have a (1) clear sense of the mission they are to accomplish and a (2) shared vision of the conditions they must create to achieve that mission. They work together in (3) collaborative teams that engage in collective inquiry into both best practices for accomplishing their aims and the current reality of the conditions in their organization. Any (4) discrepancy between best practice and the reality of their school spurs them to take action to reduce that discrepancy. The entire organization is designed to engage teams in a (5) cycle of continuous improvementgathering and analyzing data and information, identifying weaknesses and areas of concern, working together to develop strategies to address specific weaknesses and concerns, supporting each other as they implement those strategies, gathering new data and information to assess the impact of the strategies and then starting the process all over again. This cycle is not an annual event, but is rather the (6) ongoing process that drives the daily work of people throughout the organization. Finally, the (7) effectiveness of the organization is assessed on the basis of results, rather than the intention or activities.

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Appendix Item 2 Background PLC Questions for PLC Leaders

These questions come from a 1999 article by Rick DuFour. The questions serve as a great starting point for schools wishing to become PLCs. The article is entitled Help Wanted: Principals Who Can Lead PLCs, NASSP BULLETIN, FEB 99, Vol. 83, No.604. 1. What are the characteristics of a professional learning community? 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. What knowledge and skills must we acquire to function as a PLC? What is our mission (fundamental purpose)? What is our vision of the school we are trying to create? What attitudes, behaviors, and commitments must we demonstrate for our vision to be realized? What goals should we establish to move closer to the school we desire? Are we clear on what is to be accomplished and the criteria we will use in assessing our efforts? Are the current policies, programs, procedures, and practices of our school congruent with our stated V&V? What are our plans to reduce discrepancies? Have we clarified what we want our students to know and be able to do? How will we respond when they do not master the intended learning objectives? By what criteria will we evaluate student work? How will we know if we are becoming more effective as a school? What evidence will we use? Have we established systematic collaboration as the norm in our school? How can we more effectively use the time and resources that are available? How can we create more effective partnerships with parents and other members of the community? What must we do to sustain our improvement efforts until they (or is it we) are institutionalized?

7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14.

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Appendix Item 3

What PLC Teams Do in Simple Terms

Focus on the five critical questions
Since clarity is essential in communicating a new concept, this page gives the simplified version of what PLC teams do. PLC team conversations focus on the five critical PLC questions Quest 1-4 come from DuFour, Eaker, DuFour. 1. What is it we want all students to learnby grade level, by course, by unit of instruction? (Teachers create a list of learning essentials for each course/grade level and share ideas on pedagogy.) How will we know when each student has acquired the intended knowledge and skills? (Teachers create a common assessment covering the agreed-upon essentials and set a goal for assessment achievement.) How will we systematically respond when students experience initial difficulty in learning? (Teachers receive an item analysis of the common assessment results organized by the subtests on each essential item. They then apply strategies the team has created to get every student to each subtests assessment goal.) How will we deepen the learning for students who have already mastered essential knowledge and skills? (Teachers create strategies to keep the successful students engaged meaningful learning). (2005, p. 15.) 5. What instructional practices working best for our students? in are

In order to get teachers to the point where they can discuss the pedagogy that makes a difference, there must be recognition that some teaching practices are better than others. This is determined by results with each particular group. To highlight these practices, the teachers who are achieving the outstanding results need to be celebrated. Two Basic Steps for PLC Teams Schmoker breaks PLC teamwork into these two simple steps that encompass the four critical questions and move teacher conversations beyond feel-good goobledygook and give it an empirical and precise edge: Clear, frequent talk about the concrete details of instructionwhat to include and how to execute a lesson plan based upon the results of common assessments. In other words, teachers examine what techniques netted the best results in the learning of the essentials on the common assessment. Recognition and celebration of superior practices and their subsequent results (in DuFour, Eaker, DuFour, 2005, p. 143).

2.

3.

4.

Judith Warren Little on PLC Team Focus

Unless the goals of collaboration were explicitly focused on achievement [underline added], the dynamics of team meetings would prevent any meaningful critique of current practice that would lead to improvement; typical teamwork tended to confirm present practice without evaluating its worth. In such settings, teachers felt comfortable merely sharing their work (1990, p. 517).

21

PLC Guiding Questions: DuFour & Eakers 4 + 1 More PLC teams focus their work on answering these five critical questions.
1. What is it we want all students to learnby grade level, by course, and by unit of instruction? Teacher teams: Create a list of 8-10 semester learning essentials for each course or grade-level subject and share pedagogy. Consult the following when defining the essentials: State curriculum standards District curriculum guides Recommendations from appropriate professional organizations Data showing strengths and weaknesses of students as recorded on state and local assessments Critique all aspects of the current curriculum for what stays and what goes. Thoroughly uncovering the essentials is considered more important than covering all non-essentials. Teachers collaborate so every student within the team learns essentials (Eaker, 2002). How will we know when each student has acquired the intended knowledge and skills? Teacher teams: Develop common formative & summative assessments measuring the learning of essentials. Formative assessments are assessments FOR learning teachers react by prescribing changes in instruction just as doctors react when prescribing changes after a routine physical. These should be frequent because they allow teachers to adjust instruction. Summative assessments are assessments OF learning teachers see final learning results just as doctors see final autopsy results (DuFour, DuFour Eaker, Karhanek, 2004, p. 24). Clarify the criteria (such as rubrics) used to judge students work. Set assessment goals such as: __% of the students will score __% will score __ % or better on the essential portion of our common assessment given on _____ (date). Those who fall below this mark will be given extra time and support until for learning the essentials. Chart each students scores to determine if (s)he attained the goal set for each essential. How will we respond when students experience initial difficulty in learning? Teachers teams: Identify the students who did not reach the learning goal for each essential. Apply strategies the team has created to get every student to each essentials assessment goal. By definition, these goals are essential as opposed to nice to know (Eaker, DuFour & Burnette, 2002, pp. 35-38). Provide additional time and support to students who struggle with the essentials. Interventions are immediate, systematic (not reserved for a few), timely (frequent), and directive (not a mere invitation for help) [Dufour, Dufour, Eaker, Karhanek, 2004, pp.7-8]. How will we deepen the learning for students who have already mastered essential knowledge and skills? Teachers create strategies to keep the successful students engaged in meaningful learning. (DuFour, Eaker, DuFour, 2005, p. 15.) One More Question Added from Fraser What methods of instruction will best lead to students achieving team learning goals? Teachers perform home-grown (action) research as well as apply conference and academic-based learnings.

2.

3.

4.

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Appendix Item 4

Format and majority of content developed by Carol Davis, former English department head at Fraser High School.

Nine Elementary School PLC Team Beginner Steps

1-28-12

A PLC is a PROCESS (not an event) for professional development that is based on the welldocumented idea that the teacher collaboration is better than teacher isolation. 1. Choose the essential skills to be mastered in the pilot subject (math is suggested) the team selects. Your essentials (8-10/semester or 1-2/unit) are the most important content points/skills of your subject. Think of the skills most needed to succeed at the next level. Each team member must commit to 90% of its students learning these essentials. When that mark is met, the bar will be raised. Obviously, team members will teach many other items in addition to the essentials. The way teachers teach & the materials used remain a matter of choice. Develop quarterly or unit assessments to test the essentials and other things taught. The team must develop a goal for achievement (all students will score a minimum of __% on each essential) and write multiple questions (3-5) for each essential as a measuring stick toward the team-set goal. You will track the progress of each student on these essentials using two Data Director reports. This is not expected to be in place until Semester 2 of the PLC process Share best practices, good ideas, successes/failures for teaching the essentials at both the start of the semester and after seeing your quarterly test data. Meanwhile, back in the classroom, teachers will . . . 4. 5. 6. Teach the stuff. Support students through team-developed interventions for each essential. Frequently assess the students mastery of the stuff using informal methods. While teachers continue to Meet and . . . KEY STEP - Analyze answers to common questions on the common assessments & share ideas for team improvement. Data Director graphs will eventually be mandatory; data walls are suggested. Reassess & Revise your plans. Begin the cycle again
What Is an Essential? At its most basic level essentials are what you want your students to know by the end of the course (either semester or year). Where essentials find their power is when teachers focus on the specific items that students have to learn. In my experience a good number of essentials would vary between 15-25 for a semester course. Essentials are: our guarantee, our promise, our commitment that our students will know these concepts, they will understand them, and they can apply them. For an essential to be effective it must be specific, measurable, and manageable. It must be re-taught and re-assessed as needed. It is power of the essential that helps to shape the course, focus the student, and drive the curriculum. Dr. Mike Lonze, Fraser High School Principal

2.

3.

7.

8. 9.

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Secondary School PLC Team Starter Steps

5-15-12

Keep it simple by: I. Starting with essentials for a unit. II. Maybe starting with just the core areas. III. IV. Having no more teams than you have administrators to guide. Assigning teams these duties: A. Pick an essential or two for a unit make sure the essential is well-defined. B. Discuss (student-centered) pedagogy for the essential in addition to pooling the teams pedagogical knowledge, look for an outside resource or two to compare what the team knows with what current research is finding. Discuss systematic formative assessment for the essential(s) This provides feedback to the teacher regarding the students grasp of the essential(s). Based on the formative feedback, teachers should alter instruction for those students struggling with the essential(s). Discuss summative assessment for the essential 1. What kind of questions? 2. How many questions? 3. Determine proficiency - Establish a percentage of correct answers or (for longer answers) create/select a rubric and designate a proficiency score) 4. Set a target for proficiency Should the team expect 90% proficiency? If not, what number? 5. Establish a data format (Data Director is recommended but training is necessary before it can be demanded) for discussing essential results a) Table showing performance by individual student b) Table comparing performance of teachers who teach the same class

C. D. E.

V.

Higher level PLC team skills: A. Develop interventions for students who did not reach proficiency with the essentials on the summative test B. Develop advanced work for students who did reach proficiency with the essentials on the summative test. What Is an Essential?
At its most basic level essentials are what you want your students to know by the end of the course (either semester or year). Where essentials find their power is when teachers focus on the specific items that students have to learn. In my experience a good number of essentials would vary between 15-25 for a semester course. Essentials are: our guarantee, our promise, our commitment that our students will know these concepts, they will understand them, and they can apply them. For an essential to be effective it must be specific, measurable, and manageable. It must be re-taught and reassessed as needed. It is power of the essential that helps to shape the course, focus the student, and drive the curriculum. Dr. Mike Lonze, Fraser High School Principal

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Appendix Item 5

16 Elem/Sec Intermediate PLC Team Activities

Revised Jan 28, 2012 Repicky Adapt these to fit the readiness of your staff

1. 2.

Consider creating norms to govern team behavior (i.e., start on time, stick to PLC work, etc.). Using GLCEs, HSCEs, state benchmarks, national standards, and student learning information (local and state assessments), select essentialsitems that are deemed important for success at the next level. Essentials (about 8-10 per semester) are what the team guarantees 90% of its students will learn. The team must be willing to teach and reteach these items. The bar will raise when the 90% level of achievement is met. Begin by focusing on just 1 course/subject area. At some point, check that the essentials are aligned vertically. Sequence the essentials into teaching units. Share ideas on teaching the essentials. Discuss teacher practices that could discourage learning. Should some be abandoned? Teach a unit of instruction. Units will contain knowledge/skills deemed as both essential & nonessential. Since frequent learning feedback is important for teachers to see if students are getting it. Teachers should prepare frequent (2-3 per week) informal learning checks clickers, oral assessments, homework, quizzes, etc. In addition to informal learning checks, teams should create a common formative assessment that occurs prior to each unit test. Planning by units, typically 2-3 weeks work, is highly recommended as the way to begin PLC work. It will take multiple semesters to align units and develop common unit assessments and assessment reports. Establish a common grading system using rubrics for writing and percentages for assessments, homework, class work, etc. Commit to setting student achievement goals for the essentials on the common assessments. Example: __ % of our students will score __ % or better on the essential portion of our common formative assessment given on _____ (date). Those who fall below this mark will be given extra time and support until they learn these essentials. The assessment can test other unit items in addition to the essentials, but the goal setting, reteaching, and retesting will be focused on just the essentials. Prepare a team set of interventions for the essentials. These reteaching activities that offer extra time and support should commence quickly when the formative assessments indicate students are struggling. To keep interventions manageable, they should be designed for the essentials only. Focus on reteaching essentials, not entire units. Also consider retaeching using alternative forms of pedagogy. Spiral the learning checks on the essentials throughout the semester, especially those where the formative assessments indicate students are struggling. This means that the assessment for Unit 2

3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

8.

9. 10.

11.

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contains questions on the essentials from Unit 1. The second quarter assessment contains first quarter essential work. The number of review questions will generally be less than the questions on the current essentials. Since teachers are ensuring kids will know all essentials, a few review questions on each essential should appear on every assessment. 13. In addition to the end of unit summative assessments, create and give a common summative assessment near the end of each quarter. Ideally, teachers will stagger the assessments so they are not all on the same day. These assessments measure how well students learned all of the essentials plus the other information presented up to that point. Adjust the instructional program according to the strengths and weaknesses shown by the summative results. KEY STEP - Prepare a quarterly data report on student answers to common questions on the common assessment. (Carman-Ainsworth HS does 3/year skipping the 1st quarter). See format for this report on the following page. After exhausting the team interventions, help develop a school pyramid to provide more time & support for strugglers while moving forward or providing enrichment for students who have mastered the standard. Assess to measure the effectiveness of the time & support. A high level PLC practice is to validate the rigor of the team assessments is to establish the correlation between student success on the team assessment and high stakes assessments like the state assessment. You don't want kids being successful on the local assessment and failing on the state. (DuFour, 2006).

14.

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Appendix Item 6 PLC Team Report

Required from PLC Teams by Date Determined Admin Revised 1-28-12 by Repicky
I. List of essentials for the year an essential is something the team guarantees 90% of its students will know. When this goal is achieved, the bar is raised. Essentials are critical for success at the next level. Results of a Common Unit Assessment A. Unit essentials are identified. B. Target scores for essentials are compared to student performance. 1. Mastery Example: 80% or above 2. Basic: Example 70-79% 3. Concern: Example: 0-69% C. Collaborative Evidence 1. How are team members sharing responsibility for all team students achieving the goal? 2. How are team members working collaboratively as opposed to competitively? Common Assessment with specific questions earmarked for each unit essential 1. How many questions were selected for each essential? 2. In retrospect, how did this number of questions work? In other words, do you feel that the number of questions gave a good read on the degree of student learning on each essential? Two Data Director Reports 1. School Exam Report (teachers vs. essentials) a. Did a particular teachers results stand significantly above or below the performance of the team? b. If so, what might explain this? [Note that there are several reasons why this could be so without getting into teacher quality.] c. If the team goal for an essential was not reached, what changes will the team make? d. Even if the team achieves its goal on this report, compare this to the next report (individ students vs. essentials) to see what students need help 2. Classroom Performance Summary Report (individ students vs. essentials) a. What individuals need interventions (more time & support) on each essential? b. Is the time & support necessary throughout the class or just for select individuals?

II.

D.

E.

III.

More advanced team skills admin determines when teams are ready for these A. Best Practices What research or experimentation went into seeking improved instruction? B. Student Prep Based on results from previous years, what extra steps did the team take to prepare students for the most difficult unit essentials? C. Interventions What time and support was provided to students struggling with learning the units essentials? D. Enrichment What is the team doing to enrich the learning of students who mastered the essentials on the early attempts?

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Appendix Item 7

PLC Team Checklist Team ________________________ Date __________________ PLC Topics of Discussion
Developed by Wood Revised 1-28-12

___ Essentials defined ___ Essentials grouped into units ___ Unit pacing guidelines ___ Curriculum maps ___ Timelines for assigned tasks ___ What Works Pedagogy ___ Team Insights ___ Research ___ Grading ___ Common Rubrics ___ Weighing assessments, homework, classwork, etc.

___ Develop common assessments ___ Informal ___ Formative ___ Summative ___ Analyze common assessments ___ Informal ___ Formative ___ Summative ___ Data Reports - KEY STEP ___ Data Director Reports ___ Data Wall ___ Next mtg agenda ideas noted ___ Todays minute/notes recorded ___ Todays notes submitted to admin

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Appendix 8 Reaching ConsensusA Method Fist to Five

(DuFour, 2000f) CONSENSUS Defined: You have consensus when all points have been heard and the will of the group is evident even to those who oppose it the most (DuFour, 2000f). 1. 2. 3. Pose a question. Split the group in half. Group 1 group brainstorms proGroup 2 brainstorms con. This technique keeps the loud and negative from intimidating the positives. Without asking for individual positions pro and con, let all points be heard. Announce that those who most vehemently oppose the group will have a chance to explain their point after doing the Fist to Five. Use the Fist to Five to determine the will of the group. a. 5 = Ill champion the idea b. 4 = strongly agree c. 3 = agree d. 2 = reservations e. 1 = oppose f. fist = veto worst idea ever The leader announces what was observed as the will of the group during the Fist to Five procedure. As I looked over the group, I saw a preponderance of hands indicating yes. Did anyone see it differently? Try one last chance to compromise Can we alter anything that will bring you over? Allow dissenters last response The will of the group should now be evident even to those who most oppose it. The leader has two options at this point. Based on the proposals support, the groups may: a. Commit to living with the proposal or b. Revise the proposal See practice exercise on This process not only allows for progress but it also gives concrete next page feedback to see the position of the entire group.

4. 5.

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9. 10. 11.

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Achieving Consensus A Practice Exercise

In consensus building, the goal is to find a solution that all team members can live with, not to take a majority rules vote (Bailey, Ross, Bailey, Lumley, 1997, p. 73).

Goal:
Practice the Fist-to-Five strategy to reach consensus.

Procedure:
A. Give each member a copy of the Fist-to-Five procedure from the previous page. This will be the guide for the exercise. Use the Fist-to-Five method by choosing a current problem and having the group propose a solution. The group will then work towards consensus on the solution. This practice works best if all group members are familiar with the issue. Some controversy is needed to demonstrate how the system works, but dont make the subject too emotional. Emotions tend to obscure the goal of this exercise. Examples of problems and solutions are: 1. Block scheduling (with 7 academic periods) will help solve the problem of students losing opportunities to take elective classes. The states new graduation requirements will help high school students be better prepared for the future. Banning pop (French fries, pizza) from the schools is necessary to attack the child obesity problem. The ______ professional sports team should hire a new coach. The city council should do _______ to solve the ___________ problem.

B.

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Appendix 9 Mission presentation Dave Richards emailed in 2011-12 Appendix 10 Mission Logo Presentation Tom Heethuis emailed in 2011-12 Items can be requested from rick.repicky@gmail.com

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Appendix 11

HOPE

Teachers Tune The Radio Dial to WIIFM Whats in It for Me?

Whats in It for Teachers?

Contributions from Fraser High School teacher Carol Davis and Dr. Dave Richards 1. PLCs hold HOPE for the teacher as well as for the studentsHope that teachers will improve by collaboratively seeking best practicesHope that students will improve by having teachers with better information at their disposal. PLCs can make our jobs easier . . . and probably more fun. Wouldnt it be nice to have a meaningful conversation with peers? Teachers gain ideas, materials, and most importantly, support from each other as they learn from teammates strengths and support weaknesses. SAT scores, the more likely new teachers are to leave the profession (p. 993). The intellectual challenge of PLCsstaying current with research, learning new content, experimenting with pedagogy, creating common assessments, tracking student progress, designing student supportsserves as a way to retain those teachers who seek intellectual challenge. 6.

2.

3.

4.

PLCs offer ownership & leadership A school improvement plan that is generated from within PLCs leads from top, middle, and bottom. Teachers PLCs structure school-day time to become owners and investors in the allow teacher teams to address the school, rather than mere tenants DuFour & Eaker critical questions (Barth, Phi Delta Kappan, Feb 2001). (See Appendix 3). Grossman, Wineburg and Teachers become Woolworth (2001) state, Too often PLCs provide a game plan owners and the school leader is someone who for meeting NCLB & AYP has completed a degree program investors in the requirements. Theres no rather than someone who has school, rather guarantee but at least emerged . . . and earned the right to than mere theres a plan. The stakes represent the collective vision (p. tenants (Barth, have changed for public 996). 2001). schools. All kids must learn or else . . . PLCs offer intellectual renewal Grossman, Wineburg, and Woolworth, (2001) call for this renewal to fill a void in what the researchers call the intellectually barren atmosphere of many schools (p. 993). This scholarly abyss contributes to a new teacher attrition rate that is highest amongst the strongest academicians. The Grossman team states, The higher the 7. PLCs develop a sense of ownership Teachers play a major role in professional development as teachers teach teachers which results in a celebration of teaching rather than fixing teachers (Inverness, 1999, Part III, p. 4). PLC teachers do school improvement rather than have improvement done to them (DuFour, DuFour, Eaker, and Karhanek, 2004, p. 145).

5.

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8.

PLCs produce a body of shared knowledge and allow for legacies PLCs are a vehicle for sharing the wisdom and insights of all teachers. Legacies come from such sharing. Sarason (1990) supports the wisdom of team-based professional development stating that individualized training may help one or two faculty members, but it seldom changes a school. (in Grossman, Wineburg and Woolworth, 2001, p. 948).
PLCs reduce the sense of isolation Teachers know what their teammates are doing and are not left alone to decide what skills/content are important and how these should be assessed. Although united in essential content, teachers are free to choose their methods as long as they get results on the common assessment. PLCs give teachers a broader perspective as they Plan, Do, Check, React as a team rather than as individuals. PLCs help rookies & teachers new to a course/grade level grow - Teachers see hundreds of lesson ideas and are offered a variety of support specific to their subject. PLCs have common assessments that focus teams with relevant feedback Common assessments report the status of the teams learning goals and allow teachers to measure their effectiveness over time relative to others teaching the same concepts. PLCs help teachers reach nontraditional students. McLaughlin and Talbert (2001) state that teachers who have the most success engaging nontraditional students, teach in schools and departments with a strong professional community committed to making innovations that support student and teacher learning and success (pp 38-39). If your classroom is not full of Wally and Beaver Cleavers, PLCs present an opportunity to share ideas on adjusting pedagogy to todays students (p. 32).

13.

9.

PLCs make school improvement more sustainable. Administrators become facilitators of the school plan rather than architects and enforcers of their own plan. Rather than prescribe teaching mechanics, PLCs foster policies that enable good practice (Lieberman and Miller, 2005, p. 153). While strong building leadership is required to establish PLCs, the result is a system that is relatively independent of the person is in charge. In a PLC that is ingrained into the culture of a building, administrative changes have minimal effect in school improvement efforts. PLCs foster a culture that appreciates: a. Competency Teachers are seen as problem solvers. b. Belonging Maslows hierarchy of needs shows that a sense of belonging is critical to the development of the whole person. c. Usefulness PLCs credit teachers for their initiative, industriousness, and involvement. d. Potency Teachers share leadership. While administrators have the final say, teachers are in a position to influence decisions. e. Optimism The above characteristics develop a sense that by working together our kids can learn the essentials (Bernhausen, p. 5). PLCs allow for application of professional development. They are not sit and git. Recognizing that workshops without followup are useless, PLCs provide coherence that allows for teachers to apply new learning. Schools that have developed to the point of having coaching for teachers can provide the 20-25 trials over 8-10 weeks needed to effectively implement new learning (WestEd, Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning, and North Central Regional Educational Laboratory, 2002, p. 18).

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Appendix Item (Last) Articles, Presentations, Websites Feel Free to add other items Article-Presentation-Site Author Key Points
Allthingsplc.info Assessment A Goldilocks Analysis of Assessment in Teachers College Record, August 2011 (Vol. 113, #8, p. 18271862), Ask Rick Repicky for abstract or purchase at http://www.tcrecord.org/Content.asp?ContentId=16175 Change Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail Harvard Business Review, Jan 2007 Grading http://steveventura.com/ken1. Pdf Effective Grading Practices:Creating a Compelling Case for Improvement Erica Johnson Website of the DuFour organization great source for ideas Ultimately, accountability [assessment] is not only about measuring student learning but actually improving it, Good 3 min video is available at this site explaining the article a) Analysis of the frequent errors in the change process Create the case for improvement Learn the elements of effective grading Analyze common grading systems Experiment with alternative systems Create improved feedback systems

John P. Kotter

Steve Ventura, The Leadership & Learning Center

b) c) d) e) f)

Grading Educational Leadership, Nov 2011, Vol 69, #3 www.ascd.org/publications/educationalleadership.aspx Grading articles suggested by Jeff LaPerriere Preparing Students to learn Without Us. Will Ricahrdson, Educational Leadership, Feb 2012 A Minnesota District Gets Rid of Lethal Grading Practices. Marshall Memo, mar 10, 2010 also in Educational Leadership, Nov 2011. Grading Practices: The Third rail. Erickson, Principal Leadership, Mar 2010 Role of Zero in Grading. http://www.principalspartnership.com Reforming Grading Practices in Secondary School. OConnor, Principals Research Review, Jan 2009 Effective Grading. Reeves, Educational Leadership, Feb, 2008. The Case Against Zero. Reeves, Phi Delta Kappan, Dec 2004. Homework: Issues of Fairness and Effectiveness. Phi Delta Kappan, Apr, 2008. Leadership In Praise of Top-Down Leadership, The School Administrator, Nov 2007 Leadership Help Wanted: Principals Who Can Lead PLCs, NASSP BULLETIN, FEB 99, Vol. 83, No.604

Entire issue devoted to a discussion of grading articles

Rick DuFour

DuFour describes 3 different approaches to building a PLC, but then describes the responsibility PLC leaders have if they fail to build consensus to change. DuFour describes 5 requirements for principals who focus on learning and offers a series of questions (Appendix Item 2) leadership teams should pose to the staff in the beginning stages of PLC building.

Rick DuFour

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Leadership Keep it Simple, Smithsonian, Sep 2012, Special Issue on Style & Design, pp. 42-29, 90-92.

Walter Isaacson

Article can guide PLC leaders past one of the major errors of implementation overwhelming staff.

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Books/Chapters/Studies Book or Chapter Author(s)

Leaning by Doing, 2nd ed, Chpt 10, 2010 1st ed, Chpt 9, 2006 Building a Professional Learning Community at Work: A Guide for the First Year, 2010, Solution Tree Press Dufour, DuFour, Eaker & Many Graham & Ferriter

Key Points
Offers a table on cultural shifts Creating a culture is one way to overcome staff just doing stuff. Title says it all Chapters include reproducible worksheets Chpt Titles: Part 1 - Summer: Committing to a Common Purpose Chpt 1 Starting with a Vision Chpt 2 Empowering the Core Team Part 2 Fall: Building a Team Chpt 3 Creating trust Chpt 4 Supporting Team Development Part 3 Winter: Weathering the Challenges Chpt 5 Negotiating Personalities & Conflicts Chpt 6 Experiencing Frustration Part 4 Spring: Looking Forward Chpt 7 Connecting Data Analysis & Instructional Improvement Chpt 8 Building Collective Intelligence Its beauty is its simplicity short descriptions of key starter steps

Professional learning Communities at Work: Planbook 2006, Solution Tree Press Accountability in Action

DuFour, DuFour, Eaker

Reeves

Gaining Traction, Gaining Ground, 2005 Available from www.edtrust.org - Type in the title in the search box

Education Trust

90/90/90 Schools - Many schools have 90% of their students achieving high academic standards according to independently conducted tests of academic achievement despite the fact that their students are 90% minority and 90% free & reduced. This chapter examines 13 common characteristics of these schools. Readers can see the characteristics parallels to PLCs. This study examines How some high schools accelerate learning for struggling students. It notes that high impact schools tend to differentiate themselves from average schools in 5 areas: culture, academic core, support, teachers and time/other resources. Again the reader is invited to see how PLC traits surface in these schools.

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