7 Comments

  1. sfernandez

    Your paper gave a great overview of PLCs and some sound recommendations on how to get teacher input for the purpose of establishing PLCs. With these recommendations and instilling the importance of PLCs the school culture will be both positive and effective.

  2. amiller17

    In reviewing the positive effects of PLC’s within a given school, I am glad that our campus has picked these up again. We did try some of the methods for success that are written about in your paper such as devoting a specific day and time to meeting as PLC’s. As a larger school, we only gave the grade level teachers matching planning periods. In grouping our teachers, we too have them meet in a smaller group in order to allowed for trust to be established and for the teachers to feel comfortable sharing. But like you said – there is an opportunity for the meeting to be a gripe session. I like the suggestion to create a framework for the PLC that meets the needs of your campus. Providing the teachers with a roadmap that leads to the success of our students within our school while allowing them the freedom and flexibility to make the meetings meaningful to them will create a sense of commitment and buy-in from the teachers in a more productive manner.

  3. acortez21

    It is evident that PLC’s are vital to a school campus. Collaboration among teachers will only improve the environment of the school. I believe that all administrators should schedule time regularly to allow teachers to come together to share best practices. This will not only benefit the students, but will also benefit the teachers; its a win win situation. Research shows that it improves school culture, and most importantly it aids in student achievement. Currently, my middle school unit gathers to meet to discuss student concerns. I think It would be advantageous for my unit to meet regularly to share what is working and what is not. It is said that “the most influential factor in whether students learn well is quality teaching.” What better way can this take place, then with continuous professional learning.

  4. rmayhan

    I love the idea of PLCs in our schools. What better way to collaborate on teaching within a grade level? Yes, traditionally, Catholic schools tend to be smaller in student population than public schools. However, using size to our advantage in the Catholic schools in developing PLCs within the school structure is an aspect that should be considered. Dialogue on how to better assist in the implementation of PLCs in the school as well as ongoing Professional Development can only support the process. Another point that your paper mentioned was scheduling the time to meet for the PLC. If the faculty knows at the onset of the school year when these professional learning communities are scheduled to meet, most teachers would be ready for discussion. In my school, as we do have two classes per grade level, this is an opportune time to begin this process although, too many changes within a year or two may be overwhelming for faculty. However, Professional Learning Communities would be a great addition to the STREAM process so as to discuss among the faculty within a grade level how to best continue with STREAM for a particular subject.

  5. kbarton

    I find PLCs to be a great method for increasing student success. When teachers get together to discuss what goes on in the classroom, they are able to collaborate on a teaching strategy or get share ideas that have worked in the past. PLCs are a means of improving the productivity of teachers and allowing them to grow as professional educators. Finding the time to meet could be a simple fix. At the beginning of the year, each teacher agrees on a schedule to meet and then acts on it. During a changing education climate with technology and other teaching methods, PLCs can be a tool to help teachers implement the changes into their curriculum.

  6. cclewett

    I work on a campus that has implemented Professional Learning Communities, and I appreciate the collaboration that PLCs bring to a team of teachers. Our campus also uses Response to Intervention, which is a process to identify struggling students and discuss ways to intervene early with specific ideas, track the students’ growth, and meet back regularly to discuss the progress and reevaluate how to help the students still struggling. The PLC time we use to address intervention is so helpful to me because it allows for so much input from other teachers, some of which are incredibly experienced and effective with at-risk students. I know that for tired teachers it can sometimes be tempting to spend the majority of a meeting just “venting” about certain students, parents, etc. But PLC time is so powerful when used for the right reasons, like the data-driven tweaks we make to instruction or the research-based strategies we discuss incorporating when we see student progress decreasing. All of it is for the students! Setting up norms for your PLC time will keep everyone focused, accountable, and on track.

  7. jzibluk

    As someone who craves structure and organization when it comes to education, I like the idea of PLCs. It seems like running a school in this fashion will lead to greater communication and collaboration between both staff and students, and yield better growth amongst those being educated.

Leave a Reply