Professional learning communities — the new 'buzz’ in District 88
PLCs focus on analyzing test dataBy Kremena Spengler Staff Writer
NEW ULM - This year, District 88 is starting a new effort, called "professional learning communities" or PLCs.
What is this concept all about?
Superintendent Harold Remme and Academic Coordinator of Excellence (ACE) Tami Sens, the person who will coordinate this effort, explain PLCs in terms of the district's vision - "a commitment to educational excellence."
The mission of the district states that "learning should take place in an environment that recognizes, respects and serves the diverse abilities and needs of individuals," said the two educators during a special interview. The PLCs represent a commitment to school improvement by supporting the district's mission, vision, values and goals.
The PLCs are teams of teachers who work together to: clarify what students must learn; monitor student learning on a timely basis; identify interventions that ensure students receive additional time and support for learning when they struggle; and extend and enrich learning when students have already mastered the intended outcomes.
In a sense, PLCs are vehicles for systematic professional collaboration among teachers. Rather than sharing ideas on an incidental and informal basis - or not sharing ideas at all - teachers in PLCs work inter-dependently to achieve common goals and impact classroom instruction in ways that will lead to better results for their students, their team and their school.
The PLCs are data-driven. Data is used to impact student instruction and influence curriculum design. Officials draw an analogy with the medical profession - a doctor ordering a lab test and then deciding on treatment based on the data gained from the test.
PLCs focus on analyzing test data. Formative assessments are administered to students multiple times during the year, to gather ongoing evidence of student learning (these are tests currently in place, not new ones). PLC members review the results, in an effort to identify and address areas of learning where many students are experiencing difficulty. The assessments are used to identify students who need additional time and support for learning. The teachers also use the data to identify strengths and weaknesses in their individual teaching and then learn from one another.
Currently, about 18 PLCs have been set up in the district. These teams are organized by grade level in the elementary schools, and by department in the high school.
Other schools that have implemented the PLC concept have set aside times during the school year for the teams to meet on a systematic basis - they have early-outs or late starts, once or twice a month, for example. New Ulm's calendar is pretty set at this stage - so the PLCs are set to meet during teacher worskshop days, several times a year.
Sens, a new hire, sees her own role as a "teacher support" person "helping PLC members be more effective." She also sees herself as a "go-between" between teachers and administrators. Sens will help locate and analyze data, research specific issues, set agendas and coordinate organizational matters, in some examples.
Her position is funded with federal stimulus money, noted Remme. (While the district may decide to continue the position when that funding runs out, it is not obligated to do so.)
The PLC concept has been staff-driven, pointed out Remme and Sens. Staff members researched what others had done with this concept and have been "anxious" to try it out.
Remme noted that schools that have applied the model over several years now tend to stand out in terms of student achievement.
One such example is Waseca, said Remme.
In fact, it was after local educators asked the question "what is it that Waseca is doing differently?" that the PLC concept was studied and launched here.
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vang99
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10-30-09 12:42 AM
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LOL...Right......I don't think this is the BUZZ in district 88 right now.
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