{"id":569,"date":"2018-10-05T08:56:19","date_gmt":"2018-10-05T08:56:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.americanboard.org\/ptk\/?page_id=569"},"modified":"2019-02-20T17:11:06","modified_gmt":"2019-02-20T17:11:06","slug":"professional-learning","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.americanboard.org\/ptk\/professional-learning\/","title":{"rendered":"Professional Learning"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"twelve columns\" style=\"margin-top: 10%;\">\n<div class=\"advance\"><a class=\"button button-primary\" href=\"https:\/\/www.americanboard.org\/ptk\/correlations\/\">\u2b05 Previous Lesson<\/a><a class=\"button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.americanboard.org\/ptk\/professional-learning-and-leadership\/\">Workshop Index<\/a><a class=\"button button-primary\" href=\"https:\/\/www.americanboard.org\/ptk\/teacher-leadership\/\">Next Workshop \u27a1<\/a><\/div>\n<h1>Professional Learning<\/h1>\n<p><strong>Objectives:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In this workshop you will familiarize yourself with:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"#1\">Professional Learning Communities<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"#2\">Professional Learning Plans<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"#3\">Professional Development Plans<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"#4\">The Continuous Improvement Cycle and Four Types of Data<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"#5\">The School Improvement Process<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Teacher preparation programs lay the foundation for professional teaching knowledge. Teachers are expected to participate in ongoing professional development as a part of their practice. The term \u201cprofessional learning\u201d covers all types of learning experiences related to teaching, whether it is a brief \u201csit and get\u201d session, a weeklong conference, or a series of lectures. While there are many different delivery models for professional development, there are just as many content areas for teachers to develop their knowledge and skills. While some professional development is appropriate for any faculty, professional development is most effective when it meets a specific need of a particular group.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong id=\"4\">Selecting Learning Experiences<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">School administrators are often faced with the task of reviewing and processing large amounts of data in order to identify needs and select appropriate professional development activities for a staff. Yet more and more systems are moving toward teacher evaluation systems which place a priority on teachers participating in professional learning or growth plans, professional learning based on goals developed for the individual teacher by the individual teacher and his or her supervising administrator. With this trend toward more teacher involvement in identifying professional development needs, teachers need to be familiar with the process of how to select learning experiences that align with the school community needs. Many systems utilize a <\/span><b>continuous improvement cycle<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in order to ensure that their school community focuses on systematic problem solving.<\/span><\/p>\n<h1 style=\"text-align: center; border-bottom: none;\">Continuous Improvement Cycle<\/h1>\n<div class=\"box\" style=\"text-align: center; margin: auto;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"434\" height=\"169\" class=\" wp-image-517 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.americanboard.org\/ptk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/image11.png\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.americanboard.org\/ptk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/image11.png 434w, https:\/\/www.americanboard.org\/ptk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/image11-300x117.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 434px) 100vw, 434px\" \/><\/div>\n<h3>1.\u00a0\u00a0 Identify Needs:<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In this phase of the continuous improvement cycle, educators review data from a variety of sources in order to look for gaps. Needs are identified by analyzing the data and prioritizing the needs of the school. Schools may select needs based on:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Student needs<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Teacher needs (identified by colleague, supervisor, and reflective feedback)<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Local and district school improvement initiatives<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Engaging students in activities aligned with State and local standards<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Data is often disaggregated into appropriate subgroups and graphed or visualized other ways to help educators identify the degree of disparity between groups. School primarily examine four types of data: achievement, demographic, process, and perception. Educators need to look at all types of data to gain an understanding of the whole picture of school performance. <\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Types of data:<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Achievement<\/b> data is the data that tells you how well students have performed on an assessment. Achievement data can be looked at individually, student by student, or can be looked at in various groupings so teachers can identify populations of students who need more support. Common groupings, or sub-groupings include by teacher, gender, ethnicity, ELL status, Special Education status, and race. This sub group data allows teachers to see the effectiveness of current strategies within different populations. Examples of achievement data are standardized test scores, classroom grades, formative assessment scores, and Lexile scores.\n<div class=\"box\" style=\"text-align: center; margin: auto;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-518\" src=\"https:\/\/www.americanboard.org\/ptk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/image2-300x169.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-519 alignnone\" src=\"https:\/\/www.americanboard.org\/ptk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/image3.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"201\" height=\"169\" \/><\/div>\n<p>Above are two representations of achievement data. The graph on the left is a line graph that represents student growth scores over three years in eight different subject areas. The bar graph on the right follows three years of performance data on common district assessments in four different English Language Arts classes. The graph on the left gives us a quick representation on how much progress teachers are making with students in each subject. The bar graph on the right gives us similar information and can be helpful when there aren\u2019t the same number of data points for all areas being examined. Both of these types of representations can be useful in helping educators find gaps in performance and predict trends.<\/li>\n<li><b>Demographic<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> data describes a population of people. Some examples of demographic data include the percentage of students by race, gender, disability status, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and ELL status. Demographic data lets you know the makeup of the population of students you are working with and is helpful in interpreting some of your other data. It is often helpful to view demographic data in pie chart to visualize the segments of a whole school population. Demographic data can also be helpful in looking at trends and making predictions.<\/span><\/span>\n<div class=\"box\" style=\"text-align: center; margin: auto;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-570 alignnone\" src=\"https:\/\/www.americanboard.org\/ptk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/image4-300x250.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"291\" height=\"217\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-571 alignnone\" src=\"https:\/\/www.americanboard.org\/ptk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/image5-300x223.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"291\" height=\"217\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.americanboard.org\/ptk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/image5-300x223.png 300w, https:\/\/www.americanboard.org\/ptk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/image5.png 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 291px) 100vw, 291px\" \/><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Process<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> data tells you about the processes and programs of the school. \u00a0Some examples of process data are: student participation in clubs, sports, afterschool programs, counseling programs, student support programs, and peer mediation. It also includes data related to lesson planning and instructional framework implementation. Process data often comes from walk through and observation reports, sign in sheets at events, counting the number of lunches sold, or the number of tickets sold to different events. Teachers may find it helpful to review process data in their PLC\u2019s when trying to determine supports for students. For instance, if a teacher knows that parents and students attend activities after school on Tuesday more than any other day of the week, they can capitalize on this information to schedule their classroom activities on a day when they have an increased chance for good participation. Also if a teacher sees walk through data that indicates the use of higher order thinking skills are lower in their department than in the rest of their school, they can consider how that might be impacting student achievement and make a change to instruction if needed. Process data can also help teachers understand the types of school activities that engage the community. Looking for trends in the process data can help a PLC leverage school resources and optimize participation to meet their goals. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The bar graph below depicts process data on the use of instructional technology in a moderately sized high school. This particular data was collected over time to monitor the use of instructional technology after a professional development. <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"box\" style=\"text-align: center; margin: auto;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-520 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.americanboard.org\/ptk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/image6-300x228.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"332\" height=\"252\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.americanboard.org\/ptk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/image6-300x228.png 300w, https:\/\/www.americanboard.org\/ptk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/image6-768x583.png 768w, https:\/\/www.americanboard.org\/ptk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/image6-1024x777.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.americanboard.org\/ptk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/image6.png 1418w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 332px) 100vw, 332px\" \/><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Perception<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> data is the data that describes peoples\u2019 opinions, or what they think they know. Perception data often comes from surveys. Many schools and districts conduct surveys several times a year in order to review perception data. Perception data is often used when evaluating school climate. Perception data is often collected based on the strength of agreement with a particular statement, such as \u201cMy teachers assign challenging work\u201d and the student responds with rating of strongly disagree, somewhat disagree, somewhat agree, or strongly agree. Perception data is often collected at the end of a professional learning activity.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td>Strongly Disagree<\/td>\n<td>Disagree<\/td>\n<td>Neutral<\/td>\n<td>Agree<\/td>\n<td>Strongly Agree<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>My child\u2019s school is clean<\/td>\n<td>5%<\/td>\n<td>15%<\/td>\n<td>10%<\/td>\n<td>45%<\/td>\n<td>25%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>My student is safe at school<\/td>\n<td>2%<\/td>\n<td>5%<\/td>\n<td>18%<\/td>\n<td>25%<\/td>\n<td>50%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>My child is happy at school<\/td>\n<td>2%<\/td>\n<td>13%<\/td>\n<td>5%<\/td>\n<td>25%<\/td>\n<td>55%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>My child\u2019s teacher communicates important information<\/td>\n<td>2%<\/td>\n<td>5%<\/td>\n<td>5%<\/td>\n<td>63%<\/td>\n<td>25%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Teachers at school are accessible to parents<\/td>\n<td>5%<\/td>\n<td>25%<\/td>\n<td>30%<\/td>\n<td>35%<\/td>\n<td>5%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The perception data table above shows a summary of responses from a parent survey. The benefit of perception data is that you can collect data with any questions you like. This particular survey was conducted using a Likert scale for responses. Perception can also be collected using a rubric style response.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Collecting Data<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In our everyday life data is being collect on our behaviors all the time! When we watch a video online, we add to the view count. When we \u201clike\u201d an image on social media, we provide perception data. When we pay with our credit card, we are providing data to retailers, manufacturers, and financial companies. Data is a part of our culture, and it drives so much of what our culture is exposed to. Data is how companies know what people like and don\u2019t like, how much to produce, what to charge, who to advertise to, and how they know what works for them. As educators we need to know what\u2019s working for us, how much of it to use, and when. Data on our effectiveness is just as important as everyone else\u2019s!<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is critical for educators to seek out technology solutions to make data analysis as efficient a process as possible, and to make the data accessible to the larger school community. As you can imagine, most schools have an abundance of data. In a school of 1000 students, each student will have at least five demographic factors and five achievement factors. At the minimum, that is 10,000 raw data points. It is unreasonable to imagine that schools are collecting, aggregating, disaggregating and calculating statistics by hand. Several different tools may be necessary for schools to interpret and analyze data. Computers to perform calculations, spreadsheets to sort information and create visual representations of data, databases to student information system databases that house and extract demographic and achievement data, software that specializes in collecting survey responses, and even software to track tardiness to school. Educators rely on seeking out and using available technology solutions to make the data accessible and meaningful.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"teachertip\">Connect with your media specialist and instructional technology specialist to get support in finding technology solutions to manage data.<\/p>\n<h3>2.\u00a0 Creating a Plan<\/h3>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you\u2019ve crunched the numbers, it\u2019s time to set a goal and develop an action plan. Educators must collaborate and prioritize their needs and develop a plan that supports attaining a specific goal.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Set Goals<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Goal setting is a practice that sounds easy but takes some skill. When we are working to set goals for a school community, it is important that we are setting goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time bound (SMART goals). SMART goals allow a school community to have a clear understanding of what goal they are trying to reach, when they need to reach it by, to be able to measure progress along the way, and to feel that it is something worth working for. As a teacher you will spend time each year participating in goal setting for the school in your school improvement process, for your PLC in your small group learning community, for yourself, and for your students. The goal setting is the foundation for many plans throughout the school and district. SMART goals drive district improvement plans, IEPs, student support team plans, and in some districts teacher bonuses.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Choose a Strategy<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once the goal is set, it\u2019s time to review research in that area and choose a best practice that is effective in improving the area of need. Choosing research-based strategies allows schools to be able to anticipate a certain degree of success in attainment of their goal.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>3.\u00a0 Implement the Plan<\/h3>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once the plan has been formalized it\u2019s time to take action! Implementing the plan is simply following the steps and the timeline.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>4.\u00a0 <strong>Monitor<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once the plan has been launched, monitoring will begin. Monitoring includes periodic checks on the progress on the steps of the plan, and on the attainment of the goal. Monitoring can be informal assessment, checklists, or formal reporting.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Begin again<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As the formative and summative data about goal attainment comes in, it\u2019s time to revisit the cycle by analyzing the data and identifying needs. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The continuous improvement cycle is a common theme throughout educational practice. As you develop and attain more knowledge and skills in educational practice you will begin to notice the continuous improvement cycle utilized again and again.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 id=\"2\"><b>Individual Plans<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Professional Learning Plans<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Professional Learning Plans (PLP) begin with the teacher reviewing and reflecting on school and\/or classroom data and selecting and creating goal. \u00a0PLP is usually developed by the teacher in consultation with the administrator. Goals can target an individual teacher\u2019s needs, and \/ or school or district wide initiatives. These professional learning goals drive the professional learning plan, which outlines the teacher\u2019s and school\u2019s part in meeting the professional learning goal. Professional learning plans differ from remediation plans in that they are not a corrective measure for struggling teachers, but they are instead a required plan for all educators to ensure that teachers remain life-long learners and that they have the opportunities to develop their areas of strength, weakness, and preference.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"proinsight\" style=\"border-style: solid; width: 300px; margin: auto; border-color: #1e90ff;\">\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center; color: #ff0000; margin: 0px;\">Professional Insight<\/h3>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\">Develop weaknesses but develop strengths too! Nothing builds confidence like being an expert!<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>SAMPLE Professional Learning Plan<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"sample-learning\" style=\"box-sizing: content-box; padding: 5px; border: 2px solid #333;\">\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tara Teacher Professional Learning Plan for the 2017-2018 School Year<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Data sources reviewed:<\/strong> Previous standardized test scores, Lexile scores, walkthrough data<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Professional Learning Goal:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In order to increase my standardized test scores by 5% I will add the use of \u201cclickers\u201d in my classroom to increase student opportunity to respond to questions and collect formative student data. My goal is to collect formative assessment data with clickers once a week.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Professional learning activity:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Fall:<\/strong> I will attend a training with the media specialist on the use and maintenance of the multiple response clicker system and I will observe the use of these clickers in another teacher\u2019s classroom.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Fall \/ Winter:<\/strong> I will research the use of clickers for formative assessments in the area of Mathematics. I will read and reflect on at least three professional articles about teachers who have implemented this practice.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Winter:<\/strong> I will work with a member of my team to covert our weekly formative assessments to clicker-based assessments.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I will begin collecting data with the clickers weekly.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Resources and Supports:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span id=\"3\" style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I will need access to the clicker system at least once per week. I will need to meet with the media specialist for at least one training session on the clickers and have access to him for support periodically.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><strong><strong>Professional Development Plan\u00a0<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\"><strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Professional Development Plan (PDP) is a plan developed by an administrator for a teacher whose practice reflects that they are struggling in a particular area or areas. The Professional development plan differs from the professional learning plan in that it is an administrator developed plan that is intended to correct something in the teacher\u2019s practice that is negatively impacting their evaluation. A professional development plan is part of the evaluation process and intended to do set clear expectations and supports for a teacher who is having difficulty. Professional development plans are often required by teacher evaluation systems for teachers who score below a certain total or below a certain score in a specific area. For instance, if the teacher evaluation platform designates total scores between 15-20 are proficient teachers, any teacher at 14 or below may be required to have a development plan. Also, if an evaluation system uses a scoring system of 1-4 for each area, and a teacher scores a 1 in a particular area (though their overall rating may be proficient) a professional development plan may also be required. \u00a0While professional development plans are corrective, and considered remediation, they are intended to provide support and clear expectations, so a teacher can grow.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"teachertip\">If an administrator puts you on a remediation plan, don\u2019t be shy! Be clear in asking for the supports that you need to be successful. Consider asking for resources, training classes, professional coaching, or other a.<\/p>\n<p><strong>SAMPLE Professional Development Plan<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"sample-learning\" style=\"box-sizing: content-box; padding: 5px; border: 2px solid #333;\">\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tony Teacher Professional Development Plan for School Year 2017-2018<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Start Date:<\/strong> October 2017<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>End Date:<\/strong> \u00a0January 2018<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Area(s) for improvement:<\/strong> \u00a0\u00a0Classroom management<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Educator actions:<\/strong> Mr. Teacher will take a classroom management course of at least 20 seat hours. Mr. Teacher will observe two other teachers\u2019 classrooms (identified by administration) and submit a written reflection of both observations to his supervising administrator. Mr. Teacher will keep a journal of the different classroom management strategies he uses in class each day and write weekly reflections on their effectives. Mr. Teacher will consult with the behavior specialist every two weeks and make his journal available for behavior specialist review. Mr. Teacher will schedule monthly conferences with his administrator to debrief her on his progress. At each meeting Mr. Teacher will submit his journal for review. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Resources provided by the system:<\/strong> Classroom management class at the county office, behavior specialist consultation, access to two other teachers\u2019 classrooms for observation, monthly conferences with administrator.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Timeline for implementation:<\/strong> Mr. Teacher will complete the classroom management class by the end of November. He will begin daily entries in his journal during week two of his classroom management course. Mr. Teacher will begin conferences with his supervising administrator in October. Mr. Teacher will consult with the behavior specialist beginning upon completion of the classroom management course (expected in mid-November). <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span id=\"1\" style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Documentation and Deliverables:<\/strong> Journal, Documentation of course completion, record of conferences with behavior specialist, record of conferences with administrator<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h3><strong>Collaborative Learning<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Professional Learning Communities<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Professional Learning Community, or PLC, is a group of people that meet regularly and examine data with the purpose of making changes to\u00a0improving student outcomes. PLCs can be content area groups, grade level groups, or any combination of people from the school community that come together on a regular basis to review data and inform practices that should lead to better outcomes for students.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">PLCs have a goal. Common goals for PLCs include determining what to teach when,\u00a0creating lesson plans, or developing common assessments, or improving behavior management. All PLCs share a common purpose of improving student learning experiences and performance. An example of one school\u2019s PLC process is described below:<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-525 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.americanboard.org\/ptk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/image8.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"422\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.americanboard.org\/ptk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/image8.png 422w, https:\/\/www.americanboard.org\/ptk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/image8-300x160.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 422px) 100vw, 422px\" \/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Content Alignment:\u00a0<\/b>Review and unpack standards and curriculum to ensure that all members have a clear understand of the content and the depth of knowledge required.\u200b<\/li>\n<li><b>Teaching Practices:\u00a0<\/b>Plan lessons for the unit.<\/li>\n<li><b>Student Work:\u00a0<\/b>Using a protocol review students work\u200b.<\/li>\n<li><b>Data Analysis<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:\u00a0<\/span>Using a protocol review data collected from common formative and\/or summative assessments.<\/li>\n<li><b>Reflection<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:\u00a0<\/span>Review strengths and challenges of the past unit and determine changes that need to make for upcoming unit.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The PLC structure described above is designed to be used by the school\u2019s common course teacher PLCs at least once per week. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Grade level and content area PLCs often focus on examining student and work and achievement data, discussing best practices and unexpected outcomes. Teachers participating in PLCs will practice skills of analyzing data, reflective practice, and school improvement.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">PLCs should be large enough for people to offer one another feedback, support, and to collaborate on problem solving, and be small enough that everyone\u2019s needs and concerns can be routinely addressed. PLCs function best when there is a structure to the meetings, so that PLCs can stay focused on completing their work and meeting their purpose.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is not unusual for PLCs to produce work such as common lesson plans, common assessments, remediation plans, acceleration plans, and intervention plans. PLCs may have the responsibility of reviewing RTI data and moving students through the school\u2019s tiers of support.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">PLCs should meet regularly, with the frequency appropriate to their purpose. If the PLCs task is to examine student work and develop lesson plans, the PLC may meet once or twice a week.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Participating in PLCs<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Analyzing Student Work<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> One of the most critical endeavors that a teacher PLC embarks upon is the analysis of student work. Examination and analysis of student work is critical to making effective instructional decisions. Performing this task as a group helps teams to build interrater reliability and build consensus in standards alignment and analysis of rigor. Using protocols can be helpful in keep a group focused on generating specific information when examining student work. There are several protocols available for examining student work as an individual or with a group. Some protocols are for extensive and deep thinking and analysis, and others take a short amount of time and yield a small amount of information. Examining student work is often the primary task of the PLC, analysis of the work provides formal formative data that is critical to designing the next lessons so that all learners have chance to succeed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some guiding questions for student work analysis:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Which students\u2019 work is good enough?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What does good enough mean in the context of this work?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For the students that didn\u2019t meet the standard, what do they need to do to meet it?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Was my teaching strategy effective? <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For whom was my teaching strategy ineffective?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Feedback to Colleagues<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Giving and receiving feedback is critical skills for PLCs. Over the course of their practice teachers will participate in giving and receiving feedback with their peers in several areas. Teachers should be prepared to participate in feedback sessions regarding their professional practice, student and teacher data, identifying needs, professional learning, planning lessons, and when analyzing student work.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The feedback process can be intimidating at first. People giving feedback may be afraid of hurting someone\u2019s feelings or exposing their own insecurities during this process. The person receiving feedback can feel insecure, uncomfortable, and judged. In order to engage in professional feedback with peers, and develop and maintain collegial relationships, it is important that the feedback process have some clear expectations and processes. This allows the presenter and receiver to be clear about their roles, and the limits of that roles. Structured processes or protocols can be helpful in creating clear expectations and supporting a safe space for feedback sessions. Protocols can be found in literature and on the internet, or you can structure your own. A good protocol will:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Have the participants choose a specific area of examination<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Set a time limit for observation \/ analysis<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Include a time for clarifying questions or response <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Include \u201ccool\u201d (areas of improvement) and \u201cwarm\u201d (behaviors to repeat) feedback<\/span><\/li>\n<li id=\"5\" style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Inspire reflection<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>School Improvement Process<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The School Improvement committee is another type of PLC that you will find in most schools. The School Improvement Plan (SIP) aligns goals with the vision and mission of the school, and the needs of the school. Schools assemble diverse teams of school community members to apply the continuous improvement cycle to the school program as a whole. Teachers are an integral part of the School Improvement PLC. Teachers are needed to help identify and develop goals for the plan, and they are immensely critical in determining what resources, training, and supports are needed in order to meet these goals. Teachers have great influence over the school improvement plan, and great influence over the outcomes. Teachers will participate in every part of the SIP including goal setting, plan development, implementation and monitoring.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Review Questions<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How do you apply the continuous improvement cycle in your PLC?<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What is the common purpose of all PLCs?<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What types of data should be considered when developing goals for professional learning?<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What are the differences in a PDP and a PLP?<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What are the important factors in making peer feedback comfortable?<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"advance\"><a class=\"button button-primary\" href=\"https:\/\/www.americanboard.org\/ptk\/correlations\/\">\u2b05 Previous Lesson<\/a><a class=\"button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.americanboard.org\/ptk\/professional-learning-and-leadership\/\">Workshop Index<\/a><a class=\"button button-primary\" href=\"https:\/\/www.americanboard.org\/ptk\/teacher-leadership\/\">Next Workshop \u27a1<\/a><\/div>\n<h2><b>Resources and References<\/b><\/h2>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The following is a list of resources that relate to the topic of Professional Development<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Banks, F. and Mayes, A. <\/span><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Early Professional Development for Teachers<\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. David Fulton Publishers, 2001. Available from <\/span><b>Amazon.com<\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dufor, R. and Eaker, R., Professional<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"> Learning Communities at Work: Best Practices for Enhancing Student Achievemen<\/span>t. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Solution Tree Press, 1998.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Available from <\/span><b>Amazon.com<\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dufor, R. and Dufor, R.<\/span> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Learning by Doing: A Handbook for Professional Communities at Work \u2013 A Practical Guide for PLC Teams and Leadership<\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Solution Tree Press, 2016.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Available from <\/span><b>Amazon.com<\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Joyce, B, and Calhoun, E. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Models of Professional Development: A Celebration of Educators<\/span>.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Corwin Associates, 2010. Available from <\/span><b>Amazon.com<\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lieberman, A. and Miller, L. <\/span><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Professional Development that Matters<\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Teachers College Press, 2001. Available from <\/span><b>Amazon.com<\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Martin, L. and Kragler, S.<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Handbook of Professional Development in Education: Successful Models and Practices, PreK-12<\/span>. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Guilford Press, 2014.<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Available from <\/span><b>Amazon.com<\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">McLaughlin, C. <\/span><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Teachers Learning Professional Development and Education<\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Cambridge, 2013. Available from <\/span><b>Amazon.com<\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Reeves, D. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Transforming Professional Development into Student Results<\/span>. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0ASCD, 2010. Available from <\/span><b>Amazon.com<\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u2b05 Previous LessonWorkshop IndexNext Workshop \u27a1 Professional Learning Objectives: In this workshop you will familiarize yourself with: Professional Learning Communities Professional Learning Plans Professional Development Plans The Continuous Improvement Cycle and Four Types of Data The School Improvement Process Teacher preparation programs lay the foundation for professional teaching knowledge. Teachers are expected to participate in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-569","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.americanboard.org\/ptk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/569","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.americanboard.org\/ptk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.americanboard.org\/ptk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.americanboard.org\/ptk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.americanboard.org\/ptk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=569"}],"version-history":[{"count":191,"href":"https:\/\/www.americanboard.org\/ptk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/569\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":913,"href":"https:\/\/www.americanboard.org\/ptk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/569\/revisions\/913"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.americanboard.org\/ptk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=569"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}