Module 6 :: Professional Learning Communities

The Centre for Authentic PLCs

http://www.authenticplcs.com

I first came across Daniel Venables work when I was given a copy of The Practice of Authentic PLCs: A Guide to Effective Teacher Teams. His emphasis is squarely on looking at student and teacher work in the original model of professional learning communities as set out by duFour a decade ago (has it been that long?) That the adjective "authentic" is necessary in front of the acronym PLC is a sad reflection of how many distorted, bogus, non-PLCs are out there. Or maybe I'm just reading too much into this title. The crux of the derailment seems to lay in the practise of calling any group of teachers working on something together a PLC. This watering down of the PLC model has led, rightly, to a movement to restore and revitalize this important work in schools. The Centre for Authentic PLCs website has resources for doing just that.

5 Dysfunctions of a Professional Learning Community

http://edge.ascd.org/_Five-Dysfunctions-of-a-Professional-Learning-Community/blog/2965471/127586.html

Great ideas don't always work. For example, the goal might be collaboration but we can end up with a lack of clear norms that can create isolation and frustration. This timely and insightful article can assist principals in getting derailed PLC initiative back on track. Do any of these five issues sound familiar?

1. lack of norms
2. lack of team goals
3. lack of trust
4. lack of communication
5. lack of essential learning outcomes

If so, this article contains examples and solutions to get PLC teacher teams focussing on the task at hand, improving student learning.

What is a Professional Learning Community?

http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/may04/vol61/num08/What-Is-a-Professional-Learning-Community%C2%A2.aspx

This seminal article by Richard duFour (the godfather if PLCs if educational reform ideas can be said to have godfathers...) was published in Educational Leadership in 2004. A decade on it bears revisiting if only to see how much potential good was in the original idea that hasn't always been captured in its implementation in schools. Looking at SolutionTree, the current duFour PLC juggernaut I'm somewhat disheartened by how expensive accessing their resources has become.