This year I discovered Learning Forward’s professional learning standards. I know I’m a bit late to the game, especially seeing I have been a member of Learning Forward for two years. Anyhow, I think they have the potential to be a real game changer, especially in combination with the Standards Assessment Inventory (SAI). This a measurement tool that Learning Forward offers, in the form of survey. The results gave me an initial baseline understanding of how these standards play out at our school, or at least how the staff perceives they play out. The data is interesting and I have been thinking about the structures we have in place already and how we can capitalize on them to be a stronger learning school, particularly the teams that are already established with weekly meeting times.

So when I attended a presentation by teachers just before the holiday, learning communities were at the forefront of my mind…

Our school requires that teachers in their first five years at the school take five courses led by members of our school community. The idea is that these courses provide teachers with the tools and foundations needed to truly understand what drives our school.  This year a course that was originally focused on technology in education, was revamped and became Education in the 21st Century.  The group of teachers that registered for this course was small, 6 participants in total, and they were all from our preschool and primary school. During the course they worked together to analyze readings, apply learnings in their classrooms and assess the success of these new practices. Their presentation shared this journey with their colleagues not in the course.

My observations

These teachers as they presented built on each other’s ideas, jumping in naturally when they felt the need. They were jovial with each other, laughing and making jokes (often references to personal experiences they shared, that the audience could not understand). Above all they were excited about their learning. They were proud of what they had done, felt they had learned a lot and that their new practices had positive impacts on the learning of their students. They were motivated to continue with these practices and to continue learning and applying their learning to their classroom and in other aspects of the school.

My wonderings

• What about their team dynamics happened naturally and what structures or protocols helped them to develop their working style?
• Did they experience conflict? How did that play out?
• Is it possible to replicate this dynamic (a team working together with a clear passion and motivation for their work with a clear end in mind) in other scenarios with other teams? What would this look like?
• When the learning communities are created by the school, along with the goals or purpose of the teams, how can this same motivation, dedication and passion be generated?
• If teachers create their own learning communities with their own goals, how can the school support this in terms of time and other resources? What happens to the priorities that the school has established?

In my search to some of these answers, I look at three scenarios of professional learning communities, the strengths and limitations of each and my questions for finding the recipe for success with learning communities school wide.

Profesional Learning Community: Scenario A – Too cold

Scenario A: A department of ten people meets every week for 45 minutes. The leader is the head of the department. The school has been working to implement a new curriculum design and so each week the department head leads the team through the agenda, based on what was discussed in her meetings with the Academic Council (the other department heads) and what phases of the curriculum design implementation plan the school leadership team has decided should be completed this year. When the department head mentions steps to be completed before the next meeting, there are grumblings or disgruntled faces and teachers leave complaining quietly to each other. At the next meeting, some teachers have the work complete and others react with looks of surprise – “What work? When did you tell us this?”

Strengths: There is time set aside weekly in the schedule for teachers that all teach the same subject to discuss teaching and curriculum development. The leader of the the group is getting continuous professional development on the topic, so she is an expert and brings valuable information to the group. This is also large-scale, in the every teacher is a part of a department and receives a similar training.

Limitations: There is no buy-in. Teachers are not committed to a shared goal and thus are not always responsible with the deliverables.

 

Professional Learning Community: Scenario B – Too hot

Scenario B: As part of their professional development, teachers are required to establish a professional goal for the year and work in teams with others with a shared goal. Teachers choose their teams. They are guaranteed two 2-hour blocks each month to work together. Any additional time needed must be worked out by the team members. Teachers choose to work together with their closest colleagues and enjoy the time in the schedule to meet.  The 25 different teams share their goals with the Director of Professional Development, who does her best to keep track of each group and support them with resources. At the end of the year, there is a school wide conference that allows groups to present their work.

Strengths: Large scale, all the teachers are involved and developing. Choice and autonomy – teachers have a say in what they focus on and how the will focus on it. Teachers must directly link their work to student learning and growth. There is buy-in from many and those that are committed present excellent and insightful work on that conference.

Limitations: It is difficult to support all the teams and to make sure that each team has the resources it needs to work as a true profesional learning community. While the teams have a shared goal, it is not aligned with a school goal, so the work is all over the place.

 

Professional Learning Community: Scenario C – Getting warmer

Scenario C: A pilot program with a small group of teachers who are already friends and work in the same school, choose to take a course together that interests them.  Throughout the course they analyze readings and discuss how to apply these learning in their classrooms during the course schedule which guarantees three to five hours of class time each week.  The topic of the course is quite broad. For their final project,  they establish a goal together and work towards it with dedication, putting in extra time in the afternoons and the weekends to get it done (and to enjoy, perhaps, a beer while doing it) because the work must be completed before the end of the course. They are excited to share their work with others and in their presentation, indicate that they hope to continue to apply what they learned in their course but also recognize the time constraints that exist.

Strengths: There is buy-in – they are excited and proud of their work and they put in extra time to create a killer final product, and they enjoy it!  The focus of their work is aligned to area that is important to the school and its mission.

Limitations: Small scale – while the quality of the work and the learning is high, the impact is limited to the few participants of the course. Additionally, it’s important to find ways that teachers who do not necessarily have personal relationships or friendships are able to work together professionally. The course might not be aligned to specific professional learning goals of the school for that specific year  – this could mean that the participants have too many goals, as they are working on projects with the course but then other goals for improvement in their day-to-day at the school.

Professional Learning Community: Scenario X – Juuust Right

The verdict is still out. But there are some important characteristics to consider as we find the just-right scenario for professional learning communities at our school:

• Clear goals aligned to school needs.  When professional learning communities are created they must be coming together to work on agreed goals that align with school and student learning needs.
• Choice and voice. Participants must have some choice in their groups and in the goals they establish. They also need to have the opportunity to share their learning with others, understanding that everyone has valuable knowledge and experiences that others can benefit from.
• Time. There must be time dedicated to working together. A school that values collaboration and the work of professional learning communities must create this space.
• Support. There must constant support for helping professional learning communities work together and resolve conflict and there must be resources available to them when they have professional questions to resolve that requiere building new knowledge.

What other key characteristics have you found to be essential for successful professional learning communities at your school?