Education Topics: Professional Learning Communities

Districtwide alignment is the organizational equiv¬alent of ensuring that every student learns. To realize its full potential, all levels and all roles districtwide need to become aligned around the three big ideas of a PLC: ensuring a focus on learning, building a collaborative culture, and establishing a results orientation. For each of these big ideas, there are certain non-negotiables; things around which there must be common agreement and expectations.

In The Connected Educator, authors Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach and Lani Ritter Hall integrate professional development that is currently working in schools with a new model¿connected learning communities. Connected learning communities are a three-pronged approach to effective professional development using the local (professional learning community), contextual (personal learning network), and global (community of practice) environments. Connected learners take responsibility for their own professional development. They figure out what they need to learn and then collaborate with others to construct the knowledge they need. Instead of waiting for professional learning to be organized and delivered to them, connected learners contribute, interact, share ideas, and reflect.

Making Teamwork Meaningful: Leading Progress-Driven Collaboration in a PLC at Work shows school leaders how to successfully focus on the real work of professional learning communities, ensuring that every student experiences academic success by empowering collaborative teams to overcome the difficulties that accompany collaboration. Authors William M. Ferriter, Parry Graham, and Matt Wight address the potential challenges that educators face in any collaborative effort and provide actions school leaders can take to safeguard their schools against complacency and to make staffing decisions that will strengthen PLCs. They offer tips and strategies that every leader can adopt, and they highlight effective professional development techniques. The chapters of Making Teamwork Meaningful are designed to stand alone, so readers can choose to explore those that are most relevant to their PLC.

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) are part of a decades-long state-led initiative to establish the fundamental educational learning targets that ensure all students are college and career ready in the 21st century. Common Core English Language Arts in a PLC at Work, Grades K-2 provides strategies and tips for K-2 teachers to integrate the Common Core State Standards for English language arts in their instruction, curriculum, assessment, and intervention practices. Additionally, authors Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey detail how to implement the CCSS within a powerful collaborative model: Professional Learning Communities at Work (PLCs). Using critical chapter-opening questions to guide the discussion, the authors effectively demonstrate how K-2 teachers can use the CCSS to optimize student learning.

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) are part of a decades-long state-led initiative to establish the fundamental educational learning targets that ensure all students are college and career ready in the 21st century. Common Core English Language Arts in a PLC at Work, Leader's Guide provides strategies and tips for K-12 school leaders to integrate the Common Core State Standards for English language arts in their school's instruction, curriculum, assessment, and intervention practices. Additionally, authors Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, and Cynthia L. Uline detail how to implement the CCSS within a powerful collaborative model: Professional Learning Communities at Work¿ (PLCs). Using key chapter-opening questions to guide the discussion, the authors effectively demonstrate how K-12 leaders can use the CCSS to optimize student learning.

Collaborating for Success With the Common Core: A Toolkit for Professional Learning Communities at Work offers K-12 educators tips and strategies to successfully implement the Common Core State Standards in their school curriculum through teamwork. It is designed to support school teams already answering the four critical questions of professional learning communities.

The Internet now connects us in unprecedented ways. We have access to tools will allow us to build global learning networks where we can pursue our intellectual and creative passions with people around the world. As educators, these networked opportunities present a very big challenge. To prepare students to flourish in this new learning world, schools will need to transform themselves in important ways. Personal Learning Networks: Using the Power of Connections to Transform Education is a road map to follow down the path to that transformation.

New teachers need support from their peers and mentors to locate resources, information, new ideas, emotional support, and inspiration. This timely book explains the research and theory behind social networks (face-to-face and online), describes what effective social networking for educators looks like, reveals common obstacles that new teachers face in establishing support networks, and offers valuable practical advice. The author follows the stories of four first-year teachers, illustrating the significant impact that social support networks can have on teachers' lives and challenging common misconceptions of professional support. This book offers action guides to help teachers become ''intentional networkers,'' including a companion website with tools for networking and collaboration. This is a must-have resource for pre- and in-service teachers.

This book is designed to assist individual teachers, groups of teachers, and school leaders who work with professional learning community (PLC) teams to become disciplined and deliberative with data as they design and implement program improvements to enhance student learning. The evidence suggests that when constant, high-quality collaborative inquiry becomes the norm in a PLC, not only do students prosper but the school culture becomes enriched and teachers enjoy greater professional satisfaction.
In dysfunctional organizations, norms and habits of behavior work counter to goals. In contrast, a PLC has a tight functional culture. Its members are bound by a commitment to shared norms, values, and behaviors. One nurtures a functional culture by reinforcing those habitual behaviors or norms. This book discusses five habits of inquiry that contribute to successful professional learning and provides detailed steps for developing each of them.

This is the first comprehensive book about the unconference movement. Author, blogger, and Library Journal Mover & Shaker Michelle Boule explains why traditional conferences and learning environments increasingly fail to meet the needs of professionals. She looks at the impact of "internet mob rule" on continuing education and training, and shows how an array of new solutions—including camps, unconferences, and peer learning strategies—are putting the power of knowledge back in the hands of those who need it most. nbsp; In addition to providing a step-by-step approach to planning a camp or unconference, Mob Rule Learning features numerous case studies, interviews, and examples of emerging education and training models for small and large organizations, businesses, and community groups.