High Quality PLC Meetings
Although educators are already immersed in a lesson-driven environment, PLCs do not necessarily operate with a clear focus on teachers’ growth and learning. Reasons for a lack of focus on learning range from weak levels of relational trust to changing administrative expectations and teacher burnout. The end result, however, in many cases, is that PLCs are not easily initiated, nor are they designed in a manner that makes professional development a natural by-product of PLC meetings. In fact, many well-meaning teachers and administrators have reported that they simply do not know how to begin the process of designing a high-quality PLC procedures (DuFour, 2011; Louis, 2006). High-quality PLCs must exhibit an attitude of forward
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High-performance PLCs assist in sustaining teachers’ commitment to teaching by providing group support, intellectual stimulation, and increased job satisfaction. A focus on learning gives educators access to more dynamic perspectives, elevated understanding of students’ thinking, and deeper insights into diverse learners’ experiences. Importantly, PLCs can assist in the development of refined metacognitive strategies for teachers, with an emphasis on constructionist-fueled analyses of the ways teachers and students alike build knowledge (individually, as well as with teacher assistance). With a concentration on acquisition of such information, teachers may reap rewards that outweigh investments of time and effort necessary to build strong PLCs: organization into instructional teams, shared success, creation of school-specific systematic interventions, assessment of collective effectiveness, and built-in continuous improvement (DuFour, 2007; Johnson, et al., 2004; NEA, Little, 2006; Prytula, 2012). Without doubt, the most effective forms of professional development are integrated into teachers’ daily work, fostering informal and formal learning opportunities for teachers that take place spontaneously throughout the school day (Garet, Porter, Desimone, Birman, & Yoon, 2001; Ingvarson et al., 2005; Schrum & Levin,
High-performance PLCs assist in sustaining teachers’ commitment to teaching by providing group support, intellectual stimulation, and increased job satisfaction. A focus on learning gives educators access to more dynamic perspectives, elevated understanding of students’ thinking, and deeper insights into diverse learners’ experiences. Importantly, PLCs can assist in the development of refined metacognitive strategies for teachers, with an emphasis on constructionist-fueled analyses of the ways teachers and students alike build knowledge (individually, as well as with teacher assistance). With a concentration on acquisition of such information, teachers may reap rewards that outweigh investments of time and effort necessary to build strong PLCs: organization into instructional teams, shared success, creation of school-specific systematic interventions, assessment of collective effectiveness, and built-in continuous improvement (DuFour, 2007; Johnson, et al., 2004; NEA, Little, 2006; Prytula, 2012). Without doubt, the most effective forms of professional development are integrated into teachers’ daily work, fostering informal and formal learning opportunities for teachers that take place spontaneously throughout the school day (Garet, Porter, Desimone, Birman, & Yoon, 2001; Ingvarson et al., 2005; Schrum & Levin,