Educators are faced with many challenges regarding professional learning communities and how they should be implemented into schools. Many schools are utilizing these strategies as a way to improve their schools for the principals, teachers, and students. Although there are many challenges implementing professional learning communities into schools, there are also many successes that provide students with the best education they can receive. Professional learning communities or PLC’s can be defined as a group of educators that meet regularly, share expertise, and collaborate to improve teaching skills and the academic performance of students. According to Huffman and Hipp, “PLC’s are implemented into schools to provide support for the school’s professional staff members who continuously seek to find answers through inquiry and act on their learning to improve student learning.” Today educators are trying to reform their…
identify and address any problems that the school may face and come up with solutions for the problems. This characteristic helped to develop and implement a professional learning community at the Austin Road Middle School. One may ask a question: What is a professional learning community and how does it assist in making a school effective? According to Webster’s New Dictionary (2003), a Professional Learning Community is referred to as “A group of educators that meets frequently, shares…
including education. Professional Learning Communities (PLC) are used as an effective form of communication among educators who meet collaboratively to continuously improve performance as well as student learning. The powerful collaboration that characterizes PLCs is a systematic process in which teachers work together to analyze and improve their classroom practice (DuFour). When done correctly, PLCs lead to steadfast growth in student learning resulting in overall school success (Provini).…
PLCs (Professional Learning Communities) are becoming more common place in the school setting. Whether these PLC's are before, after, or during school really doesn't matter. It is time set aside to plan curriculum, share teaching strategies, and discussion interventions for students. Curriculum-Knowing your curriculum is vital. It doesn't matter the content area, Big Universe has resources to help facilitate learning. Take time during your next PLC's to look for resources that will help your…
I enjoyed reading the scenario about "Creating a Professional Learning Community." I think I would have done the same steps the principal Williams did: create a leadership team, introduce the vision, let staff have an input on the vision, and create and maintaining a professional learning community. This is a great way of implanting the distributive leadership theory. I have read about the importance of professional learning communities, and I can see the benefits for students and staff. I…
school’s professional learning community this week, I discovered the areas of need that we need to work to establish a more effective professional learning community. Communication and collaboration among team members in my school is been improving, but it needs to be more productive. There are many differences that I have experienced between the forms of collaboration in my school and a learning community. One difference is collaboration and effective communications in our weekly meetings is…
According to Dufour (2004) the professional learning community model requires educators to focus on learning, working together and holding themselves accountable for their own improvements (Dufour, 2004, p. 11). I recognize that in order for students to progress, educators must become lifelong learners by making sure students learn, collaborate with other educators and revise their teaching practices. Presently I facilitate professional learning communities that allow teachers to view and…
A celebration is designed to do something special or enjoyable for an important event, occasion, and holiday. My goal when I started my internship at West Millbrook it was my task to design the 1st annual Professional Learning Communities (PLC) celebration. The principal wanted me to do something special or enjoyable for the staff. She indicated that the school did not celebrate the accomplishment of each other. As I began to investigate how to develop a PLC celebration I found out a good deal…
Children learn and develop best when they are part of a community of learners this means a community in which all participants care about each other and learning is constructed in a collaborative process. Learning communities allow children to learn not just academically, but to learn about culture, diversity, inclusion, language, resolution to conflict, self-regulation and help foster their own identity in relation to the community. To develop a learning community the teacher should create an…
School Board Relations exposes future administrators to a broad spectrum of requirements, information and resources. Collaboration for school leaders, effects of systems on K-12 Education, and professional development plans will be the emphasis of this paper. Creating and connecting collaborative rapport between school board members and superintendent is one of the main and most important role for the superintendent. To build trust within the district, the superintendent must constantly focus…