Professional Learning Communities

1. Professional Learning Communities Martin County Schools November 14, 2011

2. Before we Begin, Please Visit http://region1rttt.wikispaces.com/ • Add this wikispace to your favorites • The agenda, presentation, and the ticket-out-of-the door can be located under “Region 1 Events”

3. Can We Agree? • To be actively involved • Value differences • Agree to disagree • Listen • Don’t take it personally • Be honest • Stay focused on established purpose and goals

4. Our Agenda • Welcome, introductions, agenda overview • Assess your understanding of a PLC • Identify the need for a culture shift • Discuss five attributes of a PLC • Discuss how to establish effective PLCs • Develop an action plan • Questions • Ticket out the Door

5. MS Office Clip Art A Professional Learning Community is…Affinity Diagram • Individually: Silently • Consider what you know about PLCs. • Write one thought per sticky note. • Write as many thoughts as you have. • Whole Table: Quietly • Combine all sticky notes on the table. • Organize similar ideas in categories. • Label the categories. • Stack/combine like ideas. • Identify three major ideas that emerged.

6. Professional Learning Communities Play Video http://www.pd360.com/index.cfm?ContentId=1866

7. Cultural Shifts in Professional Learning Communities School Self-Assessment

8. Where is your school now? • Present ideas to entire faculty • Conduct team-based action research

9. Where is your school now? • Decisions made on the basis of individual preferences • Decisions made collectively by building shared knowledge of best practices

10. Where is your school now? • Infrequent summative assessments • Frequent common formative assessments

11. Where is your school now? • Provide remediation • Provide intervention

12. Where is your school now? • Provide individual teachers with curriculum documents • Engage collaborative teams to share knowledge regarding the essential curriculum

13. Think, Pair, and Share • Where is your school now? • Where does your school need to go?

14. A Shift in the Work of Teachers

15. A Shift in the Work of Teachers

16. 5 Attributes of Professional Learning Communities PLCs focus exclusively on learning and teaching PLCs place decision-making in the hands of the teachers PLCs, allow teachers focus on developing supportive relationships PLCs provide ongoing teacher professional development PLCs increase teaching expertise for participating teachers

17. “A vision is an expression of hope, and if we have no hope, it is hard to create a vision.” Peter Block The Empowered Manager

18. Establishing a Professional Learning Community

19. Four Critical Learning Questions That Drive the Work of a PLC • What do we want each student to learn? • How will we know when each student has learned it? • How will we respond when a student experiences difficulty in learning? • How will we respond when a student already knows it?

20. Thinking System Level • Group Discussion and ReflectionAt your table Count off 1-4 Get together by numberEach group: Take one colored card Answer the questions on your card Discuss and record Be prepared to share with the group Identify the most urgent issue that emerges at your discussion (What do we need to work on REALLY soon?)

21. “School districts should not try to simply build a learning community that has as many definitions as there are people defining it. The emphasis should be on restructuring how people work together. That’s what ultimately has an effect on the classroom.” Nelda Cambron-McCabe, School Administrator

22. Take a Break

23. Professional Learning Community Norms • Start on time / End on time • One meeting—one conversation. • Assume positive intent • Observe cell phone etiquette. • Have fun! **At the initial PLC meeting, the group picks 3 to 5 norms that will govern their PLC meetings for the year.

24. Consensus is: All group members contribute and share opinions. Differences are viewed as helpful. Those who disagree indicate a willingness to experiment for a certain time period. All members share the final decision and the responsibility to implement it. Consensus is not: A unanimous vote. The result is everyone’s first choice. Conflict or resistance will be overcome immediately. What is Consensus?

25. Professional Learning Community Agenda • Team Norms • Be on time. • 1 meeting — 1 conversation • Turn cell phones on vibrate or off. Next Meeting Time: Wednesday, Planning Period Main Topics of Discussion: Smart Goals Members Present: Elizabeth, Gayle, Linda, Cindy, William, Michael, Steve, Alice, Cathy

26. Teacher Academy Middle School PLC Meeting Sample • By the end of the meeting, we will have: • Reviewed last week’s staff development activity • Compiled the data from the staff for the School-Wide Matrix and • Recognitions Program • Agreed on a clear definition for the acronym S.O.A.R. • A clear objective of what our next 3 steps are with implementing PLC at TAMS

27. Professional Learning Community Agenda Purpose: To: At the end of this session, participants will… 1. 2. 3.

28. An Effective PLC Requires: • Trust • Commitment • Ground Rules/Norms • Flexible Roles

29. Building Trust • Trust is the foundation of teamwork. • Trust is all about vulnerability, which is difficult for most people. • Trust takes time and courage • Trust on a team is never complete; it must be maintained over time. --Patrick Lencioni, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

30. Ground Rules • This is a safe room • There is no rank in this room • All ideas are valid • Each person gets a chance to speak • Each person gets a chance to listen • We are here to focus on the future • Our purpose is improvement, not blame --Victoria Bernhardt

31. PLC Roles • Recorder – Take all of the notes for the meeting. • Timekeeper – Ensures that the meeting adheres to the time schedule. • Facilitator – Facilitates the meeting. • Gatekeeper – Keeps the meeting on topic. Roles within the PLC should rotate regularly!

32. Groups vs. Teams Groups… • produce work from a combination of individual contributions. • establish a set of behaviors or roles which may serve as a source of confusion. • lack an identity and sense of cohesion. Teams… • have people with complementary skills. • are committed to a common purpose, performance goals, and a common approach • hold themselves mutually accountable. --Don Clark, Matrix Teams

33. What a Professional Learning Community Looks Like

34. What a Professional Learning Community Looks Like • As you watch this video of a Professional Learning Community, consider the following questions. • Can you identify the roles of the individuals in the PLC? • What aspects of the PLC look like what is currently happening in your school? • What do you like about the PLC seen in the video? How can you take what you liked and implement it? Play Video

35. Professional Learning Community Simulation Identify your role in the group. Decide the ground rules/norms. Discuss the questions found on the card. Develop a plan to implement effective PLCs in your school or district.

36. “In a Professional Learning Community educators create an environment that fosters mutual cooperation, emotional support and personal growth as they work together to achieve what they cannot accomplish alone.” --“PLC at Work” by Rick and Rebecca DuFour and Robert Eaker

37. Questions

38. Ticket out the Door What do I Need Now? Please complete the Ticket–out-the-Door located on http://region1rttt.wikispaces.com/ http://www.psdgraphics.com/backgrounds/sticky-notes/

39. Region 1RttT Professional Development Leads • Dianne Meiggs dianne.meiggs@dpi.nc.gov 252-340-0113 Bertie Camden Currituck Dare Edenton-Chowan Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Gates Perquimans • Beth Edwards elizabeth.edwards@dpi.nc.gov 252-916-6842 Beaufort Hertford Hyde Martin Pitt Tyrrell Washington

40. Credits and Resources • Pitt County Schools RttT Team • Matrix Teams by Don Clark • PLC at Work by Rick and Rebecca DuFour and Robert Eaker • The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni, • The Empowered Manager by Peter Block • Whatever It Takes-How Professional Learning Communities Respond When Kids Don’t Learn by Richard, Rebecca DuFour, Robert Eaker, Gayle Karhanek • Videos from PD 360