Why Do We Need A Professional Learning Community ( PLC )?

Chapter 5: Make It Safe: How to Make It Safe to Talk about Almost Anything When things go wrong in crucial conversations, we assume the content of our message is the problem, so we begin to water it down or avoid it altogether. But, as long as your intent is pure and you learn how to make it safe for others, you can talk to almost anyone about almost anything. The key is to make the other person feel safe. To do this, there are two things the person needs to know. First, they need to know that you care about their best interests and goals. This is called mutual purpose. Second, they need to know that you care about them. This is called mutual respect. When people believe both of these things, they relax and can absorb what you’re saying; they feel safe. The instant they don’t believe them (and it can happen instantaneously – even with those we have long and loving relationships with), safety breaks down and silence or violence follows. To restore safety in the face of silence or violence, you must restore mutual purpose and respect.

Teacher Collaboration measures the degree to which teachers engage in constructive dialogue that furthers the educational vision of the school.

Identify and describe at least two resources that teachers can utilize in their planning and implementation. These can be text or web-based resources.

be properly addressed through one’s teaching so that educators need to collaborate so that they

While the other films involved in the lesson also seemed intriguing, this one really affected me. It practically made it obligatory for me to discuss it while also providing people with the opportunity to learn more concerning the event.

Roberts, S. & Pruitt, E. (2003). Schools as Professional Learning Communities: Collaborative Activities and Strategies for Professional Development. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Taking into account that parents, guardians, families and the community have an abundance of knowledge to offer in regards to supporting their children’s education. Students, staff, families and the community will feel welcomed, nurtured, respected and encouraged to participate in school functions and assist in the development of our students.

Collaboration between teachers is a key component to professional development that will lead to higher student achievement. There is a need for schools to set up time for teachers to be able to collaborate together. This allows for teachers to help each other, matchup content, teach each other new and best practices, troubleshoot student issues just to name a few of the areas that collaboration time can help foster within a school. The key is to build time for teachers to be able to collaborate during the school day or week. This collaboration time needs to be between grade levels, departments, and cross curricular when needed. For many schools this is an afterthought to the school schedule or a fleeting thought after the master schedule is completed. A principal needs to keep an open mind to any strategy that will enable the teachers to be able to collaborate for the good of the students and the school.

What is your reaction to this movie? What did you like about it? What did you dislike about it? Would you recommend it to other students / friends / acquaintances? Why or why not?

The film was engaging and thoroughly executed. The actors suited their roles, and played well. The theme in the film was educational and intriguing. Apart from some small flaws, the film was enjoyable. The circumstances around the film, as poor oxygen in the classroom and darkness, made it a little tiresome to watch, and therefore, the film seemed stretched out. In reflection, that impression was misplaced.

Traditionally, teacher development typically occurs through trial and error in the isolated confinements of each teacher’s classroom with some periodic whole-group professional development (Goddard & Goddard, 2007). Within the past few decades, many schools and districts, including ours, have considered and experimented with Professional Learning Communities (PLC) as an alternative framework in guiding a more efficient development program for their teachers. PLCs are focused on enhancing student learning through developing teacher practices. The concept of PLC relies on using structured collaborative sessions amongst teachers within the school to build internal capacity. Through PLCs, teachers critically reflect on current

During my second preclinical experience at Westview Hills Middle School, I learned the importance of cooperation and collaboration among teachers at a school. I was able to observe team and department meetings during this experience. It became clear that it is important for teachers to work together in order to provide a positive atmosphere at a school and in a specific department. Although it became obvious that personalities and teaching styles were different throughout the school, the teachers still acted professionally and used each other as resources in

Hence, this movie is interesting and an entertainment that you can enjoy watching as it teaches us

In United High School, my community’s interconnection is especially highlighted. It is a delight to personally know the majority of my class. My school’s environment is welcoming and supportive so much so that I feel comfortable conversing with anyone in the building. When the morning announcements are read, specific students’ and sporting teams’ recent achievements are shared, and students continue to commend their fellow students’ accolades through the day. Moreover, I have the great privilege to have teachers who are deeply concerned with the success of their students and thus will go out of their way to help them (it was one of these very teachers who informed me of QuestBridge.) Although my school district houses members dispersed across four counties, everyone comes together as a whole. My school is aptly named; our community is truly United.

5. What changes would you make to help this classroom become more of a community? Why would developing this classroom into a community be important?