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PROF190. PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES. PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES. Questions to consider: What is a professional learning community?. PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES. What is a professional learning community?
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PROF190 PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES
PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES • Questions to consider: • What is a professional learning community?
PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES • What is a professional learning community? • How will I work to become one in Prof190 and in my Practicum school group?
PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES • What is a professional community? • How will I work to become one in Prof190 and in my Practicum school group? • What are my roles as a member of a PLC in my Practicum?
PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES • What is a professional learning community? • How will I work to become one in Prof190 and in my Practicum school Group? • What are my roles as a member of a PLC in my Practicum? • What will my role be as a member of a PLC during my teaching career?
PLC ROLES School Principal: • Reviews long and short range plans; • Helps deal with challenging students; • Helps provide resources; • Helps prepare for parent/guardian interviews; • Helps link support staff within the school; • Helps choose mentors for new teachers; • Helps teachers plan for professional growth; • Provides staff development opportunities.
PLC ROLES Special Education Resource Teacher: • Assesses the academic needs of students having difficulty; • Knows about resources for Special Needs learners; • Knows how to develop an IEP for exceptional learners; • Knows how to plan a modified program to meet the needs of exceptional learners; • Understands the needs of students identified as exceptional learners; • Communicates with parents and other resource staff.
PLC ROLES Teacher Librarian: • Knows about curriculum; • Knows about instructional strategies; • Knows about assessment methods; • Knows about print and non-print resources; • Knows about current technology.
PLC ROLES Educational Assistant: • Supports the learning of exceptional students; • Knows about the strengths, needs, and instructional styles for exceptional learners; • Communicates about exceptional students’ progress.
PLC ROLES School Secretary: • Knows about procedures and policies for the school; • Knows about the community; • Is an important link between school and home.
PLC ROLES Custodial Staff and Student Bus Drivers: Are among the partners in a safe, comfortable school day.
PLC ROLES Teacher: ?
WEEK 2 READINGS SCHOOLS AS PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES • Meant to support and promote continued growth and development; • Bring about major and sustainable improvement in teaching and learning; • Ensure that ALL students learn; • Enhance all teacher effectiveness; • Create a clear way of action.
WEEK 2 READINGS PLC: A MODEL FOR ONTARIO SCHOOLS • Outlines the components of PLC’s, how they work, and the results that PLC’s should encourage. • What are the 6 components? • What is the important point made for each? • What’s the end result for the student and the teacher?
WEEK 2 READINGS PLC: A MODEL FOR ONTARIO SCHOOLS • What are the 6 components? • Ensuring learning for ALL students; • Focus on Results; • Sharing with others; • Collaborative Inquiry; • Leadership in the school; and • Alignment within the school - networks
WEEK 2 READINGS PLC: A MODEL FOR ONTARIO SCHOOLS • What is the important point made for each? • What’s the end result for the student and the teacher?
WEEK 2 READINGS Schmoker: PLCs: the Surest Fastest Path to Instructional Improvement • What are the fundamental Concepts? • What’s wrong with what we have now? • What’s the essence of good team meetings? • What’s going to make the big change better in the long run? • What do you think the core principles are?
A) What are the fundamental concepts? • Common set of essential curricular standards • A common schedule for teaching these standards. • Make sure that what is taught meets guidelines. • Meet regularly to peer tutor the best possible teaching methods. • Test to see if the material is being learned. • Use the results to modify the methods and improve the instruction. • Retest to see the effect of the modification(s), if any.
B) What’s wrong with what we have now? • Boards tend to do professional development at one location and bring the teachers in. • The instructor/leader is usually one who is considered having expertise in that topic. • S/he may be a consultant, a local school teacher or an expert brought in from outside the board. • The information is transferred and expected to be incorporated at the local school level. There is no commitment. • If the PLC operates, it often is used to confirm present practice. It is not focused enough or uses ongoing assessment to improve instruction. • Teachers are not adjusting their teaching.
C) What’s the essence of good team meetings? • Teachers are committed to improving instruction to maximize student learning. • Regular focused meetings – short and concise. • Collaborate and agree on what is taught and when. Everyone teaches the same material at the same time. • Effectiveness of the teaching is monitored by ongoing testing to measure results. • The testing results are used to refine the teaching. Content, if necessary, is taught again and retested.
D) What’s going to make the big change better in the long run? • Internal teams, with experience and practice, will continue to improve reflection and instruction based upon directed assessment. Confidence will be gained and develop into ‘ a steady stream of success’. • Internal ‘experts’ will be available to lead other school groups and expand that individual’s group success throughout the school.The effectiveness of this approach to teaching will encourage other staff to see the benefits and ‘buy in’. • The pattern of continued consistent formative assessment will ensure ‘ consistently delivered, viable curriculum’.
