Professional Learning Communities Of Educators

I have demonstrated my ability to lead pedagogy by developing and modeling effective forms of teaching practice, by inviting colleagues to share resources I have created and to observe my lessons. I also engage in regular professional dialogue with colleagues regarding their implementation of new teaching methodologies and strategies.

Roberts, S. & Pruitt, E. (2003). Schools as Professional Learning Communities: Collaborative Activities and Strategies for Professional Development. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Unfortunately, thorough research on the impact of professional development on student achievement is limited because it is challenging, complex and expensive to study. Nonetheless, Hoaglund, Birkenfeld, and Box, (2015), conducted a study that illustrated that learning communities are viable tools for providing professional development to both pre-service teachers and current teachers. Their study showed how a group of pre-service teachers and their supervisors participated in a professional experience learning community for two terms prior to the pre-service teacher’s junior year at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. Questionnaires and interviews were used to evaluate the effectiveness of the program. The results of the study indicated that all participants valued the experience and consequently were able to gain and identify some benefits of a professional learning community (PLC). Participants specifically reported a greater appreciation of collaboration with more experienced educators as a practical way of solving issues and implementing processes and procedures for increasing student achievement. The activities incorporated within the

During our second Bear Creek visit, I observed the English Language Arts Professional Learning Community also known as ELA. When I first heard about the PLC, I was surprised because it is a brilliant concept. I never knew this existed. The English Language Arts PLC ran smoothly because the teacher that was presenting knew the standard she was going to focus on and how she was going to present the content to the students. All of the ELA teachers also had a schedule about how the meeting was going to flow so that no one was confused. They also used technology to present the standards and the content so that all of the teachers could see and make suggestions and ask questions. One teacher was questioned about why she chose a particular book

Dr. Fremstad has been instrumental in the implementation of Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) at West Fargo High School. She understands the power of teacher collaboration and has led the charge to train and monitor the program with fidelity. Jennifer has inspired educators to share student evidence of learning and extend intervention or enrichment learning opportunities based on the data. In addition, she advocates on the importance of frequent classroom visitations with her leadership team and establishes annual visitation goals to support teachers and

1). Consequently, teachers need training and support through professional learning communities (PLC) as they “…have proven to be a cornerstone of effective teaching and, in underperforming schools, a catalyst for improvement” (Farbman, Goldberg, & Miller, 2014, p. 10). As a result, my plan proposes following Claudet’s model of a change agent (2011) by inspiring stakeholders to become collaborative partners in remedying academic gaps. It begins with the faculty analyzing student data scores to prioritize topics, designing a timeframe to meet goals, and identifying the stakeholders involved in the decision-making process. Once this is determined, several teachers would attend summer or fall training sessions to develop strategies to address the learning needs of low-achieving students because “…collective leadership has positive effects on student achievement” (Barth, 2001, p. 12). The trained teachers would provide monthly PLC activities to cultivate developmental and cultural instructional strategies, analyze student progress, share successes, and problem-solve concerns. Measurement of the effectiveness of the training occurs through staff participation, observations, and classroom formative and summative assessments, as recorded through the software programs provided to the teachers at the beginning of the

In order to implement an effective Professional Learning Community (PLC) for the development of a Google-Based School, the team must create an environment conducive to their needs and how they best work in a group setting. In order for the Professional Learning Community to be effective in the implementation of a school-wide initiative, the members of the community must have confidence that they are the main group leading to change in the school (Wood, 2007). Creating a functional team involves key factors involving the team characteristic, recognizing positive and negative forces relating to these characteristics, and overcoming the negative forces in a systematic manner (Mealiea, & Baltazar, 2005). Moreover, importance for creating an effective Professional learning community focuses on open sharing, developing skills, identifying and utilizing resources, and forming frames of reference (Spanneut, 2010). Each of these characteristics falls into the overall systematic creation of the learning community that works to increase student learning by creating and achieving specific goals and through setting ground rules, goal setting and analysis, and delegation of tasks in order to prepare to implement the Google-Based School initiative.

In addition to gaining insight on the evolution of the education system in California, I am looking forward to learning about today’s trends in teaching as well as predictions for the direction we are headed for the future. With the help of research, I hope to find the specific factors the state use to determine best practices. Do best practices differ according to the demographics the public school is serving? How big of a role does each factor play in curriculum and teacher training? I also want to focus on the current use of Professional Learning Communities and the requirement of Professional Development. How have these newer practices changed the effectiveness of teaching? In Early Childhood we have always had to fulfill Professional Development requirements in order to maintain or upgrade Early Childhood Credential Permits. How new is the requirement for Professional Development for multi-subject teachers in maintaining their credential?

In addition to gaining insight on the evolution of the education system in California, I am looking forward to learning about today’s trends in teaching as well as predictions for the direction we are headed for the future. With the help of research, I hope to find the specific factors the state use to determine best practices. Do best practices differ according to the demographics the public school is serving? How big of a role does each factor play in curriculum and teacher training? I also want to focus on the current use of Professional Learning Communities and the requirement of Professional Development. How have these newer practices changed the effectiveness of teaching? In Early Childhood we have always had to fulfill Professional Development requirements in order to maintain or upgrade Early Childhood Credential Permits. How new is the requirement for Professional Development for multi-subject teachers in maintaining their credential?

LYTLE. “Teacher Learning Communities.” Encyclopedia of Education, edited by James W. Guthrie, 2nd ed., vol. 7, Macmillan Reference USA, New York, 2002, pp. 2461–2469. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, link.galegroup.com.catalog.stisd.net:2048/apps/doc/CX3403200612/OVIC?u=j031916004&xid=f1bfa712. Accessed 2017.

With the shift in professional learning from collecting PLUs to one focused on improving teaching and learning, it is important that teacher leaders play a role in implementing professional learning communities and helping to make sure accountability in professional learning. I am excited about the opportunity to share these changes and new expectations with fellow teachers. A fellow teacher and I have been trained on the upcoming changes and will be redelivering it to other teachers at our school in the near

Professional Learning Community is not a term I would use to describe my school. The textbook describes Professional Learning Communities as, “…one that promotes and values learning as an ongoing, active collaborative process with dynamic dialogue by teachers, students, staff, principal, parents, and the school community to improve the quality of learning and life within the school” (Roberts & Pruitt, 2009 p.6). Based on that description alone, as a school we lack the basic components of having a collaborative process with dialogue from the teachers, staff, and principal with the focus on improving the quality of learning. Given all of the research findings and positive reviews on the benefits of implementing Professional Learning Communities

Embedded professional learning through weekly PLCs (Professional Learning Communities – by grade level), as well as coaching

Traditionally, teacher development typically occurs through trial and error in the isolated confinements of each teacher’s classroom with some periodic whole-group professional development (Goddard & Goddard, 2007). Within the past few decades, many schools and districts, including ours, have considered and experimented with Professional Learning Communities (PLC) as an alternative framework in guiding a more efficient development program for their teachers. PLCs are focused on enhancing student learning through developing teacher practices. The concept of PLC relies on using structured collaborative sessions amongst teachers within the school to build internal capacity. Through PLCs, teachers critically reflect on current

The professional development design, partnerships is easy to implement at my school and has proven to be a great tool that teachers use to improve their own understanding and increase student learning in the classroom. When teachers partner with local businesses or scientists with the purpose of increasing student learning the results can be amazing. For instance, every year our school partners with the program Junior Achievement and a local bank to teach hands-on activities on entrepreneurship and work readiness to students. Through experiences like this, teachers can observe how the content is taught in different ways while students have the opportunity to learn directly from community bankers and leaders. Important information can be learned from this professional development design. Students can better relate to learning standards because they are given a real-world experience directly from business owners and teachers can be provided with a deeper insight of how to present the content to students.