Initial Thoughts
Professional Learning Communities are characterized by three big ideas that guide their work:
1. A focus on learning
2. A culture of collaboration
3. A focus on results
According to DuFour, DuFour, and Eaker (2008), the engine behind school improvement in a professional learning community is the team. The actions of these teams are guided by the following questions:
1. A focus on learning
2. A culture of collaboration
3. A focus on results
According to DuFour, DuFour, and Eaker (2008), the engine behind school improvement in a professional learning community is the team. The actions of these teams are guided by the following questions:
- What do we want students to know and do?
- How do we know they are learning?
- What do we do when they're not learning?
- How do we respond when they've learned the information?
“The framework of a professional learning community is inextricably linked to the effective integration of standards, assessment, and accountability . . . the leaders of professional learning communities balance the desire for professional autonomy with the fundamental principles and values that drive collaboration and mutual accountability” (Reeves, 2005, pp. 47–48).
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“Strong professional learning communities produce schools that are engines of hope and achievement for students. . . . There is nothing more important for education in the decades ahead than educating and supporting leaders in the commitments, understandings, and skills necessary to grow such schools where a focus on effort-based ability is the norm” (Saphier, 2005, p. 111).
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