Why Collaborative Professional Learning?

Why Collaborative Professional Learning? 

John Hattie would argue that Collective Teacher Efficacy is the number one influence related to student achievement. 

Learning For All states that, "Every student's learning experience can be improved when there is a shared commitment to high expectations for every student and when educators are engaged in a collaborative problem solving process that is focused on student learning."

So a better question to ask is Why Not?

What leader doesn't want educators working collaboratively in a culture of learning to ensure learning for ALL students and their own professional learning. 

As a leader myself I want that for my school and myself!

https://visible-learning.org/2018/03/collective-teacher-efficacy-hattie/

There are Three Big Ideas Guiding Professional Learning Communities:

1. A commitment to ensure learning for all students
2. A culture of collaboration 
3. A focus on results

(Learning For All, 54)

As educators we have probably, at one time or another, participated in a professional learning community. This is not new in education. PLC's were defined by Dufour in 2004. Overtime different names have been used like Collaborative Inquiries but the essence remains the same. One thing is clear from the research on professional learning and that is a PLC is not a book club. 

So why do some people love them and some people hate them? Have you ever been a part of a PLC or CLI that has not gone well? or you just wanted it to be over? I have been in both situations.

I wanted to look at what makes PLC's successful and other's unsuccessful. I found this article in Education World, Why Don't Professional Learning Communities Work. From what I understand a PLC can fall apart before it even begins.

Here are two things you want to avoid as best as possible:

1. Assigning groups to work together
2. Mandating the topic of discussion

In the classroom, we assign groups to work together all the time to encourage collaboration, problem solving, team work, and conflict resolution. As the teacher, you know which groups you may need to mediate. You need to teach students how to cooperate and have respect for one another this is part of the purpose for the group work. As a leader wanting to implement PLC's ask yourself is the purpose to teach staff how to get along or to improve student learning because if it is the first one PLC's are not the vehicle to use.  For PLC's to be effective, educators must have a shared goal and work together to monitor, track and analyse data to meet their goal hence the "not a book club" comment. When we force individuals to work together we are assuming that everyone has the same initiative and is on board with the collective goal. Assuming everyone is going to be on board is a mistake. 

So, how can you mitigate the fact that not everyone is going to buy into PLC's and work collaboratively?

There has to be groundwork laid prior to a school jumping into professional learning communities. Although PLC's are going to strengthen the school community there needs to be conversation and excitement so that Administrators do not "assign" the task of forming PLC's.

Ask yourself:

1. Is there a school wide focus on student learning and instructional improvement?
2. Has there been open discussion involving the entire school community, that includes constructive sharing of questions, doubts, concerns and affirmations?
3. Is there a belief that student learning needs to be a whole school approach?
4. Is there common beliefs as to school vision and reform?

If these are happening, then you can move forward to build staff excitement around the concept of staff PLC's and allow the organization to come about organically. Let staff build the groups and determine what is important for them to discuss. 

Now I know that will be hard because administrators usually have a mandate like improving math instruction. But telling staff what they are going to talk about is likely not going to work out. I have been in mandated PLC's that fell flat when the topic and group members were assigned. 

Lastly, you need to build in time for teachers to meet and money to support the learning.


For more reading on PLC's check out:

Educational Leadership: (2004) "What Is a Professional Learning Community?"

https://visible-learning.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/collective-teacher-efficacy-1-57-effect-size-john-hattie-visible-learning.jpg

Capacity Building Series: (2007) Professional Learning Communities: A Model for Ontario School. http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/literacynumeracy/inspire/research/PLC.pdf

Education World: Best Practices for Professional Learning Communities
https://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/best-practices-for-professional-learning-communities.shtml

Professional Learning Communities Beginning the Conversation.
http://sharedlearning.edublogs.org/category/professional-learning-communities/

Professional Learning Communities Fact Sheet
https://www.ece.gov.nt.ca/sites/ece/files/resources/plc_fact_sheet_-_final.pdf