Readings
Introduction1
Why do some schools go to the trouble to change the way they work together? Because it makes a real difference to those who matter most—the students.
| By Gay Gordon, ENC Publishing | Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 |
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Take a look at these characteristics of a professional learning community:
- Shared mission and vision with specific measurable goals and shared commitments.
- People working together in collaborative teams engaged in collective inquiry and reflecting on the big questions of teaching and learning.
- A commitment to a cycle of continuous improvement where teachers, as a matter of routine, are willing to work together to analyze data to determine student needs, develop strategies, implement them, reflect on their effectiveness, and develop new strategies as needed.
- A focus on results.
"Who could be opposed to creating these kinds of conditions in their schools? I don't think many people will look at that list and say 'well, wait a minute, I'm not in favor of improved results' or 'I don't want to hold a shared vision, I'd rather wander aimlessly day to day through the school year.' No, I think we look at that list, and say, 'That sounds good to me, that sounds wonderful.'" Rick DuFour from video clip below.
Richard DuFour, formerly superintendent of Adlai Stevenson High School District 125 in Lincolnshire, Illinois, makes the case that if schools are going to improve, they must develop the capacity to perform as a professional learning community.
The challenge for schools, then, is how to make such a transformation. If professional learning communities are so effective in producing desirable results, then why don't all schools scramble to change their culture? Perhaps because such change is messy, slow, and difficult, and it takes outstanding school leadership from administrators and teachers to make it happen. Schools must learn new strategies, acquire new tools, and overcome resistance to change.
Does DuFour exaggerate the benefits of professional learning communities? Is it possible that this change in school culture can have such a dramatic effect? Other researchers support his claims and have documented the benefits of professional learning communities as a way to:
- Reduce teacher isolation
- Increase commitment to the mission and goals of a school
- Share responsibility for the total development of students and collective responsibility for students' success
- Increase meaning and understanding of the content that teachers teach
- Improve the likelihood that teachers will be more satisfied and invigorated
- Increase teachers' commitment to making lasting and significant change
- Reduce the student drop-out rate and absenteeism
- Improve students' academic gains
- Reduce the gaps between students from different backgrounds
(www.sedl.org/change/issues/issues61.html ) (nw)
This issue of ENC Focus is about Olentangy Local Schools, the fastest growing district in Ohio, which understands both the value of a professional learning community and how hard it is to create one. They rely on several professional development strategies in their quest, including those developed by Robert Garmston and Bruce Wellman as outlined in The Adaptive School: A Sourcebook for Developing Collaborative Groups. Read about their journey toward professional learning community including how the Adaptive School has provided essential tools for collaborating in a rapidly changing environment.
Gay Gordon is ENC's Associate Director for Publishing. Email her at ggordon@enc.org.
1Eisenhower National Clearinghouse. (2005). "One Vision, Many Leaders: Developing Effective Collaboration." ENC
Focus 13(5). Retrieved February 10, 2005: http://www.enc.org/features/focus/archive/collaboration/ (nw).
Reproduced with permission of Eisenhower National Clearinghouse.
