PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES: FOUR AREAS OF ENGAGEMENT

Dr. Wendy Ghiora – Posting #60 – August 7, 2010

Last week I introduced a growing movement in the educational arena known as, “Professional Learning Communities” (PLC). As a seasoned educator, I am wary of new “improvement methods,” as I have witnessed so many of them come in with a myriad of promises and then go down in flames. Therefore, I am studying this one closely and value your feedback.


In Learning by Doing: A Handbook for Professional Learning Communities at Work, DuFour, R., Eaker, R., & Many (2006), begins by examining four areas of engagement for the Professional Learning Teams, school staff teams that unite to provide solutions to help their school turn around.


1. Collective Inquiry Into Best Practice and Current Reality
2. Action Orientation: Learning by Doing
3. A Commitment to Continuous Improvement
4. Results Orientation


Collective Inquiry Into Best Practice and Current Reality


Professional Learning Teams engage in collaborative inquiry into both best practices in teaching and in learning. They are avid learners full of curiosity and openness to new possibilities. Gradually, a heightened awareness through collective inquiry and success as new strategies are tested (learning by doing). This transforms into fundamental shifts in attitudes, beliefs, and habits which, gradually transform the culture of the school.
“Working together to build shared knowledge on the best way to achieve goals and meet the needs of clients is exactly what professionals in any field are expected to do, whether it is curing the patient, winning the lawsuit, or helping all students learn. Members of a professional learning community are expected to work and learn together.” R. DuFour


Action Orientation: Learning by Doing


Professional Learning Community team members understand that the most powerful learning always occurs in a context of taking action. They understand the value of engagement and experience as the most effective teachers. “Members of PLCs recognize that learning by doing develops a deeper and more profound knowledge and greater commitment than learning by reading, listening, planning, or thinking. “ R. DuFour


Traditional schools often use a variety of strategies to resist taking meaningful actions, preferring the comfort of the familiar. Professional learning communities recognize that until members of the organization "do" things differently, there is no reason to expect different results. (PLC's take schools out of their comfort zones to show them the possibilities.)


A Commitment to Continuous Improvement


Learning Teams are continually evolving organisms, always reaching for excellence and searching for a better way. They believe anything can be improved. Here is the systematic process used to ensure continuous improvement:


1. Gathering evidence of current levels of student learning
2. Developing strategies and ideas to build on strengths and address weaknesses in that learning
3. Implementing those strategies and ideas
4. Analyzing the impact of the changes to discover what was effective and what was not
5. Applying new knowledge in the next cycle of continuous improvement


This is where PLCs differ from most traditional Professional Development methods used in schools. “The goal is not simply to learn a new strategy, but instead to create conditions for perpetual learning—an environment in which innovation and experimentation are viewed not as tasks to be accomplished or projects to be completed but as ways of conducting day-to-day business—forever. In other words, the goal is to change the culture into a learning community where everyone is involved in the process of improvement. Participation in this process is not reserved for those designated as leaders; rather, it is a responsibility of every member of the organization.”


Last week, I mentioned that according to Richard DuFour, pioneer of PLCs, the answer to this question is what separates learning communities from traditional schools:


Accountability for results


Because the school develops its own plans for improvement, it takes full responsibility for the results. To create a professional learning community, focus on learning rather than teaching, work collaboratively, and hold yourself accountable for results.


As stated in the previous paragraph, “participation in this process is not reserved for those designated as leaders; rather, it is a responsibility of every member of the organization. The willingness, indeed the zeal of all members of the PLC to participate, put in the extra time and effort it takes to create the conditions for perpetual learning, is what separates PLCs from traditional schools. No action = no results.


Results Orientation


Members of a PLC realize the culmination of their efforts in these areas—a focus on learning, collaborative teams, collective inquiry, action orientation, and continuous improvement—must be assessed on the basis of results rather than intentions. Assessments must be done on the basis of tangible results, otherwise they represent random floundering in the dark rather than purposeful improvement. As Peter Senge and colleagues conclude, "The rationale for any strategy for building a learning organization revolves around the premise that such organizations will produce dramatically improved results."


Measurable improvement goals that are aligned to school and district goals for learning are vital to knowing true results are occurring. Teams are eager to create a series of common formative assessments that are administered to students multiple times throughout the year to gather ongoing evidence of student learning.


Team members review the results from these assessments in an effort to identify and address program concerns (areas of learning where many students are experiencing difficulty). They also examine the results to discover strengths and weaknesses in their individual teaching in order to learn from one another. Most importantly, the assessments are used to identify students who need additional time and support for learning. Frequent common formative assessments represent one of the most powerful tools in the PLC arsenal.

Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results. Andrew Carnegie