Limestone Coast Professional Learning Communities where are we now?

1. Limestone CoastProfessional Learning Communities where are we now? Katrina Spencer and Margot Foster August 16th 2007

2. Building learning community. . . What is the quality of the experience you wished to have in your PLC? How much risk have you been prepared to take? What level of engagement have you committed to? How surprised have you been? How prepared are you to contribute to other people’s learning?

3. Where to today? • ‘I forgot the iced Vo-Vos!’ – reflecting on the first visit • Reconvene in your PLC – synthesis around 4 big ideas - organisational issues – successful practices and approaches - reflection on own learning – ahas and ouches - deepening the challenge - how much further can I/we take this learning? - sustaining the learning • Advice to the district for 2008 • Trading Post – learning about - engagement in learning - wellbeing - teacher learning & development - ensuring learner success • Prep for next meeting (term 4) and 2008

4. Big Ideas from our first sessionLearning is not just increasing the store of knowledge, taking in and retaining more and more information, it is about searching for meaning, developing understanding and relating that understanding to the world around us. Quality learning is about conceptual change – seeing the world differently is the essential outcome. Willis 1993

5. Big Ideas from our first session Adaptive challenges go beyond our current capacity or current way of operating.

6. Big Ideas from our first sessionDefining a PLC A professional learning community is: • an inclusive group of people, • motivated by a shared learning vision, • who support and work with each other, • finding ways, inside and outside their immediate community, • to enquire on their practice and together learn new and better approaches that will enhance all pupils’ learning.Stoll et al 2006

7. Big Ideas from our first sessionSuccessful PLCs • Form around a compelling issue • Focus on student learning • Create new opportunities for adult learning • Plan and manage for success

8. In your PLC, then …… • Using the personal recording sheet, determine your shared response to each question – all take a personal record • Form new foursomes – only 1 person from each PLC • Share your group responses to each question • From your varied PLC responses, synthesise your “advice to the district re PLCs for 2008”

9. District Advice- PLCs / 2008 • Keep existing groups [if they want to] • Do we invite and include others?? How? • Can we have ‘nice’ exit strategies for those who want to leave • Forming around compelling questions • Advice- keep across levels of schooling groups • Going deep needs at least 12 months • 1 day a term is a useful model and balance with district business days • Travelling together creates an opportunity • Taking it to the next level- staff, shared PD, district role to extend • Documenting great ideas and processes to share across the groups • Murray is brokering [$$$$] for his vacancy • Presenting the learning- add high stakes but not competition!! MI8 ideas

10. Trading Post Choose an area of interest 1 John Shelton 2 Asha Crozier 3 Kirsty Traher 4 Anna Young

11. Final Thoughts • Touchstones: • Will this make a difference for learners? • Am I learning? • Is this reflected in my practice/actions? • Any others?? Coming together is the beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.Henry Ford (1863-1947) American industrialist

12. lunch