This document outlines the steps for building collaborative professional learning communities (PLCs) and SGO teams. It defines a PLC as focusing on ensuring all students are learning, not just being taught, by determining essential standards, assessments, interventions, and adult professional development. The 5 phases of the PLC process are identified: 1) identifying problems, 2) researching problems, 3) analyzing data and designing interventions, 4) implementing and evaluating programs, and 5) making findings and recommendations. It asks how staff could be organized into SGO teams and what time would need to be dedicated to support their work.
2. To clarify the definition of a PLC
To review the research-based steps of the PLC
process by creating a mock administrative PLC
using a PLC plan template.
To brainstorm potential SGO team configurations
for your department and the time in which the
work would occur.
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3. Take a minute to think of a definition of a
PLC and be prepared to share your definition
with a neighbor.
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5. A PLC or team places its focus on ensuring that all
students are learning, NOT on ensuring that all
students are simply taught.
– What is essential for students to know (standards)?
– How will we KNOW they have learned it (assessment)?
– What will we do when they have not learned it
(interventions)?
– What will we do if they master the content?
(interventions)
– What do the adults need to know and be able to do to
ensure that learning is taking place?
"DO THE RIGHT THING"
6. PLCs and Professional Development
• What is the relationship between
PLCs and professional
development?
“…the data they [PLC members] examine and the
needs they identify will point toward learning they
must undertake in order to successfully address
the challenges that face them. (Hord and Hirsh,
2008).”
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8. Procedural Sequence of PLCs
Phase 1: Identification of the Problem
Identifying an element of student
performance/behavior (staff) in need of
improvement-The problem.
Brainstorm: When thinking about your grade
level or subject area (department/school),
what is one skill or behavior with which a
student or students (staff) struggle?
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9. Procedural Sequence of PLCs
Phase 2: Researching the Problem
• Conducting a review of current
professional research/literature to
learn about the “topic”.
• Collecting student data or work-this
can be qualitative data in the form of
student perceptions or opinions,
quantitative assessment data, or both.
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10. Procedural Sequence of PLCs
Phase 3: Data Analysis and Program
Design
• Interpreting Data: What hypotheses evolve
out of our research and student data?
• Designing an intervention in the form of a unit
of study or program the purpose of which is
to bring positive improvements to student
performance as well as assess progress.
• Identify professional learning needs
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11. Procedural Sequence of PLCs
Phase 4: Program Implementation and
Evaluation
• Implementing interventions, lessons
etc.
• Administering post-test/assessment
and analyzing results.
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12. Procedural Sequence of PLCs
Phase 5: Findings and
recommendations
• Making recommendations for future
action research or instructional “best
practices” which is to say effective
practices.
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13. How might you organize staff into
collaborative SGO teams?
What kind of time would need to be
dedicated to support the teams’ work?
"DO THE RIGHT THING"
