Professional Learning Communities and the POWER of Collaboration!

When we met last week on November 20th we discussed the power of talking with each other. We discussed briefly the power of collaboration and working together. Unfortunately as Mike Schmoker notes, "Authentic PLCs are exceedingly rare in schools; unsupervised isolation is the norm." The leaders in professional learning community implementation and research are the DuFours and Robert Eaker. They define Professional Learning Communities as "Collaborative teams whose members work interdependently to achieve common goals linked to the purpose of learning for all (DuFour, DuFour, Eaker, et al, 2006). They go on to say, "The very essence of a learning community is a focus on and a commitment to the learning of each student....if the organization is to become more effective in helping all students learn, the adults in the organization must be continually learning (DuFour, Eaker, et al, 2006).

Park Ridge High School in New Jersey, under the leadership of Mike Parent, Principal, has formed a PLC culture from the bottom up. Teachers created this PLC culture from the ground. Collaborative teams, as defined by Mike Parent, work to develop a shared vision, mission, values and goals. They collaborate within the team to deepen the knowledge base of all professionals to support student needs and utilize inquiry and reflection to solve the tough problems. 

In all essence, PLCs are already in existence at many of your sites. You have great professional relationships with your colleagues and you help each other out with curriculum development and in mentoring each other in various ways including technology and in classroom management. Do you also develop formative assessments together?

If we choose to go down this route, where should we start? Let's continue to do what we do, but do it better! Let's continue to talk with each other about school and students. Let's talk more! If you choose, participate by filling out the PLC document that I'll share with you each week. Would you like to share with the entire group? Specific other colleagues? Your call. Your call to participate at all. After we get that ball rollin' we can take further steps.

Videos to check out!:

I do, we do, you do--clip

Ummmmm....one heck of a catch (1 min)

Foxhole Friends...story of friendship (23 min)

Talking about Teaching...Reinforcing Effort (Theme of the Month) (14 min)

Articles you might want to check out:

30 Techniques to quiet a noisy class

The six secrets of a happy classroom

Reinforcing Effort and Providing Recognition

Tools to check for plagiarism

Changes in teacher prep programs

Calendar of Events:

Feb 13--Alice Nine @ Harney ESD--register with J. Caldwell 541-573-4834
Feb 26-27 K and Early Literacy Summit
March 9-11 CCSS Regional Trainings
April 10--Harney County Tech Conference 2015 @ BHS
April 30-May 1--Kevin Feldman Learning Walk and Training info to come soon