Professional Learning Community or Academic Team? What’s the Difference?
I work in a middle school that is divided into 8 academic teams, two for each grade level (6, 7, 8). Each team meets bi-weekly to discuss issues that have arisen with their students and team processes. We call these meetings “Kid Day” meetings to keep the focus on the students. With the term “Professional Learning Community” being thrown around in the district, it was suggested by a colleague that we change the name of these meetings to PLC meetings to align with the district vision, mission, values and goals. After doing some research, I chose this forum to provide my input on that suggestion.
Simply changing what we call the groups with whom we meet is one thing – actually implementing the concepts of a professional learning community is quite another. Richard DuFour (2004), challenges true PLC’s to respond affirmatively to the following questions:
- Are we clear on the knowledge, skills, and dispositions each student is to acquire as a result of this course, grade level, and unit we are about to teach?
- Have we agreed on the criteria we will use in assessing the quality of student work, and can we apply the criteria consistently?
- Have we developed common formative assessments to monitor each student's learning on a timely basis?
- Do we use the formative assessments to identify students who are having difficulty in their learning so that we can provide those students with timely, systematic interventions that guarantee them additional time and support for learning until they have become proficient?
- Do we use data to assess our individual and collective effectiveness? Do assessment results help us learn from one another in ways that positively affect our classroom practice?
- Does our team work interdependently to achieve SMART goals that are Strategic (linked to school goals), Measurable, Attainable, Results-oriented (focused on evidence of student learning rather than teacher strategies), and Time-bound?
- Are continuous improvement processes built into our routine work practice?
- Do we make decisions by building shared knowledge regarding best practices rather than simply pooling opinions?
- Do we demonstrate, through our collective efforts, our determination to help all students learn at high levels?
- Do we use our collaborative team time to focus on these critical issues?
According to DuFour, “a group of people does not become a PLC by enrolling in a program, renaming existing practices, taking the PLC pledge, or learning the secret PLC handshake. A team becomes a professional learning community only when the educators within it align their practices with PLC concepts.”
So, can we change what we call our meetings? Sure. Can we truly call those groups PLC’s? Not yet!
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Paul & Becky
Comments
The author suggests that the personal interaction of the teacher with each and every student improves the quality of education which is true indeed!
Posted by: Naturex | April 17, 2008 01:14 AM