The goal of this learning module is to provide teachers and administrators with resources to employ facilitation skills, create trust among colleagues, develop collective wisdom, build ownership, and take action to support student learning. When you began the journey through this module, you may have been feeling frustrated about how to meet the expectation of participating in Professional Learning Communities (PLCs).
In the Challenge, you began by connecting Tanya, Tomas, and Tiffany's barriers to PLC implementation with yours. In the Pre-assessment (Part 1 of the Self-Reflection Narrative), you did the following:
Initial Thoughts required you to dig deeper into thinking about your experiences with PLCs. This section set the stage for moving forward to learn how to overcome barriers to PLC participation.
Perspectives and Resources allowed you to explore content relevant to your situation.
Having reviewed the Perspectives and Resources for the roadblock you believe is preventing PLCs from being possible in your setting, do you have the information necessary to overcome this barrier?
In the Challenge, you began by connecting Tanya, Tomas, and Tiffany's barriers to PLC implementation with yours. In the Pre-assessment (Part 1 of the Self-Reflection Narrative), you did the following:
- Reflected on your reason for participating in this module,
- Connected to prior knowledge of PLCs,
- Identified what you hoped to learn,
- Described the roadblock(s) preventing you from participating in PLCs and its cause, and
- Listed the resources or support you would need to overcome this roadblock.
Initial Thoughts required you to dig deeper into thinking about your experiences with PLCs. This section set the stage for moving forward to learn how to overcome barriers to PLC participation.
Perspectives and Resources allowed you to explore content relevant to your situation.
- The first roadblock provided an overview of PLCs to ensure you were not experiencing a problem similar to Tiffany, who made the common mistake of confusing a department meeting with that of a PLC.
- Not having time to meet with PLCs is a common roadblock because of issues with schedules and a lack of personnel. Both Tanya and Tomas experienced issues related to a lack of time.
- Overcoming a lack of collaboration and buy-in from staff is another roadblock to PLC participation common in schools. Tanya, Tomas, and Tiffany's experiences were impacted by a lack of collaboration and buy-in among the leaders in their schools to prioritize PLCs and explore alternative methods.
- A lack of understanding in how PLCs affect student learning impacts the motivation teachers and administrators have to overcome this roadblock and search for ways to collaborate. Tanya's frustration over not having time to PLC may have been due to a lack of understanding as to how PLCs could improve student success, and Tiffany's department lacked the focus on PLC meetings targeted towards student performance to improve learning.
- Tiffany had a lack of understanding , and Tanya's attitude may have made her resistant to change; both of these are other barriers commonly blocking the path to PLC implementation.
Having reviewed the Perspectives and Resources for the roadblock you believe is preventing PLCs from being possible in your setting, do you have the information necessary to overcome this barrier?
- If you answered NO: If you feel like you may still encounter bumps in the road, take a detour to a different path. Review Part 1 of your Self-Reflection Narrative and think about how your perspective has changed after working through this module. Explore other paths in Perspectives and Resources to find information that will help you participate in PLCs and improve opportunities to help students succeed.
- If you answered YES: If you correctly identified your roadblock(s) to PLC implementation during the pre-assessment (Part 1 of your Self-Reflection Narrative), you may have gathered ideas and resources along the path to learning in the Perspectives and Resources section. If so, move on to the Assessment section, in which you will reflect on your learning and develop a plan to advocate for PLC participation in your setting.