Educ 674 Professional Learning Communities Essay

Introduction

EDUC 674, Professional Learning Communities was a course packed with information. It was interesting to read the text and follow the history of school reform. (DuFour, 1999) Seeing PLC’s listed as a contributor to school reform helped me to understand their importance. It was also interesting to see how PLC’s and the formation of PLC’s were very closely linked to school leadership in creating the shared vision, purpose, as well as using shared leadership styles to support PLC’s. PLC’s can also serve as professional development and may also require external facilitators to assist in the process of establishing cohesive PLC’s. While these were some of the underlying interesting information, they were by far the most important/interesting things learned throughout this course.

A Process

According to Cranston (2009), one of the eight themes from his research was that PLC’s are about process. He further supported that it was necessary for PLC’s to go through the process several times to become familiar with the process itself. Through the process, there need to also be structural supports in place such as protected meeting time, teacher empowerment, interconnected groups, and trust. Several sources from my research cited trust as a key component of successful PLC’s.

Dysfunctional by Nature Because PLC’s consist of humans and by nature humans are dysfunctional, then PLC’s as a result will be dysfunctional. It takes some time for each group member to understand how to collaborate, a process that older, veteran teachers may not be willing to engage in learning. However, individuals need to be able to put personal differences aside and know that it is okay to be vulnerable and show weakness in an area of instruction. Teachers must be able to trust each other that the required work will get completed by each member on time and with fidelity.

Buy-In and