A Professional Learning Community (PLC) model is an educational strategy that mainly focuses on learning more rather than teaching. In this model, teachers are more concerned with what students have learned than how much content they have taught (DuFour, 2004). This model takes into consideration the differences in the understanding levels of student and not just teaching and moving forward with those students who learn fast and letting the struggling students fail. In a school functioning like a professional learning community, teachers are aware of the incongruity between the quick learners and their failure in coming up with a strategy to respond to struggling students. Recognizing this enables them to act in time by coordinating strategies to make sure that the students who learn slowly get additional support. In a PLC model, students' difficulties are responded to timely, based on intervention instead of remediation, and in a directive manner.
The crucial questions driving the work of those in a PLC are about what the teachers want the students to learn, how the teacher will know when every student has learned and how to respond to students' difficulties in learning. Using the first question, a curriculum is sculpted by planning and pacing learning instructions. Teachers come up with tactics for solving problems as well as the instructional practices to suit the situation at hand. The second question leads to debriefs between teachers and administrators, data collection, observation and model practices to establish which students have understood certain units and which ones will require more assistance (DuFour, 2004). When a teacher has taught a certain unit to the best of their ability, and some students still fail to understand, the teacher can be compelled to help either those students or move on to the next unit to finish the coursework early. If the teacher decides to repeat the unit in class so that those students who did not understand can do so, the progress of those who understood suffers. On the other hand, if the teacher decides just to proceed and introduces a new concept, the students who did not understand the previous concept fall behind. A PLC model, therefore, avails a strategy that is fit for students despite their different learning paces.
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Richard Dufour asserts that building a Professional Learning community entails allowing autonomy in the learning institution (DuFour et al, 2010). As a leader of a certain institution, one is prone to the pressure of conflicting demands as well as competing ideologies. Choosing to follow one approach or another is not the best thing for everyone. Thus, coming up with a strategy that enables the institution to live with rather seemingly contradictory ideas can be more accommodative. This, however, does not mean having a balance or rather a 50-50 application of the ideas. It means distinctly applying the tabled ideas at the same time thus promoting autonomy. The autonomy, however, does not just entail random innovation acts but rather carefully defined parameters that give direction to the institution. The carefully defined parameters are found in the concept of PLC. This, however, works best using a loose and tight strategy whereby clear priorities and discernible parameters are established, and each department is given the freedom to develop a course that best suits its goal attainment.
The first component of a successful PLC is shared knowledge. Through the distribution of information materials as well as attending workshops that present everyone with expertise on the PLC model, a leader can manage to build a team with a shared goal and lead in the same path. The second component is consensus construction. This, however, does not mean that everyone must agree on a specific idea. It means that an idea qualifies when subjected to the criteria established by the members of a team. Another major component of PLC is a focus on learning. Fourthly is team collaboration where teams are formed according to the commonness of goals. The teams are also given autonomy to come up with strategies that best fit the attainment of their goals. This results in higher levels of student learning. Lastly is the focus on results (DuFour et al, 2010).
Professional Learning Community provides a better chance for all learners to perform their best. It also gives the teachers and other staff job satisfaction as well as a sense of accomplishment. This is because the model enables them to make a positive impact in the lives of the learners. PLCs also allow the departments as well as the entire administration to work collectively in providing the quality set of learning instructions. Assessments enable the teachers to establish which strategies worked effectively and the approaches that failed to initiate necessary action. Areas of weaknesses are also identified through the assessments and tactics to make improvements.
I have witnessed PLCs in action in several schools. I have seen teachers gather pre-test results and using the data to guide the instructions they come up with. They utilize the data to identify problems among the learners who need the teacher's attention since it provides a focus on learning the outcome. They analyze the data and come up with a collaborative teaching strategy. All this happens in a PLC meeting that is very different from any other staff meeting. The focus agendas in a PLC meeting are specifically about student learning, collaboration teaching strategies and collecting as well as responding to data. A typical teachers' meeting, on the other hand, does not have specific agendas since so many topics can be discussed. In addition, leaders in such meetings usually talk much unlike in PLCs where they listen more. Finally, the PLCs are problem-solving meetings while other staff meetings are commiserating.
References
Dufour, R. (2004). What is a Professional Learning Community? Educational Leadership , Vol. 61 (8), p.6-11.
Dufour, R., Eaker, T., Many, T. (2010). Learning by Doing: A Handbook for Professional Learning Communities at Work . Bloomington: Solution Tree Press.
