Professional Learning Communities Academy

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A professional learning community (PLC) is a powerful, research-based method for transforming schools into vibrant centers of learning—for both educators and students. In high-performing PLCs, teachers and administrators continuously seek and share learning, leading to improved performance, classroom instruction, and student achievement.

SEDL’s PLC Academy equips participants with the skills and tools they need to implement PLCs, maximize their effectiveness, and make efficient use of resources. The driving question is, “What do teachers and administrators learn in a PLC, and how do they use that knowledge to improve classroom instruction and student learning?” The academy consists of three sessions that build on each other, necessitating attendance at all three.

Who Should Attend:
Teams of three to five people drawn from district and campus leadership. Each team member should be able to commit to attending all three sessions of the course.

Session 1: Understanding professional learning communities

What is a professional learning community? For some schools, the term means getting groups of teachers together to do book studies or talk about instruction, with little guidance about what to do during these discussions or how to move from talking to implementing changes in practice. This session explains how high-performing PLCs involve not only learning and sharing but also acting on this learning to get results. Participants will acquire specific strategies and actions for organizing an effective PLC in their schools and districts and refining existing PLCs.

Objectives for Session 1:

  • Describe the dimensions of a high-performing professional learning community
  • Identify what teachers do in a professional learning community
  • Develop a plan for allocating time and organizational processes and resources to support professional learning communities

Session 2: Supporting professional learning communities

This session focuses on who the instructional leaders in the school are (hint: it’s not just the principal) and what they need to do to support professional learning communities. This support includes creating a shared vision and establishing the conditions for ongoing collaborative professional learning.

Objectives for Session 2:

  • Describe the characteristics of an instructional leader
  • Define how an instructional leader creates the conditions that support professional learning communities
  • Develop a process for building a shared vision for improving student learning through collaborative professional learning

Session 3: Building a culture of shared professional practice

This session focuses on building a culture and climate that encourages, enhances, and sustains ongoing learning. Participants will learn the skills necessary for increasing trust, collegiality, and positive behaviors among educators that can increase student learning. Participants will also learn strategies for increasing collective learning throughout their organizations, sites, and districts. Teams will leave the session with an action plan and an assessment tool for applying their learning.

Objectives for Session 3:

  • Learn the fundamentals of school culture and of building trust and how they relate to student achievement
  • Practice leadership skills that improve staff and student learning
  • Learn question-and-response strategies that increase learning
  • Develop action plans to build collaboration and shared learning experiences
  • Create an assessment strategy to evaluate how PLCs are working at your site

Implementation Follow-Up

SEDL staff will be available for in-person or phone follow-up sessions. These sessions can be contracted separately upon completion of the PLC Academy.

Presenter:
Ed Tobia Ed Tobia came to SEDL with 26 years of experience in public education as an elementary teacher, middle school assistant principal, elementary school principal, director of elementary curriculum, and director of professional development. In recent years he has focused his attention on teacher development and school improvement. Dr. Tobia is a certified Courage to Teach and Courage to Lead facilitator and has participated in Courage to Teach retreats for the past 7 years.  He received his doctorate in educational administration from Temple University.

Location:
CPL sessions are held at SEDL's headquarters in Austin, TX. Contact SEDL if you would like to schedule a customized session at your location.