Professional Learning Teams August 2010

Professional Learning Teams

August 2010

Overview

Day 1

 Context

 Professional Learning Teams

 Handbook

Day 2 – ½ day early term 4

 Using data to develop student logs

(not September 2, 3 as advertised)

Professional Learning Teams



 Common understanding

 Looks like, feels like, sounds like

 Reflection - where is your school located

 Building awareness

 Planning

 Piloting

 Full implementation

 Planning

 Where do you want to be in 2011

 What do you need to do

 What will be your challenges

 What will you do when you get back to your school

 What‟s your story??

The context

Why change will continue ……….

 External accountability

 Social/political/economic environment

 Data rich

 Know more about

 How we learn

 Effective, precise teaching strategies

 Effective schools

 Learning spaces

 Technology

 Enabler

 assessment, analysis, learning, teaching, information, monitoring,

reflecting, planning, communication, collaboration

Leaders of complex change ….

 Change in the way teachers operate

 De-privatised practice

 Collaboration and challenge

 Joint planning

 Peer observation

 Personalisation

 Evidence based practice /goal setting

 Strategies for differentiation

 Pedagogical teaching and content knowledge

 Teaching frameworks/concepts

 Literacy and numeracy teaching strategies

 Standards and continuums of learning

 Assessment practices

 Technology

 Teachers’ beliefs and attitudes about students’

capacity to learn

Challenges & barriers to change



 Low Expectations!



“The biggest resistance to improving high

schools is the deep-seated belief that

many of our students cannot learn much

for a range of reasons including social

class and language background.”

Prof Patrick Griffin 2009

Beliefs and attitudes

“It‟s far easier to build an individual‟s skills than to try to change his

or her beliefs”



Examples of belief that underpin the work of PLTs

• All students can learn

• Expertise develops through continuous effort to

identify and tackle problems

• Collective good overrides individual autonomy

• A strong moral purpose

Platt and Tripp et al (The Skilful Leader II: Confronting conditions that Undermine Learning, 2008)





Complex problems cannot be solved simply by technical

responses – require adaptive change – this is the work of a

PLT.

Table discussion



 What are your beliefs around the work of

PLTs in working collectively to improve

student learning?



 How would you respond to a colleague

who attributes her/his lack of success

with a group of students to the students‟

background, ability?

Understanding change

1. Create a sense of 1. Love your employees

urgency 2. Connect peers with

2. Form a powerful purpose

coalition 3. Capacity building

3. Create a vision for the prevails

change 4. Learning is the work

4. Communicate the vision 5. Transparency rules

5. Remove obstacles 6. Systems learn

6. Create short term wins

7. Build on the change

8. Anchor the changes



Kotter‟s 8 step change model Fullan‟s Six Secrets of Change



Lasting school change

 Personalisation

 Differentiation

 Identifying learning needs of every individual



 Precision

 Consistent and effective use of assessment for learning

 Responding accurately with right focused instruction



 Professional learning

 Supports the above

 Building learning into the culture of the organisation









Fullan, Hill and Crevola (2006)

NMR School Improvement Model

NMR



 Powerful Learning Strategy

 Informed by research, evidence of what works and

expert advice

 Literate, Numerate and Curious

 Committed to teachers working collaboratively

 PLTs

 Triads

 Model of School Improvement / change

 Based on theories of action

Theory of action



…. Proposes a link between cause and effect



A guide for identifying, designing, implementing and

evaluating effective responses to the challenges

of school improvement.

A common reference point for all members of the

school community.

Emphasises accountability by relying on data that

measures the impact of the action taken

Theory of Action for Powerful Learning





IF all the distinct but interrelated parts of

the NMR School Improvement Model –

the rings, and each component of each

ring – are aligned and working together,

THEN all schools will improve.

AiZ

 Change

 Differentiated approach for schools

 Building school capacity

 Structures

 Use of data

 Teaching strategies – literacy & numeracy

 Teaching models – next step

 Leadership

 Professional learning

 Focussed on classroom practice

 Collaborative teacher learning

AiZ ………….



….. Not a „project‟ but a process that will require

continued, sustained effort FOREVER.



Aim:



Embed strategies that foster continuous and

purposeful peer interaction.



Fullan, 2008 (The Six Secrets of Change),

AiZ ………….. Expectations

 Student level

 improvement in Literacy and Numeracy achievement

 Teacher level

 identifying starting points for teacher professional learning

provided a focus of inquiry in the school

 provided opportunities to develop teachers‟ knowledge of

developmental learning and their understanding of

appropriate targeted intervention practices

 emphasised importance of teachers‟ knowledge and

experience in identifying appropriate intervention strategies

 change in teacher discipline discourse: shift from resource

and discrete skill focus to developmental focus

AiZ Structure



 Teams of teachers (PLTs and

Triads)

 Team leaders (PLT leaders)

 Learning leaders



 School improvement team (SIT)

 NMR

School Improvement Team/Leadership Team









PLT PLT PLT





Triad Triad Triad Triad Triad Triad









PROFESSIONAL LEARNING

AiZ (Learning Leaders, PLT leaders)

Coaches

Professional Learning Teams



What is it?

What does is it look like, feel like, sound like …………..

Table discussion





 What is a PLT?

 Identify 4 key features/characteristics

 What is their core work

Characteristics of a PLT



 Shared values, goals

 Collaborative culture

 Collective inquiry (and challenge)

 Action orientation (learning by doing)

 Commitment to continuous improvement

 Results orientation

DuFour and Eaker (1998) Professional Learning Communities at Work

AiZ PLTs

a new team work approach



 Evidence not inference

 Challenge not share

 Group responsibility

 From „my class‟ to our students



 Your problem to our solution



 Developmental not deficit approach

 Peer accountability rather than system reporting

 Expectations of ALL students



Patrick Griffin

The work of the PLT



 Ensuring that ALL students learn

 Collaboration and challenge

 Systematic processes to analyse and improve

classroom practice

 A focus on student outcomes

 Judge effectiveness on basis of student outcomes

 Ongoing process of identifying current level of

student achievement, establishing next level of

learning

Four critical questions

for learning:



 What is it we expect them to learn?

 How will we know when they have

learned it?

 How will we respond when they don‟t

learn?

 How will we respond when they already

know it?

Table discussion



 Think about 4 key „shifts‟ that need to

happen for these approaches/behaviours

to become embedded in your

school/teams

 Share these with the person next to you.

PLTs – look like?

 Size

 Ideally no more than 6

 Composition

 Mix of experienced and beginning

 Mix of expertise (eg numeracy/literacy/disciplines)

 Primary

 Usually year level

 Secondary

 Year level

 Discipline

 Meet regularly

PLT teams – types

1. Grade level

 All teachers who teach particular grade/s

 Focus on same standards and curriculum content

 Address the development needs of students at that level

2. Unit/Program level

 sub school, eg multi-age group, Senior school, VCE, VCAL

 address unique needs of students in program

 supports work of team to plan collaboratively

 discipline

 focus on same disciplinary content, standards and pedagogic knowledge

 addresses the unique

3. Interest or need

 Instructional approach

 Topic

 Special need, eg Literacy, Numeracy

Effective PLTs



 Reflective dialogue

 De-privatisation of practice

 Collective focus on student learning

 Collaboration

 Shared norms and values





Sharon Kruse (Building Professional Learning Communities) 1995

Effective PLTs



 A developmental approach to learning

 Students

 Their own – PD important



 Meetings follow set protocols

 Members are accountable to the group

 Engage in a process of evidence based

inquiry to plan for teaching interventions

Prof Patrick Griffin

Ticking the effective team boxes









TEAMS

PLT Leader



Leading the change …………

Leadership





The principal and team leader

are key to the redesign

process.

“A neutral principal or team

leader is an undermining

force.”

The work of the PLT leader

 Lead the team

 Understand change

 Model behaviours

 Develop culture of challenge – questioning



 Develop the capacity of the team

 Pedagogical knowledge

 Assessment practices

 Use of data

 Goal setting and strategy selection



 Support collaboration

 Regular, focused meetings

 Establish protocols

 Develop structure and processes

PLT Meetings



 Develop agreed protocols/norms

 Regular time

 Keep to time

 Have a focus

 Share facilitation

 Encourage participation and group

Variation between PLT leaders





 Ability to pass on/share knowledge

 Personal knowledge and capacity

 Agenda modification

 Ability to go in and bat for teachers, ie

rapport with school leadership



Patrick Griffin

Establishing PLTs



 Zone 1 schools

 Charles Latrobe P – 12 College

 Leanne Reynolds, Assistant Principal

 Dallas Primary School & Kindergarten

 Amanda Henning, Assistant Principal





 Patricia Quan,

BanyuleTeaching & Learning Coach