Session 7 What are professional learning communities?

1. What is a Professional Learning Community? TED 406 Teaching Secondary Reading Spring 2011 Aguilar

2. Professional Learning Community

3. A professional learning community (PLC) is an extended learning opportunity to foster collaborative learning among colleagues.

4. Focus on Learning Rather than teaching Work Collaboratively Rather than in isolation Hold Yourselves Accountable Rather than waiting for others to do so

5. The idea behind a PLC was to integrate two concepts that in the past, have been quite distinct from each other; professional and community .

6. Professionalism is "based on specialized knowledge and a focus on serving client needs"; Whereas Community is "based on caring, support, and mutual responsibility within a group."

8. A PLC is an effective staff development approach and a powerful strategy for school change. The idea of community is crucial to their success. The process is reflective and both individual and community growth is achieved. Among the team there is a shared vision of what they want the school to be.

10. What is it we want all students to learn? How will we know when each student has mastered the essential learning? How will we respond when a student experiences difficulty in learning? How will we deepen learning for students who have already mastered essential knowledge and skills?