Our school is committed to working collaboratively in ongoing processes of collective inquiry and action research to achieve better results for the students we serve. A professional learning community (PLC) operates under the assumption that the key to improved learning for students is continuous, job-embedded learning for educators. PLCs have emerged as arguably the best, most agreed-upon means to improve instruction and student performance (DuFour & DuFour, 2017).
There are three BIG ideas that drive the PLC process:
1. Focus on learning
The purpose of our school is to ensure all students learn at high levels. This focus on learning translates into four critical questions that drive the daily work of our school:
- What should all students know and be able to do? Clarify the knowledge, skills, and dispositions all students must acquire.
- How will we know they have learned what was expected? Monitor each student’s learning on a timely basis. Use balanced and coherent systems of assessment.
- How do we respond when students do not learn? Provide systematic, timely, and directive interventions. Provide more time and support rather than lower expectations.
- How do we respond when students are already proficient? Develop strategies to extend and enrich the learning for students who are already proficient.
2. Build a collaborative culture
No school can help all students achieve at high levels if teachers work in isolation. Helping all students learn requires a collaborative and collective effort. Schools improve when teachers are given the time and support to work together to clarify essential student learning, develop common formative assessments for learning, analyse evidence of student learning, and use that evidence to learn from one another. Every year level team is timetabled a collaborative session in order to meet as a team to focus on the right work.
3. Focus on results
To measure our effectiveness in helping all students learn, we must focus on results rather than intentions. We use evidence of student learning to inform and improve our professional practice and respond to students who need intervention or enrichment. More of the same is not effective intervention or enrichment. We value efficient and effective use of data in a continuous improvement process.