Ready, Set, Pause—The HOW | Origin: EC119
This is a general discussion forum for the following learning topic:
Professional Learning Communities (PLC)—How to Reach Transformative Change --> Ready, Set, Pause—The HOW
Post what you've learned about this topic and how you intend to apply it. Feel free to post questions and comments too.
I'm still grappling with how this might work in my current context. Yet I guess I'm better to speculate my next professional situation. I hope to be in a position with a group of dreamers who still believe in educating students and enjoying the trade. My favorite PLC times have involved wildly innovative ideas and means of implementing them. These have generally created a venue for embracing student difference in approching projects and community events that allow all members to contribute. In the world of CTE, it seems open houses, public demonstrations, classes where students teach peers and community members, and other means of drawing the real world into the school have great potential. Further, the reality of gaining certifications seems more likely with staff collaboration.
Ready . Set . Pause: ( The how )
- initiating the proactive culture. Frameworks to develop a shared lens & language.
- Consider potential problems
- Use a multi tiered system of supports
- Response to intervention
Tier 1 ( The foundation for all stuents)
Tier 2 ( Targeted responses )
Tier 3 ( Intensive personalized responses )
Social capitol & teacher – driven change
Cultivates a culture of learning
Facilitator key rolls:
- Brings focus back to the group
- Encourages participation
- Clarifying the purpose of the work together
- Modeling how to challenge each other
- Encourages norm adherence
- Resolves issues & solidifies trust in the group
Group members rolls:
- Deliberately represent a range of perspectives
- Share expertise from different areas
- Be transparent with learning & changes
- Participate in discussions & research
- Field test strategies & share with team
- Expect connection & growth for the whole team
Administration perspectives ( Building Social Capitol )
- It is believed that all students can learn& at higher levels.
- We make the collective commitment to insure learning occurs for every student.
4 PLC frameworks to consider:
1) An inclusive framework
- Safe & worthwhile to question
- Frame questions appreciatively
- Provide time & space to question
- Provide tools to support questions
2) The science of learning framework
3) Data informed framework
- Analyze data
- Set goals
- Learn individually & collaboratively
- Implement new learning
- Monitor & adjust
4) Research based framework
It will be great to be in a group of other educators that share my same passion for teaching a trade. It will also be important to have a diverse group so we can all learn from each other.
I teach a singleton in my building and so I sometimes struggle with not having others that are on the same curriculum as me. However, it is so helpful to collaborate with other CTE teachers because the framework and commonalities are so helpful to share and learn from other educators.
I think the biggest takeaway was the idea of focusing on the how of instruction since the what is often not shared between teachers.
