Thursday, September 24, 2009
Professional Learning Communities
Professional Learning Communities have become more popular in North Carolina Public Schools in the last 5 years. In your professional experience with PLCs/Collaborative Communities: What aspects of development and implementation from school leaders have had positive effects on teacher collaboration and student achievement? What areas of development and implementation from administrators have hindered PLC initiatives?
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In my experience, when school leaders build time into the schedule for PLC's it has been beneficial. I also think PLC's work best when administrators model and encourage/enforce collaboration. Finally, PLC's have been most effective when administrators provide professional development opportunities for the staff to learn about this collaborative model.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, "PLC's" haven't worked (in my experience) if implementation is viewed as " just another mandate" that the principal doesn't seem to really care much about except that he or she knows that it needs to be done and get documented. Also, school leaders oftentimes do not build time into the schedule for the essential piece of "enrichment and revisiting/remediation" or there is no flexiblity within the schedule for alternative groupings of students. I believe this significantly hinders "PLC" initiatives.
I agree with what Stephanie said about the improper implementation of PLCs. This was the case in my district where PLCs just "happened" one year and we were supposed to start planning together and doing all the same lessons in a matter of weeks. It was not presented with any kind of explanation as to why it would be beneifical professionally. After having doing PLCs for three years I can say that they are helpful and I really enjoyed being a part of mine. Like any reform, implementation is key, and I know a lot of faculty naturally resisted the push towards PLCs because it was done so quickly and without guidance. I think that educators can gain so much from sharing ideas and formulating lessons together, as long as the group you are working with is open to change.
ReplyDeleteThis past year was the first time I had heard anything at my school about moving towards PLC's. Our 2nd grade team was already doing common assessments and they had seen positive results come out of it. Other grade levels had a hard time "buying into" PLC's, but because of the success 2nd grade had seen, it was much easier for them to be willing to make the change.
ReplyDeleteIn my own PLC experience having the school leaders set clear expectations had a postive effect. We knew exactly what they wanted and what they were looking for. I also appreciated how our school leaders made sure those expectations had purpose and matched the vision of our school.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to PLCs, the administration in our school was very supportive of the staff working in them. They set up schedules for us to meet twice a week in our grade level teams. When we met on PLC days with the whole staff, we had established norms that were enforced by administration. This made our meetings more effective and focused. We were working together for the first time.
ReplyDeleteThe negative side of PLCs was that the administrative team did not go to the training, therefore, they were implementing a program that they do not fully understand. Instead of taking baby steps, and introducing a few of the PLC principles, they chose to try to implement many things at one time. In addition too many things being implemented, the grade levels stopped having their weekly meetings because the administration stopped stressing the importance and effectiveness of PLCs. When they lost steam, so did we.
I agree with Anna and Stefanie; implementation is the key to the success of PLCs. PLCs can work, but they have to be implemented correctly. I feel more training needs to be provided for administrators and teachers in order to achieve PLC success. I feel like our school rolled out a program that everyone had not committed to fully. The staff members were told to meet, so that is what they did.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that was meant to be supportive of PLCs was my district's implementation of an early release day each month. The early release day was supposed to free up time for PLCs to work together for a long period of time each month. I think when the PLC groups were open to working together, this worked well. Like anything else, when teachers didn't buy into it, it did not happen. I think it was a good idea to give teachers that extra time to work together, but realistically, you do have to meet more than once a month to effectively plan with your PLC.
ReplyDeleteMy school had a real tough time implementing PLCs. We were told at the beginning of the year that we needed to meet weekly with our grade-level partner and submit meeting minutes to our AP. The importance of creating this collaborative environment was never given and the administrators never really enforced this mandate. Therefore, many teachers went back to working and planning individually. This made me realize that change really does need to be a process, not a single event.
ReplyDeleteWe were discussing in one of our classes that PLCs were not meant to create "cookie cutter" lessons and teachers, where everyone is doing exactly the same thing at the same time. I think administrators need to address this misconception.
ReplyDeleteAdding to Sarah's comment, I worry that PLCs will lose its original purpose because school districts are trying to inject their own agendas. The ultimate goals of PLCs should be to increase student success. Teachers should be working together to establish interventions for students who are falling through the cracks.
ReplyDeleteI have come to firmly believe that the principal is the single biggest key to implementation for any reform that must occur for improved outcomes for learning. Implementation of true PLCs is a very big change for teachers who have been trained and practiced in running their own classrooms with little collaboration. For PLCs to be effective, administrators need to attend multiple and ongoing training sessions; they also need principal PLCs to share information and ideas with one another. (This is not easy work for a principal since few if any experienced this in their own teaching.) If the principal is not sold on the rationale and has not been provided other training and supports, PLCs likely will not be sustainable in that school.
ReplyDeleteAltonia made an important point about educators (principals, teachers, etc.) having too many new things to implement all at once. I believe this is a legitimate concern that we hear from teachers. Many teachers in our region have literally been required to learn about and implement PLCs, new literacy frameworks, and their new (elementary) math adoption all at once. Since the stakes seem high on all of these, principals need to be aware of the demands on their staffs and will have to come up with creative ways to address all of the needs.
ReplyDeleteI haven't been involved with a PLC yet although I have worked in districts that have had them.
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts so far is that they are a very promising way for teachers to communicate with each other about students and brainstorm ways to increase achievement.
The principal that I interviewed in Ornage County feels like the PLC in her school has made a tremendous differnece in teacher collaboration and student achievement.
I agree with Carol in that the principal is the most important piece in the success of PLC's.
ReplyDeleteThey need to make sure the teachers are well trained and supported. Teachers need to buy into the value of PLC's.... they need to feel they ARE PLC's rather than teachers who are just DOING PLC's!!
I agree with Carol and Liz- the principal is the most important. At a school that I taught at, the principal didn't really make PLC's a priority, and although they were "mandatory" few people actually followed through because they knew the principal wasn't going to follow up.
ReplyDeleteAt my previous school site, we were in the first wave of schools to begin using PLC's as a tool for professional development. What I really liked about this system at the elementary school level is that our meetings were specialized to meet my students needs at the fifth grade (in whole group staff development, there were times that the focus was geared more toward the lower grades). Based on student data, our principal gave us the freedom to plan our own professional development. For instance, if our students were struggling with writing, she might arrange for us to attend a conference on writing workshop. This autonomy in planning professional development was very empowering for our grade level team.
ReplyDeleteOn Anna's point about guidance, I believe that as the instructional leader, the principal needs to point teachers to resources that will help them improve their instruction in a way that supports student achievement and the school's mission. It's not enough for teachers to do professional development, it has to be purposefully aligned to the school's mission. For example, if the goal of the school is to improve differentation so that the high-end and low-end students needs are being met, then PLCs should reflect our school's goals for that year, with some differentation even among teacher groups based on their knowledge of or experience with that topic.
ReplyDeleteI have not had any experience or exposure to PLCs therefore reading the comments from others is enlightning and educational. My opinion about it is now from a novice standpoint but once I get more information from the presentation on Thursday, I shall have a better idea as to whether it is or is not a better way to improve instruction and student achievement!
ReplyDeleteEven though I do not have much knowledge or experience in a school setting with PLCs, I do agree with Liz, Carole and Tiffany that the principal plays an important and intergral part of the implementation of any new reform.
ReplyDeleteA principal who sets the tone at the beginning and puts money into staff development/training as well as utilizes savvy and strategic marketing skills, shall have a better opportunity to succeed than fail. Also, he/she would need to genuinely buy into it and model it so their staff can be encouraged to embrace it too!
I agree with Sarah about the importance of creating a collaborative environment in PLCs. I think that when starting out on any new initiative, the administrator has to be sure to provide guidance to staff. It is so important to set up norms for PLC meetings to ensure that individuals to not break off and use it as just another hour for individual planning or prep work.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Altonia and many others that, in some schools, it seems as though principals really only implement the "meeting" piece of "PLC's". This is probably because it is an easy first step in the process and is easy for them to regulate. However, without all of the other pieces, it loses momentum and effectiveness.
ReplyDeleteAt my charter, we don’t formally practice PLC’s but due to the small size of faculty (10), many of the positive aspects of PLCs occur naturally and this has always been a great source of personal satisfaction for the faculty.
ReplyDeleteWe realize that the more we interact as a faculty, the better the students perform, therefore we make an effort to do so. This has happened without much encouragement from the administration.
We have weekly meetings to discuss struggling students and this has proven very helpful in identifying students who might need testing for EC and for identifying students who need counseling or simply to figure out different strategies to try.
I have been a part of 2 PLCs. They worked or didn't based on principal training and implementation of the plan, teacher training and expectations, and teacher buy-in. I'm sure there are a lot of other factors which make the whole process quite challenging. I was a part of a PLC that was extremely efficient and successful at changing student outcomes on math assessments. The amount of time the PLC was given to analyze data, write formative assessments, and plan according to the analysis of this data was imperative. Providing training about the PLC process through a book review at faculty meetings was also essential in the implementation. It was most effective to be studying the book and be in the process of development at the same time. Small group breakout sessions gave us time to talk about pitfalls and share ideas about what worked. I felt like at the end of the year enough staff were well versed in the process in order to incorporate new folks into it.
ReplyDeleteI do not have much experience with PLC's. My school started implementing them last year for a few months during the school year. Teachers were not given adequate time, and the expectations were unclear. Administration allowed "outsiders" to implement them, and did not prepare the faculty before or after to implementation. After a while they just stopped requiring them.
ReplyDeleteCarol and many others make very good points concerning the principal’s role in the implementation of PLC’s. I find it difficult to tolerate an administrative team that does not model what they expect from teachers. I have found that many principals do not have “general” meetings as an administrative team. This makes me question their ability to evaluate the effectiveness of PLC’s if they have not experienced them or do not have the appropriate training.
ReplyDeleteIt has been interesting to read about everyone experiences with PLCs. I have never officially been a part of a PLC, but have been a part of mandated collaborative grade level meetings. I am curious as to what makes something a "PLC" vs. a traditional grade level meeting. I think an important part of reform is to make sure the key principles of your program are clear, so staff don't go back to old strategies under a new name.
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ReplyDeleteI was fortunate enough to attend a four day residential Teacher Academy about PLC's with my school leadership team and principal. This was an amazing way to implement PLC's into our school. This core group introduced the concept to the rest of the staff the first year, and the rest of the staff completed training the second year. This method of implementation worked well because it was mostly a staff-led effort, and everyone had extensive training about the goals and purpose of PLC's; therefore they functioned quite well from the beginning. I also think that middle school is naturally more conducive to PLC's because most of the time you already have a team planning time, and this just transitions into a PLC meeting. I feel that staff understanding of the principles of PLC's is key, as is staff development, so it doesn't feel like a top-down mandate. This feeling could hurt staff enthusiasm for the initiative.
ReplyDeleteI've seen a lot of posts about the crucial role of the principal in making PLC's effective. I agree that this is critical. One way that principals can support their staff is by providing clear expectations about how the PLC should function, and what it should and should not be. Our principal regularly visited our PLC meetings, and this helped us to keep the lines of communication open with him, and we could share what was working and what was not.
ReplyDeleteI like the ideas that Brooke suggested about starting the PLC training by involving a small group of staff, and then have them bring the program out to the larger school community. I would think another important part of the implementation process would be putting in structures to measure the sucess of the program, like quarterly goals about what is being changed and accomplished because of the PLCs.
ReplyDeleteThere is something wrong with the hierarchical structure in schools that so many folks are not happy with something the principle has introduced but they don't seem able to do anything about it. Why can't teachers take the initiative to be leaders and make change?
ReplyDeleteI realize that Charters are a different sort of beast, but our teachers are rewarded for introducing innovation and taking on leadership roles at my school. Administrators can't do everything. Teachers need to feel empowered.
I believe it is essential to start small so that the staff can understand how learning communities work. In my school we started only with reading. Also, it is essential to provide the time to teachers to meet. Without a designated time (other than their planning time)it will not work.
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