Professional Learning Communities Academy (Sessions 1, 2, and 3)
Professional learning communities (PLC) are an effective, research-based way of reaching systemic reform within an organization. The PLC Academy gives participants the ability to create an action plan to implement effective PLCs in their schools and districts. Each session progressively builds upon the other, which necessitates attendance at all three sessions by the same people. Who Should Attend:Teams of 3–5 people drawn from district and campus leadership should attend all three sessions. This requires a long-term commitment by the members of the team.
General description of Session 1:
Demystifying PLCs and Creating Shared Visions and Values
What is a professional learning community (PLC)? Many school leaders say they have one. Is it a meeting? What kind of learning is occurring? We will de-mystify what it is and discuss how to organize it to increase staff and student learning. This session is designed to create shared vision and values focused on student results. Participants will learn specific strategies and actions to increase effectiveness and make efficient use of resources.
Objectives for Session 1:
- develop clear goals of a PLC;
- increase clarity of assessing a PLC;
- learn how to create shared vision;
- learn consensus-building skills; and
- create elements of collaboration at site(s).
Creating Shared Leadership and Application of Learning
Session 2 focuses on sharing leadership throughout the organization. We will discuss how to distribute and sustain leadership in the school culture. Participants will learn how the interdependent relationship between leaders and followers promotes increased collegiality and student achievement. In addition, you will develop strategies for using and sharing data and how to create the reflective feedback systems fundamental to discovering what impacts learning in your organization.
Objectives for Session 2:
- implement distributed leadership model;
- understand the term followership and the power of shared leadership;
- increase staff participation in building collaborative organizations;
- collect examples of effective learning and teaching models; and
- apply your learning in multiple ways to new situations.
Developing Supportive Conditions and Sharing Professional Practice
The focus of this session is building the culture and climate to encourage, enhance, and sustain ongoing learning. In his meta-analysis on student learning, Marzano quotes research that suggests that leadership/school culture has the second-highest effect size on student learning (teaching quality has the highest effect). This session focuses on increasing trust, collegiality, and positive behaviors that increase student learning. Participants will also learn ways to increase collective learning throughout the organization, sites, and district. 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 building trust and how they relate to student achievement;
- practice leadership skills that improve staff and student learning;
- learn questioning and responding strategies that increase learning;
- develop action plans to build collaboration and shared learning experiences; and
- create an assessment strategy to know how PLCs are working at your site.
Implementation follow-up:
Bill Sommers and other staff will be available for in-person or over-the-phone follow-up sessions. These can be contracted separately upon completion of the academy. Presenter:
Bill Sommers is currently a senior fellow for the Urban Leadership Academy at the University of Minnesota and an independent consultant. In addition to his university work, he was also a principal for more than 30 years. Dr. Sommers is a past president of the National Staff Development Council and served on its Board of Trustees for 5 years. In addition to his teaching and research duties, Dr. Sommers has co-authored six books and has two more books in press. He earned his PhD in education policy and administration from the University of Minnesota.
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.