RSA 1: Professional Learning Communities

Online Link: Anthony Muhammad - School Culture https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pj_qFBd4q38
Commitment to the Whole School - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mi1wfRm9WA4

Peer Reviewed Text: Nathan, L. (2008). Teachers Talking Together: The Power of Professional Community. Horace, 24(1).

Everyday, teachers often walk past their school’s mission and vision statement. Missions and visions that vow to ensure every child meets their full academic potential and learns. These teachers then go into their classrooms and teach how they often teach, some of them in a similar manner for twenty plus years. Some see their student results and go on teaching as they always do for better or worse. However, many districts have begun implementing professional learning communities (PLCs) to have teachers collaborate with one another and help ensure student success. Through collaboration teachers learn from each other and how to move forward in helping their students.

In order for any PLC to succeed in their aim to improve student learning, there are four core building blocks that must be adhered to. These four building blocks are: mission, vision, value, and goals. According to DuFour (2004), to hit the first big idea of ensuring student learning is to have a mission that every teacher in the school can support. This belief in the mission often leads to a cultural shift and focuses on three questions to ensure it’s success. The vision is the glue that brings collaboration among staff and PLCs together. It provides a sense of unity and belief that together the mission is possible. The values are what each member holds and often share among one another. The values help guide PLCs to achieving their vision. The final building block, goals, are what members of PLCs set together to help them build their plan and reach their end goal. All of these blocks are interrelated and commitment and belief in each is needed to ensure the success of the PLC, which, in turn, leads to student learning.

Besides the four building blocks, there are three big ideas, according to DuFour (2004), that serve as the basis of PLC principles. These three big ideas are: ensuring students learn, culture of collaboration, and focus on results (DuFour 2004). The three big ideas mean that, through collaboration, teachers can improve student achievement and change their own practice. By having collaborative discussions on student achievement, teacher practice often changes with it. According to DuFour (2004), this is often, because teachers can find out what works, what doesn’t work, and find new strategies that can be used within their classrooms to foster student learning. Collaboration on the three critical questions (What do we want students to learn? How will we know when each student has learned it? How will we respond if they have difficulty?) posed by DuFour also directly impacts both student achievement and changing teacher practice. It causes teachers to think critically about their own practice and how they can alter their instruction when students are having difficulty learning. Student achievement improves, because teachers are now focused on making sure all students master the skills that need to be taught.

After hearing DuFour's ideas, it sounds like a PLC is a great thing for student achivement and should be implemented immediately; however, according to Weber (2014), there are five dysfunctions that can impact the success of a PLC. These five dysfunctions are: lack of norms, lack of team goals, lack of trust, lack of communication, and a lack of essential learning outcomes. A study by Daoudi & Bougault (2012) also shows another threat to the success of a PLC. The study (2012) showed that discontinuity in many areas either have no effect or can have positive effects; however, the discontinuity of practices may have a negative effect on PLCs. There are many areas of discontinuity that can lead to positives, cultural discontinuity and skill discontinuity can lead to new learning as well as cause teams to work together to ensure the success of others. The discontinuity of practices, such as how things should be done and decision making, can lead to difficulty in collaboration. These dysfunctions and discontinuities can block the success and implementation of a PLC. Teachers should be aware of them as a way of avoiding these dysfunctions.

In conclusion, a PLC’s success is only as strong as it’s commitment from it’s educators or as DuFour (2004) puts it, will. To help ensure the success of a PLC there are a few things educators can do. With group norms decided in PLCs, this may negate the negative impact of discontinuity of practices and solve the first dysfunction noted by Weber. According to Anthony Muhammad, from the youtube.com clip, another way to address these dysfunctions is to ensure commitment among the staff and create a positive learning culture. Nathan (2008) also writes how educators must realize that work in a PLC is going to require ongoing work, risk-taking, and trust. Teachers must accept that they are going to learn new things, but they will learn with others. In Nathan’s (2008) article, teachers are working toward answering the three essential questions posed by DuFour. They are constantly talking with one another to learn and grow together as a community to ensure the success of their students. Overall, with a commitment to the four building blocks mentioned by DuFour, a PLC has a chance of success; therefore, having a positive effect on student achievement.

References

Daoudi, J. & Bougault, M. (2012).  Discontiuity and collaboration:  Theory and evidence from technological projects.  International Journal of Innovation Management, 16(6), 1240012-1 - 1240012-15.

DuFour, R. (2004).  What is a "professional learning community?"  Educational Leadership, 61(8), 6-11.

Nathan, L. (2008). Teachers Talking Together: The Power of Professional Community. Horace, 24(1).

Weber, S.. (2014). Five dysfunctions of a professional learning community. Retrieved from http://edge.ascd.org/_Five-Dysfunctions-of-a-Professional-Learning-Community/blog/2965471/127586.html