Leading Professional Learning Teams
At the moment I am reading the following text on my kindle
Is really interesting read on how one american school district implemented PLTs in order to create PLCs. Has some fantastic resources and I am only in Chapter 1. Sather suggests in her book that PLTs should be small groups of 4-6 people, who get to know and trust one another. Teams can be organised by grade level, content areas or special interests that emerge from examining from data. Interdisciplinary teams offer the opportunity for teachers to learn about different content areas and their specific ways of teaching. "teams are not necessarily permanent... they need to be organised around shifting needs and problems to solve."
The book suggests that all PLTs should follow an inquiry cycle and should ideally start with a whole day workshop for the entire staff that introduces the concepts of PLTs and examines issues and student data related to them. The inquiry cycle helps teachers and leaders develop a vision of school change as they build a culture that values and uses data to inform decisions. By analysing a range of data and research the teacher's repertoire is strengthened by investigating and employing best practices and research based strategies. According to Sather PLTs are an important vehicle used to support schools as they recapture to become professional learning communities.
They also suggest a typical PLT timeline for One year which I would adapt and change to suit our College
1. Determining PLT topics based on student data
2. Digging deeper into data and developing a focus question to guide inquiry
3. Investigating research and best practices
4. Analysing teaching practices
5. Determining instructional changes
6. Implementing and assessing changes
7. Analysing results
8. Committing schoolwide
Some of these are good steps but some need to be adapted for our College community and the action research process we are undertaking.
They suggest that the first step which is important for leadership is assessing current conditions and they suggest that the five dimensions of Professional Learning Communities would be a good place to start:
- Supportive and Shared Leadership - power, authority, and decision making are shared by administrators and teachers. Leaders provide support for teachers working in PLTs.
- Shared Beliefs, Values and Vision - the staff is focused on improving student learning and strengthening this goal through their own learning. They understand the vision, including the underlying beliefs and values.
- Collective Learning and Application of That Learning - Staff decide what they need to learn and how to learn it to best meet identified student learning needs.
- Supportive Conditions - structural factors include time and space for meeting, resources and policies that support collaboration; relational factors support human and interpersonal development, openness, honesty and attitudes of respect and caring.
- Shared Personal Practice - individuals make their teaching public as they give and receive feedback that supports both individual and organisational improvement (Sather, 2009).
Understanding Change
School leaders need to acknowledge that developing PLTs as a way for teachers to work collaboratively and to focus on changing their own instruction may require a radical shift in attitudes, beliefs, and behaviour for some people. The process of trying something new, sharing ideas and practice, and sometimes admitting the failure of a lesson or strategy can be challenging and threatening. To create supportive conditions requires a concerted effort to build and maintain trust.
