http://plctools.pbwiki.com/ This is the session wiki for Making Professional Learning a Priority, delivered at the Solution Tree PLC Institute on Saturday July 28, 2007. For more information, contatct Bill Ferriter at wferriter@hotmail.com. en http://plctools.pbwiki.com/feedlogo.gif http://pbwiki.com/ PBwiki 1.3.8 support@pbwiki.com http://plctools.pbwiki.com/Session+Resources email.hidden@example.com (Bill) Bill edited Session Resources This tendency towards organizing teachers and students into teams has made the move towards professional learning communities easier to embrace for middle grades educators. Accustomed to “sharing students” with colleagues, a strong foundation for collaboration has often already been built within most schools serving young adolescents. There are, however, several unique challenges that middle school learning communities must face in order to succeed. Three specific challenges include organizing teachers into logical learning teams, managing higher rates of teacher and administrator turnover, and providing differentiated learning opportunities for a cognitively diverse student population.
This document---written by session presenter Bill Ferriter---outlines each of those challenges.
Participant Comments on this Document:
From Day One: Supporting Professional Learning Teams
NSDC-supportingPLTdevelopmentv4.pdf
Several years ago, we had a unique opportunity: to work as teachers (Bill and Ta]]> Sat, 05 Apr 2008 09:14:22 +0000 mod http://plctools.pbwiki.com/PLC+Weblinks email.hidden@example.com (Bill) Bill edited PLC Weblinks The Teacher Leaders Network---an online group of accomplished educators that engage in daily conversations about teaching and learning---has long tackled the topic of change in schools. This conversation---which started as a strand on professional compensation for teachers---"morphed" into a broader conversation about trust, fear and the ability to establish true professional learning communities in schools.
ParticipantReactions to this Article:
Eaker and Sparks on the Will to Act
http://files.solution-tree.com/video4.asx
Have you got three minutes to be inspired? If so, then spend it watching this short video spotlighting the thinking of Robert Eaker and Dennis Sparks on the steps school leaders must take to implement PLCs. "We can have significantly better professional learning within the course of one school year," argues Sparks. "The will to act," adds Eaker, "is the fundamental prerequisite."
]]> Sat, 10 Nov 2007 11:47:13 +0000 mod http://plctools.pbwiki.com/PLC+Weblinks email.hidden@example.com (Bill) Bill edited PLC Weblinks Expert Advice
The articles in this section share advice from recognized educational experts like Rick DuFour, Mike Shmoker, Robert Garmston, Roland Barth and Robert Marzano
Common Formative Assessments
http://www.allthingsplc.info/wordpress/?p=51
One barrier to establishing highly functioning PLCs is the often limited understanding that teachers and school leaders have about the role that common formative assessments should play in the work of learning communities. That question is tackled in this blog entry written by Rick DuFour for his All Things PLC website. Perhaps most importantly, DuFourclearlytackles the tendency of districts touse common assessments asrigid controls over pacingor instructional decisions in the classroom: "Common formative assessments DO NOT and should not require teachers to use lockstep pacing or instruction. Instead, a team of teachers should plan a unit, agree on the skills and concepts to be taught, and the date they will administer the common assessment.&qu]]> Sat, 10 Nov 2007 11:30:39 +0000 mod http://plctools.pbwiki.com/FrontPage email.hidden@example.com (Bill Ferriter) Bill Ferriter edited FrontPage This wiki will house materials thatteachers and principals working to establishPLCsmay find valuable and provide a forum for educators to share their thinking about professional learning communities. Use the menu below or the navigation links found under the "Sidebar" tab in the upper right hand corner of this window to join in the conversation.
Table of Contents
SessionExpert Resources
Session Commentary
PLC Weblinks
]]> Tue, 18 Sep 2007 14:58:26 +0000 mod http://plctools.pbwiki.com/Session+Resources email.hidden@example.com (Bill Ferriter) Bill Ferriter edited Session Resources]]> Mon, 13 Aug 2007 16:33:13 +0000 mod http://plctools.pbwiki.com/PLC+Weblinks email.hidden@example.com (Bill Ferriter) Bill Ferriter edited PLC Weblinks]]> Mon, 13 Aug 2007 16:22:44 +0000 mod http://plctools.pbwiki.com/PLC+Weblinks email.hidden@example.com (Bill Ferriter) Bill Ferriter edited PLC Weblinks Almost everyone realized that effective collaboration is hampered when groups grow beyond 6 or 7 members. Streamlined conversations become impossible and building consensus simply takes forever. But equal challenges are faced by smaller schools with only one or two teachers working in each grade level or content area. Diversity of opinion---critical to creative thought---is difficult to find and personality conflicts become more pronounced. Rick and Becky DuFour offer a collection of recommendations for leaders of smaller learning communities in this article from the All Things PLC blog.
Participant Reactions to this Article:
DUFOUR ON COMMON FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS
http://www.allthingsplc.info/wordpress/?p=46
One of the philosophical struggles that teachers new to professional learning communities oftenwrestle with is the idea of common formative assessments. Designed to identify effective teaching practices across a building and to provide teachers with valuable data on how their students are]]> Mon, 13 Aug 2007 16:21:44 +0000 mod http://plctools.pbwiki.com/Contact+Us email.hidden@example.com (Bill Ferriter) Bill Ferriter edited Contact Us Contact Us
participants involved in ASSET Online. involved. Feel free to select "Edit" from the toolbar at the top or bottom of this screen to visit the appropriate section and add any contact information that you are willing to share!
Presenters
Allen Ellzey
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page, session presenters learning community veterans Bill Ferriter, Allen Ellzey, Parry Graham and Tad Sherman will answer questions asked during the 7-28-07 Solution Tree Breakout Session titled Making Professional Learning a Priority.Expect all questions about how to be answered by Friday, August 3. (We'd get making professional learning a priority.
If you've got a question that you're interested in having answered, email it directly to]]> Fri, 10 Aug 2007 15:45:03 +0000 mod http://plctools.pbwiki.com/SideBar email.hidden@example.com (Bill Ferriter) Bill Ferriter edited SideBar Table of Contents
Session ResourcesExpertResources
Session Commentary
PLC Weblinks
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The resources listed on this page have been created by the session presenters byParry Graham and Bill Ferriterand may be of value to participants in the July 28, 2007 Solution Tree session on middle school principals, teachers and professional developers working with learning communities. Many of these resources were developed in conjunction with theCenter for Teaching Quality in Chapel Hill, which is doing ground breaking work around the potential of using Professional Learning Communities as a tool for empowering teachers, reducing turnover and improving student learning in high needs schools:
Action Agenda for Building Better Schools
PLC_Act]]> Fri, 10 Aug 2007 15:40:53 +0000 mod http://plctools.pbwiki.com/FrontPage email.hidden@example.com (Bill Ferriter) Bill Ferriter edited FrontPage Making Professional Learning a Priority
One School's Successes and Struggles with PLCs
Session Agenda:
Agenda_Solution_Tree_7_28_07.pdf
Salem Middle School---a suburban school of approximately 1,000 students in Wake County, North Carolina---has been working since its inception three years ago to establish a professional learning community based on the principles outlined in Professional Learning Communities at Work.Midway through their five yearcycle of growth, the school has had great successes and strugglesin their work.
In this session, SalemHere at Making Professional Learning a Priority,Salem Middle School teacher Bill Ferriter---2006 North Carolina Regional Teacher of the Year and author of The Power of Professional Conversations---joins with Allen Ellzey, Salem's current principal, Parry Graham, one of Salem's original assistant principals, and Tad Sherman, ]]> Fri, 10 Aug 2007 15:39:13 +0000 mod http://plctools.pbwiki.com/Questions+Answered%21 email.hidden@example.com (Parry Graham) Parry Graham edited Questions Answered! Team Configuration
This section will include questions related to the configuration of professional learning teams.
How do PLTs work when you have one Math, one English/Language Arts, one Science, and one Social Studies teacher for grades 6, 7, and 8? Do you recommend working with other grade-level teachers?
In my experience, the most immediately effective way to create PLTs is by having same-grade, same-subject teachers work together (i.e., in a middle school, all of the 7th grade Language Arts teachers work as a PLT). I say this because this type of configuration allows teachers to have in-depth discussions about common curriculum, to create common assessments, to analyze data from common assessments, and to commonly plan interventions or enrichments at the same grade level in the same subject.
However, your question makes it clear that this is not an option at your school because you only have one teacher for each subject at each grade level. So what, then, is the best configuration for a ]]> Wed, 08 Aug 2007 09:42:56 +0000 mod http://plctools.pbwiki.com/Questions+Answered%21 email.hidden@example.com (Parry Graham) Parry Graham edited Questions Answered! Hope this helps,
Bill Ferriter
Team Configuration
This section will include questions related to the configuration of professional learning teams.
]]> Wed, 08 Aug 2007 09:40:43 +0000 mod http://plctools.pbwiki.com/Questions+Answered%21 email.hidden@example.com (Bill Ferriter) Bill Ferriter edited Questions Answered! Our guided study period is a relatively new experiment here at Salem Middle School....in fact, this is the first year that we've had it in place....and I can tell you that as a regular classroom teacher, I'm absolutely jazzed that our school has worked to support remediation efforts beyond the classroom.
All too often, we expect classroom teachers to be the first, second and third responders when a child doesn't learn, and that's simply not possible. With curriculums that are overwhelming to begin with, there has to come a point when we "move on," even if there are one or two students who continue to struggle.
who continue to struggle that are in need of extra support and refer them to our guided study coordinators----who are currently two part time teachers (one is certified in reading and the other in mathematics)splitting one full time position---and to our guidance staff.
Once a decision is made to support a child, they are enrolle]]> Mon, 06 Aug 2007 19:18:09 +0000 mod http://plctools.pbwiki.com/Questions+Answered%21 email.hidden@example.com (Bill Ferriter) Bill Ferriter edited Questions Answered! Supporting Student Learning
This section will include questions related to supporting student learning.
I would like to know more information about your guided study period. Who runs it? When does it happen? How long does it last? What exactly is done?
Our guided study period is a relatively new experiment here at Salem Middle School....in fact, this is the first year that we've had it in place....and I can tell you that as a regular classroom teacher, I'm absolutely jazzed that our school has worked to support remediation efforts beyond the classroom.
All too often, we expect classroom teachers to be the first, second and third responders when a child doesn't learn, and that's simply not possible. With curriculums that are overwhelming to begin with, there has to come a point when we "move on," even if there are one or two students who continue to struggle.
That's when our guided study period kicks it. It is designed as a safety net for the handful of students who continue to st]]> Fri, 03 Aug 2007 15:29:36 +0000 mod http://plctools.pbwiki.com/Questions+Answered%21 email.hidden@example.com (Bill Ferriter) Bill Ferriter edited Questions Answered! What we do struggle with is encouraging continued growth in high performing students----which is important in our state (North Carolina) because a growth model of student performance has been in place for decades. We aren't shooting for static targets. Instead, we're shooting for expected growth targets that are set by the state based on trends in student performance across subgroups and socio-economic backgrounds.
That means that our schools are rated based on comparisons with schools serving similar student populations----and all schools are expected to promote high growth in their student populations. For us, that means taking kids who are achieving at some of the highest levels in our state and moving them further. That, in and of itself, can be a challenge.
regardless ofcurrent level of challenge is performanceis almost unparrelled.
Our school has responded well to this pressure and attention, havingmade high growth targets for each of the ]]> Fri, 03 Aug 2007 07:31:00 +0000 mod http://plctools.pbwiki.com/Questions+Answered%21 email.hidden@example.com (Bill Ferriter) Bill Ferriter edited Questions Answered! Learning Community Results
This section will include questions related to the impact that learning community work has on students and schools.
Does your school data indicate that the achievement gap between black students and Latino students has been closing?
This is a difficult question for our school to answer because we're a suburban school with an interesting mix of students from other cultures. We tend to see more Asian and Indian students in our classrooms than African American or Latino---so the gap between traditionally underperforming minority and majority populations isn't an issue that we wrestle with.
What we do struggle with is encouraging continued growth in high performing students----which is important in our state (North Carolina) because a growth model of student performance has been in place for decades. We aren't shooting for static targets. Instead, we're shooting for expected growth targets that are set by the state based on trends in student performance across subgroups]]> Fri, 03 Aug 2007 06:56:26 +0000 mod http://plctools.pbwiki.com/Session+Resources email.hidden@example.com (Bill) Bill edited Session Resources Session Resources
learning communities: communities. Many of these resources were developed in conjunction with theCenter for Teaching Quality in Chapel Hill, which is doing ground breaking work around the potential of using Professional Learning Communities as a tool for empowering teachers, reducing turnover and improving student learning in high needs schools:
Action Agenda for Building Better Schools
PLC_Action_Planning_Agenda.pdf
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