Source: Annenberg Institute for School Reform - Professional Learning Communities PDF
What Do Professional Learning Communities Look Like?
Professional learning communities (PLC) comprise groups of educators, administrators, community members, and other stakeholders who collectively examine and improve their own professional practice.Typically, individual groups are small and meet regularly over a significant period of time.
PLCs can be school-based, districtbased, cross-district, or national; the membership in a particular PLC is determined by its focus. For example, a grade-level team of teachers may form a PLC to focus on improving their ability to coordinate their students’ curriculum; a multigrade group of teachers may collaborate on ways to ensure a coherent learning pathway for their students; a group of math teachers may work together to adopt and implement a new mathematics program in ways that best benefit their students; teachers and administrators may meet as a PLC to learn and support innovative teaching strategies; principals or superintendents may concentrate on more effective ways to handle the particular challenges of their roles; a school system may meet regularly with core district representatives to improve operational effectiveness and to build capacity to support school and district efforts to improve schools; groups may form across districts, often as part of a national school reform initiative, to focus on common issues in their work.
Whatever the membership in individual groups, the work of professional learning communities is data-informed, standards-driven, and focused on instruction, equity, and results. As in study or support groups, the work of PLCs expands the knowledge of participants and encourages innovation and excellence. But PLCs go beyond the scope of study or support groups: they require that group members reflect honestly and openly together about their own practice, intentionally seeking ways to do their work better and continually building their capacity to do so. PLCs share key features and are bolstered by cultural and structural conditions in place in a school or district. PLCs strive for continual growth and learning, which speaks to the changing nature of schools and districts. They encourage the evolution of teaching and learning in individuals, in a collective of dedicated learners, and throughout an entire system.
Several kinds of activities promote a commitment to the collective and individual learning and openness to continuous improvement that are hallmarks of PLCs.They include engaging in collaborative problem solving around specific issues or dilemmas, identifying needs, and articulating a focus for the work; building knowledge by studying and discussing current issues and practices in quality teaching and learning, thus exploring ways to develop a culture of ongoing professional learning in a school or district; and observing, analyzing, and providing feedback and ideas about school data and teacher and student work.
Additional Resources:
Central Office Review for Results and Equity PDF
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Last modified: December 27, 2004
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